Two friends and I spent three days in the Tullah region, climbing this and that, sleeping high and sleeping low. It’s a great area for exploring.
Camping high
Unfortunately, it has too often been my observation that pretty photos with names and locations attached have inspired the wrong sort of people to flood our beautiful wilderness and thereby ruin it. The Western Arthurs and the Walls of Jerusalem are two extreme cases in point.
Summit of Red Hills. I don’t mind naming this one, as it is not dramatic in an insta sense of the word; it is worth NO points; it is thus a thoroughly pointless exercise, ha ha. Not for us.Mycena interrupta never fails to entrance
And who are the wrong sort of people? People who have not been taught any bushcraft and have made no effort to learn any; people for whom the words “Leave no trace” are a foreign language; people who seem to think that it’s just fine to spoil fragile areas now that they have seen them themselves; people whose sole aim in being there is to take some insta-photo and exit, without ever stopping to understand the place where they are; people whose sole concern is the self, who don’t care about the people who live near the area, or the children and ones yet to be born who might want to see the place. In short, shallow, selfish people.
Lake Herbert seen from above
For some of us, these regions are our quasi “holy places”. They are places where we revive our spirits and refresh our souls; where we take time out to connect with the wider natural environment. They are not just precious to us: they are essential to our mental and spiritual wellbeing. They are not just huge playgrounds (which they are also. Give me a mountain rather than a gym and treadmill any day, thanks!!).
Core riseUp high
My lack of blogs over the summer has had nothing to do with any inactivity on my part – I seem to have lived in the wilderness this summer – but rather due to my not wanting to over-popularise the beautiful areas I have been in. These spots are, or rather, were, our playgrounds, but we are now being locked out of them so that the tourists can come in and spoil them. They have been turned into a money-making commodity.
Entoloma discrepans I believeDead tree – great caption huh.
Thus I don’t want to aid and abet that process by being too specific about anything much other than indicating “Tullah region”. If you can enjoy photos of beauty that don’t specify location, then please enjoy these examples of what our amazing planet has to offer to those who have worked on their fitness, and acquired bush skills to survive in lonely and challenging locations. We left no trace. Keep tassie Wild.
What is it that is so very alluring about having to kayak to the base of a mountain? I guess it makes the mountain that bit more inaccessible, more mysterious. There is more of a challenge, and therefore more enjoyment, as we have put more effort into the excursion. I am told that a veiled woman is more desirable than one who is stark naked, displaying all there is in a single hit. In that sense, a mountain that hides a part of itself behind a body of water adds to its own mystique and desirability.
Kayaking on Lake Plimsoll
Our brains do actually enjoy a little exercise (filling in the dots, as it were). Perhaps someone could tell that to the authorities who constantly try to dumb down our beautiful “wilderness”. Sure, tourists need some sacrificial pawns, but please, please leave the rest of us a little actual wilderness to explore and experience wildness and freedom.
Selina forest – rich and mossy
I had received an invitation to kayak to the base of Mt Selina, on Tassie’s west coast, somewhat near Tullah. For me, that is a long drive, and necessitated putting my dog in a kennel, so I decided to turn the snack into a feast, and stay two nights in Tullah surrounding the expedition. I was hoping to luck in on an aurora, photograph the Milky Way, capture a couple of beautiful sunrises and climb a few extra peaks. I might even see some nice fungi.
Entoloma sp, possibly panniculus, but this is a much nicer blue than normally sported by that species. (I did NOT pick this specimen. Someone with big boots trod on it. I capitalised on the decapitation.)Cortinarius metallicus en masseCortinarius metallicus. I could have stayed here all day photographing this crowd of beautiful specimens.
Full of anticipation, I arrived in location somewhat after 4pm, and sussed out my eventual sleeping spot before I did anything else. There was still an hour before legitimate dinner time, so I did a quick trip up Mt Farrell to catch a good view, but, alas, the sunset was a fizzer. There were too many clouds. The same fate awaited my astro aspirations later in the evening.
Lake Plimsoll, scene of our adventure, taken just before the others turned up.
Next morning I had much more luck, to the extent that I nearly ran late for our meeting time … but the others were running even later, so that is not a bad thing. Eventually we met, got the kayaks ready, and were out on the water, the sun still low enough in the sky to provide beautiful lighting for our short paddle. The sight of colourful boats traversing early-morning waters is such a wonderful thing, comprising a fabulous combination of beauty and adventure. I had fun photographing the group as it made its way to our designated landing beach.
Mt Farrell on Lake Mackintosh, sunrise next day
The distance to be covered to the first of the Mt Selinas was less than a kilometre, but it was very steep, and there were patches of Bauera, Cutting grass and other obstacles to hold us up. We were not in a hurry. As with the previous evening, I was disappointed in the sparsity of fungi (= none). This was to be more than atoned for in the gully between Selinas 1 and 2.
Astro to cap off a good day. I got in two shots or so before the clouds rolled in.
In case you are wondering about all these Mt Selinas, there are several knobs which have legitimate claim to be “the real one”. One of them is Mt Selina on the 1:25,000 map, while a different one is that which is named on the 1:100,000 version. A third knob needs visiting just in case it is higher. Listmaps is rather funny, as the position of the name “Mt Selina” changes as you zoom in and out, matching the discrepancy named above.
Mt Farrell Lake Mackintosh – predawn glow day 2
Anyway, it was a gorgeous place to be, so who cares if we had to stay in the area longer, climbing this and that, skirting around this and that sheer cliff, admiring this and that King Billy pine, a humungous old myrtle, or giant rocks clothed in a thick cloak of moss. We invented excuses to linger – morning tea 1, 2 and 3; lunch 1 and 2. And then … and THEN came the fungi!!!!!!!! Based on the lack thereof on Mt Farrell, I didn’t bother to include the macro lens that was in the car, so any images you see have been taken with my wide-angle 27mm lens. Given what it is actually designed for, I think it did a pretty sterling job. I didn’t even have a tripod. I thought I was just mountain climbing in the middle of a too-sunny day. Ha.
Arnold Peak to Mt Victoria, next day
Three Mt Selinas climbed, five thousand fungi photographed and we were on our way back down, having run out of excuses to linger. One gps says we took 8 hours to cover less than five kilometres. That will make an interesting entry in my training diary.
Arnold Peak view to Lake Plimsoll, and Mt Selina (inter alia).
Next morning, there was a pleasant if undramatic sunrise, but fun to shoot anyway, and especially enjoyable as I found myself camped next to two other keen photographers (Jamie and Camilla), so we had fun chatting while we shot.
Arnold Peak view to Lake Plimsoll, Walford Peak and the Tyndalls
In order to have some exercise before I drove home, I climbed Arnold Peak (760 ms in height) after breakfast. I had been told it would be 30 minutes in each direction, so that would give me my desired hour’s exercise for the day. Unfortunately, it only took 13 up, 17 to photograph and about the same to get down, so I went under-exercised yesterday. Worse things can happen. It was a gorgeous little peak, and that will certainly not be the only time I climb it!
Reflections on Lake Rosebery for “dessert” before the long drive home. I floated on beauty the whole way and barely noticed the distance.
The high forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology stayed high. Hoorah. This was our second time climbing Mt Farrell, but would be the first with a view. I was very curious to see what we’d missed on the first time. What glorious weather, and what we saw was wonderful.
Cortinarius rotundisporus
Unidentified fungi
There is a track up Mt Farrell. I am revisiting this post after many years and realise I’ve given you no details. I hope the pictures are enough to please.
