As well as these natural values, the Wombat is a significant water catchment area, giving rise to six rivers (including the Lerderderg, Campaspe and Loddon rivers) and has extensive mineral springs. The mineral waters are rich in calcium, silica, magnesium, iron and sulphur. The volcanic activity of the region has supplemented the creation of mineral water- carbon dioxide mix that is seen in the form of bubbles emerging from the springs.
Threatened plant species in the Wombat include Swamp Bush-pea (Pultenaea weindorferi), Dense Mint Bush (Prostanthera decussata), Satinwood (Nematolepsis squamea) and Wombat Bossiaea (Bossiaea sp. Aff. bracteosa).
The native fauna consists of marsupials and monotremes, reptiles, amphibians, bats and birds. The Greater Glider (Petauroides volans) is the largest possum found in this forest. It has furry hair with the colour varying from grey to cream and with a pale underside. It has a large snout and large ears. Its range is in the western part of the Wombat State Forest. The forest also has a population of healthy Koalas - unlike other parts of Victoria, the Koalas here seem to be free of the devastating disease Chlamydia which makes them blind and infertile.
Several state-listed threatened bird species occur in the forest including the Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Grey Goshawk, Powerful Owl, Square-tailed Kite and Spotted Quail Thrush and the forest is the western extent of the range of the Red-browed Treecreeper and Olive Whistler.
Our resident of interest here is the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), also known as the coarse-haired wombat or bare-nosed wombat. It is a marsupial, one of three species of wombats and the only one in the genus Vombatus.
Of the other two species, the southern hairy noised wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) is adapted to living in the plains of South Australia and in the South West corner of Western Australia while the northern hairy nosed wombat is confined to one national park of about 3300 hectares near Epping in Queensland and is close to extinction.
Our fellow, the common wombat, lives in burrows in the forest and bushland areas of Australia in Tasmania, Eastern Victoria, and along the Eastern ranges in NSW to Queensland. They have no natural enemies and can even survive smaller bush fires in their underground burrows. They are a solitary, territorial species, with each wombat having an established range in which it lives and feeds. In this area, they dig a tunnel system, with tunnels ranging anywhere from 2 to 20 metres in length, along with many side tunnels. They have very strong claws and muscular thick legs to help in digging and the pouch of the female faces backwards to protect their young from flying dirt whilst the mother is digging the burrow.
Their diet is herbivorous and consists of roots, shoots and leaves. They emerge in late afternoon for scavenging in the evening and throughout the night. During the day they return to their burrows and go to sleep, sometimes lying on their backs with their four feet sticking up in the air!
Sometimes “Smokey” visits this location to check on the cache and if you are lucky you might even see a wombat while you are looking for the cache.
If you would like to learn more about nature and the seasons in the forest check out the Daylesford Nature Diary which describes the Wombat Forest Calendar and how it applies to the fauna and flora of the forest.
We suggest that you park at the given waypoint and then enjoy the walk down to the cache. Note the changes occurring in the forest after the control burn. The container is not suitable for swaps and you will need to bring your own pen.
As ever please respect our bushland and its occupants - leave only your footprints and take nothing but your own rubbish when you leave.