Brisbane Ranges unassuming...

Another Victorian park puts on a show after recent fires.

The Brisbane Ranges is a light amongst the rain shadow which encompasses much of the outer western Melbourne rim. Situated rather inconspicuously in the triangle between Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat, the park retains a remnant foothold in a vastly agricultural focused area.

In 2006, a lightning strike in the Steiglitz historical area sparked a fire that encompassed a vast proportion of the park. In the wake of these fires the park has sprung to life, with even more opportunities for the ground dwelling wildflowers to flourish in the newly opened canopy.  

cod

The vibe of the ranges could be described as rugged outback, almost typical of something from the Flinders Ranges or even Kakadu. Red, rocky and iron infused soils dominate the range, with deep sandy gullies traversing the length and breadth of the faulted and worn ranges.


A vast array of flora exists within the park, ranging from hearty and resilient bush peas, heathy wattles, stunted messmates and prominent Pomaderrises. However the most attractive and interesting floral specimens would have to be the park's wildflowers. Some of Craig and I's favourites would have to be the  brown-clubbed Spider-orchid  Caladenia phaeoclavia, which we snapped on a ridge line in the east of the park and the  Leopard Orchid Diuris pardina,which we found in a sandy saddle also in the east section of the range.

Brown-clubbed Spider-orchid  Caladenia phaeoclavia

Almost 700 species of plants exist within the park, some of which are only indigenous to the range itself and others which are found well and truly out of their normal range. As an example of just how the park exists as an anomaly within the region, some plants, usually only found in Gippsland hundreds of kilometres away and geographically separated by Port Phillip Bay, exist in the park.

 Leopard Orchid Diuris pardina

What I took from the park was that you don't have to go far from Melbourne to be completely transported to something so very different from your immediate surroundings. The Brisbane Ranges provide a rare and complex ecosystem, with biological and conservation values unprecedented for the region. Positive steps are being taken for the future of the park with a recent expansion of the park encompassing some high quality remnant areas which had been privately owned. The park is a vital resource not only from a humanistic / green space point of view, but also as a remnant representation of what some of the region may have presented as when the native Watherong clan roamed the rocky slopes.

Cody

craggs in his natural environment