Parks a haven for nature lovers

Press, 16 March 1982, Page 26

Parks a haven for nature lovers

An aura of peacefulness is the most precious natural asset to be found on “The Treasure Eland.” A chain of national parks, forest reserves, and four wildlife parks give the visitor ready access to the quietude and the distinctive and fascinating flora and fauna of Australia’s island state. The best known of the national parks is Srobably the Cradle Mountain — Lake St lair Park in the middle of the island. The track between north and south of this park is much used and constantly being improved. At the northern end there are some huts and caravan sites, among which, in the evening, wombats may waddle out and look around. At the south end, Cynthia Bay on Lake St Clair is very popular, much more developed, and near an easier road. Here one may see wallabies which sit and beg for food. The scenery through the park, while not spectacular like some of our mountain country, has its fascination: hilltops with strange vertical or tumbled rocky formations, in places looking as if they had been put there by giants; varied bush, myrtles, leatherwoods, mountain laurel and others, some of it luxuriant with ferns, some sparse under eucalypts; small lakes and tarns, waterfalls and tumbling streams; old tracks where trees meet ■ overhead and underfoot is worn corduroy. A number of huts provide basic accommodation, and a most acceptable shelter in bad weather. But as these may be crowded in summer, trampers (bushwalkers, they call them) would be wise to carry a tent. On the 80km track through the park

By

UNA DROMGOOLE,

of Christchurch

there is very little steep uphill going, and that is mainly at the north end. But those who want to try them will find that some of these steep-topped “mountains” (the highest is 1615 metres, about 5300 ft) have marked tracks enabling people to scramble up to enjoy the vistas of the strange hills ringed above the moors like monsters in a circle. One can also peer over the edge of a long drop, or, on Mount Ossa (the highest), move the “rocking stone” which is almost a perfect cube, large and weighty. Other popular areas are the Walk of Jerusalem on the east side of the park, and Pine Valley, near Lake St Clair. Much less known is the south coast wilderness- area. A track follows, basically, the old route taken by shipwrecked sailors heading for the Huon Valley or. Hobart. The area has now been opened up to organised tourist parties. An orchardist in the famous applegrowing Huon Valley has diversified into tourism. Mr Robert Geeves, of Geeveston, whose family has farmed in the area for 150 years, runs a firm which escorts small parties (no more than 12) over the 90km or so of track from the road-end at Cockle Creek, west to Cox Bight. He also runs a shorter trip in the south-west, and standing camps at Cox Bight and Port Davey. Accommodation is all in tents. People may think a coastal track would be dull and monotonous, but this

one is varied, much like the popular north .coast of Stewart Island. Sandy beaches range from grey to yellow to almost white. In one bay the track clambers over rocks where, at high tide, the dashing waves force people to either wait or take a cliff-top path. At another bay, where one can shower under a waterfall, the beach is covered for some distance by rounded stones a foot or. so across. Others have rocky outcrops with layered, leaning rocks, of different shades of green, grey and brown. Sandhills are high and steep from the winter storms that sweep up from the Antarctic, just as the sandhills of Mason’s Bay on Stewart Island are high and steep. Vegetation over the headlands and inland stretches is varied too: rain forest with large tree-ferns and thick undergrowth; huge trees including eucalypts; sparse ti-tree, myrtle or banksia on dry or sandy soils; low heath-like scrub; big clumps of “cutting grass,” much like toitoi but not as fierce as the “cutty grass” of some of our hills; bog plants, and in the summer lots of flowers, white, pink, red, mauve, yellow, ranging from a. tall .leatherwood tree smothered, in white flowers which drop on the track, to the tiny mauve arid gold “fairies’ aprons” of the damp, open country. An unusual area is the Ironbound Range which, because of its iron deposits, once played havoc with ships’ compasses, often leading to shipwrecks. Both sides of the range are steep for most of their 914 metres (3000 ft On the east side there is bush which is stunted and sparse near the flat, windswept tops, which supports low

growth similar, to that at the same altitude on Canterbury’s hills.

The west side of the range is open, with rocky outcrops showing the red of iron,' green of copper, and white of quartz. The steepness tempts the unwary to run downhill, but the track is not straightforward like an easy scree. We were fortunate that the mist cleared as we descended, allowing us to see-dur next camp?’site,- : a clump of eucalypts beside the, Louisa River that winds across the buttongrass plains. The track continues to the north at Cox Bight for about 100 km before it reaches the road at Lake Pedder, which is known for its hydro-electric scheme. We did not go that far, returning instead in small planes which picked us up from the beach. Soon we were flying above the hills over which we had tramped for the previous two days and headed for the “civilisation” of Hobart.

To go with one of the guided parties through the Cradle Mountain — Lake St Clair Park does riot require any special skills, just. :a reasonable- standard of fitness. Three of our group of 17 were unused to tramping, but managed the track and the climb up Mt Ossa. The. south coast trip, in my opinion, requires a little more, perhaps because the track is less clearly defined, and a bit overgrown in parts, and there are no huts to crowd into in inclement weather. Also, one may have to wade the New River Lagoon and occasionally ford a stream, although none of these is swift-flowing or difficult. The small size of the parties and their atmosphere, are, however, an asset.