Graham Parkes

Retired Park Manager & Firefighter

Tag: Red Bloodwood

  • Exploring Wingan Inlet

    Exploring Wingan Inlet

    The sometimes dusty, sometimes muddy road from the Princes Highway leads to one of East Gippsland’s most remote and undisturbed coastal locations. Quiet and peaceful, Wingan Inlet in Croajingolong National Park is a welcome destination in our hectic world. 

    At the end of the West Wingan Road, on the western shore of the inlet, modest camping and day visitor facilities are found in a setting of large, old Red Bloodwoods (Corymbia gummifera). Wingan Inlet is the most southern natural occurrence of the species.

    Swan Bay – Wingan Inlet

    This is a remarkable place to camp. Wrens, robins, honeyeaters and tree creepers are common. A male Satin Bowerbird sometimes raids camps for small blue items to decorate his bower to attract females. The Kookaburras can be overly dependent on campers’ food and need a watchful eye. Lace Monitors cautiously move through the campground flicking their long tongues at anything that may be edible and are ready to scurry up the nearest tree when disturbed. Occasionally a Red-bellied Black Snake will seek out sunny patches under the Bloodwood canopy. 

    As celebrated by Slim Dusty’s,  “When the Currawongs Come Down”, Pied Currawongs spend the winter among the Bloodwoods, feed on Blue Olive Berry (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) and return to the mountains in the summer. 

    Plant species flourish in the deep sandy soils through the campground, such as the Giant Trigger Plant (Stylidium laricifolium), and the delicate climber, Bearded Tylophora (Tylophora barbata). 

    After dark Yellow-bellied Gliders screech as they glide from one Bloodwood and scramble up the next. They feed on the Bloodwoods, creating a v-shaped groove in the bark with their incisors to encourage a flow of the bright red sap. Weighing no more than about 40 grams, the Eastern Pygmy Possum feeds on Banksia nectar and pollen and is much harder to see.

    The estuary is only a short stroll from the campground. Twice each day the tides pour through the entrance, fill the channels, cover the sand flats and then recede.  Many species are well adapted to this continually changing environment. 

    At low tide the Soldier Crabs move en masse across the sand, presenting a formidable sight to potential predators. When under threat, they spiral, out of sight, into the sand.

    Club Mud Whelks, hardy molluscs, are continually on the move on the sand flats, whether the tide is in or out. As the tide flows in, the Australian Ghost Shrimps or Bass Yabbies become active, using pleopods on their abdomen to push water from the burrows to the sand surface. This action enables oxygenated water to move through the burrow. 

    The long, slender Shorthead Worm Eel remains buried in the sand flats during the day with only the tip of its snout protruding and hunts for invertebrates at night. The bony tip of its tail allows it to quickly burrow into the sand tail first. 

    Rich in diversity, the fish life in the inlet include Luderick, Dusky Flathead, Silver Trevally, Estuarine Perch, Black Bream, Australian Salmon and Tailor. In recent years fish more common in northern waters have been seen in the inlet, such as Tarwhine.  

    As much of the inlet is shallow, the best way to explore is by kayak or canoe. The return trip to The Rapids at the end of the tidal section is about eight kilometres. Azure Kingfishers fly from shrub to shrub along the shoreline looking for small fish. White-breasted Sea Eagles  soar overhead to spot larger fish.  

    Heading upstream, Silvertop Ash (Eucalyptus sieberi) and Mountain Grey Gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa) dominate the ridge tops, while in the shelter of the gullies, Large Kanookas (Tristaniopsis laurina) draped with vines and creepers grow in the warm temperate rainforest. While the rainforest can appear to be dense and formidable, the vegetation under the canopy can be open and relatively easy to walk through.

    Kayaking near the inlet’s entrance requires an awareness of the tides to avoid being caught in the strong outgoing flow. Inside the entrance, the incoming tide provides good swimming water. 

    From the eastern side of the entrance it is possible to follow the rocky shoreline to Easby Creek, a small estuary which is mostly closed, about a five kilometre return walk involving some rock scrambles. The return day walk further east to Red River requires careful consideration of tides and weather.

    Wingan Inlet’s ocean beach extends two kilometres from the western side of the entrance to Fly Cove. Just offshore from the entrance lies the Skerries, a granite island group that provides habitat for Little Penguins and many other seabirds and the Australian Fur Seal. The seals are often seen lazing on the rocks on the eastern side of the entrance.

    The Skerries

    In the campground, on still nights, the seals can be heard bellowing and on occasions their stench can drift ashore on a southeast breeze. 

    The ocean beach can also be reached from the campground, a four kilometre return walk. After leaving the Bloodwood forest surrounding the campground, the walking track follows the inlet shoreline on a raised boardwalk through a dense paperbark forest containing Scented Paperbark (Melaleuca squarrosa) and Swamp Paperbark (Melaleuca ericifolia). 

    Closer to the beach, Southern Mahogany (Eucalyptus botryoides) provide the canopy cover and Wild Cherry (Exocarpos cupressiformis), which produce small,  delicious fruit,  are common in the understory. In the summer months the magnificent  pink  Hyacinth Orchids (Dipodium punctatum) are often seen at the foot of the Southern Mahoganys. 

    Grass Trigger Plant – Stylidium graminifolium

    The ocean beach is a different and exposed environment. To the west is a short walk to Fly Cove and further two kilometres to the trig point on top of Rame Head. Here, to the north and west, lie ancient sand dunes, blown inland during ice age periods. 

    Looking at this natural landscape it is difficult to visualise the changes that have occurred over time, and yet it was only a matter of a few thousand years ago that the seas were much lower and vast amounts of sand were being deposited in longitudinal dunes oriented northeast-southwest. 

    The dunes trapped water flowing from inland, most likely creating a barrier across the Wingan River at some time. A similar natural process occurs today at Point Hicks where massive sand dunes deposit sand into the Thurra River which is then washed out to sea. Lake Elusive, accessed from the West Wingan Road not far from the campground, is a freshwater lake trapped between two sand dunes. 

    The Bidawal people (also known as Bidhawal and Bidwell) and their ancestors, the First Nations people of this country, have experienced these significant landscape changes during the fall and rise of sea level. On the shores of the inlet and on the rocky coastal headlands middens and cutting implements have accumulated from the thousands of years of occupation of this country by the Bidawal. 

    Wingan Inlet continues to be a place of great significance for its natural and cultural values and as a destination for  those seeking natural beauty and solitude. The journey down the West Wingan Road provides the rare opportunity to explore an environment rich in diversity and experience and appreciate this unspoilt landscape. 

    Note: Wingan Inlet is remote from facilities and services, the closest being located at Cann River.  The Parks Victoria website provides excellent information that assists visitors in planning their camping trip to this extraordinary part of East Gippsland (https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/croajingolong-national-park/where-to-stay/wingan-inlet-campground).

  • A broken landscape –  impacts of logging in the Wingan Inlet area

    A broken landscape –  impacts of logging in the Wingan Inlet area

    The bush northwest of Wingan Inlet in Croajingolong National Park now consists mostly of spindly Silvertop Ash (E. sieberi) stems, some dead, others struggling to recover from the massive 2019-20 fire. 

    These areas were logged for hardwood in the 1970s using a clear-fell technique that involved falling the majority of trees and leaving a few large trees to provide seed for regeneration. In the following autumn the logged areas, or coupes, were burnt to reduce the logging residue and encourage the release of seed from the few remaining trees.

    The resulting Silvertop Ash revegetation was prolific. Foresters at the time believed that a healthy forest would regrow and that timber would be ready for harvest in fifty to eighty years. What eventuated was a dense forest dominated by Silvertop Ash saplings competing for space, light and nutrients. These conditions provided little opportunity for trees to form a canopy. Other tree species that were common in the area prior to logging, such as Yellow Stringybark (E. muelleriana)  were mostly out-competed by the Silvertop Ash and the potential for the development of an understorey of shrubs and ground plants was limited. 

    In 1979 logged areas were included in the Croajingolong National Park, along with the country immediately surrounding Wingan Inlet that had been protected as a national park since 1909. 

    In January 1983 the Cann River Fire was ignited by lightning in the Bondi Forest area in NSW and by late March had burnt through to Mallacoota. The quantity and arrangement of fire fuel within the logged areas, along with extraordinarily dry conditions, resulted in extreme fire behaviour, killing and damaging the young Silvertop Ash saplings. 

    There was discussion at the time that the fire may have assisted in thinning out the dense regeneration, but there was sufficient seed available to germinate more regrowth. 

    Over the following decades, other than some planned burns, the logged areas experienced little or no fire activity. The Silvertop Ash saplings grew, but at a rate far less than was expected by the foresters back in the 1970s. With each sapling competing for space there was minimal canopy establishment. 

    The logged areas needed many decades without significant impacts to develop into mature forest. The massive fires that raged through eastern Australia in 2019-20 ensured that this was not going to happen and the landscape was again reduced to kilometre after kilometre of blackened, dead stems. After almost 50 years since the original logging, the regeneration process commenced once again. 

    Half a century later – area north of Wingan Inlet logged in early 1970s

    It is fortunate that the former Wingan Inlet National Park surrounding the inlet was protected from logging, although in the 1970s the foresters were keen to log up to the park boundary where possible.  Most of this area was also burnt in the 2019-20 fire and it now provides the opportunity to compare fire impacts between the logged and undisturbed areas.

    Within these unlogged areas much of the mature canopy was also burnt. While some of the canopy appears to have been killed, new epicormic growth indicates that much of the canopy is regrowing and will be re-established. The new canopy will, in turn, reduce light reaching the ground, slowing the regrowth at this level. Less light and cooler conditions under the canopy will increase humidity and ground moisture, encouraging plants requiring these conditions.

    Further from the logged areas and closer to the inlet, fire impacts in the mature forests are varied. Here the bush is more diverse with a greater occurrence of Mountain Grey Gum (E. cypellocarpa). Much of the canopy along the ridge tops was damaged, but is showing signs of recovery. In the gullies and rainforests, which also burnt in the extremely dry conditions, there has been damage to the canopy. Kanookas (Tristaniopsis laurina) are producing epicormic shoots, treeferns are resprouting fronds and  liane vines are re-establishing over the canopy. 

    There are rare patches of mature forest near the damper gullies that show little evidence of fire. These may be a result of fire behaviour at the time and need closer investigation to understand how they could have escaped the inferno. 

    In the sandy soils closer to the coast and on the west side of the inlet a magnificent forest of mature Red Bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera) provides valuable habitat for a range of fauna including the Yellow-bellied Glider and Greater Glider. The fire in this area burnt hot enough to kill the understory of Blue Olive Berry (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) and damage the Bloodwood canopy, but recovery is well underway. 

    Unlike the logged Silvertop Ash forests, the post fire regeneration of the understorey in the mature Red Bloodwood forest has produced a diversity of species. There are other comparisons with the logged areas, such as the presence of wildlife, including Lyrebirds scratching through the leaf litter and  Yellow-bellied Gliders screeching as they glide from tree to tree. In the burnt, logged areas there is only an eerie silence. 

    The Wingan Inlet area, where logged areas adjoin undisturbed national park, offers the opportunity to better understand the relationship between logged coupes and fire behaviour and why clear felling has failed to regenerate a healthy, diverse forest.

    The complete loss of canopy cover and the increase in light and heat at the forest floor are the most obvious impacts of the clear felling process.  The removal of vegetation and subsequent coup burn is a dramatic contrast to the natural process that occurs in the mature Silvertop Ash forest, which involves the germination of new vegetation  from the death of a single tree created from an opening in the canopy, allowing regeneration in the immediate area below. 

    The massive fires in 1982-83 and 2019-20 demonstrated that the arrangement and structure of fire fuels in the logged areas contributed to extreme fire behaviour. The dense forest of young saplings readily carried crown fire through the landscape.

    There was the opportunity in the 1970’s to employ selective logging practices that imitated the natural forest processes. However, this approach could not produce the quantity of logs required to satisfy the demands of the timber industry. Consequently the supply of logs ran out and sawmilling in the district collapsed. 

    The foresters who managed the clear felling process in the 1970s would be disappointed with spindly and dead Silvertop Ash stems that now dominate the landscape in the clear felled areas.   The promise of a thriving, new forest has not been realised.