Thursday, July 28, 2011

Hunting part II

Well I hope this isn’t a case of too much of a good thing…

From the Phantom Falls Deb and I went back to the car.

We drove further up the valley. The road (not quite sure it deserves to be called a road) got narrower and muddier, if I wasn’t a ‘bushie’ (a person who grew up in the country) I wouldn’t have dared to keep going without an all wheel drive. We actually drive a FIAT which is better suited to an autostrada than a bush track. But if you are careful and know what you are doing you can take 2 wheel drives to a surprising range of places.

As we drove we pushed into country I haven’t seen before, we saw other wonderful falls up branches of the valley that we just didn’t get to because it was too wet and too late. (I would have had to walk)
About another seven kilometres up the valley (nearly half an hour at the speed the road made me go) we crossed the Taggerty River.
Which cascades out of the forest by the road (this piccie was taken from the road bridge).

Notice the bush doesn’t seem burnt here? It’s a bit deceptive unfortunately.
This is a pocket of true rainforest in the Mountain Ash forest that surrounds it. Mountain Ash forest is a eucalyptus dominated ‘wet sclerophyll’ forest for the botanically minded of you. And like most eucalyptus forests will burn at the drop of a hat.

Proper rainforest like this pocket is usually too wet to burn but in the extreme conditions of Black Saturday in 2009 the crowning fire that raced through the forest around has effectively singed off the crowns of these trees.

Many of the larger ones are dying which is a real shame, especially as many of the trees in this pocket are rare Antarctic Beeches.

Back to my story.

The section of the river that cascades under the road is just the start. To my surprise just off the road is a beautifully built path.
There are a whole series of these lovely stairs that zig-zag through the trees up the side of the ‘Taggerty Cascades’.The stairs take you past a series of views of the cascades which divide and redivide between the trees and the granite boulders.

This boulder in the middle of one branch of the stream is about eight feet across.Just below on a smaller branch the water pours through under some boulders.
Then at the foot of these sweet stairs this mini cascade let me get my favourite shot of the day.A close-up with a very long exposure to compensate for the rapidly fading light.
Remember it was raining and it is winter with short days down this way.

One last piccie to give you an idea of how dark it was under the trees when I finished shooting. For shooting waterfalls you generally want low light so you can take long exposures, but this was getting ridiculous.So it was back to the car to weave our way out of the valley.

I think I caught my trophies from my waterfall hunt.

The only problem is I want to go back!

9 comments:

Linda G. said...

Wow! Incredibly beautiful. Like something from a fairytale forest. Thanks again for sharing your nature jaunts with us. :)

Old Kitty said...

Save the rainforests!! The proper wet ones!!!

But seriously!! These wonderful pics show just how fragile and perfect and beautiful these forests are!!! Yay! Thanks for sharing! Take care
x

Hart Johnson said...

Oh, what a BEAUTIFUL place to explore! I love that it feels so hidden and secluded--like you had it all to yourself--and those falls are amazing!

Lauren F. Boyd said...

These photos are beautiful! They make me want to be there!

Denise Covey said...

Hi Al! What a great trip. Love the cascades. These pics would be great for the Americans sweltering in their heatwave.

Denise

Jai Joshi said...

Such stunning pics. I love falls and streams and anything with sweet water in it. Just gorgeous.

Jai

Deniz Bevan said...

Thanks for both posts, Al! This is one of my favourite kinds of wilderness - rocks and water... I can just imagine how lovely it must have all sounded.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Beautiful pictures. I love waterfalls and cascades and rainforests.

Al said...

Hi Linda,
You are most welcome, I love sharing!

Hi Jennifer,
I agree save the rainforest!

Hi Hart,
It is beautiful. And we did have it all to our selves. It is both isolated and we went when it was miserable wet weather!

Hi Lauren,
They make me want to be there too!


Hi Denise,
They are gorgeous aren’t they.
I guess the cool of a rainforest is always good in summer.

Hi Jai,
They are truly peaceful.

Hi Deniz
The sound is pretty intense, yet somehow peaceful as well.

Hi Lynda,
Thank you. Id love it too!