I drove up to Kulnura this morning to see if a favourite coffee stop, Jerry's Gourmet Kitchen, had survived the fires. It is intact and undamaged. There are areas of very burnt bush along the road to the north and south of Jerry's but it seems that they managed to stop the fires at the main road. I did not venture more than a few kms north of Jerry's towards Wollombi but I understand it is very burnt out up there.
The areas burnt by the fire are a total mess. I was unwilling to walk into the burnt out bush due to the danger of falling branches and trees.The intensity of the fires is very evident. Burnt bush is not photogenic. It is going to need a lot of rain and a long time for the bush to regenerate but even without rain there are a few hardy green shoots amongst the leaf litter. It's difficult to comprehend that there are tens of millions of hectares which look like this in south eastern Australia. A mess of burnt trees, fallen branches and saddest of all dead animals. And most worryingly the fire season has a long time to run yet.
I drove down Bumble Hill Road from Kulnura into the Yarramalong Valley and it seems that there has been a storm in part of it as it is green and there was a white horse munching away on the grass. Millions of sheep, cattle and horses in drought affected regions would love to be in that horse's place.
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