Aug 15, 2025 Relic of a Rainforest
We drove up, up, up into the gorges of the escarpment inland to visit the Goodenia Rainforest walking track, a short hike through a remnant of the rainforest that once covered this area of Australia 80 million years ago. Over the past many millenia the rainforest evolved into dryland vegetation like the eucalyptus forests we drove up through. A moist microclimate in a small gorge sustains this remnant of rainforest.
Tree ferns dominate as we hiked down to a small creek.
Vines twisting around each other hang from the large trees.
We descended from the escarpment back to the woodlands of the south coast and explored another short walk to the Pinnacles, an area of erosion exposing cliffs of soft white sand capped with a layer of red gravel clay.
We encountered another termite mound, we’ve seen many of them in the forests along the coastal walks.
The gnarled banksia trees are quite distinctive. Most are covered with the dried flower heads that look like big bottle brushes.