Coming back.

Girraween N.P. was very badly damaged in a raging bush fire in February this year. We walked through our favourite section in May - it was devastating to see. But even worse was the total silence - there were no sounds of life. We went back this weekend. Because of the drought regeneration has been very slow but it is happening. There are green shoots appearing, there are roos and wallabies and there are some birds with their cheerful songs. And at the end of the walk there was an amazing surprise. :)

[Ko*]

Great story Rob.. Nature will always win, always... Good to see this is happening very fast.

[Rob Z]

@teriyakih Hi Teriyaki - I thought this one might work as a natural frame within a frame. The burnt tree trunks seemed to act as multiple frames. :)

[Peter H]

Nicely done.

[Sharon Lee]

sweet capture and great framing

[Babs]

Always sad to see the aftermath of bushfires, but at least some of the greenery is returning. The roo in this picture tells a story.

[Marnie]

Oh wow, how great to see all that regeneration and return of the wildlife.

[KoalaGardens🐨]

if only we would let the indigenous custodians look after these areas the devastating fires would be a thing of the past as the ceremonial fire stick farming would keep things in balance. great to see the green shoots starting up again

[Rob Z]

@madeinnl Hi Ko - thank you for your response. If we could get some rain the area could recover much faster. Hopefully it will rain before Spring. Cheers Rob

[Rob Z]

@golftragic Hi Marnie - it was much better - but we're hoping for rain before Spring - it would make a huge difference. :)

[Etienne]

Quite impressive view in burnt colours story. Of course, the sitting kangaroo adds the original touch.

[Rob Z]

@koalagardens That is a very good point too. Unfortunately I haven't seen many indications that there are many of the original inhabitants remaining in this area. It does seem to be an ideal situation to have indigenous people involved in the care of our N.P.s.and it does seem to happen in many cases with indigenous rangers. Qld N.P.s are not very well financed - I often think that the "pay as you use" idea in N.S.W. shows up in the condition of the Parks in your state - they are maintained in a better condition. :)

[Rob Z]

@etienne Hi Etienne - thanks for your comment. I am usually quite happy with my little camera - it fits in my pocket nicely. However, on this walk I felt it could not do justice to the surrounding possibilities. The colours that you mentioned, along with the stark shapes and contrasts combined to produce so many photographic opportunities. Thanks for your interest. Cheers Rob

[Jacqueline]

It is wonderful to see that nature is strong enough to recover. Great shot Rob!

[Rob Z]

@jacqbb Thanks so much Jacqueline - it is very confronting to see but it also has so many colours and shapes. Hopefully it will gradually recover fully. :)

[Walks @ 7]

Mother Nature is so resilient, it boggles the mind of us silly humans.

[FBailey]

Hope springs eternal:)

[Marnie]

@robz I'd reckon, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Shutterbug]

Our Yellowstone NP had huge fires in 1988. It was just so sad to see it all blackened. But the protected forests were resilient. Within a couple of years it had a green floor and birds started coming back. Now 31 years later, it is forest again with moose and elk and other animals. We’re glad it’s in our lifetime.

[Rob Z]

@shutterbug49 That's so good to hear - the only worry is that the fires seem to be happening more often ( at least over here) - will they have time to return?