Mount Worth State Park

Along tranquil deserted trails a couple of days ago in Mount Worth State Park, we tramped through boot sucking mud being careful not to slip but also careful not to tread on the chimneys and burrows of Gippsland’s freshwater crayfish - some big species and some tiny.  Mt Worth is part of the Strzelecki Ranges and is host to a cool very wet mountain rainforest. Beautiful! 

Parts of the tracks were wet and muddy - we were thankful for our sticks although one time mine went down into a burrow and I nearly went after it. In some places the ground dropped away right beside the track so we walked very cautiously.

These look like worm castings, I saw a number of deposits, but I don’t know what species - native or introduced. Certainly we are in the territory of the Gippsland giant earthworm but I suspect these were from smaller native species

Gorgeous moss. The mountain is densely forested but is home also to ferns, mosses, liverworts and lichen of many different varieties.

We took the Giant’s circuit walk starting from Moonlight Creek and followed the route of a timber tramway through Mountain Ash both towering and regenerating; one almost 300 years old. The forest, lush, wet and cold, is home to a range of trees - dogwood, blackwood, mountain grey gum as well as the towering mountain ash that once covered much of this region The track wound through and by fern-filled gullies, epiphytes often stretching out soft fingers to touch us as we brushed by. In the background we could hear the constant tweet of small birds, the occasional squawk of black cockatoos and crimson rosellas as well as the piping song of shy Bassian thrushes and the taunting calls of lyrebirds hidden in the dense scrub.  Occasionally the fragrant waft of blossoms high in the canopy floated our way. Quite delightful!

Fungi like these added brilliant flashes of colour in the green shadows.

We came across large chunks of moss, we think torn off by birds looking for grubs. This chunk was a forest of stalks and spore capsules - the fruiting bodies. Stuck in amongst these was a leaf (circled) with creamy dots. Next pix shows those spots ....
Yes! the tiniest wee fungi I have found so far. (I was right at the limits of my iPhone camera zoom so this is NOT as sharp as I would have liked. I should carry my other camera but I try to keep my load to a minimum)

Most of the soft trunk tree ferns are host to a stunning array of epiphytes - Kangaroo fern, Strap water fern, Fieldia australis which bears small fruit. It’s a veritable paradise shaded in green.

We took branching tracks off the circuit to investigate the relics of a couple of timber mills that operated on the slopes of Mt Worth in the early 1900s.

We were pooped and mud spattered when we got back to the car as dusk was descending.  Then it was home via Gippys, the excellent Fish and Chip shop in Drouin. 

Mt Worth, a great place to visit - hope you’re making a list for when ..... !