Veronika Wild

A bit blurry  - it's drizzling again and I haven't dared to take the new camera out Day 3 – I restock and refuel in Smithton then head inland to Julius River. There are two ways to get there. At the cross roads it says Kanunnah Bridge both ways, except one sign says 65 Km and the other says 15 Km. Puzzled I take the shorter one. Both are part of the route you can take if you do the Tarkine/ Western Explorer Road which goes through to Corinna and Zeehan in the south.      I am pleased to discover that unlike the rest of that road, both of these appear to be sealed, though the right hand branch which I take is only marginally so. Apart from dodging fully laden log trucks, it’s full of potholes and also has those Devil grids I encountered on the way to Arthur River. They needn’t have bothered. The potholes do the job just as well and I rarely manage more than 20 km per hour.  A few fungi, but lichens and mosses rule here. According to the signage ...

Sunshine at Hellyer Gorge  - named after surveyor and colonial architect, Henry Hellyer who explored it in 1827. It remains a fitting tribute to his courage and skill, more so than the little town named after him on the North West Coast Day 1 - Road trip. My new second hand camera arrived and I wanted to try it out. Heard reports that there were still good fungi to be seen in the far North West and decided belatedly to head off in that direction.   Arrived in Queenstown just after dark. It was completely closed. No fuel, no food, not even Axelburgers which used to be about the size of a breakfast plate. Drove on to Waratah. It's about as far as the car will go on a tank of fuel. Hoped that the service station there which had helped me out last time would still be open, but it too had closed for the night.   Slept in a carpark until it opened. Sassafras blossom falling on moss Day 2 – Bright sunshine in Hellyer Gorge. This was unusual and it’s a sham...

Middle Tier  Adamson's Falls Third time lucky. There was a glimmer of sunshine yesterday morning and I took off for Hastings without even stopping for breakfast. I didn’t tell a soul I was going either, just in case it was another fail. As I neared Hastings the only raincloud in the sky was over Adamson’s Peak, very close to where I was going, but I didn’t let it stop me. It still took me five and a half hours and I still got wet – it rained again just before I got to the falls, but I was not quitting this time. Alas, this means that the pictures are now a bit blurry and dull, but it is a magnificent fall. A glimpse of the Upper Tier   The lower Tier - hear it roar The secret of my success plus two pairs of Explorer socks  - forget the trendy walking boots, but beware gumboots are slipperier Not many fungi about now, not even as many as there were last week, but the one below certainly caught my attention and the lichens are doing their best ...