This easy walk from the Cobcroft Rest Area visits some nice warm temperate rainforest with tree ferns and, of course, buttressed carabeens (Sloanea woollsii) with their spiky seed cases. After recent rains, the birdlife was active and fungi fruiting.
Towards the end of the loop, the path climbs out of the rainforest into some tall eucalyptus forest, with blackbutts and messmate stringybark(Eucalyptus obliqua). Fun fact: Eucalyptus obliqua was the first eucalypt to be formally described, after being collected in Bruny Island on Cook’s third expedition, then sent to the British Museum where a French botanist named it. The tree was used by aboriginals, and is still used today for house construction and Tassie Oak floors.
With eucalypts towering above me, I’m distracted by a large mushroom in the middle of the path, with a chocolate coloured surface like polished aged leather.
The Mesa trail branches off from the Carabeen walk, heading out onto a high point on the Mesa Plateau with views to Mt Seaview and the Hastings River valley. The Mesa trail can also be accessed from Cobcroft Road, beyond the picnic site. As it is a much longer day walk, we shall return another day to try this one.
