34 Australian Geographic
Wild Australia
JANUARY. FEBRUAR Y 2016Above the tree line in the
Snowy Mountains, the best dis-
plays occur in January–February.
At this time, the high plains are
carpeted in yellow, purple, orange
and white blooms. There are more
than 200 fl owering plants and
ferns in Kosciuszko NP, 21 of
which are endemic. As you wan-
der across exposed fi elds you’ll
come across everlastings, billy
buttons, buttercups, silver snow
daisies and the Kosciuszko rose.
More info: Call 02 6450 5600 or
visit http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.
au/Kosciuszko-National-Park.WILDFLOWER SEASON,
SNOWY MOUNTAINSNUMBY NEEDS YOU NOW!
The numbat was once found across
southern Australia, but there are now fewer
than 1000 in the wild and it is restricted to
isolated pockets of south-western Western
Australia and predator-free fenced sanctu-
aries in NSW and South Australia. Australia
has lost many of its small mammals and it
would be a tragedy to lose the iconic
numbat, which is WA’s faunal emblem. The
numbat’s greatest threats are feral cats and
foxes. Donate NOW to help Project Numbat
fund research and predator-control pro-
grams and monitor the species’ progress.Short-tailed shearwaters, also
known as muttonbirds, fl y about
15,000km on an annual migration
from the Alaskan Aleutian Islands
to Phillip Island for breeding. From
late September to late April you
can watch more than 1 million
return to their burrows at sunset
aft er a day of fi shing at sea. One
of the best places to witness this
spectacle is at Cape Woolamai on
the island’s south-east.
More info: http://www.visitphillipisland.
com or call visitor information
on 1300 366 422MIGRATING MUTTONBIRDS,
PHILLIP ISLANDDONATE Use the free
viewa app to scan this page.
Or visit http://www.australian-
geographic.com.au/society
or mail a cheque to: AGS
administrator, Level 9, 54
Park St, Sydney NSW 2000.Experience the dramatic afternoon thunderstorms and
explosion of life that accompanies the season that
Kakadu’s traditional owners call Gudjewg. For Bininj/
Mungguy people there are six seasons, marked by subtle
changes in weather, flowering and the availability of
bush foods. Gudjewg runs from December to March,
bringing heat and humidity to the Top End. During this
time, rivers swell, spear grass grows to 2m tall, magpie
geese nest in the sedgelands, and monsoonal rains flush
out animals, which makes for easy hunting.
More info: http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu or call
the visitor centre on 08 8938 1120VIC
NSW
WET SEASON, OR
‘GUDJEWG’, TOP END
NT
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DANITA DELIMONT/GETTY IMAGES; ROB BLAKERS /GETTY IMAGES; MARTIN CAMM / GETTY IMAGES /Globicephala; JJ HARRISON/WIKIMEDIA /Puffinus tenuirostris; ROBERT MCLEAN /Myrmecobius fasciatus