Global warming killed Frosty!!

15th May 2009

 

 

Global warming killed Frosty..... this is on my list of best t-shirts ever! The t-shirt was worn by one of my fellow peers on my field trip.

 

I spent a weekend at Cape Liptrap & The Prom doing an assignment for my Natural Area Management subject. It was quite different in comparasion to the times i have visited for holidays, we spent most of Saturday chatting to Bill the Parks Ranger who looks after the Cape Liptrap coast. He took us to a number of historical points along the CL coast. We also spent time at The Prom admiring the affects of fire.

 

- Walkerville's kilns

There was some great discussions about managing the kilns. They are extremely costly to maintain & not to mention the people power required! There are various public liability issues surrounding the kilns, as they continue to degrade, the rocks become unstable and may fall onto tourists & beach goers. Because the kilns are situated on the Cape Liptrap coast they erode at a very rapid rate. Parks Victoria are there to slow down the process, but not completely stop it. Unfortunately if they were to try & stop the erosion process they would need to build a very large wall around the kilns which would detract from the visual beauty of the kilns and be an eyesore!!

 

 

 

 

What was really annoying was the graffiti in the kilns. Here is Parks Vic trying to slow down the erosion process to ensure that people get to experience the historical site, and then you have hoons to degrade the site. Another cleaning expense for the public!

 

- Venus Bay

There were a few issues with Beach One at Venus Bay. Residents having a negative image of tourists who come down & take ALOT of Crayfish from the beach. Results in the beach looking like a tsunami has just passed through. Not to mention the major traffic issues during the holiday seasons. Bill explained a number of initiatives that Parks Vic would like to do with the structure and layout of the area, but it all came down to $$$! I was very surprised to learn from our Ranger that the local municipality doesn't contribute money whatsoever to the upgrade of the beaches facilities. Residents in Venus Bay pay rates for a very small number of council services, & yet the beach is what brings in the tourism & money to local businesses. I think there needs to be colloraboration in this town, or else Parks Victoria are going to be forced to continuously  'put out fires' at the beach (such as fixing surface issues relating to public liability) & not addressing the big picture, because they dont have enough money in the budget. 

 

 

Venus Bay- Beach One watch house (Surf Life Saving Vic). A number of issues with the watch house also, but a fab view from the beach top.

 

- Wilsons Prom

I can never get enough of The Prom...FANTASTIC place & until this weekend i never really thought of it as a little community placed in a National Park. Its such a wonderful & tranquil place & i can understand people would want more use of it. Cabins are booked out EACH day at 9am 12 months in advance. So..if i want to book a cabin for my bday on June 14th NEXT year (2010), then i would need to book the cabin BEFORE 9am on June 14th this year to ensure i dont miss out! Insane!!!! The Prom can get up to 4,000 visitors at once during Dec/Jan holiday season. This makes sense to having a permanent police station there during the holiday months & a 24hr clinic available.

 

We stopped in an area of The Prom filled with some unusual looking flora. See photo below:

 

 

These plants close up during extreme temperatures (hot/cold). Some students were wondering if the plants had already started new growth since you could see green towards the stem, but burnt leaves towards the tips of the leaves. During the fires the plants leaves come together to close to protect the inside of the plant. When the fire was over the plants started to open their leaves once again, and thats why you have the brown coloured leaves on the outside, & the green coloured leaves towards the inside.

 

While we were there we sat in on a presentation on the recent fires that had swept through the park during the Black Saturday fires. Just over 50% of the park was burnt over the course of 30 days. It was quite beautiful when we drove through the entrance of The Prom to see the mosaic of colours left by the fires, which showed clearly which areas had low intensity fires, and the high intensity fires.

 

There were PLENTY of wasps to go around....mostly in the carpark feeding on the bonnet of cars! Freaked a couple of the students..... including me. Insects seem so much bigger in the country.

 

Here are some great photos of the mosaic & regen (more on my Facebook & Flickr pages):

 

 

 

Mosaic left post fire 

 

 

The rapid regeneration was prevalent- only 3 months after the fires.

 

 

Some plants need fire to release their seeds

 

 

Quick clip on the drive through The Prom (main road).

 

 

Despite me thinking it was going to be one of those boring field trips that your parents would make you go to when you were in high school just to get you out of the house, this trip was well worthwhile. I am no database of history knowledge, but it certainly was a great way to learn the history of both areas, without falling asleep =)

 

Ruby

 

 

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