Sombre times

Time to return home! With the Namadgi blaze still vey active, we were concerned about the real potential that the Monaro highway would be closed due to fire / smoke risks. We could think of nothing worse than driving for 1.5 hours to get to a road closure with the only option to return the way we came. Hence we played it safe and headed north along the Princess Highway towards Batemans Bay adding an hour on to our trip home.

The drive was a fairly sombre affair as we drove through the destruction and devastation of the New Years fires. The little town of Mogo was hit hard. As was the section south of Batemans Bay where the fire took everything in its path. Kilometre after kilometre, the roadside trees were blackened, leafless with bare earth underneath. Interestingly interspersed between the blackened eucalypt trunks were the cream, pink and orange tones of the spotted gums. Curious as to why these trees looked mostly unaffected from the fires, I did a bit of research. Turns out that the white bark of the Spotted gum is smoother and thicker providing better protection. Also the bark peels off in patches rather than ribbons and the lower branches die off leaving a clean base. These features combined together make it hard for a fire to climb up the trunk.

 

Weaving up the Clyde, the lush undergrowth and tree ferns were long gone. Panoramic views across the valleys, that were normally obscured by thick vegetation, were enjoyed. Despite all this destruction, the bush was already beginning to heal and rejuvenate with bright green leaves from cycads and tree ferns dotted within the landscape and tuffs of leaves sprouting from some eucalypts. Sadly though it will take a long time to fully recover.