Pied cormorant

Another long trek in the Belair NP this evening.  Right up the Railway Steps, which lead to a defunct and demolished railway stop.  There is a move afoot to reroute the freight line (Melbourne to Adelaide) away from the Hills through a safer lower route to the north.  If that happens (which I think it will have to, but perhaps not in my lifetime) the passenger trains will most likely be re-instated through to several country towns which are now more like outer suburbs.

We think it was incredibly short sighted of the Government of the day to close all these stations, given the huge increase in population over the past 20 years.

If we do get the railway back, I am certain the Friends of Belair NP will lobby for a stop to be rebuilt.  And the steps will need to be restored, which is going to cost a ton of money.  They are almost at the point of no return; very degraded.  It's all very complex.

We also did a walk around the Lake, and this pied cormorant was very kindly posing for me.