Inside a dormant volcano

Australia is such an ancient land, with rocks billions of years old and once gigantic mountains reduced to puny peaks by millions of years of erosion, that it can be a great surprise to learn of recent volcanic activity on its eastern shores. There are many remnants of this activity from Queensland to Victoria, some of which occurred only a few thousand years ago – just yesterday in geological time.

One particularly beautiful dormant volcano is Tower Hill, in western Victoria. It is located just off the Princes Highway between Warrnambool and Port Fairy, so it is hard to miss for the tourist of this area. Right on the northern edge of the volcano lies Koroit, a pleasant little town with an interesting history dating back from the 1850s.

The first view over Tower Hill when entering the reserve from the Princes Highway. 

Tower Hill is actually a series of volcanoes (~40!) within a more or less circular area. These erupted over some 20,000 years, the last eruption taking place only about 3000 years ago, i.e. just yesterday geologically. The Aboriginal people of the district would have witnessed the latest period of activity. In fact the name Koroit might be derived from the local aboriginal word for volcanic activity or volcano. The Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative, who runs the discreet tourist centre within the reserve together with Parks Victoria, provides an interesting leaflet on the history of Tower Hill and Aboriginal words associated with it. I wouldn't mind one of those words replacing Tower Hill, a rather uninspired choice...

View of the Southern Ocean from just below the top of Peak Climb, one of the walks in the reserve. The entrance to the park is on the far left of the picture.

The volcano is of the nested maar type, which means it resulted from the explosive encounter between magma and underground water. Very little lava flows from such volcanoes. However some did in Tower Hill, as attested by the lava tongue still visible today. It now looks like a long wall whose rocks have crumbled over centuries.

Given that the last period of activity is only a few thousands of years ago, Tower Hill is regarded as dormant, not extinct. I wonder whether there is a way to map the depth of magma below the surface, or at least monitor its activity such as via seismographs? I am always amazed at how little we know about what is below our feet...

Wildlife was reintroduced progressively over the last few decades. The reserve is a great spot to see emus, koalas and all kinds of marsupials. Watch out for your lunch or a cheeky emu will steal it, as happened to us! This particular creature  also went for the wallet...

Tower Hill can be driven through (at 10km/h only please!) or walked. The Parks Victoria website provides a good map of the marked walks of the reserve. All of these are quite easy even for a small child. I even saw someone with a stroller entering the Lava Tongue boardwalk!

In December 2017 we had perfect weather that followed a couple of years of good rains. The vegetation was lush and the lakes showed wonderful shades of blue and green.

The lake inside the last volcano, viewed facing north from its steep rim. This is part of the walk "Journey to the Last Volcano" in the reserve, which was my highlight. This volcano would have erupted some 3000 years ago only. It is difficult to get an idea of the scale from this picture, but it is a rather deep crater. The path around it is wide enough to feel safe (~5 metres) but I couldn't help feeling dizzy...

View south towards Tower Hill Lake and the sea, when walking down the Last Volcano. This is a beautiful spot.

Panorama from the Von Guérard Lookout, on the road to Koroit on the eastern rim of Tower Hill. Despite decades of conservation and good rains allowing considerable regrowth of vegetation in the reserve, it is still not what it used to be before the early settlers allowed grazing. Check out the painting by Von Guérard (next picture).

Tower Hill painted by Eugene von Guérard in 1855, just before destruction of the vegetation through farming. This picture is courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria. More information can be found here.

Sunset from the von Guérard lookout. Goodbye Tower Hill and Koroit!

In ghostly Japan

Travelling in Japan can take one to tourist ghost towns such as Yugawara, near the Izu peninsula. Once a favourite spot for onsen (hotspring) lovers, it is now almost deserted by tourists, even in the high season such as Golden Week. There is something melancholic about the place, with its strange juxtaposition of decaying traditional buildings and 1960-70s concrete. It was also a place much loved by writers, and Natsume Sôseki is said to have set his last unfinished work Meian (Light and Darkness) there. Walking up the main street alongside the noisy mountain river (whose name I could not find) felt like travelling in a parallel world occupied by the ghosts of long gone tourists. Apologies to Lafcadio Hearn for borrowing the title of one of his books.
Lots of thanks to Rodolphe and Hideko for taking us on this beautiful trip.

A large ryokan abandoned since ~10 years ago. A vigorous wisteria covers the bus shelter seen in the foreground.

The main street of Yugawara up the mountain, a couple of kilometers west of the train station.

Back to the 1970s. The mountain stream (left) seems to be the only thing alive.

Decaying traditional houses.

A red carpark overgrown with vegetation looks like a strange tori. 

The decaying and the ugly.

Back to reality: the Fujitaya Ryokan, a traditional but certainly not decaying building. This is a beautiful place to stay.

Peace and Quiet in Suburban Tokyo: Heirinji Temple

Somewhere in the boring Tokyo suburb of Niiza, in Saitama Prefecture, lie the beautiful grounds of Heirinji Temple. Those grounds are famous for their autumn colours. But a visit in mid spring is well worth it. The trees, mainly Japanese maples, are at their most tender green. Visitors are few and one is more likely to see Zen buddhist monks than a tourist. This is my favourite temple in the Tokyo area.

Information on how to reach the temple and its basic history can be found at
http://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-temples-shrines/heirinji

Here are a few photos taken during my 2017 visit in late April. Big thanks to Hideko for making us discover this beautiful place!

Near the main building of the temple.

Hidden bell.

Up and down under the maples.

Akamatsu, or red pines, in the northern section of Heirinji. These trees used to make up most of the woods of the western Tokyo area.

The lantern path. 

Area where the gardening equipment is stored.

Sculpted pines. The large pine tree in the background, on the right hand-side, is supposedly 500 years old.

Golden carps, or koi, coming for a feed.

Sunset Track - Birdsland

The Sunset Track walk is one of my favourite "suburban" walks in outer Melbourne. It is located in the three Melbourne "suburbs" of Belgrave Heights, Belgrave South and Lysterfield, in the Dandenong Ranges. You can enjoy views of Melbourne City and Port Philip Bay, as well as a very quiet semi-rural setting. Other attractions include the ridiculously steep Ryans Rd (do not attempt it in a small 2WD on a wet day!) and Birdsland Reserve with its picturesque lakes.  If you are interested in native plants, the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery located within Birdsland Reserve is well worth checking.

Part of the area burnt in March 2009, a few weeks after Black Saturday (and also in 1997 and 1983...). It has recovered well, but many of the blackwoods that used to populate sections of Sunset Track did not survive.

You can walk the entire loop walk (see map at the end) or park at the gates of Lysterfield National Park on Ryans Rd and do the walking tracks only. In the latter case, however, you will have to retrace your steps to return to the carpark. The loop walk includes street walking, most of it on quiet gravel roads, and should take an average adult 2 to 3 hours.

Near the intersection of Mount Morton Rd and Ryans Rd, facing north.

The very steep Ryans Rd facing west.

The burnt trunks of eucalyptus trees on Abrahams Track.

Port Philip Bay viewed from Sunset Track.

Sunset Track looking west towards the city.

Melbourne City  ~40 km away, viewed from Sunset Track.

Going down towards Birdsland, facing Upwey.

The larger Birdsland Lake, looking north.

Map of the loop walk. Sunset Track is in the western section of the walk.