Drove through some of the recent Gippsland fire areas this last week and also the 2003 fire areas. Towing Kim too of course with good SWMBO directing traffic, maps in hand.
Rock Crawler had posted a few weeks ago about Paradise Valley being a good place to
camp we directed Tom Tom to take us to
Licola. That was a good start from
home but little did we realise it was taking us up past Rawson west of the Thomson
Dam to the burnt out bush tracks so we back tracked to go across through Tyers area and the
Cooper Creek fire areas South East of
Walhalla. Through the devastation of Toongabbie.
We got to Glenmaggie and headed to the hills and found the named Paradise Valley turnoff. I must say I put in the waypoint as Misnomer Point. Drought affected the fire had been through near by hills but luckily missed there. The picture would have looked a lot better with water running and grass growing. Not to be though.
Possibly a
campsite for an Eastern EO
camp I guess with powered and unpowered sites and wide open spaces. Plenty of room as there can be in many
places.
Next morning it was pretty straight forward travelling seeing the benefit of irrigated paddocks with lovely lucerne being made into silage at Briagalong. We drove onwards along Freestone Creek Road seeing lovely campsites and picnic grounds along the creek. Parts were recently graded providing a good rate of travelling right until the track up to
Telstra tower road. From there the road deteriorated with quite frequent potholes.
We were at this stage right into fire affected areas along the Freestone Creek. Many of the 4by tracks were seen as closed this road was classed as open. We could judge the hot burns of the wild fire against the backburns in the cool of the evening that depleted the fire of fuel and momentum. The hot burns really left the landscape denuded of undergrowth and some of the sticks of trees had sprouted leaves, a sign of life. It looked much more positive in the cool burn areas with just the smaller undergrowth burnt or scorched out. Even saw signs of life there with lyrebirds, a snake, wallabies and an echidna. Survival is our means of rescue.
There area lot of tracks that way that are known to locals rather than blow ins like us that would be fun to visit at other stages of the year. We would know more of tracks of the Yarra Ranges and beyond to Mt Stirling. These others are
well worth exploring. After half an hour it was apparent there had been no traffic recently bar an occasional motorbike track. There were burnt sticks and then burnt logs partially across the track and then across the full way with one tree having broken across another. Two broken trees entwined. We winched those off and pulled them so traffic could pass.
Another kilometer further we we realised the need was for the chainsaw in the garage. Hmm (bleep). Now imagine the winch could move a 12-15 tonne tree even with the snatch block with nothing to pull from. We backed up half a Km to find a point to do a 20 point turn with Kim still in tow.
We had got nearly to Insolvent Track and hence Cobbanannah on the
Dargo Road. Pity to backtrack but just had to do it without the chainsaw. I am sure Des Lexic could have thrown it off of course ;-b On my way back I sort of thought I should now watch for oncoming cars. Must have been premonition as just around the next tight corner an unyielding white Paj driver who didn't want to divert his steering I narrowly missed. We made our way to the lovely Metung to catch up with relos for two nights before heading North.
That night though we brought RAIN to Bairnsdale. Some areas registered 44mm and up to nearly 90mm at Perry
Bridge to the West of town. Wow did it fall so the party was pretty upbeat. Anniversary it was to remember. Wet brollies everywhere.
We headed North on the Monday after a short sojourn through
Bruthen to
Tambo Crossing, Swifts Creek, Ensay, and Doctors Flat. Along the highway there has been a lot of tree
clearing to stop trees and scrub falling onto the road. Areas that had been in the news that had a hard time in the fires like Wattle Circle. Past memorable names like '1000
Pound Bend' .
It is amazing how the fires move forward in areas like reaching fingers before the areas are caught between that in the web of the finger, just as we had noticed here with Ash Wednesday back 24 years ago. Up hills are particularly vulnerable, depends on the fire hitting in the heat of the afternoon or the cool of night too. Always hateful it is amazing how the strategies to back burn really do help defend communities. Round Ensay we saw the evidenc of amazing saves of properties. Local bridges of wood, pink with fire retardant coating.
Onwards to
Omeo for a coffee break, quiet with few tourists, threatened in 2003 and resilient fortunately. The NRE people are helping keep it afloat. We took the Benambra Road out through Hinnomunjie into the ranges again, off the plateau. Some of the trees burnt in the hot burn of 2003 were showing on the sky line as dead entirely. Some had sprung back to life with new life growing strongly. Our objective, the road at Corryong would be tomorrow though as we camped at the head of the
Dartmouth Dam on the Gibbo River. Walnut trees and chestnut trees evidence of an earlier civilization. We were watched by curious skippies.
The road was in great condition but slow with the Karavan in tow. It was going to be a quick trip round the hills as we headed South after lunch in Corryong. South towards Dartmouth being drained of water for a thirsty country down the
Mitta Mitta River running a banker.
The hills to the East of Mt
Bogong are as I remember them, but the road now sealed from last time I had been that way. The forests there on that road as the other one, had areas burnt. Trees completely dead and expecting life from the seeds now growing trees of four years or getting that way. Dead giants and skinny saplings just as dead waiting to fall on passing travellers. Some being 'rescued' for timber harvesting. Who can be against such a use of dead timber for our hungry housing market for quality timber.
We thought of dinner that night at the Blue Duck, the little pub about 30kms North of
Omeo. Being a Tuesday it was closed!!!!! Apparently closed Monday and Tuesday. No travellers &%$@?
We arrived amid a local thunder storm with 70mm just before we got there. Beautiful with the rain running off the local hills and into the river. Triffic indeed. We camped in one of the several designated camping areas along the river. Some were going to be wet and difficult to get in and out of. Little traffic to worry us.
We retraced our trip Southwards to Bairnsdale knowing more but so dissapointed we couldn't spend longer.
The trip was
well worth while and know more to look for in travelling that way again. The communities there need us to visit them and buy some of their products as we travel. There is just as much to enjoy as there is in other areas of Victoria.