The Bordertown Field Naturalists visited the historic Tintinara Woolshed recently before exploring the granite boulder country west of Tintinara.
The heritage listed 16 stand Woolshed was built in 1865.
The limestone in its 80cm thick walls and supporting Oregon timbers were carted from Kingston SE by bullock drays.
After this the group then travelled to Boothby Rocks just 29km west of Tintinara.
Outcrops of granite overlain with limestone can be found on both sides of Boothby Road.
The more adventurous group members climbed to the top of the rocks while the rest enjoyed the dwarf oaks, tea trees, yuccas and desert banksia vegetation.
The trip leader David Sando explained this area should have lots of fungi and mushrooms at this time of the year but low rainfall has left it very dry.
Gwen Colwill found an impressive beehive hidden in a crevice between rocks.
There was something for everyone on the May 19 trip.
Club member Chris Parsons showed the group a mallee fowl nest that was currently unused.
Like the emu, mallee fowl males do all the hard work.
They build a mound and make sure it stays the right temperature for incubation.
The chicks hatch, dig themselves out of the mound and then are on their own with no parental care or supervision.
The final stop of the day trip was at Tolmer Rocks.
This outcrop was named after Police Inspector Tolmer, who was instrumental in creating a gold escort route between South Australia and Victoria in the 1850s.
Again the group had time to explore the rock shelters and admire the SA blue gums before travelling back to Tintinara.
Visit the Bordertown Field Naturalist Facebook page for information on the group.
