Vale of Belvoir wildflower day recap
The threat of rain and heavy mist wasn’t enough to keep 60-plus rugged-up visitors away from the Vale of Belvoir wildflower day on Saturday 2 February 2013.
We kicked off the day at Black Bluff lookout at 10am to admire the handiwork of Tim and Denna, our Reserve Management staff, who had just installed the visitor’s interpretation signage the day before.
Here’s an action shot of Tim with his power tools; I was advised by Denna to note that he’s in the process of digging a hole in case anyone was puzzled by the shot.
Mayor of Kentish Council, Don Thwaites, was kind enough to join Jane in launching the signage along with passionate, long-time Vale of Belvoir enthusiasts Sib and Keith Corbett and their daughter Christine as well as members of the Charleston family, who the TLC purchased the Vale from and whose ancestors had owned it for over 100 years prior.
Jane made a toast to the generosity of all of our fabulous supporters and volunteers, who helped us secure the purchase of the Vale in 2008 to protect it in perpetuity.
The first of the guided tours started at 11am and was headed by Sib, Keith and Christine who talked about the flora, fauna and geologic evolution of the Vale, especially its famed sinkholes… here’s a shot of Keith, the geologist of the family, and Huxley Charleston discussing the lack of correlation between sinkhole development and children.
Sib’s background as a botanist shone through as she talked us through the Vale’s wealth of flora and fauna, including the ancient cool temperate rainforests and endangered Grassland paper daisies.
Lisa Charleston recounted a story of her ancestors from the early 1900s who produced cheese in the Vale. Apparently the whey (a by-product of cheese making) was sometimes left in troughs or buckets, which attracted thylacines that were said to sometimes come into the camp to feed on it. It was also apparently highly attractive to tiger snakes, large numbers of which were often found drinking at the troughs! Not surprising as the alpine grasslands are very ‘snakey… thankfully not on that day though.
Members from the Australian Plant Society and the Hobart Photographic Society freely explored the Vale, and I know some great shots were captured even on such a typically misty highland day.
Speaking of great shots (no bias here), Sib agreed that the picture we happened to grab of a stinkhorn fungus was excellent, if slightly off-focus and more than a little reminiscent of something from an alien film. If anyone knows exactly what kind of stinkhorn it is, feel free to email me at alopez [at] tasland.org.au
Finally, if you’re a supporter of ours, if you’re a nature enthusiast, a people enthusiast or even if you just want to get out and experience some gorgeous and unique parts of Tassie, I encourage you to attend one of our events, like the Vale of Belvoir Wildflower Day… if only for the potential stinkhorn sightings.
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