Mount Terrick Terrick

The plan for this weekend's day hike was to return to Mount Terrick Terrick,  formally known as Mitiamo Rock. Now Known as the Terrick Terrick National Park, the park features three large granite outcrops called Mount Terrick Terrick, Bennett's Rock and Riegal's Rock (Though some maps have this marked as Mount Byrne. Forming a roughly triangular course,  the trek would cover approximately 15km, with enough time to explore (i.e. climb on) each of the rocky formations. I had also planned to side track to the ruins of the old Riegal's homestead, as shown on the map below, however conditions on the day did not allow me to do that. I will have to put that on the list of things to do in future.

The National Park contains many interesting species of flora and fauna. It boasts one of the largest undisturbed areas of native grassland remaining in Victoria, with much of the grasses wipe out due to farming activities. The grasses are home to birds and of course plenty of deadly snakes. Walking between Mount Terrick and Bennett's rock, I came cross a rather large brown snake. I was being careful and keeping an eye out for these fella, particularly since I was only wearing shorts, so I took my time. This particular fella was a good 10m ahead, sunning himself on what was almost a track through the grass. He noticed me and began to move away, so I allowed him time to get some distance away before proceeding around his locality. It reminded me to remain vigilant for the remaining portion of the track. I had noticed that the weather was starting to change lately and was almost becoming autumnal, so the reptiles would be out trying to get some food in their bellies before finding a nice hollow to sleep out the colder months. Now the thing to remember about this baby is that it is not interested in eating you. Humans are too big and don't taste very nice apparently. So the snake does not want to bite you. It will bite if it feels threatened, or if you disturb it during nesting season. The common brown snake is the second most deadly snake in the world after the Taipan. While it's fangs are relatively short, the venom is potent enough to kill you within minutes. If bitten, the thing to do is apply and elastic constrictive bandage and remain very very still. Get help to come to you rather than trying to move as movement stimulates the lymphatic system and will result in death quicker. Applying a correct bandage and remaining still will increase the amount of time for the toxins to work their way through the system. It can sometimes add hours to the process, and can mean the difference between life and death.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Now I said before that the fangs of the brown snake are quite short. This means they have trouble penetrating even denim jeans, and certainly will not get through leather. Wearing loose cargo type pants, with leather boots will help prevent getting bitten on the lower extremities (the most common location of bites). Some trekkers wear gaters, and I intend to get some of these before tacking Wilsons Promontory later in the year, as the tiger snakes in that area have longer fangs and tend to be more aggressive. But this was little comfort to me on this day as I was wearing shorts and runners type hiking shoes. I mentally chastised myself for not being better prepared and made a note not to do so again. I felt particularly vulnerable given that I was hiking alone. I checked my phone and was relieved that I had full coverage so I would be able to call for help if needed. I also double checked my first aid kit and was comforted that I had a good bandage to use if needed. I recalled a snake expert at the Elmore Field days that was selling special snake bandages and I made a note to see if I could get hold of a couple for future. It never hurts to be prepared.

I continued ever so carefully in a north westerley direction until I came across a clay road. This I roughly followed until I saw another road leading to Bennett's Rock. I felt a lot more comfortable walking along the gravel roads as any snake would be more visible. But by this time another  pest was starting to cause trouble. My old friend the mosquito had smelled my rich blood and sent a signal out to the mossie telegraph. I was swamped by about ten thousand mossies wanting a taste of me. They were relentless, and once again I chastised myself for not bringing insect repellent. I have been told the bushmans brand is good stuff, so I will get some and throw it in my pack so I don't leave it behind again. A colleague at work also mentioned a product that horse owners use to protect their horses and riders. A small dab on the main of the horse wards off flies and mossies. I will look into that for future.

I didn't bother to climb Bennett's or Riegel's rocks because the trek had taken a bit longer than I had hoped for as the risk of snakes had slowed me down somewhat. The weather was also starting to get a bit more vulnerable with the wind picking up and a hint of rain showers. So I proceeded back to Terrick Terrick. As I walked along a stumbled upon a mob of Kangaroos that were sleeping under a tree. I think I startled them, and the bull roo jumped up to check me out. I was about 20m away and just let them sense that I meant them no harm. I reached to take my pack off hoping to get out my 70-300mm lens so I could get a better shot, but the movement in taking off my pack was enough to scare the roos into bounding away. By this time I was really getting fed up with the mossies so I headed to the rock so that I could get up to the top. I knew once I started to climb, the wind would blow the annoying little pests away. As I walked toward the rock I noticed a dragonfly, well there were actually lots of dragonflys, and it seemed to catch a fly. I thought I was seeing things, so when I got home I googled it and sure enough, dragonflies eat other insects including flies and ironically mosquitoes. I reckon the dragonflies were having a feast that day. I felt privileged to have witnessed the hunter in action.

But of course I was at the park to shoot as well as hike, so my attention turned to capturing some of the scenery. I would have liked to hang around till sunset which was about 2 hours away but I was unsure whether there was gates and if they would lock them so I knew I had to be heading relatively soon. As it turned out, there are no locks or gates so for future I will make a point of staying longer and getting the light from the magic hour.

As it was I snapped away and got some shots of the granite boulder. The boulder itself rises 40m above gound level, and is a fun little place to explore. My boys enjoyed it last time I brought them here.

Okay, so lessons learned:

1. wear long pants and leather boots in this country and others like it.
2. Once again I learned the hard way to pack insect repellent.
3. I had enough water but a bit more would have been nice.
4. Buy one of those fang dangled snake bandages from the snake handling guy at the field days.