Tinderry Temptations

I guess we all know of a place - an alluring road we pass the end of, or a walking track we mean to explore, or a sign to a lookout - with which we're familiar to the extent of promising ourselves we'll go there some time. One such to the south of Canberra is a mountain range passed weekly by probably hundreds of people heading along the Monaro Highway to or from the snow, or the far south coast of New South Wales, or eastern Victoria. The Tinderries are a rugged range east of the highway, accessed from Michelago, some 50km south of Canberra.

The Tinderries from the west. The exposed granitic faces are obvious, and are even more so since
an intense bushfire swept through them in December 2009.
In direct sun or after rain they gleam, catching the attention of cars from the highway some 10km away.

Yes, just 10km, but very few people take the trouble to follow the good-quality all-weather gravel Tinderry Road east from Michelago through the paddocks bearing remnant woodland trees, to climb into the forests of the ranges. You should some time, you know.

Looking back to the west from the Tinderries to the Clear and Booth Ranges in the
southern Australian Capital Territory.
The highway traverses the plain in the middle distance - really not very far!

The granites (and as a non-geologist I'm using the term very loosely, I know) date from vast intrusions of molten material from deep down some 400 million years ago. They dominate the range.

Huge granite slabs like this emerge from the forest.

Mostly however they appear on the hilltops, as huge sheets and tors.

Exposed granitic caps like this have interesting plants and are well worth exploring.
Many are remote and require serious walking; others, including this one, are readily accessible
from the roadside.

The Tinderry Nature Reserve, declared in 1981, has since expanded to 14,000 hectares, all of which is to the north of the Tinderry Road. This road, the only vehicle access to the higher parts of the range, passes through a small extent of Timber Reserve, then private (though currently unfenced) land. To date this land has been managed pretty sympathetically - ie minimally - but on a very recent visit I noticed a couple of For Sale signs by the road (including by the magnificent outcrop in the previous picture), one of my favourite spots in the range. I await developments (hopefully not literally!) with some trepidation. 

The higher parts of the range support the easternmost outliers of sub-alpine forest and woodland vegetation, dominated by Mountain Gums Eucalyptus dalrympleana with Snow Gums E. pauciflora even higher up. (The highest point, Mount Tinderry, is over 1600 metres above sea level - the highest point of the Tinderry Road is 1280 metres.)

Mountain Gums forming a sub-alpine woodland.

Tough! A Mountain Gum seemingly growing out of sheer granite.
Note the wind in the leaves - this is typical of the higher open spaces.

Further down the mountains, the rain shadow to the west produced dry sclerophyll forest of a type widespread in the lower ranges of the region. There is good access to one part of the nature reserve in this section - returning along the Tinderry Road towards Michelago, turn right (north) onto the Burra Road. Some 10km along, in the far north-west of the reserve, there is a parks sign and gate on the right. You'll have to climb through the fence, but at least it's not barbed wire!

Open grassy dry eucalypt forest of Scribbly Gum E. rossii and Red Stringybark E. macrorhynchalow (800 metres asl) in the dry western slopes of Tinderry Nature Reserve.

One of the most significant plants in the range is the wattle Acacia costiniana (named for eminent alpine botanist, ecologist and conservationist Alec Costin, who at 90 is still, as at 2015, going strong). It is limited to the Tinderries (I'm almost certain, though one source has it further afield) where almost none of the population is in the reserve - most is just to the south, especially on granite outcrops including the one featured above.

Acacia costiniana; the phyllodes are very distinctive. It can form dense colonies among the granite.

The range is worth visiting at any time, but spring (which extends well into November at the higher levels) produces an excellent wildflower display. Here is some evidence for this claim! (And this really is just a selection of what I could have offered you.)

Austral Bugle Ajuga australis Family Lamiaceae.

Mountain Boronia B. algida Family Rutaceae.
Several species of boronia are common in the sandstone to the east, but there are very few this far inland.

Common Star-hair Astrotricha ledifolia Family Araliaceae; a large shrub
with many small flowers.

Common Fringe Myrtle Calytrix tetragona Family Myrtaceae.
Another shrub that thrives among the rocks.

Long-leaf Wax Flower Philotheca (Eriostemon) myoporoides Family Rutaceae.
This beautiful shrub is common in gardens, but not so easy to find in the wild.
Another that loves growing among the boulders.

Peas are abundant, here as seemingly everywhere.

Silky Parrot Pea Dillwynia sericea.

Common Shaggy Pea Oxylobium ellipticum.

Heathy Bush Pea Pultenea procumbens.

I'm getting a bit carried away here, so maybe just some herbs to end the floral menu.

Mountain Violet Viola betonicifolia.

Prickly Starwort Stellaria pungens Family Caryophyllaceae - which includes carnations.

Milkwort Comesperma ericinum Family Polygalaceae.

But of course I can't really end without an orchid.

Mountain Golden Moths Diuris lanceolata.

As for animals - well of course, though I don't seem to have many, which may be as well given how long this posting is becoming. Four very different animals to end on.

Spotted Grass Frog Limnodynastes tasmaniensis.This, and some friends, were using a nice cool moist something (I can't now recall what it was!) sunk into the
ground at the edge of the dry forest.

Green Scarab Beetles Diphucephala sp. on Silver Wattle Acacia dealbata.A very common beetle in the mountains regionally.

Magpie Moth Nyctemera amicus; my thanks to Susan for pointing me to an identification for this one (below).
Love the antennae.

Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus with chicks.
This nest is in a hollow spout, a typical site for this species.
(And I'm sure she's more interested in her chicks than she appears!)

OK, the Tinderries - if you don't live in Canberra, or visit regularly, this may be of limited interest to you. But if you are one of those who drives regularly by them and wonders what's there - wonder no more! And next time, maybe you can detour...

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