Wednesday 19 May 2021
Photos courtesy of Amanda, Karen and Denise
It was a wonderfully crisp, clear, sunny day – excellent conditions for a high plateau walk. Eight walkers left Batemans Bay for the 75 minute drive north of Ulladulla and up into the Moreton National Park. Only parts of the plateau are open and our original longer walk was curtailed due to flooded tracks. The lower depressions in the sandstone plateau are taking a long time to drain after heavy rain earlier in the year. The walk out to Florence Head showed how badly the heathland had burned. In particular the Banksias were little more than blackened skeletons. At Florence Head the view was spectacular – encompassing the Castle, Byangee Walls, the ranges as far as Moruya and, of course, the coastline to the Bay and beyond. Although the drop down the cliffs to the forest is spectacularly deep, we could hear Lyre Birds cavorting and singing below us. A few wildflowers were showing in the regenerating bush on the plateau, but overall the gloomy picture was one of fire devastation. Lunch at the end of the walk was at the Pointer Gap Lookout, again with clear views up and down the coast including to George’s Basin and the Point Upright lighthouse. All in all, a lovely day out in an area we visit infrequently.
Rodney