Redwood Forest
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I like KPI’s, Key Performance Indicators. They have a high-level perspective of processes. Photography is an art, but it is a process too. You must plan ahead to have a chance to catch the moment, and the moment most of the time is short. You must imagine what, when, where, which gear will be used, and the list is long. And all the gears, tripod, headlight, raincoat, drink, meal would be in your backpack. You need to pick the right settings on your camera, and there is post-processing; edit it Lightroom, remove spots, maybe stack photos. So, lot of things happen before and after the actual shot.
There is a really special forest, 80km from Melbourne, which is popular with day-trippers from Melbourne and surrounding areas. The forest is more than 90 years old; the first Californian Redwoods were planted alongside the plantations of Bishop Pine and Douglas Fir as part of a hydrology experiment conducted by the Board of Works in the 1930s. Further plantings occurred from 1960-1963 of Radiata Pine, Western Red Cedar and more Californian Redwoods and these subsequent plantings are now more than 60 years old. Californian Redwoods grow to be the tallest trees in the world at up to 115m and they can live for more than 2000 years.
I really wanted to visit this forest when I first heard about it!
The area is near to Warburton, just on the other side of the Yarra River. You just need to cross the Yarra via the Cement Creek Road Bridge. But that’s the challenge, as the bridge is closed for a while, and everyone is waiting for the completion of the bridge works. Technically the forest is not closed, just the road and the bridge leading to it are closed.
So, what are we waiting for? It is not in an island, so, there would be another road, track, or any backroad. Fortunately, I could find the info.
Commenced in 1911, the O’Shannassy’s Aquaduct provided water for the growing Melbourne, until it has been closed. The trail near to the aquaduct drives you all through to the Warburton Redwood Forest. Sound easy? Yes and no. Officially 8.6km there and the same distance back. For me, it was 29.000 steps for a day with 13kg backpack – I didn’t want to miss any shot just because I left the right lens at home.
Now, back to the KPI. For me it was clearly the longest walk for a ‘single’ photo. I left the car park before 7:00 AM in a fog and walk in a mountain ash forest for 3 hours to reach the redwood forest. I didn’t meet with anyone in those three hours on the track.
All the pains were rewarded. As you can imagine the forest is tall. In these places you can feel how small we are. There was no wind, everything been calm. I had plenty of time to capture the moment. Just need to stack the images on top of each other’s...
The next visit would be much simpler, as according to the plan the bridge will be opened by end of September 2023. Even I feel the pain in my feet, I think it was worth to visit this magical forest.
