DEAR News Of The Area,

LIKE a mangy dog, scratching and scraping all over, the itch is terrible.

In case the Great Koala National Park gets the nod, to get the jump on all those eco-tourists, I spent a couple of days poking about in the headwaters of the Kalang.

Following recent claims of a large colony of koalas up there, I was disappointed in not finding a trace of our cuddly little mates.

But boy oh boy the march flies, ticks and leeches found me, hence the itching.

No doubt there is the odd koala, in the upper reaches of both the Kalang and Bellinger, but are thin on the ground and a sighting is rare.

A true bushman, passed away, spent his entire life up there and claimed he never saw one.

A local bushie myself, I have seen only one in the upper Bellinger. In recent decades much private property has been logged in the Kalang topped off by most State Forests heavily logged in the sixties and seventies.

A huge bushfire in ‘67 or ‘68 devastated much of the old growth eucalypt, so it is surprising this supposed large colony of our furry mates have survived as claimed.

There is a nice little creek up there with some deep pools, certainly worth preserving, but the privet and rubbish lower down is a challenge.

For those eco-tourists, it is still a long shot, but closer to the coast is a better bet.

Regards,
Darcey BROWNING,
Bellingen Shire.