(Sylvia was our contact ranger, not yet replaced and greatly missed)
On the beach
As Frank and I sit here looking out at the surf crashing on the beach below it is certainly a very different outlook from what we are used to seeing. The view from our lounge room window in Halls Gap usually contained Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Red-neck Wallabies and Emus against a backdrop of the Mt Difficult Range. Here we have King Parrots, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, Crimson Rosellas, and of course Sulphur-crested Cockatoos along with numerous seabirds against a backdrop of the sea.
Of course that’s not the only difference as with the new role in Apollo Bay I spend a lot more time on the computer and not nearly so much time out in the bush, but then nothing is perfect. I do miss the flora surveys with the Threatened Species Group, and Pauline from DSE in Horsham, but I must confess that I will be quite happy not to have to get up at 5am come spring to go mammal trapping.
The bulk of my time since starting here in December has been spent planning the implementation of a number of strategies contained in the new Great Otways National Park Management Plan, released in January this year. I have also spent a lot of time recently assisting with a number of controlled burns. There are 35 burns planned for the area, varying in size from a few hectares to a number that are over 1,000ha, and in close proximity to holiday homes in the Lorne and Aireys Inlet area. I have even spent a week and a half as Acting Ranger-in-Charge while Peter was in Tasmania.
I must confess that I do miss friends in Halls Gap and I don’t yet have that sense of connection to country that I had in the Grampians but I am hoping that will come in time. The lush green waterfalls and the tall Mountain Ash and Myrtle Beech forests are certainly wonderful places to visit. Frank and I plan to revisit some sections of the Great Ocean Walk again later in the year. Unfortunately we haven’t done much walking since returning from doing the Coast to Coast walk in the U.K. in September last year, but then we have been rather busy reorganising our lives here on the beach.
Editor’s Note: Frank is still assisting our committee from a distance, plus supporting the website. Thank you, Frank.