the responsibility of the Gunditjmara people .
This view was stunning , a glimpse at what is considered to be one of the worlds foremost coastal roads , once a paradise for motorcyclists now a slow , frustrating ride behind the multitude of caravans and tourist buses .
We took on some of the Great Ocean Road , able to enjoy the many sweeping bends with the lengthy line of cars to negotiate , a pandemic is good for something , before being led to a narrow , steep road that headed back into the hills to eventually come across the ruins of the old sawmill and its history .
Now riding on we were treated to the many oddities of The Otways ; tracks skirting abandoned railway lines and sidings ; place names , with no place attached ; decimated landscapes amongst the beauty of the national park . And then , the weirdest thing in the area , a stand of California Redwoods .
It ’ s a fairy tale world of the tallest living plants on our planet , completely out of place amongst the Australia bush . It ’ s hard to understand why they ’ re here yet it has an astonishing story .
These Sequoia Sempervirens were planted on a small river flat in the Aire Valley in 1936 . Sheltered from the elements it was believed they would be quick growing , and provide a rich source of long , straight , and strong timber .
This plantation was just one of many experiments in the region . Now reaching over 60 metres tall , these trees , still in the infancy , were slow to establish and considered a failure . Essentially abandoned they have thrived , and scientists believe they could outgrow their cousins in North America becoming the tallest trees in the world .
There ’ s little surprise that the trees have thrived , for this region is one of the wettest in Australia with an
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