Mar 24, 2013

We felt like a ride and the sky to the south and west looked unbelievably black so we decided we wanted a bit more comfort than that and headed east for Licola. We hadn’t been there since the extensive fires the region had experienced a few weeks ago and we were shocked at the extent of the damage.



The first glimpse towards the ranges. A combination of black, rust and the beginnings of green.

The last big fires up here some years ago were followed by unseasonal rain and flooding washing huge amounts of loose soil off the hills and into rivers. Really destructive.

We rode straight through to Licola and took some photos on the way back. Somewhat an overstatement (not very) what wasn’t burnt in the last fires, and a big percentage of the regrowth as well as a lot more than that has been burnt this time. There were thousands of acres burnt and no matter where we looked we could see the rusty colour of scorched foliage draped over hills with bare earth and ash underneath.



Looking out from the top of the CRB hill

We could also see the beginnings of a green tinge in some areas where there has obviously been rain since but the wind was ferocious on the way up and we could literally see dust and ash lifting off the top of hills in clouds. Way too gritty to have our visors open. Hope the high winds don’t get rid of too much ash though the wind made for a great spectacle of clouds at different levels moving in opposite directions. Impressive!



Rusty view as we head back from Licola



And looking back up the road with some signs of regeneration.



Rugged rocky faces scorched at best.



Autumn tone colours compliments of the fires plus some real colour!



Oh come on Norm, I wasn't taking that long to get some pics!



Had to get another shot at the Bellbird corner!

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:

The roads we travelled on were cambered well and good surface overall and well signed with targeted advisory speed signs. Once we started heading for the hills there were lots of tight corners and nice sweeping S bends. Many rock fall areas which of course were worse after the fires so needed to be wary of large rocks as well as gravel washes on some corners. A lot of tree debris in evidence today with the combination of strong wind and fire damage with huge amounts of bark leaves and broken branches in evidence.



Looking towards Lake Glenmaggie, recovery efforts underway.



Devastation beside restoration is the reality. Must be tough to tackle day after day.

After being surrounded by so much country and wooded areas which were fire affected it was almost an assault to my senses to travel through the intense green of irrigated crops in the Cowwarr region on our way home. One extreme to another.

Services available:

See the previous entry for this area, follow the link below:
http://blog.branstrans.com.au/index.php ... 217-105925

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