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It’s been a long hot summer

Apart from some training walks, I haven’t been up in the Central Highlands of Victoria all summer. Instead, I have been taking advantage of the warmer weather to explore some new (cooler and wetter) places – parts of the New Zealand South Island and Tasmania.

I consider the Central Highlands my “home” forest, and I cannot imagine not returning to them for as long as I am able. However, over summer the stream flow is very low and the vegetation is straggly and heat stressed. The higher mountain peaks in Victoria are cooler but many of them have no water over summer, so I end up carrying an unreasonable amount.

All good reasons to go elsewhere. Plus, time apart can make the heart grow fonder. So it was that two weekends ago, after a few days of solid rain, I decided to head up and explore off-track one of my favourite creeks.

I did not have any expectations for good photos; I was just keen to get back there. The day was warm and overcast, with heavy showers expected in the afternoon. Over the past few years, Melbourne’s weather has become more like Sydney’s (more humid, heavier rain), while Sydney has become more tropical.

As is always the case, I am captivated by the colours of the forest. The opposite of deciduous is evergreen but this far from the case with eucalypts; their year round colours are far from green with their blue-green foliage tinged with yellows and oranges and reds and the colours and textures of their trunks contrast nicely against the darker greens of the understory. Then there are the wattles, myrtle and sassafras, and a myriad of understory bushes all contributing to a riot of colours.

Ironically, I felt compelled to make a couple of black and white images. Although I have photographed these scenes before, the act of looking through the camera viewfinder quickly got me in that flow state where I start looking more closely and compositions start to emerge.

Before long I turned up a management track for about a kilometre of climbing. The ground became drier and the vegetation more eucalypt dominated.

I reached the end of the management track and there was nothing ahead except untracked forest. The task was to traverse around the hill and down into the valley to meet the creek at a nice steep section. The going was slow, with as much climbing through vegetation as walking. There was nothing for it except to be patient and grind it out.

The high humidity and lack of breeze in the dense forest meant I was soon drenched. The huge mountain ash spearing upwards were widely spaced, the ground around their trunks surrounded by long strips of bark piled high. The understory between these monoliths was more sprawling; branches of wattle and other undergrowth reaching out searching for light. Thick patches of cutting grass were near impossible to push through.

Decisions were required whether to veer up or down as I tried to maintain elevation; there was no option of walking in a straight line. After about an hour I stopped for a drink; I was getting close.

The forest and topography were familiar. Below me a minor creek disappeared into a muddy soak filled with magnificent tree ferns. Although represented on the map by just a tiny indent in a contour line, I knew that to drop down was to require a steep climb up the other side. So I maintained height and skirted around the top, soon cresting the spur and getting my first view down into the creek.

I slipped and slided down and found the creek had a reasonable amount of flow. Almost immediately I found a composition. Nothing special – I have definitely had better atmosphere and nicer looking vegetation – but that was not the point. It was great to be back and I was enjoying myself immensely.

Now it was just a matter of following the stream down for a couple of kilometres to the track. But this is not straightforward (literally) – there are fallen 80 metre tree trunks creating impassible barriers, sections of steep, rocky banks and thick scrub to be avoided. At least crossing the creek was easy.

I would stop at an interesting section of stream and perhaps have a drink and a rest, contemplating what had attracted me to the spot. Typically, I would end up taking bracketed exposures of 2 or 3 different compositions. Nearly always I would be tempted to take a panorama – telling me I either need a wider lens, or that I am unable (in the straggly vegetation) to decide on a worthwhile subject.

Before long a couple of hours had passed and the creek was flattening out. At this point I allowed myself to drift a little further away from the stream where the walking was easier and focus on getting to the track.

There were no portfolio-worthy images from this trip. But I didn’t expect any. This was about reacquainting myself with the forest after three months apart. It felt good to be back and I am excited for the cooler, wetter months ahead.

I have plans to explore deeper into untracked sections of the Central Highlands. These will require overnight trips given the time it will take to get in and to ensure I can take my time once I am there. But I will wait until conditions are better.

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I hope you have been enjoying my posts on my summer exploration of some new places. This will continue for the next couple of posts as I reflect on my trip to a true wilderness, the South Coast Track in south west Tasmania.