Wednesday 25 September 2019
Photos by Karen
Thirteen walkers enjoyed a very pleasant hike in the Mogo State Forest. The walk started on the crestline of Dog Trap Road that was logged a few years ago and is experiencing rapid regrowth. Following an old logging road we headed downhill to the Tomaga River. Only Australians could call this dry creek a ‘river’ but the moist environment with dense vegetation in the valley creates a perfect home for many birds. The bike track followed the river for about a kilometre and while our noisy hikers usually scare off most birds, we experienced the calls from many varieties close by. Along the river we saw a number of hybrid Sydney Blue Gums and Spotted Gums with very interesting quilt-like patterns going up their trunks for over 20m. No-one could seem to explain the cause for this phenomenon and we are hoping our resident club foresters will view the pictures and provide an answer.
We stumbled across an interesting hanging boulder sculpture left by an artist that is apparently part of a larger display in the forest closer to the Botanical Gardens. This art piece is well off the usual Gardens tracks so we felt pretty special to see it. All downhill walks have to end with an uphill climb but all the hikers agreed this was a great walk and congrats to Bob for leading it for us.
Rob