September. October 61AGon frozen grass. But my attention soon turns from this
to marvelling at the wilderness around me.
Summit Creek wends through the forest, bubbling
a round rock s, ca r r y ing lea f l it ter dow nst rea m, a nd d rop -
ping over waterfalls every so often. Before long we’re
admiring towering red cedars. Their distinctive f laky
bark creates useful perches for many plants, while epi-
phytes such as bird’s-nest ferns and orchids, fungi and
vines transform these trees into multi-layered gardens.
Looking up along the trunk of one – roughly 30m
tall – my eye finds a beard of strangler fig roots dangling
from its upper branches. “Old man whiskers,” I say
to Nerida.
“Old man for sure,” she replies. “The trees in this
stand are about 1000 years old. Can you imagine what
they’ve seen throughout the years?”
A nearby sign explains what they survived during
the 1800s and 1900s, the pioneering days of the region:
“Red cedars were known as red gold and drew timber
cutters with bullocks, axes and crosscut saws. It has no
equal as a material for furniture, cabinets, panelling,
staircases and other interior fittings.
“Historically, the search for red cedar contained
elements of the fanaticism for which goldmining is
renowned. Often it wasn’t monetary gain that drove
loggers on but the challenge and satisfaction in locating
and winning the ‘king of all trees’ from the great rain-
forest in which it grew.”
Standing there, dwarfed by these majestic ‘kings’,
I’m beyond thankful that the bullocks and crosscut saws
no longer reign supreme, and the “great rainforest” is
now protected by the warm embrace of Washpool
National Park.
“Few places on Earth contain as many plants and
animals that are so closely related to their ancestors in
the fossil record,” Nerida says. “And these amazing places
show us how both are continuing to evolve. Washpool
and the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia are refugia.
And we must always protect them.”Nerida Holznagel stops off at one of her favourite spots
on Coombadjha Creek in Washpool NP. “It’s the perfect place
to cool off in summer, whether you’re staying at the nearby
camping ground or visiting for the day.”
TO SEE MORE PICTURES and footage by Drew Hopper
of the stunning Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, go to
australiangeographic.com.au/issue152
THANK YOU to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and
Isuzu (isuzuute.com.au) for their assistance with this article.