Grieving for losses: Fire in Cottan Bimbang National Park, Walcha NSW

Myrtle Scrub Scenic Drive is the main access to this lovely mountainous area of rainforest off the Oxley Highway, and we visited this area in 2018 to enjoy its beauty and serenity. I wonder if the lovely old log bridge was destroyed by the bush fire that burnt through this area and, if so, then it is a sad loss, as are the myrtle trees and the rainforest.

It was foggy this morning when we rose, and we drove in it, as we took the Oxley Highway towards Port Macquarie after refuelling. The Highway soon took us above the clouds of fog to sunshine, but long trails of mist covered any lower elevations, and the usual bare deciduous trees formed lines of delicate tracery alongside fences.

We drove out as far as Cottan-Bimbang National Park, and turned onto the 15 km Myrtle Scrub Scenic Drive, which took us through rainforest where tall trees reached up to the sun and ferns covered the understorey, except where dense patches of Myrtle formed impenetrable thickets. We wound around the side of a mountain and along a saddle, which was difficult to sense, as the forest was so crowded. Then we moved up into a drier area of native pines, before returning to rainforest again. After this we alternated between these two types of vegetation and their transition zones.

At Cells River Day Use Area we crossed a bridge constructed from chunky logs and stopped for a closer look at it, the picnic area and the clear stream that flowed beneath it. It was quite cold here and the wooden picnic table had a moss and fungi garden adorning its top. Then we climbed steadily upwards through rainforest to emerge further east along the Oxley Highway.

Remember: Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we are supposed to be and embracing who we are. Brene Brown