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Published: March 14th 2006
Factsheet No. 4!
The ability to survive bushfire sets Australian native flora apart from that of other countries. Not only can many species survive, but some could not exist without regular fires. Some have the ability to sprout new growth from protected parts of the plant, and others use chemicals from bushfire smoke to initiate seed germination. Eucalyptus trees have learned to thrive through an act of self-immolation. They shed their outer bark, which falls around them in paper-thin strips. This bark acts as kindling, helping to propagate and spread bushfires. Underneath the hard trunks of many Eucalyptus species are specialised 'epicormic' buds which lie dormant until the canopy of the tree is either removed or scorched by fire. The loss of leaves triggers a burst of growth from these buds (epicormic shoots) which provides an almost immediate leaf growth to sustain life and aid the recovery of the plant. Eucalyptus trunks clothed in fresh, green foliage are a common sight after a bushfire. Yes..I've taken my time publishing this blog entry! Unfortunately, in the intervening time, the Grampians NP has been devastated by bush fires and the lush green scenery you see in these pictures is
now brown burnt earth and blackened tree trunks. Bush fires are a natural phenomenon and have been occurring for thousands of years in Australia - they are mechanisms for renewal of the vast Eucalypt forests - though with conditions getting hotter and drier here, they are becoming more frequent and more severe.
One holiday trip was not enough for me at Christmas, so, with one evening to spare in Adelaide, I dumped my stuff, said "G'day" to my flatmates, and packed a smaller bag to return to the airport the next morning for a flight to Melbourne. Having made the mistake of booking with Virgin Blue, I ended up in Melbourne an hour late, but had the afternoon to explore. I'd booked myself into the excellent Base Backpackers in St Kilda, which seemed much trendier than any hostel I've stayed in before, but then I haven't stayed in any in Oz up till now. I was then able to catch a tram into the centre of town.
One of the most enjoyable parts of travelling is meeting people and discovering how friendly and helpful the majority of the human population is (in my experience anyway). A friendly Irish
Christmas Tree
Yes it really is Christmas time!girl explained how the tram ticket system in Melbourne works and a friendly English guy chatted to me about how he and his girlfriend were looking forward to moving to Edinburgh for a while. He then offered to let me into the Eureka tower (where he lived), and showed me the amazing view over the city from the 36th floor! He also gave me the excellent tip of heading up on another tram to visit Brunswick Street.
On the way, I passed the usual high street shops, and a statue of Matthew Flinders, who circumnavigated and charted the first map of the entire coast of Australia. I also stopped for a while in Federation Square, with its deconstructionist architecture providing a backdrop for Melbourne young professionals to meet and greet one another. It links together the main train station with a visitor centre and the Centre for the Moving Image, and anyone can send a text and have it displayed on the large electronic noticeboards. Brunswick St was a really eclectic street of the boutique and the weird. Lots of interesting shops to browse in, though it was difficult to tell what some were trying to sell (see photos).
Picked up some "gourmet" tea and stopped in a little cafe for some crepes, while admiring the sunset, then headed back to the hostel.
A good local band was playing so I sat in the bar for a while. I guess I must have looked a bit pitiful as a group of guys and a girl headed over to give me some company! The guys were from Glasgow and, after the usual "so where are you from?" discussion, they declared me to be a "posh bird" from Helensburgh! It was nice meeting people with a stronger accent than mine though after being the odd Scottish one in an office full of Aussies!
The next morning saw me awake with the birds (again) for a 6.30am pickup from Adventure Tours for the Great Ocean Road. The group slumbered until we reached the first stop for breakfast at the Torquay McDonalds. This is also the site for various surfwear factory shops. We then made a quick stop at Bells Beach, the venue for many international surf competitions. However, the waves weren't doing much on this occasion, and the beach was pretty deserted. You can get really spoiled seeing one beautiful
beach after another! Continuing our journey, we passed through the pretty (and busy) towns of Lorne and Apollo Bay, before diving inland to the cool Otway Forest NP. Some crazy engineer has designed a 25 metre high elevated walkway over the forest, with a massive cantilevered section...with enough people pushing and pulling on the end of the cantilever, you can make the viewing platform sway - not something for those indisposed to heights, but good fun for the rest of us! We also stopped near some houses to spot some sleeping koalas (they don't do anything else for 20 hours of their day), before exploring Loch Ard Gorge. After dumping our stuff in a large hostel at Princetown, we headed down to watch the sunset over the Twelve Apostles, and to spot penguins returning from a long day at sea.
The next day, we were off as bright and early as our group could manage, to the nearest airfield. Our guide had recommended a helicopter flight over the Apostles, and this was well worth the $60, for the amazing view it provided. I had never been in a helicopter before, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Afterwards, there were more
photo stops at the Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs and London Bridge rock formations. London Bridge doesn’t look much like its namesake (not to be confused with Tower Bridge!) but has an interesting “Act of God” story attached to it. In 1990, the slab connecting the bridge to the mainland suddenly crumbled into the sea, leaving two hapless tourists stranded on the island. With strong winds picking up and making it difficult to get a helicopter in, it was several hours before they were rescued. By this time, a large press contingent had turned up. Surprisingly, the couple were unwilling to talk to the cameras, attempting to hide their faces, and no wonder, it turned out…they were a boss and his secretary mistress, enjoying a dirty weekend away, and their respective spouses, along with the rest of the Australian public, saw them on the news that night!
The tourbus then headed into the Grampians NP, where we were given the opportunity to hike to the top of The Pinnacle. It was late afternoon, but still hot, when we set off, and a few of the group declined to go (though they complained for most of the tour about
Cpt Matthew Flinders
Where he led, millions of backpackers follow... everything, which makes one wonder why they bothered taking an “Adventure Tour” in the first place!). Five young lads from Manchester were on our tour, and two of them, in an attempt to prove their Alpha male status, took off ahead of us. I guess, having done a bit of hill walking in the past, I’m a reasonably fast walker, and I kept catching sight of them as they stopped for rests, prompting them to take off again! We reached the top in about 45 mins, with them chiding Scotland for coming third “as usual”! They couldn’t give me abuse for too long though, as they took off again when we headed back down, but went the wrong way down the hill! I felt sorry for the guide, as he obviously could see the “tour guide loses backpackers” headlines, but the guys eventually returned to the car park, having reached the bottom on the wrong side, come back up the hill, and gone down the right side again!
The next morning, we took a walk down to the beautiful McKenzie Falls, before heading on to our second hike to Hollow Mountain and Reed’s Lookout. This was an easier walk,
involving a bit of easy rock scrambling, which most of the group preferred, though I thought the views from the Pinnacle were more impressive. This rock formation is a popular spot for rock boulderers to come to for practice. Wearing a skirt, I wasn’t about to give it a go myself! The two lost wanderers wisely stuck with the main group today and we made it back down without any dramas! We soon crossed the border back into SA and our last main tour stop was an animal sanctuary, which houses the country’s only white kangaroos, an apparent fluke of breeding (they’re not albinos). From the sanctuary, it was a 6 hour drive along a very straight road and through largely unchanging scenery, till we reached the outskirts of Adelaide, but our guide, Mark, kept spirits up with games, including a “battle of the sexes” quiz - all I can say is that it is amazing what useless sporting trivia you can absorb when working in a male-dominated environment for several years!
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