Easter – New life in the forest!

Almost three months later, I visited the Wombat State Forest again, having ridden on bikes through the area over the New Years break. More then a month later, the same beautiful section of forest was decimated by the recent Bush Fires that plagued Victoria. Together with Cinematographer Tibor hegedis, I spent a day photographing the burnt out sections. My brother in-law and I  also took a Helicopter survey of the region. It was obvious to me that massive damage had occurred and that it would take a great deal of time to heal the wounds inflicted by the fires.

I should make this clear. I don’t intend to harp on this subject matter, it’s just I have found this event quite amazing. Daylesford or more precisely the Bullarto Hogen’s Rd Fire in the Wombat State Forest, did not effect people on a scale like the Kinglake Fires or those at Marysville. For me personally, Daylesford is my second home. I virtually grew up in the area, I got married in Daylesford and both my Grandparents are buried there. So for me it’s only natural to be involved in some way. This is now the third blog entry that I have written on the subject and I promise not to bore you with more.

It’s Easter now, and I took the opportunity to revisit the same areas that were burnt out. While huge sections of the forest are clearly dead, there is some hope in small sections of the park. Life is springing from some of the trees although I do have to say that this is occurring only in maybe less then 10% of the areas I visited. Mostly I saw nothing but burnt out logs and dead ghostly looking trees in a field of brown leaves covering the ground like a carpet. It’s strangely beautiful in an apocalyptic way??! As I stood in the forest taking photos, I heard nothing but air movement between the trees. No birds and no animals at all. However at my feet, some grasses had broken through the blackened ground, providing at least some green colour to the scene. It’s eerily strange taking photos of a tiny fern, or a tree breaking out into what looks like some sort of strange disease as it sprouts new shoots. Life is coming back. However it is clear to me that this will be a very long time.

At my brother in-laws farm, the charcoal colour of their fields had been completely replaced with green. Grass had sprouted in the rains that followed the fires and the place was awash with green! For me this was amazing because it had completely changed the way the farm looked. A total transformation is the best way to describe it. I once again took photos of the same subjects on the farm. The Sheep, the Donkey, the House and the large Sculpture nick named “Star Gate”.  I have included a mix of shots from before the fire, directly after the fire and photos I have taken this weekend to compare. I think you will agree its a pretty incredible change.

Riding in the forest

StarGate by Greg Johns

The following photos were all taken over the Easter Weekend. Enjoy!