LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY > SOUTHWEST NATIONAL PARK – SOUTH COAST TRACK REGION – TASMANIA > Bull Kelp (Durvillaea potatorum) at Cockle Creek (Southwest National Park)
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Bull kelp (Durvillaea potatorum) is a common kelp in Tasmania that grows around the low tide line. The Tasmanian aborigines made baskets for carrying water and ochre out of bull kelp. Sticks were pierced through either side of the kelp basket, and string handles made out of bark and grasses were attached.
This bull kelp was growing near the whale sculpture at Cockle Creek in Southwest National Park World Heritage Area. Cockle Creek is located in quiet Recherche Bay in the far southeastern corner of Tasmania and is both the starting point and the finishing point for a couple of Tasmania’s most important walks.
The walk to Australia’s southernmost point, South Cape Bay, starts at Cockle Creek. The day walk is about 15.5 km (9.5 mi) round trip and takes approximately 4-5 hours to complete. It traverses dry eucalypt forest, marsh heathlands and coastal shrub before hitting the rocky, rugged south coast.
Cockle Creek also marks the end of Tasmania’s renowned “South Coast Track”, a 74 km (46 mi) remote wilderness walk that begins at Melaleuca, deep within Tasmania’s Southwest National Park. The South Coast Track takes about 7 days to complete and traverses buttongrass plains, mountain ranges and beautiful, rugged coastline.