Doing the cycad stomp

On Monday I packed the kids off to school and headed for the hills - literally. I decided I needed a few extra photos for my annual Barwon calendar, but they just happened to be on parts of the river which were about as far away as I could get. Despite this, I decided I had time to make it there and back and get the shots I needed.

West Barwon Dam, confluence of the West Barwon River
and Munday Creek

I made good time and snapped snapped away at the West Barwon Dam which was looking suitably vast on this sunny morning then headed for the east branch of the Barwon. Here I made a quick circuit of the lake, took more shots - including the one I needed for the calendar - and stopped for a break.
As I was sitting at a high point overlooking the lake, I read the strategically placed, but rapidly fading, information board. It informed me - as I knew - that early in its existence, the level of the lake was lowered by several metres after the upper part of the landslide which had originally dammed the river, gave way.
What happened next is still visible today.
Not surprisingly, the trees and other vegetation which had been submerged by the initial inundation had died off. When the water level fell after the partial collapse of the initial landslip, several metres of deforested bank was revealed. This provided an opportunity.

North bank of Lake Elizabeth (left) showing regrowth of land originally
covered by higher water levels

On the cool, shady north bank of the lake, the cycads took hold - the green fronds of tree ferns which were ideally suited to this environment came to dominate the land immediately above the water level. The myrtle beech trees, so common in other parts of the temperate rainforest found in the Otways, also took their opportunity.  From where I was sitting, a quick glance showed this quite clearly to be the case.

Amongst the myrtle beech and tree ferns on the north bank of Lake Elizabeth

On the opposite, more exposed bank I was informed, tussock grass found a niche and established itself.

Lake Elizabeth Beach from the north bank

Tussock grasses on Lake Elizabeth Beach

Looking at this bank from the opposite side, the definition does not seem to be as clear as on the north bank, however it is certainly different, more open and with less of a rainforest feel to it.
So, armed with the necessary photos and some new information, I completed my circuit and headed once again for the lower reaches of the Barwon.

Learning to fly...

The foot of a Myrtle Beech tree

The final leg of our grand tour of the Otways was to visit the Otway Fly. This is a unique, tourist-oriented venture which - as is pointed out at the gate - generates a far greater income for its area than logging could ever do.It is located a short drive from the township of Beech Forest where we stopped for lunch prior to hitting the Fly.

The name of this town is not so much a name as a description really, as the surrounding bushland, unlike the eucalypt-dominated landscapes we had so far driven and walked through, consists primarily of Myrtle Beech in its upper story - as I was about to see rather close up. I gather that these trees are native to Victoria and Tasmania and are found in temperate rainforest environments. And this area certainly fit the description. We paid our entry and decided not on this occasion to take the adrenaline-filled, but rather pricey option of a zip line tour during which one is propelled between the trees via an elaborate flying fox arrangement and opted instead to go on foot. The initial part of the walk is at ground level amongst the Myrtle Beech, tree ferns and a variety of other moisture-loving species of plants with which I am not familiar.

Otway Fly treetop walk

One small boy I could mention was particularly impressed with the display of dinosaurs to be seen amongst the undergrowth as we made our way down the path.  Sign posts explained some of the flora and fauna and pointed out some of the more impressive examples of the former to be seen along the path - such as the above tree.
From here, we stepped out onto the treetop walk - a steel walkway standing 30m above ground level and extending for 600m through the upper foliage of the forest.
If you are even slightly prone to vertigo, then this probably isn't the walk for you. I have no such qualms and was happy to be impressed by the view below and then to climb the viewing tower which rises a further 17m above the walkway.

View below from the treetop walkway

After descending, the next nerve test is to walk out to the end of a cantilever span which hangs out over the forest below. The views are impressive to say the least.
From here we continued to wind our way through the canopy back to the path at ground level and from there, trekked back up the hill to our starting point - with of course, another detour via the dinosaurs.
A further interesting little point in our journey was a creek running below the walk. It was helpfully explained that this one - Young's Creek, named for the grandfather of local running legend Cliff Young - was one of the hundreds of creeks which rise along the Otway Ridge. From there, depending on which side of the ridge they fall, they make their way into rivers such as the Barwon. This particular example makes its way to the nearby Triplet Falls

Tree ferns from above

Here, once again, we failed to see a platypus or for that matter any of the aquatic life reputed to live in the creek - maybe next time. What we did see once again was an amazing array of mosses, lichens, molds and fungi an example of which is below.
I was as usual on the lookout for the local bird life, however the significant amount of undergrowth in the forest is rather conducive to hiding any number of small birds, so whilst I could hear them all around, there were few to be seen.
And so we came to the end of the walk and much to the consternation of one queasy stomach, headed once again for the hills, and those winding roads...

Moss and lichen dripping off every available
surface