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This cache is hidden in a sistema container with some small swaps. It is the first cache that The Hallett Bros and Myself have hidden. The container started with 3 small swaps, one from each of us. A small Woody figurine from Mr.Squiggle, a Luna Park Tattoo from the older Hallett Bro and an Archery Nock from the youngest Hallett Bro. You may want to grab a stick to wave away some spider webs. Please make sure you cover this cache well when you are done.
Murrundi Wetlands is located along Jervois Rd in Wellington SA. You can drive into this area even though it has a large gate. This land is government owned and is therefore open to the public, just make sure you shut the gate behind you.
Feel free to go for a wander through the wetlands and pass this cache on the way while learning a thing or two about the wildlife.
Wetlands are an area of land where water covers the soil all year or just at certain times of year. Wetlands include swamps, lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs.
Murundi Wetlands used to be the longest wetlands on the River Murray Darling Basin spaning 12km all the way to woods point. It is now only a couple of 100m long at the moment due to farmers along the river using the wetlands area for irrigation for their farms and animals and therefore destroying that part of the wetlands.
The river is located on the other side of the Wetlands and has an inlet and an outlet for water and the direction flows to the right as you look at it.
There was no water in this particular Wetlands area at the beginning of 2010 and people were able to walk out in the middle of it. The water level in Nov 2010 is as high as it was about 10 years earlier approximately 1m deep.
Wetlands have many functions, which include habitats for animals and plant life, breeding grounds for animals and filtering of water. Animals that live in the Wetlands include frogs, turtles, insects, snakes, lizards, birds, yabbies, fish etc. Many plants, both native and introduced, make up the environment of a Wetlands area and include, willows, gumtrees, reeds etc. Animals use the Wetlands as a breeding ground and nursery so that the offspring can hide among the reeds and keep safe from larger predators that one would find mostly in the river. The reeds act as a filtration system, where the water has to travel through the reeds until it returns to the river. The reeds remove unwanted pollution and gunk from the river by physically stoping them from passing as well as though absorption of certain molecules.
Some animals that can be found in a Wetlands are include:
Short-Necked Turtle
The short-necked turtle has a shell that is made of bone. They cannot simply move from shell to shell like a hermit crab because the shell of a turtle is attached to its body. A turtle has an exoskeleton which means it has its bones on the outside of it body, which grow with them, and if that is damaged it will either heal over time or cause enough damage to kill it. The line down its back is where the backbone is on the inside of its shell. A turtle can hide in its shell for protection from predators as it is very hard but this does not work all of the time. A turtle has webbed feet, which means that is does not move very fast on land but in water it can swim fast to escape predators. Turtles tend to remain in water during the day but come out at night, which means they are hardly seen out of water, and when they feel suddenly threatened they will quickly return to the water. Its main food sources are plant matter, fish, shrimp, insects etc.
Fresh Water Yabbies
The fresh water yabby is naturally a blue colour whereas ones found in the Murray and similar areas are brown and dark, murky colours. This is due to the cleanliness of the water they live in, so they become dirty in the Murray and when they are blue it means they live in clean water, like a tank. A Wetlands area like this one is a great place for yabbies to come after they shed their exoskeleton, which they consume, so they can wait for their new shell to become hard as they are very vulnerable to predators at this time. When water levels are low, yabbies burrow deep underground where water is available and can remain there for more than 5 years or until the water level rises above ground. Yabbies can be caught in the Murray between September and April and are less active in the winter months. A yabby is a scavenger when it comes to food so it would eat almost anything.
Eastern Banjo Frog
The eastern banjo frog can swell up its throat and make the noise that is commonly heard near the river that sounds much like a banjo. This noise can be used as a mating call for other frogs during spring and summer. It can use its hind legs to burrow and descend backwards into the ground. The colour of its body makes it very camouflaged among its environment including mud and pebbles. Its main food source is insects like spiders, flies, crickets etc.
(Walk along path that follows the wetlands located to your right if you are facing the water)
As you walk along you will see these different plants and the cache is located at one of them.
The Creeping Saltbush (located on the right) grows berries throughout the year, but more likely between November and February, that will become yellow which are not very tasty but when they become red they are sweet and delicious.
A dead tree (located on the left) is left where it is, instead of it being removed by people, as it could be a habitat for many creatures such as birds, insects, snakes etc. This particular tree could have been killed by the boxthorn that is growing next to it and throughout it. It would have taken the nutrients from the tree and starved it.
A Peppercorn Tree (on the left) is where pepper comes from, it grows the corns on the tree and when picked and dried they can be crushed to make pepper. When the leaves are broken off they have a peppery smell. This tree is an introduced species from America.
(Keep walking and you will arrive at the end of the Wetlands)
The native bullrush (located on the left) is an important plant to many aboriginal communities and is used for basket weaving. They would pull the rushes out at the base so they were as long as possible and chew them flat and weave many together.
This is where the water returns to the Murray River. Adelaide gets its water from reservoirs that are filled up with water from the Murray River. If every one uses too much water it can go to waste but in many ways we can save water at home (washing car with a bucket, water saving appliances, shorter showers etc.). Even though water restrictions have been lifted in Adelaide we still need to be conscious of how much water we are wasting and the impact that has on the environment. If the water does deplete in the Murray then water in the wetlands will go down and possibly dry up which means animals such as the turtle and frog will most probably die. Decrease water level in the river will also mean the water wont be filtered through the Wetlands and can reduce flow which will cause an increase in the salinity of the water and the amount of pollution.
(Walk up to the top of the Wetlands reserve and follow gravel path back to the beginning)
Pigface (located on the right) is a ground cover that stores water and can be used as a water source. You can gain moisture from this plant by breaking of one stick and sucking on it. You can also eat the flower that it grows as well as the small fruit.
The bushes that we can see have been planted in a straight line (located on the left) via a process called direct seeding where a machine digs a hole in a straight line and drops seeds in at the same time. These plants were planted about 8 years ago and the tall trees on the opposite side of the path were planted about 15 years ago.
The plants further along (located on the left) that are only a couple of cm high were planted 8 years ago via direct seeding but they haven’t grown due to the rocky and compact soil. The taller trees, which are drip irrigated, were planted by tube stock about 3 years ago much like ones we find in a plant store. These are past the seedling stage and have had an advantage against those that were planted by direct seeding in the same area. The reason why we plant here is to create more habitats for animals to live in.
Along your walk you can find many white snail shells. These snails are an introduced species of snail from Europe that was introduced as a delicacy but most haven’t survived our harsh summer climate. These snails like to climb on things to avoid heat radiating from the ground
We hope you enjoyed the walk.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng gur onfr bs gur Nzrevpna Gerr