Sunday 29 May 2022
Photos from Amanda and Helen
On an absolutely sunny day (a rarity in this La Nina period) 7 walkers visited Upper Coila Creek for a 13km hike. This area did not get burnt in the fires of 2019-2020. It did however enjoy the heavy rains we have experienced since that event and strong growth of the understorey vegetation was expected. A reccie earlier in the week found two of the gullies on the route to be overgrown with head high wattles and weeds so we changed the walk route to avoid this area. This is a Bob T walk created about 15 years ago and follows old & abandoned logging roads, motor bike tracks and about 1 km of the Upper Coila Creek stream bed.
No one, walkers or bikers, have been in this area since before the fires and pandemic lockdowns so we were pleasantly surprised to be able to find the motorbike tracks covered with debris but visible for walking. Hazard reduction backburns by the Forestry Corporation in 2018 along K-Ridge and H-Ridge roads made hiking in this area pleasant with few weeds and open understorey vegetation.
With all the rains we have had in recent months Coila Creek and its tributaries were all flowing well and very photogenic. The warm weather brought out the birds who were noisy the entire walk. I counted five lyre birds who added to the diversity of bird songs during our walk. Ian noted that this is an area of very diversified forest and I gave up counting major tree species at 10. Helen was frequently stopping to photograph fungi which are enjoying the warm moist conditions especially in the well shaded areas along the creek lines.
We all agreed it was good to get out into the forests west of the Princes Highway for a walk that had a little bit of everything that makes us enjoy hiking.
Rob