Lily Pond Reserve

A check of the local tourism publications recommended a visit to Lilypond Reserve.  There was no mention that dogs were not allowed to visit so with Penny came along for the ride.  Lilypond Reserve is within just three or four kilometres from where we were staying.

This reserve is 1.25 hectares and has a natural spring fed lily pond with an elevated boardwalk.  It was a much smaller reserve than we initially thought and our walk was so short that we repeated the board walk twice and then still had to walk a kilometre or so up the side road (up hill I must say) to achieve a reasonable walk for Penny.

 Boardwalk at Lilypond Reserve

Along the boardwalk there is an observation deck overlooking the pond which is a breeding ground for several types of waterbird species including waterhens, ducks, coots and moorhens.  I am sure there were eels and the likes in the murky water also.  There was some brightly coloured lichen on some of the fallen trees which brightened up the reserve.

Lilypond

Lichen

Apparently this reserve is a popular spot for school trips and the like as there is an adjacent park with a few picnic tables and play equipment.  The reserve was originally established with the assistance of volunteers and now appears somewhat overgrown and in need of some more volunteer labour. Certainly not the most memorable of reserves we have visited and in hindsight would not have been on our list of "must dos".  Not surprisingly, we were the only visitors at the time we were there.