Waratah Flat
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Where
Let us now travel down the long and winding Rodger River from Big Tree Camp to the town of Waratah Flat. Careful now, this river isn’t navigable, so pack your compass and camping equipment, we’re going bush for a couple of weeks.
What
After much strenuous hiking through dense forest the hiker is always amazed to come upon the strange and legendary Waratah Flat. What is so legendary? Well, despite the romantic name and despite being in the heart of Errinundera’s wilderness, Waratah Flat must be the most boring place in the nation. You know the sort of place. Every country has one. A town that is always prospering, always going about its business without the slightest fuss, and never giving offence to anyone. And yet no one can ever think of a reason for visiting.
Why
And why is this amazing? Well, although surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of rainforest in all directions, Waratah Flat is situated on a small dry plain (apart from the river flowing through, of course). The town wasn’t founded until after the 1941 Liberation and extensive surveys have failed to provide any evidence of prior human habitation. The plain seems to be perfectly natural. How is this so? No-one has yet come up with an adequate answer. The best guess is that the shape of the surrounding topography and the direction of the prevailing winds have created a micro-rainshadow area.
Who
Divorced from the forest, the Flatliners have eschewed the homestyles of other Errinundrians. They live in simple mud-brick ground houses. The houses are neat and re-painted regularly. The pathways are well maintained and clean. Their football team has a reputation for precision, fairness and stubbornness. The new football stadium, the Flatlands Biodome, has a capacity of 36,000 that is just about perfect for the town. It is never sold out and yet it was always almost full.
It is the least nude place in Errinundera but has the highest rate of people marrying their pets, rocks, furniture, footballs, whatever - you name it. So, really, it is a true Errinundrian town. Nothing is as it should be.
Note: Waratah Flat is the administrative centre for the Rodger region.
