September 30 - destruction and regeneration abounds.

Mesmerising thunderous surf

There was a haze over the coast all day and we could almost visualise what it might be like with bushfire smoke choking the trees.

Everywhere was black and ash grey but tucked about with vivid green and here and there splashed of colour. Cape Conran Coastal Park is bordered by long expanses of white sandy beaches. When we were there the surf was thunderous and the beaches not too safe - it is around the time of year for very high tides. The sights and sounds held me spellbound as I was taken back to my youth and Easters spent at Point Lonsdale watching the huge waves crash over the barely adequate sea wall. The thundering of the waves was surround sound the whole day as we walked the Conran Nature trail from East to West Cape and back. The trail is a not too challenging 7km return - apart from a few steep climbs which had me gulping for breath. 

Contrasts

Wonderment

So many banksia seeds were sprouting. In fact banksias evolved with and rely on fire to release their seeds.

Kangaroo apple were a soft green understory peppered with fragile mauve flowers and bunches of green fruits providing food for birds and insects alike.

We were shocked at the devastation all around us: Tea tree thickets burnt out not to recover I suspect, heathland wiped out but recovering, coastal banksia woodlands charred a black so dense it swallow all light. Yet this is a place on the road to recovery with small plants taking advantage of a rare view of the sky: orchids and every lasting daisies, grasses and flax, flowers peeked out at us from every corner and under banksia trees seeds were sprouting a whole new population of hardy trees. 

One of my favourites - a sundew which is a carnivorous plant. This one is a Drosera binata v. Multifida

Burchardia umbellata - milk maids

Senecio pinnatifolius 'cluster' - probably 

Helichrysum - the everlasting daisy flowers after fire as do some orchids maybe because they have greater access to light. It’s hard to get a well focussed shot of these flowers they are so dense and detailed.

We both crept around crouching over to take pix of flowers and investigate other interesting things.

We wandered stopping often to find an elusive bird, listen to the surf and photograph a flower which were many and varied from native violets, sun dews to orchids and weird tenacious scraps of life. 

Caladenia carnea - pink fingers orchid

Pyrorchis nigricans - red beak Or fire orchid - they usually only flower after hot fires

Diuris orientis - wallflower orchid

These sweet little posies are Pimelea humilis

These were everywhere. Solanum laciniatum - Southern kangaroo Apple. It is a fast growing colonising plant which is short-lived (5-6 years) appearing after fire or on disturbed sites.

Such a wee thing - the tip of my walking pole for comparison and to hold up its shy little face. Wahlenbergia gracious - Australian bluebell

Sweet little thing out foraging for lunch. We need all these little insects.

Lunch was munching down on a smoked salmon sandwich (with capers and horseradish - yum) sitting on one of the huge rocks at West Cape watching a breathtaking ocean and crazy surfers riding the waves towards treacherous rocks. 

You could stare at this collage of pretty remnants of life for ages trying to fathom the myriad colours, shapes and sizes - and I did!

Near West Cape Joiners’ channel remains (centre foreground). The Joiners were the first crayfishers in the Cape Conran area back in the early 1900s. They blasted this channel so they could access the sea safely. They also built a cray holding ‘box’ on the side of the channel which the sea replenished with fresh water to keep the crays alive and fresh for market.

We arrived back at the car pooped but replete and drove home through bushland festooned with garlands of white wedding bush as dusk was trembling on the horizon. It was a wonder-filled and memorable day. 

Ricinocarpos pinifolius - Wedding bush. There are male and female flowers. I think this is female.