Dalmeny Narooma bushwalkers news

by David Maidment

MT MISERY/MT LONG CIRCUIT WALK

 Maybe the name of this walk kept a few walkers away this last week but only 8 attended this walk led by Amanda Marsh and Jan Thomas. This was in country badly affected by last summer's bushfires, in fact some areas were scorched with many standing dead trees and a lot on the ground over the tracks. Regrowth abounds everywhere but it will be many years before they are mature trees. In saying this there are pockets of unburnt country or less affected ground and in these hotspots many more small birds are out and about and quite a few wildflowers are blooming.

Now sometimes you can come across something very special in these remote places. Way down in Billa Bilba Creek ( which is a headwater of the Wagonga Inlet) were some very large old Casuarinas ( 30metre plus) and not fire affected. In a small pocket of the trees, high in the limbs, were some very large bunches of Elkhorn Ferns. They had fresh new growth due to the recent rainfall. This is not a common sight and really worth the walk in to see.

The return walk was back up the Mt Long Track which was a bit of a slog clambering over dead fallen trees, avoiding a sleepy black snake but we had lunch and some drink breaks and the time went quickly. Steve thanked Amanda and Jan for this 9 klm walk to see past devastation but renewal in progress.