BEN NEVIS & Paradise Plains

 

1/ Mt Ben Nevis is a large mountain in north eastern Tasmania. It is 1370 metres high. It dominates the skyline north of the Ben Lomond Plateau. This photo was taken from south west of Ben Nevis near the locality of Whisloca.

2/ This photo looks south east towards Ben Nevis across the Sunset Ridge. This view makes Ben Nevis appear to be less high than it actually is.

3/ This photo shows Ben Nevis from the track to Carr Villa. This view looks to the north.

4/ This photo shows how Mt Ben Nevis dominates the skyline north of the Ben Lomond Plateau.

5/ This is a telephoto view of Mt Ben Nevis. It is a peak that is usually covered in mist, which makes photography difficult. It has an air of mystery about it.

6/ The approach to Ben Nevis is through regrowth forest that is punctuated with great views of the surrounding mountains.

7/ This is logging trail to a regrowth forest. You must be careful to stay on the main trail.

8/ This shows a view of impressive distant mountains.

9/ This shows a white gum in a regrowth forest. Behind it is a great panorama of distant mountains.

10/ Misty clouds can be seen on this far off mountain.

11/ The reason this mountain was called "Saddle back" is obvious from this view.

12/ As you ascend the walk is punctuated by views of distant mountain peaks.

13/ This shows the advancing wall of mist that ended my attempt to ascend the mountain.

 

1/ The club has asked me not to give the location of these photos, as they fear that the caves shown below may be vandalized. I can only say that the location is in north eastern Tasmania.

2/ I love this combination of pond, trees and horizon.

3/ You can see from the walkers that the rock behind them is about 20 metres high.

4/ In the centre of this photo is one of the caves. The red in the centre is the back of a walker. This walker should give you some size perspective.

5/ Again the walkers in this photo should give you some idea of the size of this rock. The hollows are caves.

6/ This pyramid was huge. I estimated that it was about 50 metres to the summit from where I was standing.

7/ This cave is about 3 times the height of a man. You can see the chalk like interior of the caves.

8/ The combination of rock and vegetation make this look like a piece of abstract art.

9/ I love these light and dark colours. Again it looks like a piece of abstract art. This cave entrance was about the height of a man.

10/ This cave was also about the height of a man.

11/ I was surprised to find that the inside of the cave consisted of a white chalk like rock. The entrance to the right was about half the height of a man.

 

1/ The Paradise Plains Nature Reserve is in north eastern Tasmania. The area was logged in many places, but it is still home to some lovely old myrtle trees, like this 400 year old monarch.

2/ As you enter the Paradise Plains, you see Ben Nevis towering over the horizon to the south west. The reserve is a mixture of forests, plains and wet moss covered meadows.

3/ There is an emergency shelter. It has a stove, chairs and even a sleeping area. Just north of this hut is a very large plain.

4/ The forest area is a wonderland of trees and mosses.

5/ The mossy areas are a very rich green in colour and are very soft to walk on.

6/ The mosses grow in the wettest areas. These areas are crossed by many streamlets, which are easy to cross over.

7/ It is easy to imagine that this forest is the home of fairies and goblins.

8/ The moss cover changes in response to some local factors.

9/ This 400 year old myrtle is the pride of the forest. I was happy to be able to just experience its subline majesty. It was easy to understand why our ancestors adored these ancient trees.

10/ This is the same tree from the other side.

11/ This long shot shows you the full size of this old monarch. I estimate that it was about 30 metres high and about 3 metres girth.

12/ Nearby was another large myrtle. This tree was almost on the plain.

13/ This is the same tree looking at its eastern side. Note how the moss grows only on the southern side. Note too the contrast with the saplings of the rest of the forest.

14/ Beyond the forest was a treeless plain. Looking to the east were mounts Victoria and Albert.

15/ We then visited another area west of the plain to see other trees. Unfortunately, the largest of these, which was similar to the grand one shown above, had died.

16/ This was the most impressive that we saw in this area.

17/ We returned to our car just as the sun was setting on Ben Nevis.

 

1/ The Paradise Plains are in north eastern Tasmania, north of Mt Ben Nevis. This area has been logged, but there are still a number of outstanding natural attractions in this area, including a grove of ancient, giant, myrtle trees. This album shows images made on a trip in the winter of 2012.

2/ The Plains are an area consisting of plains, forests and moss covered meadows.

3/ There is an emergency shelter located just south of the large plain

4/ There are many small streamlets that flow into rivulets. The strange green plants on the side of this stream are cushion plants. These only grow in very wet areas.

5/ Cushion plants form a carpet in some areas. Since they are sensitive, we try to avoid walking on them. However, in the Paradise Plains they are so common that you have no choice.

6/ Other parts of the Plains are covered by this white moss, which also can form a dense carpet.

7/ We now walked through an area of saplings with a combination moss carpet at our feet.

8/ This was the first of the giant myrtle trees that we visited. It is about 400 years old. We are fortunate that the irregular shape of these trees made then unattractive to the loggers of the past. This myrtle tree was the largest that we found. The base diameter is about 3 metres in diameter. It had an ancient majesty about it that is difficult to describe.There were once many giant eucalyptus trees in this area as well. However, their straight shape made them attractive to loggers, so they are now all gone.

9/ This image shows the moss cover that enrapts all these trees. The hollows of these trees are used by a variety of native animals. The atmosphere of this ancient myrtle grove can only be described as ethereal. I felt that the fog really brought out the ancient feeling of this place.

10/ We now walked to the next group of trees. You will note how we are all wearing rain protection.

11/ This was the second giant myrtle tree that we visited. It was a bit smaller than the first, but still very ethereal in its effect on us.

12/ We now traversed the large plain to visit our next trees. In Tasmania the weather can change rapidly. This image shows the effect of a cloud moving across the landscape.

13/ This close up shows how the moss grows from living trees. It must be symbiotic.

14/ Unfortunately, this myrtle tree was hit my lightning causing the collapse of major branches. It was once as large and majestic as the first. However, the collapsed arm is so large that it will take decades to decay. It will be the home to many plant and animal species during this long period. The rest of the tree is green, showing how trees can recover even from this kind of major attack.

15/ This is another view of the tree showing the size of the fallen branches.

16/ We now went east across the large plain in the direction of Mt Victoria.

17/ We then followed a lovely streamlet....

18/ ... to a small, waterfall. The fall was about 6 metres.