Reposting – Weekend Wanderings: Kinglake National Park

I used to do these post every weekend, I found them good and I don’t know when I stopped doing them. As I said I used to do them a lot and since there are many on my old blog I want to start putting some of them here.

The one today is from 10 years ago when I went to Kinglake National Park and it was around 5 years after the fires that went through there. I’m hoping to get back there this year to see what it is like now.

Here is the post.

Yesterday (10 years ago) I went for a drive to an area that I hadn’t been to before.  It is close to where I live, only an hours drive, and I have been past it many times, but never realised it was there. I am talking about the Kinglake National Park and Masons Falls. Before we went, we were talking to the staff at the Flying Tarts, a Bakery in Pheasant Creek, and they were saying that before the fires you couldn’t really see the waterfall, and I think once the trees all grow back, you won’t be able to see them again.

I went there with a friend, and time was limited so we didn’t hang around long, just went to the falls and then took photos along the track back to the carpark.  You can’t get really close to the waterfall, and there are fences everywhere to stop you. The above photo was taken from a viewing platform that Parks Victoria have built for people to look at the falls from.  They are quite large, and it would be great to see them with lots of water coming down after a big storm.

I just want to add that my friend who came with me, was using her phone to take photos today.  It was really interesting and made me remember to take some with my own.

The area was devastated by the 2009 Black Saturday fires, and it is wonderful to see it five and half years later. You can still see all the bare trees, and they stick up tall above the others, but underneath there is lots of new growth.

It is like they stand above the new trees daring them to consume the old dead ones.

This is an old dry creek bed, and it looks like it would run sometimes, but only when there is a large amount of rain, yet another reason to go back after a big down pour.

There are parts were you can get near the water and see little waterfalls, which can be really nice.  I used my Cokin Neutral Density filter on this, just the 8+ one.

Near the carpark you can see lots of very tall blackwood trees.  They look beautiful against the bright green of the forest area. They are really amazing trees, and you will see more in the gallery.  I love the way the sap is red, it makes it look like the trees are bleeding.  It is so weird.

As I said I have more photos for you in the gallery, and tomorrow I have another post for you on the same place, but looking at some of the details, the close ups.  I hope you enjoy seeing these photos and hope you get to do some weekend wandering of your own.