Wilsons PromontoryPage 3 - Tidal River AreaThis is a photo-diary of my overnight trip to The Prom early September 2005. Click on the small images if you want to see the detail in a larger image. |
Camping the night at tidal river I woke before dawn.
Not having spare blankets meant the cold night felt even colder.
There is a beach at the Tidal River campground, including up the river a bit.
At night we saw a wombat and bandicoots in the camp ground.
More friendly animals greeted us in the morning, like this Kookaburra.
I was also trying to photograph little wrens that were hopping around between my legs,
but they were very hyperactive, looking for (and finding) little insects.
In April 2005 much of the southern part of the Prom suffered when a control burn went out of control.
The heathlands affected will recover reasonably well and quickly, but eucalypt forests,
like that which covered much of Mt Oberon, will take decades.
This photo shows the total devastation -
I walked about 700m up the track and it was a bleak site.
Mt Bishop Track brought welcome relief from the fire-ravaged area.
On the southern side of the mountain, this area is a relatively wet forest.
Saw a few orchids along the track, as well as a pair of Gang-Gang Cockatoos.
Not having enough time we didn't go to the summit of Mt Bishop or do the Lilly Pilly Circuit. The other side of the road from the Lilly Pilly Gully Carpark is a heathlands track. The south side was still badly affected by the fire with little vegetation, but the north side had recovered somewhat from burning-off a little while ago. This area along the Tidal Overlook contained many Waxlip Orchids Glossodia major as well as some Wallflower Orchids Diuris orientis. As you can see in one photo, the fairy-wrens were keeping us company once more, and this wallaby was relaxing in the morning sunshine. 
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