Going West towards Strahan

Provided with what we felt we may need for the next 10 days, we headed off for Strahan at the west coast. The weather was Tasmanian that first day, now and then we had heavy rain. But who cares when having a solid roof and gas for the kettle? The views were definitely scenic.

Our friend David recommended to visit an exhibition near Derwent bridge, The Wall. It's about marvellous wood carvings, but the approach seems somewhat strange. If one wants to do a memorial for the Huon pine that was brought close to extinction, should one do it as a carving into it's timber? Is it a really good idea to prohibit any photography in a time when more and more museums in the world understand the harmlessness and promotional power of these private memories? So we admired the art and craft of the piece that is not yet finished, still left with mixed feelings.

To me an ongoing fascination: the mixed woodland along the street with different myrtles and tree ferns. I soaked them up. One should do so, as the forrest industry of Tasmania is a big business. One frequently meets big trucks with huge slivered trees. They don't feel a need here to care for the valuable material, as it will end up anyway as woodchips. One may not see beautiful these sights for long anymore.

A buttongras moor. In fact we wanted to have a closer look, but heavy rain made it more recommanded to enjoy the view from inside. Suzy told me the area was not as even as it appears. She said that in this exposed area, plants are seeking the shelter of geological cuts and valleys. This is where they thrive best, so they filled them up over the time creating an area that appears to be even.

Passing a former mining area near Queenstown, our impressions were pretty different. I felt, the area looked deserted. Suzy was was pleased that the plants are starting to come back but in spite of the fact that the topsoil is completely eroded away after it was logged to power the local mining smelters over the last century. Also the vegetation also suffered from the toxic fumes from the smelters. All depends on former experience.

In Strahan, we spent the early evening strolling along a brook to a waterfall. That was somewhere in the middle between a park and wilderness and certainly provided a nice example of local vegetation.

On a trunk, I found a epiphytic fern that looked like a Davallia, the hare's foot fern, to me. And indeed, I later found out there is a Davallia species in the area and so I suppose, it is indeed Davallia fejeensis.

As if to prove the name of the fern, a delegation of the local rabbit community came along. Looks like they sometimes enjoy encounters with house rabbits - or maybe their unusual colour is due to inbreed.

And another immigrant: Crocosmia from Southern Africa. They look good and I found them frequently also in Victoria, but as a matter of fact, they are invasive and should not be found here.