Neil Phillips – Trip Leader (TL)
1744
Patrol
Participants
Mbr
Number
Vehicle Details
Ed Reddick
1623
Land Cruiser
NT Pajero
Pam Reddick
1623
Land Cruiser
Brian Hay
1497
Pajero
Sue Hay
1497
Pajero
Pajero NX
Pajero NX
Bob Aitken
978
Land Cruiser
Rudolf Arends
1853
Pajero
Margaret Hyde
1853
Pajero
Tallarook Plateau Natural History
7th January 2018
Trip Reports
The day prior to our planned Tallarook trip was over 40oC with strong northerly winds so we had been watching the reports for any fires and were prepared to cancel if necessary. The Tallarook Plateau was not somewhere to be driving in thick smoke trying to find a way home. Fortunately, conditions were benign for our trip, and no fires threatened the area.
We met in Tallarook and headed along the freeway to Ennis road and our access onto the Tallarook Plateau. This was the small section of the Hume Freeway that was resurfaced the previous week and melted the day before in the heat; we were slowed as the caution signs were being removed on this Sunday morning.
This trip was the first Club outing with the new Tallarook Plateau guide book and we based much of the day visiting a selection of the described locations and traversing a mixture of the track-classified 4WD tracks. The selection of locations for the day also allowed appreciation of the great vegetation differences related to elevation, wetter and drier positions, and soil. At the base of the Plateau, Dabyminga Creek bridge was interesting as water was still flowing from December rains and juvenile river red gums were growing right in the middle of the creek seeking good water supplies.
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