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Spring time at Arkaba Conservancy means explosions of colour through Ikara – Flinders Ranges with birdlife and wildflowers heaving with life and this seasonal rhythm means plenty of wildlife encounters for guests. Australian ringnecks, elegant, red-rumped and mulga parrots are more active with the germination of seeds from late winter rainfall and put on a display during courting and breeding season. Huge areas of pioneer acacia species provide both food & habitat for incredible numbers of thornbills, babblers, red-capped robins and the ever-busy fairy-wren species. Keen birdwatchers can observe Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo and pallid cuckoos actively seeking out the nests of fairy-wrens, thornbills, honeyeaters and robins to lay their eggs in brood parasitism.

Expect lots of vibrant colours with wattles, daisies and peas blanketing the outback landscape. Eremophilas and Silver Mulla Mulla are dotted throughout, and species like Rock Sida and Jockeys Cap are full swing if the rain gods have been kind. The divine scent of the Vanilla Lily is enough to stop you in your tracks –  look for these perfumed flowers in rocky nooks and outcrops. Sweet smelling, Adnyamathanha people traditionally eat the fleshy roots of this tuberous perennial. Another native bush tucker is the quandong fruit, blushing pink with ripeness at the end of spring. This is the signature ingredient in the Arkaba’s “Dirty Quandong” cocktail, although you’ll need to get in quick as they are an emu’s favourite food. 

Healthy populations of Australia’s largest living marsupial in the red kangaroo take up residence around the Homestead in search of water, discovering water sources beneath seemingly dry creek beds and at the permanent water source at The Hide. During Spring the chances of spotting the rare and elusive Fat-tailed Dunnart (cuter than it sounds) are higher as they emerge to mate – a true testament to the wildlife recovery in the region. Male Tawny Dragons and Central Bearded Dragons are showing off to females, competing for mating rights with beard flaring and circling in courtship display. At night you might even hear the distinctive call of the nocturnal Barking Gecko.
 

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