A human life-span, even a hundred years pales into insignificance against the life span of some trees. It takes 100 years for a eucalypt to develop hollow branches or trunk sufficient for a bird to nest in, or to house a sleepy possum.

Many quite ordinary rainforest trees live for hundreds and even thousands of years. Some quite small rainforest trees, perhaps only waist or shoulder high can be, perhaps, ten or twenty years old, just waiting in a state of limbo for a nearby forest giant to fall. With the sudden breaking of the forest canopy allowing sunlight to enter, this tree is poised ready for action growing to fill the void.

At Quamby Falls Lodge, a couple