The Big Day Out ! join our Cradle & Caves 1 Day Tour where you can see the Nofagus and everything else that is unique about our alpine regions here in Tasmania.

The alpine environment is one of most extreme for both plants and animals. There are frequently freezing temperatures, heavy snow falls and strong ice bearing winds. Above 1000 meters the vegetation consists mainly of herbfield, grassland, and heath communities, with some larger shrubs and pines. Unusual alpine habitats include dolerite boulderfields cushion plant communities and feldmark (wind-blown areas with sparse vegetation and stony soil).

A colourful sight in the alpine environment in mid to late April are the leaves of the deciduous beech, or fagus. Lager mid story shrubs in the lower alpine regions and small leafed bushes higher up change colour from grassy green to spectacular shades of red, orange and yellow before falling. Interestingly other species of beech occur in South America, but none of the New Zealand beeches are deciduous. A close look at the Tasmanian Myrtle Beech (a related species) shows signs of colour change too however the leaves do not fall.

Nofagus is only found in Tasmania and is Australia's only cool climate native tree that drops its leaves in autum. Displays of Fagus can be seen on distant Cradle Mountain and we see a close up view on our Hansen's Ridge Line walk.

Up high, nofagus shrubs have small thickened leaves and tough flexible stems which can cope with the severe conditions, in contrast lower down in the sheltered forest near Waldheim Lodge, Cradle Valley, these trees have soft leaves that appear larger to capture the minimal sunlight in the shady King Billy Pine forest. These shrubs can be seen on the track passing through the enchanted walk near the lodge.

In the middle of winter you can still see brown nofagus leaves laying on the forest floor in the Enchanted Forest or up high on the slopes of Cradle Mountain, trapped in the sand and gravel surrounding the dormant trunks and branches.

The Big Day Out ! join our Cradle & Caves 1 Day Tour where you can see the Nofagus and everything else that is unique about our alpine regions here in Tasmania.