Tree barks, South Rosedale (1 Aug 2018)

 

Spotted Gum trees at North Rosedale (27 Aug 2016)

 

Myrtle Beach and Flat Rock Island Headland

Myrtle Beach is a fairly secluded beach in Murramarang national park, north of Batemans Bay. You need to walk in from the car park - about 500 m.

Below: Stunted spotted gums, grown into this unusual shape because of lack of soil nutrients.



Below: Myrtle Beach from the headland walk. Clothes optional, unless there is a complaint, in which case a patrol comes around and you have to get clad for a while.









Below: Myrtle Beach is reached by this set of stairs. Making the effort reaps great rewards - it's a lovely beach for a swim.



Photos taken 11 Jan 2009

Burrawang Palms and Spotted Gums

Above: Spotted gums at North Rosedale
Above and Below: Burrawangs and Spotted Gums on the track near Tranquil Bay

Burrawang 'Palms' (Macrozamia communis) are not palms at all. They are cycads. The female plant produces large cones which look like upright green pineapples. The seeds are highly toxic if eaten untreated. Aboriginal people pounded and soaked the seeds in water for a week, changing the water daily. The pulp was then made into cakes and roasted over hot embers.
In the local language of the area (Dharug) they are known as bung-gou, ib-bur : 'nut' (Gott 1995 - http://www.anbg.gov.au/apu/plants/macrcomm.html)

Spotted Gums (corymbia maculata aka Eucalyptus maculata) thrive in the shallow slate and shale soils of the south coast. It's a durable hardwood, much used in flooring and furniture.
One of the delights of the south coast is walking through forests like this, with plentiful burrawangs at lower levels, and a canopy of spotted gums.

Contrast those tall, straight spotted gums with these below. These too are spotted gums, but are on the Flat Rock Island Headland track, near Myrtle Beach in Murramarang National Park. These have grown into gorgeous shapes because of a lack of soil nutrients.

North Rosedale Part 4 - Rocky Beach

Above: approaching from North Rosedale down the track

Above: The magnificent spotted gums

Above: From the bottom of the track at North Rosedale, looking towards the beach

Above: Across the rock platform - beach at the left

Above: Approaching the beach


Above and Below: Heading off for a spot of morning snorkelling




There are only a couple of ways to get to this beach, known to locals as Rocky Beach - round the headlnad and past the "Pirate Cave" from Boatshed Beach, or down the track at the end of Yowani Rd in North Rosedale (or via direct access from properties that edge the beach.

It's one of the numerous hidden beaches and coves that make this part of the coast so attractive, particularly with the trees reaching the shoreline.

Spotted gum, South Rosedale

My favourite tree.

It says on this website:

"From 1844 until recently Spotted Gum was known as Eucalyptus maculata, but after years of discussion and argument botanists finally agreed to change the name to Corymbia maculata. Along with a few other closely related trees in the Bloodwood group, Spotted Gum was separated from the Eucalypts and put into their own genus."