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BookReviews ing, but land-clearing for agriculture continues torememberthateventhemostabundantspecies to fragment the southern hairy-nosed wombat’s can quickly become rare or extinct ifits habitat range,andwhilethenorthernhairy-nosedwom- isdestroyed. It is upto us toensure thatit never bat is nowsafe from humans thisprotection has becomestheUncommonwombat. comealmosttoolateforthatspecies. Thisis an excellentbookwhich perfectlybal- Thewildlifelawsdonotstopthebulldozersfrom ances descriptivenaturalhistorywith scientific pushing higher and higher up the slope of the back-up. Itisbeautifullywrittenandillustrated GreatDividingRangeorintotheTasmanianwil- andwould makean idealgiftforanyoneofany derness, thelastbastion ofthebare-nosedwom- agewhohasaloveofourAustralianfauna. bat.Itisnotnecessarytokillthewombatsdirectly, the destruction oftheir habitat will exterminate RobWallis them more quickly than guns, traps or poison. OfficeoftheProVice-Chancellor(Research) The bare-nosed wombat is not an endangered UniversityofBallarat,Horsham,Victoria3402 species. Itisnoteven rare,butwewoulddowell & Walks, Tracks Trails ofVictoria byDerrickStone Publisher: CSIROPublishing, Collingwood, Victoria2009. 296pages,paperback, colourphotographs. ISBN9780643095878. RRP$44.95. Derrick Stone hasprovided us with more than » 160 ofthe best walks, tracks and trails in Vic- | toria, which can be walked, cycled or driven. Walks, Tracks & Trails These are located in national and state parks, state forests, conservation reserves, historic II. of Vk loti,) parks and local government and public ease- ments. Other routes follow state highways, old railways,andgoldroutesorpassbybushranger DerrickSlone haunts. The tracks and trails are arranged by geo- graphicareasofthestate, startinginthenorth- onwhattocarrywithyou,e.g.waterorcamera, west and moving eastwards to conclude in etc. Gippsland.Alistatthefrontofthebookshows Oneofthebestfeatures ofthebookisthe in- the closest town, the environment ofthe walk, formationincludedabouttheareainwhichthe distance ofeach walk and the amount ofesti- walkislocated.Factsaboutthehistory,Aborig- mated time necessary. Also shown is the grade inalactivities, floraandfaunaprovidefascinat- ofthewalkfromeasytohard, colourcodedfor ingbackgroundtothedescriptionofthewalks, easychoiceaccordingtoability.Anotherlistar- as do the photographs ofthe walk, features to ranges the walks by environment, e.g. coastal, be seen, and flora, birds and mammals. Excel- forest,townshiporgoldhistorywalks. lentmapsareincludedasnavigationalaids. & Information provided foreach trackincludes Walks, Tracks Trails of Victoria provides distance from Melbourne, how to access the something for walkers of all abilities. I can’t walking track, the distance to be covered and waittogetoutthereandtickafewofthemoff. gradeoftrack,theenvironmentandconditions tobe encounteredas well as recommendations AnneMorton 10RupicolaCrt,Rowville3178 26 TheVictorian Naturalist