My planning and research suggested I might find the native citrus in these reasonably accessible areas:
My last visit to Australia was in the year 2000, so I thought it was time to go back. I decided to base my trip around trying to find and photograph all the six Australian citrus varieties growing in their native habitat. Along the way I would try and meet several of the people I have corresponded with over the years. This would take me to some interesting places well off the usual tourist beat.
Citrus glauca: around Broken Hill in outback New South Wales. Here I had a good contact who many years ago had sent me photos of wild Desert Lime trees.
Citrus australis: somewhere around Brisbane. The Australian Virtual Herbarium suggested a few locations that were reasonably close to roads. I found one comment that said 'common in vicinity' so I decided to head for Skene Road, Wolffdene.
Citrus australasica: in Lamington National Park in south-east Queensland. I had visited Lamington after working at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 and enjoyed it greatly. I had found wild Finger Lime plants on that visit.
Citrus garrawayi: in Rockhampton & Atherton, Queensland. The only species that I did not expect to be able to find growing truly wild. But I knew there were trees in a local park in Rockhampton
and at the Atherton Rainforest Arboretum
and at the Atherton Rainforest Arboretum
Citrus inodora: in the foothills of Bellenden Ker, south of Cairns. There were several reports of this species growing around the base of a private cable car used to maintain a mountain-top TV transmitter. Perhaps my past work in BBC engineering might be useful!
Citrus gracilis: around Darwin, and possibly near Mataranka - 400kms further south in the Northern Territory. I had been in contact with the owner of a cattle station who had found fruiting trees on his property.
This one month itinerary would also allow me to spend a few days in Sydney, and to visit Malcolm Smith (first collector of Citrus wakonai) in Bundaberg.
Fly: London-Dubai-Adelaide Drive: Broken Hill Fly: Adelaide-Sydney Fly: Sydney-Brisbane Drive: Lamington N.P. Train: Brisbane-Bundaberg
Bus: Bundaberg-Rockhampton Fly: Rockhampton-Cairns Drive: Bellenden Ker Fly: Cairns-Darwin Drive: Mataranka Fly: Darwin-Singapore-London
Bus: Bundaberg-Rockhampton Fly: Rockhampton-Cairns Drive: Bellenden Ker Fly: Cairns-Darwin Drive: Mataranka Fly: Darwin-Singapore-London
uk2 page created 20Nov16
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