The Huffington Post travel section has recently had a small story about a town where you can only get around by walking, cycling or paddling. It’s called Giethoorn, and it’s found around about 55 miles (88kms) northeast of Amsterdam. Oh, and it sits in the middle of the Weeribben-Wieden National Park. What’s not to love??
It sounds a really interesting place for a visit…
You can see the article and some images here.
* A version of this post is also on brianfurze.com.au
There has been a lot written in the Australian press recently on national parks and the changes which are occurring in their management (see also various previous blogs of mine). It’s encouraging to see the number of stories critical of the potential undermining of the concept – not to mention the park’s protective functions, and their contributions to both sustainable local economies and sustainable landscapes.
An interesting article can be found on the ABC’s website (available here). The essence of the article can be summed up in the following:
No longer are national parks primarily there to preserve and protect our country’s precious natural heritage but now must be the venue for a vast array of potentially harmful activities.
This of course is the old ‘protection from and protection for what’ balance national parks have to deal with. Put another way, it’s the balance between conservation and biodiversity needs and economic development trajectories.This has been the case since the first national park was legislated (Yellowstone) for the protection of wild places from the onslaught of cities and civilisation.
That was over 150 years ago. There has been a lot of sophisticated thinking since then. At this stage in thinking, you’d hope we moved on from ‘either/or’. You’d hope that with a bit of creative thinking, we can actually move to something resembling ecological system needs being protected with a re-imagined vision for development trajectories.
Unfortunately, in Australia, judging by the number of changes occurring to what is being considered as ‘legitimate’ activities in national parks (for example, mining, forestry) and the various attempts to excise sections of parks, the ecological/landscape protection role is being undermined.
This raises some important questions to consider (at least in my mind):
As someone who has worked in the national park/protected area management field around the world, it is particularly sad to see a wealthy country like Australia losing the balance, a balance which is essential in economic, ecological and social ways. It’s a balance that needs to be right for local, national and international sustainability. And, perhaps most importantly, it’s not just about losing the balance, but the mindsets, ideas, ethics and values which cause the balance to tip.
As I write this, I’m sitting on the terrace of my apartment in New Delhi. The weak winter sun is leaving the terrace now, and there is a noticeable chill in the air (though not as noticeable as it was a few weeks ago – soon the heat will be back). I’ve been thinking for some reason about one of my favourite landscapes - a place of, at least to my mind, extraordinary beauty, people very committed to their area and rich biological diversity sitting side-by-side farming landscapes.
I’m in reflective mode and its taken a little time for me to understand why specifically this should be the case. I think it’s the parrots, sitting in the trees just across from my terrace. It’s not the specific species, just the fact that there are parrots in the trees. This favourite landscape of mine has lot’s of parrots – they’re one of my first memories of it, back when I was a kid travelling around with my father who would visit for his work. And now, after more than 40 years and countless visits of my own, it is very deeply etched into my memories, my work, my life and my sense of identity.
The landscape I’m thinking about is one where I’ve camped, cycled, walked, canoed, photographed, worked with communities in planning sustainable futures, and all kinds of things. I’ve been their on my own, with friends, with students, with colleagues, with family.
These connections are multi-layered. They are partly framed by my values and ethics (and in turn the landscape actually frames them), partly by memories of sights, sounds, meetings, discussions, sunrises, moon-rises, chill in the air in autumn, cold in the air in winter, heat in the air in summer and who knows what else.
For me, LoST is ultimately about these multiple connections to landscapes and their people. These don’t have to be (and don’t need to be) developed over X years of visiting – they can be developed through a slow trip through a landscape. What is important is we are open to these connections, these multiple points of being part of a landscape. It is a state of mind, an ethical framework, and a value-base and they come together in a landscape.
How often do we hear people implore travellers to ‘keep their mind open’ for experiences. But for me, the important thing is how we actually interpret and reflect on these experiences, not just ‘experience’ them. Without this reflection, we just superficially experience – we grab yet some more experiences and they become part of our travelling life. But they don’t have the depth of connection and interpretation that is only possible as we move towards our own approach and interpretation of local, slow travel.
In a tiny corner of the landscape…
So as I sit here on the terrace, a little chillier now, the parrots represent my ‘now’, but they also represent my connection to a landscape on the other side of the world. We don’t have to be in the landscape to remember it, we just need to be able to feel its connections with us. And when we feel this, that landscape has become an important part of us, and we have actively engaged with it, in our own way. And it’s a nice feeling.
There is a nice story on Uttar Pradesh’s Chambal Sanctuary I recently found. It’s a good description of the Chambal Sanctuary as well as a little bit about the history of the area. It’s great to see and to hear about success stories such as these.
You can find the story here.
Mt Buffalo is a beautiful park anytime of year, but the combination of Autumn colours in the valley and the beginnings of a chill in the air makes this a particularly great walk in Autumn. The valley is a fascinating place, a place where a lot of Australia’s changing rural landscapes can be seen – farms that once were growing hops and tobacco now are vineyards. Railways that have been abandoned have now become iconic rail trails where cyclists travel. Mt Buffalo itself, once a thriving ski resort, is now about to have life breathed back into it when its heritage listed chalet is renovated and opened again.
For those who want to really feel the contours of the Buffalo landscape, there is a walk that takes you from the bottom to the top – the Big Walk. It’s a great idea to spend some time at the top, camping at Lake Catani and exploring the many trails and rock formations of the plateau.
The Big Walk covers over 1 kilometre in height over 9 kilometres of walking. Yes it’s a hard seven hours to the top, but it is one of the most scenic and fulfilling walks in the Mount Buffalo region. It’s no wonder it’s called the ‘Big Walk’.
The track to the top. The start of the Big Walk
Take the time to enjoy the walk and the bush of the Buffalo massif whilst getting to the top. There are vegetation zones to pass through as well as scenic lookouts and waterfalls to discover. You can feel the changes in the temperatures of the micro-climates, and smell the different vegetation as the trail passes through. The lookouts on the way can be visited and the extraordinary vistas from the plateau taken in. The Big Walk is a walk of the senses as much as an ascent to the top.
The walk is well signposted and so should not hold any surprises. However it is an Alpine environment, though not as harsh as in other areas. Changes in weather can occur quite dramatically and quite quickly, so you need to be prepared for cold changes and snow at any time of the year.
The walk starts at the Entrance Station to the Park and goes from the Eurobin Picnic Area to the Gorge Day Visitor area at the top of the plateau. From the Gorge it is a relatively easy walk to Lake Catani Camping Area for those who decide to stay at the top and do some further exploration of the plateau.
Eurobin Creek at the start of the walk
The beginning of the trail is at the north end of the Eurobin Creek Picnic Area. Walk across the swing bridge and begin the steep climb to Eurobin Point (reached after approximately 2.7 kilometres of fairly steep walking).
However once at Eurobin Point, the hard part of the walk is over. Whilst it is still uphill, the climb becomes more gentle. A visit to Rollason’s Falls is approximately a 2 km round trip (about an additional 1.5 hours) along the signposted and well-marked track.
Continuing on your upward journey, the main road is again crossed to reach Mackay’s Lookout. Here is another lookout providing magnificent views of the valley below. Further along, a short divergence (around 100 metres) takes you to Marriot’s Lookout, providing views back to the Buffalo gorge, the ultimate conclusion to the walk.
Lake Catani. Note the dead trees from intense fires in 2008.
It’s still up to Mansfield’s Junction (1350 metres) after 3 kilometres. Here there are two choices – a trip to Mansfield’s Lookout or to Reed’s Lookout. Both return to the Big Walk and to yet another decision – between following the Gorge Heritage walk or continuing along the track.
Either way, the end is the path to Crystal Brook Falls and the Gorge Day visitor area. This is the end of the sign-posted Big Walk.
Coming down from Chalwall galleries – an easy walk from Lake Catani camp ground
However, for those continuing on to Lake Catani and further adventures exploring this unique landscape, there are plenty of signposts. And if you’re not? In the absence of a lift in a vehicle, just follow the path back down – it’s quicker than coming up!