A walk in the park
With my wife and kids away interstate, I decided to take a day away from my research activities to do something I haven't done for years: go bushwalking. About forty minutes drive west of my home in Melbourne is Brisbane Ranges National Park. In January 2006, a bushfire swept through the entire park. I found some track notes that suggested that regeneration is well underway. It was sunny but not too hot. So off I went, solo.
A feature of the park is the undulating 8-kilometre Ted Errey Nature Circuit, named after a past president of the Geelong Field Naturalist Club who was passionate about the flora of the park. The track descends about 170 metres into Anakie Gorge, a delightful creek cutting through the hills. It took me about two hours to get around. The circuit offered terrific views across the flats to Port Philip Bay, the Bellarine Peninsula and even Mornington. Parts of the circuit followed fire breaks, others along well-marked scrub. Along the way I startled two swamp wallabies and two pairs of rosellas.
None of the government's brochures about the park even mentions the bushfire. But as you can see from my photos, most of the trees are sprouting new foliage. New eucalypts have sprung from the ground. Grasstrees grow everywhere.
Here are few of my photos:
View from a lookout
Excellent park management
Stony Creek running through Anakie Gorge
Iron-rich track
Out on a ledge
Published under a Creative Commons License
