Rest Your Mind in a 2000 Year Old Antarctic Beech Forest

Описание: After one year on YouTube it’s time for a little rest, just three minutes in one of my favourite Ancient Forests in Australia. Did you spot the creepy tree faces and a couple of beautiful heart shapes formed by a small space in the roots…?

Home to a very special and rare plant that bears the name, ‘Antarctica’ because fossil specimens have been found on that continent from a time before it was completely covered in 3km deep snow and ice. This forest is also a special type dubbed, ‘cloud forest’ because it grows at the same altitude that clouds form on the escarpment of Springbrook Mountain in Queensland. These trees are just metres from a thousand metre band of cliffs that separate the state from New South Wales. There is a small platform nearby, right on the cliff face, from which you can see the ocean as far south as Byron Bay, and to the central core of the ancient Mt Warning shield volcano. The area and its short accessible walkway are named after the ‘Best of All’ lookout at the end of the bitumen path.

In a short video posted a few days ago I described the Gondwana World Heritage Forests, which includes the Springbrook National Park, with multiple sites on the mountain and in the valleys on both sides, east and west. These forests host some of the most beautiful and most popular tourist destinations with jaw dropping topography, priceless species and the annual highest rainfall in Queensland.

If you’re not so interested in facts and figures, I hope you enjoyed spending a few moments in the canopy of this single tree. It is the northernmost plant of its entire tree family which I think is pretty amazing. Holding the frontier for over 2000 years. That is so inspiring, don’t you think?

Even better, this tree is a personal friend to me, an ongoing testament that life endures despite nature’s cycles and seasons bringing hardships at times. These trees have seen cyclones, droughts and devastating bushfires on ridges nearby, yet somehow they have maintained their regal presence, a real crown in the jewel that is Springbrook Mountain.

Thank you for watching

Music : Forest Whispers (Alexander Valentine), Epidemic Sound