Tonight! On weed watch.

[puredingo]

The Shoalhaven river; anything below Tallowa damn...forget about it. Walls upon walls of Lantana.
Like I’ve never seen before, an absolute nightmare.

[johnw]

The Shoalhaven river; anything below Tallowa damn...forget about it. Walls upon walls of Lantana.
Like I’ve never seen before, an absolute nightmare.

Many years ago I remember visiting the Four (now 3?) Lookouts track above the dam. I bumped into a Canadian guy who said he was looking for a way down to Apple Tree Flat to camp. I distinctly recall thinking that spot appeared to be a weed-fest even then, and even viewed from above at a distance. I've encountered other places with rampant Lantana - suburbia of course, but along the Nepean River north of Glenbrook Gorge used to be a shocker. Admittedly the track did cut through it there.

[michael_p]

ABC story on the spread in Queensland: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019- ... s/11190098 I had no idea it was toxic and could kill livestock.

It has spread rapidly in the bushland near my place. Several years back it was rare to see any, now there are pockets all over the place and some spots are developing into walls of weeds.

[puredingo]

Yep, it was next level infestation alright.

My original plan was to walk down from the dam and up Steer Ck, meet the drovers track and loop back to the dam. But the Lantana started to show just before Apple tree flat and got worse. Even before I hit the flat proper, when I was only in moderate weed world, I thought I would take a high line and tuck up under the scarp where usually the weeds don’t come in as hard...but no. From river to rock face it was wall to wall.

The 500 meters or so as bashed back towards the river I don’t think my feet actually ever touched the ground, just a bed of twisted lantana roots. Usually there is an animal pad or a couple of tunnels to get you through but even the local wildlife weren’t stupid enough to get involved in this mess. By the time I crossed the river from the flat and made it down to the creek the Lantana showed no signs of relenting and I’d had enough....the stink of that stuff gives me nightmares these days.

[puredingo]

Did a walk through some of the lower Blue mountains over the Anzac weekend and I’m pleased to say a lot of the weeds are dead or dying. They’re still prevalent in parts and it’s no walk in the park...but it’s better.

[wildwanderer]

That's good news.

I remember Dave Noble mentioned a few weeks back that the weeds would die off over winter. I hadn't paid attention to weed life cycles before so I was a bit dubious that they would just go away with the winter.

Glad to hear the frosts have got to em.. and the undergrowth is starting to thin out. Should be a good winter walking season

[Hughmac]

Tried to walk the Timealong Trail off Meryla Pass a couple of weeks ago. Managed to fight my way about 2km before I hit an impenetrable 3m wall of weeds mixed with native regrowth. Was down at Emmett's Flat at the weekend, and it is almost unrecognisable. There is a faint trail leading to the old campsite over Troys Creek, but from here the old Katoomba track has disappeared into thickets of weeds and Kangaroo Apple. Sadly the pig population doesn't seem to have been impacted by the fires.
The only bright spot on the weekend was the presence of the family of noisy miners living near the pluviometer beside Wattle Ridge - been there for thirty years that I know of, and survived two major fires in that time. Very little sign of animal life otherwise. Even the ant nests that used to line Nattai Rd up to Starlights are all dead.

[puredingo]

Gee Hugh, that paints a bleak picture of the state of play around these parts. I was on the Timealong last July and seen the onslaught you are talking about, it was just kicking off post fires but I thought enough usage would keep the weeds at bay...obviously not.

And yep, the Nattai is a mess alright. I’m planning on quite a few days out soon and was going to pass through but might have re-route my walk and stick to the farm/service roads. My days of blazing trails through weeds are over that’s a young mans game.

[Hughmac]

Between the fires and the floods over the last twenty years, the old walk through the Nattai valley really is a piece of history now. I know the route is still navigable for the adventurous, but it is nowhere near as pleasant as it was when the whole route was through mature forest without weed infestations and pigs. The only saving grace is probably the fact that the river bed itself is largely accessible after being scoured clean by the floods, although this has made the crossings more awkward than they were. Anyone who remembers the Green Cathedral as it was in the 90s would have to be heartbroken to see the state it is in now. Emmetts is a sad shadow of its former self, and Macarthurs effectively disappeared in regrowth after the 01 fires. I was mildly astonished when I was down there recently to see one of Sloss's original yellow track markers on a tree near the old Troys Creek ruins, completely unaffected by the two fires that have raged through the valley.

[michael_p]

A friend of mine went for a walk to Picton Weir. She sent me a photo of the Tobacco Weed that has taken over the area along the river. It looked really bad.

[puredingo]

Anyone know what they call that yellowish/green weed that drapes itself upon the bush’s, shrubs and trees like an impenetrable spiderweb?

Because I just spent two days in mortal battle with the damn stuff and I’d like to know it’s exact name so I can scream it’s wretchedness and curse it to Hell!

Thank you,

Dingo.

[GPSGuided]

Machete time?


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[tom_brennan]

Anyone know what they call that yellowish/green weed that drapes itself upon the bush’s, shrubs and trees like an impenetrable spiderweb?

Might need a few more details! A pic? Possibly Cassytha pubescens (Devil's Twine). That's a good one for tying bushes together into a maze...

[puredingo]

GPS- A machete wouldn’t be much good with this stuff. It hangs loose and is only about angel hair spaghetti thick but unbelievably dense. A machete would only push it around or get tangled up in it.

Tom- I’ll google your suggestion when the PTSD calms….it was also sticky and about the colour of one of those conifer trees that were so big in the 70’s

[puredingo]

Yes! That’s definitely the one you suggested Tom. Interested to read it is a native. Brutal stuff for off track walking.

[tom_brennan]

Interested to read it is a native.

Almost all the post-fire regrowth appears to be native. I'm sure near the creeks and rivers there's some actual weeds, but for the most part, it's home grown.

Doesn't make it any easier to push through though...

[juxtaposer]

[quote="Hughmac"] [quote]Anyone who remembers the Green Cathedral as it was in the 90s would have to be heartbroken to see the state it is in now.[quote]

You mean near the junction of Wanganderry Creek? Don't tell me pigs have got in there.