Sometimes, the best times to walk are when no one else fancies going out - for example, when it's freezing cold and wet. Not us though - we find it exhilarating, and even better BECAUSE there is no one else around - not the hordes of tourists on the way to the 12 Apostles or the families passing by for picnics. I'd much rather it wet, quiet, cold and lonely than have to walk by someone else stinking of aftershave or shouting children. I know, I sound like a grump. I'll own that.

Melba Gully is just past Lavers Hill, and if you are heading to the 12 Apostles, you definitely should pop in there for a quick walk - it's only about a half an hour circuit through an exemplary bit of Otway Rainforest. If you're lucky, you'll see the rare otway black snail, or any number of lovely mushrooms, including these trametes versicolor, a local turkeytail.

Many of the trees tower towards the sky, containing multitudes - lichens, mushrooms, insects all clamour on these tall universes, wavering in the breeze or scuttling up the trunk. It's a very tactile experience, walking through this kind of forest - all the trees are furred, like muppets, with moss, lichen and ferns. They are like magic faraway trees, and one can imagine the glow worms lighting the forest whilst fairies jump from polypore to lichened branch to fern frond, doing their fairy theatre under the full moon.

There was also the token sign, just to make sure no one slipped unwittingly on a stegosaurus. You'll be pleased to know we made it without any such dinosaur slippage, as that probably would have ruined the day out.

The photo on the left below is actually the trunk of a tree fern. SEe what I mean about tactile? This could be snuffleupagous fur, although I think the snuffleupagus might be less wet and covered in mushrooms, otherwise you would not be happy being snuffled by it. Tree ferns really are beautiful - they take a very long time to grow, granted, but to have a rainforest in your area, it's probably worth the wait.

There's so much lichen around eating the wood and rocks. Did you know lichen eat the minerals in the rocks and when they die it turns into soil? In fact the whole forest is a soil making machine, including the manure from cockatoos and various bird life, possums, wallabies and other marsupials.

Everything is so green it kinda hurts your eyes. This kind of old growth forest is what people fight to protect, except most of this area has been logged and regenerated with new planations, including pine. That's why pockets like Melba Gully are so important. They stand as havens for wildlife and are protected from development, little jewels in the landscape. This 48 hectares is invaluable, especially when other areas have been burnt in fires as well.

Some of the biggest trees have fallen, and the one they dubbed 'Big Tree' in an imaginative Australian way, was 60 metres high and now is 60 metres long on the forest floor. Still, it provides life for the mycellium, bugs and birds. Even fallen trees have their place. The last time I went here was about 2007 - it fell in 2009.

On the walk there's also a lovely little stream and a cascade called Annie's Cascade. Everything tinkles and hushes and rushes with the sound of water and rain.

There are a few uphill sections, but nothing too major. We walked slowly as we are both still recovering from COVID. Oh, and if you want to know what Jamie's pointing at, he's making a joke about stealth camping, which he is kinda obsessed by. It wouldn't be hard to stealth camp in this forest, it's so darn dense.

This fungus is a orange beech fungus I think. It does look like a turkey tail but it's not, and is common around here, very bright orange against the green. It's almost like a totem pole! It was by far the most common fungi we saw.

Later I read that Melba Gully is one of the wettest places in the entire state - no wonder it was raining there! There are lots of picnic tables, a toilet and even a barbecue there and I'd highly recommend stopping here for lunch if you are headed to the more busy 12 Apostles. Heads up, @trangbaby! Yes, there are many, many long and lovely walks in the area, but this is great for day trippers that are struggling to squeeze everything in a quick drive down from Melbourne.