So, my ‘long road trip’ to the north is now over. For those interested in stats I offer the following:
• The map below shows approximately each place I slept and refuelled. I occasionally used jerry cans (bidones), so there may be long stretches without apparent refuelling.
• I spent 52 days on the road and covered a total distance of 12,206 kms / 7585 miles.
• My average km per litre was 9.75 (22.93 mpg) – but this varied enormously day on day according to speed, road surface and the need for 4WD.
• My total cost of fuel was A$236,002.20 (US$1,540, £1,315), but this also varied enormously as some provinces/service stations have discounts or surcharges. My vehicle (Toyota SW4/Fortuner) is a 3.1 Diesel.
I have no idea how many birds and other wildlife I saw but I took over 6,000 photos, some of which I am still processing. I do know that so far I have photographed 62 bird ‘lifers’, that is species that were new to me. Some of these were endemic to the area and one was only recently identified and may not be in older bird guides.
When I started my trip I set myself the task of photographing and designating one bird each day as ‘bird of the day’. The second photo is the product of this.
Because I cut the trip short (illness, general exhaustion, etc.) I ended up with fifty-one birds instead of the planned sixty. Birds/photos are shown here in the order they were shot and in two cases replaced with a better photo of the species from a previous trip. All photos are mine and the image is uploaded here in low resolution.
All individual bird photos are numbered and you might have fun seeing how many you can identify. A key will eventually be available on request.
Finally, special thanks to all those I met on my trip and whose help and company I enjoyed. With no wish to be envidious, special thanks to Walter Cejas, Horacio Matarrasso, Ariel Ocampo, Leslie Cook and Alejandra Boloqui, with apologies to Patricio Cowles Cooper, Guy Cox and Gerardo Cerón whom circumstances prevented me from meeting.
