Initially, when we were looking for a block of land to purchase, we thought we would end up buying land in Aura, a purposefully designed “… City of Colour, set to become Queensland’s most vibrant new community on the beautiful Sunshine Coast.”  (According to the developer’s website anyway.)

But as it turns out, the only block we could afford backed onto, what was to become and now is, a major arterial road.  What we ended up buying was a block of land in the previous estate (same developer) and are delighted our block backs onto a little nature reserve and, hidden within that little reserve, is a frog highway.

You can’t access the reserve by (simply) jumping the fence, but you can stroll, or ride across the bridge.

The Bridge into the City of Colour – I love the blue cycle path on the bridge

Once across the bridge, you can easily then access the edge of the reserve via a path that leads down and under the bridge.

The pathway under the bridge

This is not the type of reserve you go walking through though, and the most interesting thing is found before you get below the bridge – a breeding pond for the little Wallum Frog (or froglet).  This little frog requires unique conditions in which to live and breed.

One of the breeding ponds

There are several ponds in the area and they have been specifically designed to provide seasonal wetland habitats for these little frogs.  There is also tunnel built below the roadway to provide them with a safe haven for crossing from one side to the other.

The Frog Highway

The wallum frog is listed as vulnerable and it’s nice to know diversions are in place to enable street run off to flow away from this habitat and ensure stormwater doesn’t contaminate this delicate breeding area.

After visiting the frog highway, it’s always nice to enjoy the colours of the bridge returning home.

All part of the city’s colour scheme

And on the other side of the bridge (eyes right), you can’t see our roof, even if you look really hard, but trust me, it’s there.

The ‘reserve’ behind our back fence.

There were plans to put an access road through here (yes, we knew about it), but recently I heard another more suitable location was found.  Yea for us, and yea for the little wallum frog.

In response to the WordPress Photo Challenge – Tour Guide