Last year, we spent a week in The Grampians and loved it so much, we decided to book it for a month in winter. Unfortunately, we couldn't have foreseen the
January bushfires that burnt out 52,000 hectares.
Where we were staying bordered the
Grampians National Park. Thanks to the owners’ fire-fighting efforts, the all timber cottage (photo below) was saved. However, the surrounding area wasn't so fortunate. Much of it was charred and it still had that burnt smell (not a nice wood fire smell either). The blackened skeletons of trees provided little cover or feed for wildlife and most of what had survived had gone. We saw a few emus (photo below),
Wedge-tailed Eagles and the odd
magpie, but that’s all. But the Australian bush is nothing if not resilient and there were signs of regeneration everywhere.
Unable to explore the Grampians National Park as we’d planned gave us the opportunity to explore areas further afield that we wouldn't have otherwise seen. We even caught a glimpse of the rare
Mallee Fowl (sorry, no pic).
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| Taken from the back deck of the cottage |
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| Not exactly our usual type of lunch spot, but we didn't have much choice that day deep in the park. |
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| The grass tree is one plant that does love fire (so long as it's not too hot) |
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| Water skiing at Lake Albacutya - not the best photo, but the signs says: Speed Limit 5 Knots |
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| Part of a mural - Albacutya |
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| Kangaroo and joey - mum cleaning while bubs naps |
Burnt woodland spring back to life always makes for inspiring shots.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Joan. If there's a will, there's a way. And the Australian bush has the will.
DeleteHi Vicki and Alan, yes the Australian Bush resilience is definitely something to be admired, and it defines people who live in the bush too doesn't it.
ReplyDeleteLove the Lake Albacutya sign - kind of a reminder of better days to come.
A nice capture of the ghost trees of the mountain dam - I do like that photo.
Cheers now :D)
Thanks, Susan.
DeleteI meant to include a link for Lake Albacutya. Thanks for the jog -- I must go back and add.
"The lake generally fills and empties on a 20 year cycle, the longest dry period on record being 27 years." -- Parks Victoria
Fascinating post with excellent photographs. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret. :)
DeleteThose mountains look pretty nice. What's the elevation of the highest summits?
ReplyDeleteThey're not that high (see below), but they can be quite challenging due to their rugged nature.
Delete"The rock material that composes the high peaks is sandstone which was laid down from rivers during the Devonian period 380 million years ago. This sediment slowly accumulated to a depth of 7 km; this was later raised and tilted for its present form. Forty million years ago the Southern Ocean reached the base of the northern and western base of the mountain range, the deposition from the range forming the sea floor which is now Little Desert National Park.
The highest peak is Mount William at 1167 metres. Numerous waterfalls are found in the park and are easily accessible via a well-developed road network." -- Wikipedia