Ode to the fire trail

In this case one of the fire trails of the Berowra Valley National Park, near Arthurs Circle in Mt Colah.

In the pecking order of bushwalking routes, the humble fire trail has a somewhat lowly status. But at this time of year especially, it can offer a very pleasant and rewarding experience.

Attractive wildflowers, happy songbirds, scribbly gums, beautiful Sydney red gums, and quite dramatic vistas across the Berowra Valley.

 

I'm sure the trails around there have existed for a long time, but I only just discovered them, courtesy of the new map that just got printed. The National Park was only gazetted a couple of years ago, hence the map. Incidentally, they don't sell maps at many of the outdoor/bushwalking type shops anymore. Everyone relies on their GPS or their phone apps. I had to go to the specialist map shop in Parramatta.

Scribbly

Scribbly Gums are all over the place. The name is claimed by several Eucalyptus species (including haemastoma and sclerophylla in the Sydney region), but the artist is in fact a moth.

The scribbles are made by the larvae of the Scribbly Gum Moth (Ogmopraptis scribula - thanks again, Wikipedia) which troll around between two layers of bark, having their creations unveiled when the outer layer peels off. There are usually loops at either end of the tracks, implying that the larvae get tired of exploring, and turn around to follow their trails back again.