Hobart to Cairns in seven Livistonas

[Jonathan]

Hi all,

just got back from a road trip from my home near Hobart in Tasmania to Cairns in Far North Queensland.

This should probably go in the travel section...but seeing as its all palm-related (might slip in the odd cycad), I thought I would start it here where more people will see it.

All up we (my Missus & 2 daughters aged 4 & 7 made up the crew) covered just over 10,000 km in six weeks. We caught the ferry across Bass Strait from Tasmania to Victoria then drove up through Central New South Wales and Queensland, spent a week in the Cairns area, then returned via the East Coast.

My main goals for the trip were to visit as many species of Livistona in habitat as I could, and to drive up Mt. Lewis to see the Oraniopsis and A. purpurea's up there. It worked out pretty well really, we saw seven species of Livistona (if you consider the Eungella Range variety as distinct from australis); the only Liv. species native to the areas we passed through that I didn't have time to locate was L. lanuginosa - a good reason to go back up there!

First (palmy) stop was at Carnarvon Gorge in the Southern Highlands of Queensland, home of the beatiful Livistona nitida.

Here is a photo of our campsite at Takkanaki, surrounded by Macrozamia moorei:

Next day we went for some short walks and were soon in L. nitida country:

Here is your host and minions on a bridge...

A nice range of sizes here - recruitment seemed to be pretty healthy in most parts of the gorge:

More to follow....

[Jonathan]

Typical scene in the more open parts of Carnarvon Gorge:

L. nitida and M. moorei growing along the track:

A nice curving trunk near 'The Rock Pool' swimming hole:

On the walk up Mickeys Creek:

And thats it for nitida...next up is the Cairns area.

[ariscott]

Next time... try to make it to NT. We have a few up here... and my girls would love to play with your girls...

Regards, Ari

[Jonathan]

Next time... try to make it to NT. We have a few up here... and my girls would love to play with your girls...

Regards, Ari

We were thinking maybe next year....its a long way to Darwin!

[Gileno Machado]

Nice photos Johnatan, can't wait to see more...last time I drove 10,000 km (in 3 weeks) was a long time ago, right after college graduation, when we decided to go to Argentina and Paraguay...not great memories from this trip though, the highways in NE and Central Brazil in the 80's were beyond imagination...

Those big Macrozamia really steal the scene, hum? Lovely L. nitida too...they're also my favs in the genus...

[Jonathan]

In Cairns we went for a walk from Centenial Lakes to Flecker Botanical Gardens - I'm not going to cover any gardens, or this will go on forever - but here is a shot of some nice Archontophoenix alexandrae in a remnant swamp forest along the boardwalk between the two gardens. They were growing in amongst some very cool looking pandanus, which I completely failed to photograph.

We drove up to Mossman Gorge where we saw some cute little Bowenia spectabilis....

And not so cute Wait a while, or Calamus radicalis:

This is why its called Wait a while, cause if you get stuck in a patch of it.....

[Jonathan]

Also at Mossman Gorge were some Linospadix minor:

Here is our trusty little Subaru Forester with some Livistona muelleri just south of Mossman, sorry bout the photo, it was a bit misty and wet.

Ptychosperma elegans at Barron Gorge near Cairns

Couldn't resist this shot of the view from our motel room in Cairns - note the Red-eyed Devil in the corner - can someone tell me what the fan palms are?

[chris.oz]

Jonathon ,

My guess is green bismarckia, there are quite a few of them in Cairns, as well as the silver ones.

Great shots, I would love to go to Carnarvon Gorge.

[Jonathan]

Nice photos Johnatan, can't wait to see more...last time I drove 10,000 km (in 3 weeks) was a long time ago, right after college graduation, when we decided to go to Argentina and Paraguay...not great memories from this trip though, the highways in NE and Central Brazil in the 80's were beyond imagination...

Those big Macrozamia really steal the scene, hum? Lovely L. nitida too...they're also my favs in the genus...

10,000 k's in 3 weeks? I tip my hat to you Gileno...thats some serious driving!!

Yep, the M. moorei's were stunning, very soft to look at - but very sharp to camp next to!

I havn't made up my mind as to which Livistona I liked the most, its a toss up between nitida, fulva and drudei though I think....

[Jonathan]

Jonathon ,

My guess is green bismarckia, there are quite a few of them in Cairns, as well as the silver ones.

Great shots, I would love to go to Carnarvon Gorge.

Hi Chris....they didn't quite look like Bizzies to me - but I'm pretty useless at ID, and could easily be wrong!

Here is a close-up if its of any help (dosn't show much really):

[brodklop]

Great Photos Jonathan. I think it is a green bizzie as well.

Here is one at Mt Cootha

[Jonathan]

Lastly for today, some Livistona mulleri and Cycas media that I spotted along the road between Cairns and Mossman on my way to Mt. Lewis (that part will have to wait - a man must work to pay for his holidays!).

L. mulleri:

And again:

Cycas media feeling the pinch from ripening all that fruit:

C. media (I know you all want to see them....) in various stages of fruiting:

Very cute:

And one more (sorry, I know they're not palms.....):

This part of the road was the only section I saw that had not yet been burnt for fire control, most of the cycads were very scorched...but it dosn't seem to bother them at all, in fact I think they like it.....

More tomorrow.

[Jonathan]

Great Photos Jonathan. I think it is a green bizzie as well.

Here is one at Mt Cootha

Yep - thats it - Chris was right on the money.

I think I was looking for something more exotic, so missed the bleedin' obvious!

Thanks.

[peachy]

Quite good shots for a mere Vandemonian I guess.

Peachy

[gyuseppe]

wonderful macrozamia moorei and beautiful livistona species ---

[Jonathan]

Quite good shots for a mere Vandemonian I guess.

Peachy

Thanks Peaches, you're all heart!

I've got something for you, by the way....

[Walter John]

Great stuff Jonathan, pity we didn't get to meet. Next time.

[Miccles]

Awesome pics Jonathan - looking forward to more ! Glad you arrived home safely.

Regards

Michael.

[Jonathan]

Great stuff Jonathan, pity we didn't get to meet. Next time.

Thanks Wal - I'm so sorry we didn't catch up....Brisbane was a disaster for us - the little girls finally hit the wall after 4 weeks of perfect behaviour, so we cut and ran. Didn't even get to Mt. Coot-tha or Palms for Brisbane. Next time for sure!

[Jonathan]

Awesome pics Jonathan - looking forward to more ! Glad you arrived home safely.

Regards

Michael.

Theres heaps more to come Michael - its more a matter of which ones not to post. Just wish I had a decent camera.

The old ferry was a bit wobbly on the way back over - my advice to any travellers to the island is get a cabin at the blunt end - the pointy end is a bit lively!

[ariscott]

It is amazing that you could drive that far with the 2 kids... I think the furthest way we drove was Cairns.... that was far enough. Although, DVD player was a lifesaver... If you do make it, make sure you give us a yell... I am sure my kids can occupy yours while we have a BBQ or two...

Regards, Ari

[elHoagie]

Awesome, thanks for the photos! We saw a lot of NT Livistonas when we were there a few months ago, but we didn't have time to see many in Queensland.

[edric]

Great shots Jonathan! Thanks for sharing, Ed

[Jonathan]

Ok, here are some shots from my drive up the famous Mt. Lewis Road.

I think I saw at least 6 species between Julatten at the start of the road and the summit.

I apologise for the poor quality of some of the photos - my little snap shot digital is just not up to much!

Firstly at Julatten I came accross this little stand of Licuala ramsayi:

I'm not sure if its a natural group or planted, there was some Calamus in there as well:

Up the Mt Lewis Road, and after 10 minutes driving I found this Oraniopsis appendiculata - very exciting to see this growing wild.

Another shot showing white undersides.

[Jonathan]

A few minutes further up there was a nice pair of Archontophoenix purpurea - beautiful to behold!

And again:

This an awful photo, but I'm pretty sure it contains at least 4 species of palms - Oraniopsis, A. purpurea, a Linospadix and Laccospadix (maybe even some Calamus), I couldnt believe how many species were packed into this tiny area.

Linospadix species - any guesses?

[Jonathan]

Crown of A. purpurea:

Bad shot of Laccospadix australasica

Again - I've never seen a good photo of this species - but they are lovely in the flesh.

Young Oraniopsis, I think:

[Jonathan]

Oraniopsis - at this size they look as much like a tree fern as a palm.

Crown of A. purpurea, again!

Big Linospadix species - hat for scale.

Laccospadix, hat for scale.

Coming up next will be Livistona Drudei!!

[Jonathan]

It is amazing that you could drive that far with the 2 kids... I think the furthest way we drove was Cairns.... that was far enough. Although, DVD player was a lifesaver... If you do make it, make sure you give us a yell... I am sure my kids can occupy yours while we have a BBQ or two...

Regards, Ari

We had no DVD player - but we listened to a lot of Roald Dahl cds, plus Wind in the Willows, etc. Very old school - hardcore!!

Will take you up on that offer Ari - thanks.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Jonathan]

Awesome, thanks for the photos! We saw a lot of NT Livistonas when we were there a few months ago, but we didn't have time to see many in Queensland.

Good excuse for a return trip Jack....you've gotta see Carnarvon Gorge, Eungella and the Blackdowns before you die!

[OldNed]

Thanks for the great pix Jonathan.

When you were at the beginning of the Mt. Lewis Road in Julatten, you were within walking distance of Helga's Nursery. Helga has 30-50 multi-branched Archontophoenix alexandrae all around her car park. My avatar is a photo of one of them.

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the great pix Jonathan.

When you were at the beginning of the Mt. Lewis Road in Julatten, you were within walking distance of Helga's Nursery. Helga has 30-50 multi-branched Archontophoenix alexandrae all around her car park. My avatar is a photo of one of them.

Hi Ned!

I visited Helga - she was lovely - had a good old chat to her - she had a huge ammount of big bromeliads, but not so many palms.

I also visited Jan Smith at TNQ Palms at Julatten and got a guided tour and some nice seedlings to post home. I'd highly reccomend her nursery.

Jan said she'd also had a visitor from New Zealand the same morning, another poor sad sack like me I guess, dreaming of the tropics!

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Jonathan]

After leaving Cairns we spent a couple of days on the southern part of the Atherton tablelands.

Went on a rainforest skywalk thingy called Ma-mu, saw some nice Calamus - no idea what species, because in Queensland no-one labels their palms very well, even Flecker Gardens and Townsville Palmetum were pretty slack in this respect...rant, rant...

Nice looking Calamus:

Out of focus, but shows growth form well:

Back down on the coast, we camped at Rollingstone Beach north of Townsville, and miraculously the camp was full of remnant Livistona drudei!

This is a close to natural habitat as I could find for this species:

Just outside the caravan park gates:

Nice young 'uns:

[Jonathan]

L. drudei, bendy:

Looking up:

Fruit!!! They were falling on my head....

Cute! I really liked this species for some reason.

Achtung!! Dont swim here.

Nearly done.....a few more tomorrow.

[peachy]

I have been trying to get a L. drudei for 18 years, I trust you grabbed more than a handful of seeds dear boy. If I knew for sure that I wouldnt die (but I know for sure that I would) I would drive up there myself and dig up a few unwanted orphans.

Peachy

[Jonathan]

I have been trying to get a L. drudei for 18 years, I trust you grabbed more than a handful of seeds dear boy. If I knew for sure that I wouldnt die (but I know for sure that I would) I would drive up there myself and dig up a few unwanted orphans.

Peachy

Oh, I may have picked up the odd few dozen or so....dont worry Peaches - I'll look after you.

Would you prefer your seed sprouted or au naturale?

They're in the propagator......as we speak.....

[ariscott]

Any L. fulva seeds??? Please... pretty please....

Regards, Ari

[Mr Cycad]

Hi Jonathan - great photo' action!!!

How far north did you make it up?

Was Mossman as far north as you came?

If so, shame you didn't manage to get a day to spend in the Daintree...

[Jonathan]

Any L. fulva seeds??? Please... pretty please....

Regards, Ari

Ari - no. Not a single one....its been on my wish list forever. They were flowering their heads off when I was up there (see photos soon).

Even if there was any seed its all in a national park, and it would be wrong to collect it.....er....wouldn't it?

[Jonathan]

Hi Jonathan - great photo' action!!!

How far north did you make it up?

Was Mossman as far north as you came?

If so, shame you didn't manage to get a day to spend in the Daintree...

Hi Mr Cad,

unfortunately, despite going up to Mossman twice - we completely failed to get to the Daintree - it seems crazy in hindsight, but there seemed to be good reasons at the time. Just another excuse to go back up that way - I loved the whole area around Cairns, and we have some relations up there so it wont be too long I hope.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Jonathan]

Right then, this is becoming a bit of an epic, I'm sorry, but we're a bit further south again now.

This is Livistona species #4 at Eungella in the mountains behind Mackay. There seems to be some speculation about whether its a distinct species or just a varient of L. australis - does anyone out there know the truth of this?

Eungella (pronounced Yung-gala) is also home to Archontophoenix alexandrae at altitudes up to about 1000m, then around 1200m there are some A. cunninghamii - probably the most northerly distribution of this species?

Here is a shot looking down the valley from our camp ground - very stunning!

This is the view on the other side of our camp - Alex's and lovely Cyathea's:

These people followed me evrywhere - L. spp. 'Eungella' at left.

I put this photo in, because it seems to me that this species holds its leaflets a lot flatter (on one plane) than australis - but I might be just wishing it to be so....

Fan Palm!