So we met Trent and Vikki at a rest stop in literally the middle of nowhere and then followed them to this country junction, where people had began to gather. We were quickly informed of this huge area of forest that was being logged in Toolangi and we were going to be part of a photo (if we chose) protesting it. There ended up being quite a few people of all ages and backgrounds in the end, and we spoke to some nice people. We made a short video of us all chanting "Save Our Forests" and after some technical difficulties, we took this photo:
After we had taken a few photos and milled around speaking to various people, we got back in our cars to follow Trent and Vik to the next stop. Shortly after getting in the car, i noticed Steph had a new friend attached to her; luckily she was wearing jeans...
Nav with Steph's leech'y friend!
After that bit of drama, we followed Trent, Vik and a couple of their friends and eventually we parked on the side of this road surrounded by forest on both sides and got out. We had a quick chat with a couple of their friends that had been doing extensive research in the area and then we headed into the forest.
The forest was realy pristine and beautiful. It was unlike any of the Australian landscapes i had seen thus far, and i am certainly glad i got to see it. It was pretty dense, and made for quite an intense trek at times.
Walking through the forest.
A stag tree that is approximately 400 years old.
I don't have a photo of it but there was also a 900 year old fern!
After seeing how beautiful the forest can be when left to its own devices, they thought it would be a good idea for us to see what is becoming of the forest just a few miles down the road...and it was devastating.
As soon as well pulled up to the logging site you could see the dramatic difference and the amount of once pristine forest that they had demolished. It was a tragic sight to see.
We went for a walk through the site, and hiked up through the upper end of the logged area. Here are some photos i took:
Logs being wasted to make paths for machinery.
One of many stag trees that have been chopped down.
Everything you can see on the right hand side is wastage. Trees that have been cut down that aren't right for what they want and are just piled up and left there.
Us hiking up to the top part of the logging site.
It just seemed to go on forever.
This photo is of what used to be a creek. That the logging company agreed to leave a buffer around but didn't, and so now this area of the creek has been completely covered with logs to make paths for machinery.
Atfer getting quite sad and having quite intense conversations, we decided it was time to head to Trent and Vik's house in nearby Flowerdale. So we said bye to their friends and set off. Now i knew Trent and Vik lived in the country but i didn't anticipate their property being quite so impressive. Here are a couple shots of their land:
After arriving at Trent and Vik's, we unloaded our stuff and just hung out for a while. Then Trent asked if some of us would like to go and do some platapus surveys, and most people seemed pretty eager, so we headed down to a local creek.
It was freezing...so Jordan decided that looking like a terrorist was a necessary price to pay for warmth!
The creek as it started to get dark.
The birds all of a sudden went crazy and took off into the sky. There were literally hundreds of them; this photo does not do it justice at all!
Me and Steph using amplifiers to listen to the birds.
Nick and Jordan came and sat with us after they didn't see anything at their spot.
After about an hour or so after it got dark, Trent came by to pick us up. Unfortunately we didn't see any platapus' but apparently some of the people situated further up the creek did :(
We then picked up a few of the people that stayed at the house and some more equipment and headed to this reserve just down the road.
Anthony didn't have a jumper and so had to borrow one off Trent. He looked pretty snazzy!
After we arrived at the reserve, Trent was using a very high tech infared camera to detect animals in the dark and we could see their heat signals being displayed on a large screen on his backpack. We saw serveral Brushtail possums, a couple Ringtail possums, some Sugar Gliders and a wombat!
It was the first wombat i had ever seen, wild or captive, and so i was pretty stoked. I wanted to get a good photo of it, and did get pretty close but i didn't want to upset it too much, so my photos didn't turn out fantasic. Here is the best one:
Once we had seen our fair share of wildlife, we headed back to the house. Then just as we're going up the driveway, Wombie; Trent and Vik's pet wombat comes running infront of the car. So we stopped and got out. He got me to walk with him towards her and said to me that if she starts running at your feet that it means she wants to play but to run away as she gets really rough. So with that in mind, i started approaching her. Trent asked if i wanted to touch her and my response was 'As long as she is okay with it' as i didn't want to upset her or anything. So he called her and she came right up to my feet. As she got to my boots, i took a step back and she took off into the darkness. I did however manage to get this photo:
When we were greeted with some honey and lemon tea and all collapsed in the living room by the fire.
Trent and Vik have an amazing dog called Tessa. She is an English Bull Mastiff, and wasted no time squeezing in next to her dad on the couch!
[L-R] Trent, Tess, Megan and Jordan
After socialising for a couple of hours, we all retired to bed. Me and Steph were sharing a double bed in the upstairs guest room, which was pretty nice. A lot of people planned to wake up before the sun and hike to the top of Trent and Vik's property to see the sunrise but after seeing how overcast it was, it seemed pointless. I did however wake up with a nose bleed, which is very unusual for me, and then had to stumble down the stairs in the dark at stupid o'clock trying to not wake anyone up but trying not to drip blood everywhere. I don't know how many people have tried to keep their head back to stop the blood whilst trying to look where they're going...but it is REALLY hard!....Especially in a house you're not used to in the dark! Anyway, after all that drama. I went back to bed and arose the next morning to have breakfast with everyone. We more than had our fill and then went to work on Trent and Vik's property.
We split into two groups and went to take some tree guards off of some of the trees that had been planted. Half of the group (my group) stayed near the bottom and worked on the lower parts of the hill...which was still extremely hard work as its at a 45 degree angle....and then the other half hiked with Trent and Tess to the top of the hill to take down some of the ones at the top.
Once we'd finished, some of our group decided to hike to the top to see the view and see if the others still needed any help. Me and Steph decided we weren't willing to make the trip and decided to go on a walk of our own and take some photos. Here are some of the best ones:
Chook!
Cockrell that crows like nobody's business at all times of the day!
Baba...a lamb Trent and Vik are hand rearing.
Look at that cute little face!
Me holding Baba! :)
We had a great dinner and relaxing evening before heading to bed. The next day we headed to Trent and Vik's neighbour's to see how they had built their environmentally-friendly house. On the way in, we were greeted by these beauties!
When we made it to the house. This was the what we saw.
View from the hill leading down to Rosemary's house...Everything you can see in this picture is their property. They have an extremely impressive 2000+ acres!!
Rosemary's doughnut shaped house. It is completely environmentally friendly and is tailored to fulfill all of their needs. For example, the dam infront of the house that can be seen in this photo, was purposely put there to reflect light into the house.
After having a nose around Rosemary's house, we went to another house on the property; her brother's i believe, and got some equipment. We then carried the equipment over some very hilly terrain..surprise, surprise...to do some planting.
Deakin Enviro Planting team!
When we'd finished planting all over the hill and picking up old plant pots. We then went over to this drit bike track that some of the owners kids had built. It was pretty cool and they made it look very easy!
After milling around watching the dirt bikes for a while, we headed over to the sheep shearing shed for a BBQ. I took a few photos of the property on the way. Even they don't do it justice as to how big it really is...
Vik brought over so much food, we were extremely spoilt, and there will still enough leftovers for Tess to have a good feeding!
Atfer we'd had our fill, we headed back to Trent and Vik's. We hung out for a while, and then after some technical difficulties; managed to take this group photo
So that about raps up our weekend. It was one of the best weekends of my life, and Trent and Vik are truely inspiring people. They very kindly invited me back to come and stay with them sometime, so i could experience more of what Australia has to offer. I may just have to take them up on that!....
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