April 11 Tarkine Loop (Day 197)
We woke to a sunnier day and had breakfast then headed out to explore the 2 trails that lead out from the campground. The Sinkhole Trail is a loop into the forest supposedly past sinkholes, but we never could identify any, maybe because they are filled with vegetation!
There are tree ferns in Tasmania! Not the same species as New Zealand though.
Besides the Eucalyptus trees, another dominant tree in the rainforest is the Myrtle tree (Nothofagus cunninghamii), not to be confused with the Oregon myrtle (Umbellularia californica). Those common names for species are very confusing!
The huge buttressed trunk of the Tasmanian Myrtle on the Julius River Trail cannot be confused with the Oregon myrtle!
The tiny fungi and mosses are just as important as the huge canopy trees!
We returned from our hikes and packed up to continue the tour on the Tarkine Loop Road to the next turnoff at Chisholm Lake, a sinkhole that is filled with water!
It’s a large lake and we heard frogs croaking around the banks!
The huge Eucalyptus have buttressed trunks also!
Our last stop was the Trowutta Arch, another sinkhole filled with water and covered with green algae or duckweed deep in a beautiful rainforest grove.
The water filled sinkhole was encircled by steep walls of corrugated rock.
The arch of rock framed beautiful ferns, the common name here is ‘Manfern’.
We finished our loop tour and returned to the town of Smithton near the north coast to spend the night at the free campsite at Tall Timbers, a resort that accommodates campers with a grassy parking area.