Like something out of the deep remote Tarkine wilderness of Tasmanian, Lake Elizabeth is eerily quiet and preciously unique. The lake was formed by a landslide in 1952 after record heavy rains pummeled the area and the slide naturally dammed a section of the eastern branch of the Barwon river. Huge Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans trunks loom large, protruding from the waters surface like bygone mystical monoliths watching over the Otways. The lake provides a perfect habitat for one of Australia's most conspicuous and unusual creatures, the Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus.
Classed by DSE as a "wet forest" - Ecological vegetation class, it isn't hard to see why, when you consider the area receives in excess of 1600 mm of rain a year. Low cloud cover often envelops the deep valleys, creating a scene not dissimilar to something out of Tolkien novel. Dominated at ground level by Tree ferns Dicksonia antarctica and a mid layer of Myrtle Beech Nothofagus cunninghamii, the lake is truly a throw back to prehistoric Gondwanaland.
After engrossing myself in the wonderment of Lake Elizabeth, it was a shock for me to find out that up untill as recently as 2002 areas within the immediate vicinity of the lakes catchment were still available for logging. It would be interesting to know whether this proposition has been reformed under the new banner of the Otways National Park with the unification of the Angahook State Park and the original Otways National Park. I find it hard to believe that human greed still has a hold in the incredible, unique and pristene environment that Lake Elizabeth provides. Surely common sense would prevail in this instance, and the incredible representation of a sheer wilderness lake can be preserved for future generations, untainted by gross consumption.
Cody.
No comments:
Post a Comment