14th August 2014 Croydon

We stayed another night here as it is such an interesting place and the is a dam we want to check out.
The dam called Belmore is the town water supply, the council has spent a large amount of money to put in showers, toilets, a boat ramp and a pontoon for swimming, there are lovely lawns with picnic tables and bbqs.
All this is done to encourage the locals to enjoy the area, not like in Perth no one is allowed anywhere near the dam water.
Fishing is encouraged with barramundi up to a metre being caught.
We were told at the information centre before we went out that the water was down to 45%, I asked about birdlife and was told I would see more in the gardens there.
When we arrived at the dam we took the canoes out, we did have our rods and a lure but wasn't really that worried about fishing, as it turned out because the dam was so low there was too much weed to fish with a lure.
The most wonderful surprise when we went around a corner, there was so much birdlife, bugerigars, kingfisher, rainbow bee eaters, sea eagles spoonbill both black and yellow bill, pelicans, heron, ibis many varieties, various types of ducks, pied stilts, jesus bird and one very large jabaru.
Jabaru don't appear to be a flock bird as each time we see them it is in ones or twos.
There was also a freshwater crocodile, the peacefulness of paddling around watching nature is just the best. The only reason that I could think of that the woman in the information centre had no knowledge of these birds is that when the locals go out it is with power boats
ski-ing and jet ski.
On the way back we stopped at the historical site of China Town.
When there was gold strikes the Chinese were quick to arrive and set up market gardens and grocery stores, there were laws at the time that that didn't allow the Chinese to work on mine sites.
The laws at the time made it illegal for a white Australian to marry or have relationships with the aborigines but the Chinese could, and did.
This was a small but very interesting town, and it rained tonight,  first rain in 3 months.