Lyres & Figs

Rain forests must be one of my favorite vegetation communities. I think growing up in Tasmania helped forge this love affair with trips to places like Cradle Mountain, Mt Field National Park and much of the West Coast capturing my imagination.

There is something about walking into a rain forest that transports you back to almost a prehistoric time. That sense you get that time has forgotten these surroundings and that any moment you might just catch a glimpse of an ancient creature.

A few weeks back my girlfriend and I stayed at Kiama Downs, about two hours drive south of Sydney. After starting the day the right way, watching the sunrise at Cathedral Rock, after a coffee we looked for something to do and a little day trip to Minnamurra Rainforest was quickly planned.

Driving along the road up to the entrance of the park you can see and feel the shift in the environment around you, there are many more taller trees with lush undergrowth littered with tree and ground ferns. Arriving before the 9am gate opening, we waited in line for the Ranger to come and let us in.

Once you are inside the park you can really notice the improved air quality and get a feel for the change in micro climate, the reduction in sun light due the large trees makes the temperature drop, coupled with the age of the place and your surroundings certainly gives you goose bumps.

A quick trip through the visitors centre and we started on our 4.2 km hike, dressed in thongs of course!. The first 500 metres or so is raised boardwalk and fairly easy going including suspension bridges, viewing platforms and informative signs along the way. Once you get off the loop walk onto the falls walk it gets a little bit tricky with some steeper terrain but very manageable (even though we stopped for a breather a couple of times).

There is an amazing amount of diversity in the rain forest. Although you are generally confronted with a lot of green, there is still many wonderful things to draw your eye such as the statuesque tree ferns and palms or the mass of vines and creepers making there way over and under vegetation like natural electric or data cables or the array or ground ferns growing on the forest floor and also the epiphytic types clinging to rock walls.

A strangler fig using another Ficus sp. as moral support.

The rain forest canopy is made up of many trees and palms, all reaching up tall, stretching their leaves towards the sunlight like children reaching for the cookie jar on the top shelf. It can get very crowded in the rain forest. This crowding in turn can slow down the succession of plant species within the community, like mentioned before, time can stand still in the rain forest and no one here is in much of a hurry. Though when one of the elder statesman fall, the race is on to make the most of the newly increased sunlight hitting the forest floor. Seeds laying in wait spring to life, germination of many species can be rapid and opportunistic. Those "middle management" trees that have been laying in wait make their move, racing to reach the heights of the canopy and take that promotion.

The sounds you hear within the rain forest are quite soothing, very peaceful indeed, giving you a sense of being alone, a million miles away from civilisation. There is something almost scary about the quiet and being in a place like this too, like a dinosaur or some other long extinct beast may cross your path at any moment. Although the worst you are likely to come across here at Minnamurra is the resident Lyrebird, who's daily ritual of digging and scratching can have you looking around wondering what is going on.

The superbly named Superb Lyrebird

These Australian native birds are pretty unique - you don't get on the 10 cent piece for nothing! The male Lyrebird has one of the most impressive calls of any bird. We didn't get to hear anything out of the ordinary the day we were at Minnamurra Falls but male Lyre's have been known to mimic sounds such as other birds, mobile phone ringtones, car alarms, camera's and chainsaws in their attempt to win a mate. To get a better understanding, check out this clip from David Attenborough's BBC Wildlife.


What really caught my eye though were the amazing amount of Bird's Nest Ferns (Asplenium australascicum) growing in the branch axis of trees within the National Park. The number of these ferns scattered through the park was unbelievable. These majestic ferns, suspended throughout the lower canopy look like crowns fir for a king. The Bird's Nest Fern gets it's name from it's appearance once you look in the centre of the plant you'll know why. It is a popular plant for indoor and outdoor application, but seeing them in the 'wild' is something else entirely.

Asplenium australasicum - a crown in the tree tops

Our little hike through Minnamurra Falls inspired me to write this piece. A walk through any rain forest is something I highly recommend to anyone who needs a dose of nature or just wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. Walking aside, it's good for the mind, body and soul! Get out there and get amongst it