Monday 2 November 2020

October 13 - Walking the saddle!


We went back to Errinundra National Park this time to the Saddle of Mt Errinundra through part of the cool temperate rainforest. Fine clouds of fog made for an  eerie atmosphere driving through towering trees. This National Park preserves one of the largest remaining stands of cool temperate forests in Victoria. It also protects one of the largest old growth forests containing 
remnants of the Gondwana forests.  This is not far from the area  through which we had walked and stumbled a week or more earlier. This is the land of the Bidawal and Nindi-Ngudjam Monero people and it sent trills of excitement down my spine to know that people had been walking through here for 10s of 1000s of years before I put my stumbling feet on the track. 


Eucalypts, Southern sassafras and black olive berry trees made us a good part of the forest beside the tree ferns.


The track was hard to distinguish at times. 








Our walk this day took us along overgrown tracks and boardwalks by the west branch of the Errinundra River, passed towering eucalypts and tree ferns alike. Like the old growth forest track, this track was in desperate need of some attention. 


Throughout the Park giant eucalypts such as Errinundra Shining Gum, tower above the rainforest canopy. It is thought that these eucalypts emerged after some disturbance like mild fires which allowed the seedlings to germinate 100s of years ago. 


Fungi were at every turn breaking down decaying a fallen trees and ferns. 

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