Thursday 6 July 2023

Pat by the Lake

Bob and Pat

Denise

Sharon leading an unusual path around the tree

A bridge not too far or hard!

Beautiful reflections

Photos courtesy of Glenn and Amanda

Seven walkers enjoyed a very pleasant hike in the Ulladulla Wildflower Reserve on the shores of Burrill Lake.

The variety of flora in the Reserve which is about 5 square kms is quite remarkable. This area looked to have been partially burnt in the 2019/20 fires but not too badly.

I am not the one to know tree species but one new for me was the scribbly gum (Eucalyptus haemastoma). These trees were all very old with many having burnt hollow bases but still showing strong growth in the crowns.

Our walk leader navigated well in this area which is criss-crossed with many trails that invites new walks in the future.

We did see an enormous sea eagle nest and the views from the shores of Burrill Lake to the west and the foothill ranges were very photogenic on this day with the glassy waters. We came across many Aboriginal shell middens along the trails close to the shoreline.

The terrain all slopes gently down to Burrill Lake and the various outcrops of sedimentary geology; small cliffs, boulder slopes and rock outcrop benches, appears to control the moisture content of the soils and seems to me to be influencing the types of vegetation in this area. There does not seem to be much literature for this area on the web and I would be interested if any of our members can throw some light on the subject.

Rob