Skip to content

My happy place (Corinna Clark)

Published 14 Jan 2022

Pilungah Reserve Managers Corinna Clark and Ingo Schomacker on one of Pilungah’s many red dunes. Photo Peter Wallis.

Corinna Clark

Pilungah Reserve Manager (far western Queensland)

When the sun sets down beyond the sand dunes at Pilungah Reserve on Wangkamadla country in far western Queensland the light takes on all these blueish, purplish hues that seem almost at odds with the desert’s harsh colours by day.

My partner and fellow Reserve Manager Ingo Schomacker and I like to go and sit on a sand dune near the homestead dubbed Little Red.

As day falls to night, we quietly take in the rich red colour of the sand and in the distance, all the communities that call this landscape home; flocks of Emu dads and their chicks running along by the scrubby Gidgee trees and swirling flocks made up of thousands of green and gold Budgerigars.

It’s especially beautiful after a long day’s work weeding, which we’ve had to do a lot lately after 20mm of rainfall caused the Buffel Grass to spring up seemingly overnight.

It’s a good place for relaxing and reflecting on the day that’s been.

Some of the Traditional Owners of Pilungah, the Wangkamadla people, recently came here for a culture camp. During their stay they took us to a culturally significant site and we felt so welcomed by the way they took us in and shared their knowledge with us.

We’ve only been Reserve Managers since August 2021, so seeing these sacred places which have been here for thousands of years made us feel a deeper sense of connection to this place.

More from BushTracks Summer 2022

Buckrabanyule landscape. Photo Stu Heppell.

BUSHTRACKS 14/01/2022

Beyond the cactus

Together with Dja Dja Wurrung Traditional Owners we are walking to Dhelkunya Dja (heal Country) at one of Victoria’s most heavily infested Wheel Cactus sites.

Read More
Rock Orchids and ferns. Photo by Michael Blyde

BUSHTRACKS 14/01/2022

A closer look at Brogo

Two years on from the Black Summer, bushfire recovery funding is allowing us to survey for threatened species on Brogo Reserve for the first time.

Read More

BUSHTRACKS 14/01/2022

Homeward bound

A new Indigenous tourism venture in the Kimberley is opening doors for Balanggarra people to keep their country healthy, and in their hands.

Read More
Andersonia parvifolia at Monjebup Reserve. Photo Libby Sandiford

BUSHTRACKS 14/01/2022

More than beauty

In south-west Western Australia, an incredible diversity of plants sustains an incredible diversity of pollinators. So what happens when both are under threat?

Read More
Ptilotis at Hamelin Station Reserve. Photo by Annette Ruzicka

BUSHTRACKS 14/01/2022

Thank you

Thanks to the many supporters who have generously donated to support our work.

Read More
Loading...
{{itemsInCart}} Items - {{formatCurrency(grandTotal)}}