Mt Despair July 2010

 

 

 

The new entrance gate some 2kms from the summit. The track has been upgraded significantly to provide logging truck access! You can see the significant re-growth on the road verge. It is amazing to see how dense this particular area is with the native gum tree re-growth .

Approaching the top of Mt Despair.  The burnt stanza of trees only highlights what lays behind. That area was dense forest and the trees on that face have been vaporized with just a few of the bare stumps remaining. The bracken and tree ferns are coming back.

 .. vaporized foreground with bracken re growth (nuisance weed) with some remaining juvenile pre planted forest trees still standing (dead). They are now logging these and turning the area into a moonscape

 

 ..  the restored/refurbished fire watch tower. I have been told that soft drink bottles melted and were 'puddles' on the floor.  There is a helicopter pad adjacent to the tower but was never used. How the guy escaped is some what of a miracle. (he came out the back way through Toolangi)

 .. looking roughly our way. Most of the trees that are standing are dead but a few are trying to survive with growth spouting from their trunks. They are not expected to live as their root system has been severely damaged. Vaporized area in the fore ground.

 .. from the first landing .. my climbing days are over and besides it was blowing a freezing gale. The new windsock is already looking ordinary, the helicopter pad can be seen and the view is roughly our way. I did not climb higher to take a shot of our place some 5 kms distant. (shaking too much)

 

 .. looking NE across the valley towards Willimina Falls. Close examination you can see how that area was decimated as well. This occurred mostly after the wind change. The resultant fire destroyed all the walking trails, camp sites and bridges etc. They are slowly restoring things, costing $Ms

.. Close up of Willimina Falls some 4 kms distant. Yes it is flowing as we have had reasonable July rainfall.

.. what is left they are now logging .. no sign of any replanting as yet .. an absolute mess.

 .. and finally this picture was taken less than 2kms from the summit, an area which survived .. This is what it all looked like before the February fires.