TREES, BEACHES and MORE TREES

15^th March, 2012

This morning we hitched up and headed west again.  We pass through the town of Denmark which was settled to supply timber to the goldfields.  To say the landscape has changed would be an understatement.  We are now driving through thickly wooded forests and turn off the highway to go see the Valley of the Giants and do the Tree Top Walk.  In no time at all we are walking up the 600 metre long ramp rising from the valley floor to the top of the trees.

Ramp to the Tree Top Walk

The ramp is designed to sway gently in the breeze and bounces around much like a suspension bridge as you walk along it.  At 40 metres in the air things on the ground take on a whole new perspective.

My oh My!  That certainly is a long way down to the ground.

Thankfully there was only a light breeze blowing so we handled the swaying and bouncing like veterans.  On the Ancient Empire boardwalk we passed by 500 year old giant Tingle Trees (a species of eucalypt)

My oh My!  It certainly is a long way up there.

and the old Grandma Tingle Tree was all warty and bumpy.  Just like us as we grow older.

Grandma Tingle Tree

The Tingle Trees are prone to having large cavernous holes in their trunks due to bushfires and white ants and these two trees are no exception.

                                     Wok is thinking of setting up camp in this tree

And Robyn thinks this one may get a bit drafty in the winter

The lady in the ticket office gives us directions to a one way drive that takes us to a lookout where we can see Rocky Head and the two islands beyond Nornalup Inlet.

View of Nornalup Inlet from the lookout

At this point we realise that perhaps towing a caravan around this rough dirt track was not the best idea in the world, but as the scenic loop was only one way we now have no choice.  We pass by many large Tingle Trees in the Karri forest and stop to have a look at Circular Pool.

Circular Pool

The pool was very calm with only a small amount of water flowing over the rocks but after a lot of rain one would have to be very careful where one trod.  We stopped at a roadside rest area for the night and ‘lo and behold’ within minutes we had attracted a bevy of whiz bangs and a couple of station wagons.  Unbelievable!  In the morning we turned off the main highway and drove to the south coast.  We wanted to check out the campground at Windy Harbour (hopefully it won’t be windy) with the idea of chilling out for a few days.  The fishing hamlet of Windy Harbour is situated in D’Entrecasteaux National Park and has no store or services to speak of.  There are quite a lot of cabins which are obviously used as holiday homes and the campground.  The campground is lovely and quiet and we pick a spot backing onto the bush.  The beach is just over a sand dune so we can faintly hear the sound of the waves on the beach.  In the late afternoon some kangaroos come down and pay us a visit.  Now we know all our overseas friends have just been dying to see some photos of some kangaroos – so there you go!

Wok keeps a watchful eye on our two legged visitors

Over the next few days we get a visit from the kangaroos every morning and late afternoon.  They are wild so don’t allow us to get too close and as the dominant male stands as tall as us we are quite happy with that arrangement.  

OK!  I'm being vewwy vewwy quiet so I don't panic this kangaroo.  He's way too big to have him trying out his kick boxing technique on me.

There are a couple scenic drives close to the campground so we take a look at Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock at Windy Harbour

and Salmon Beach.

Salmon Beach

Guess there are a lot of beaches along this coast with the name Salmon.  At Tookalup Lookout we spot some bottle nosed dolphins cruising by.

Tookalup Lookout

From June to September humpback and southern right whales can be spotted all along the southern coast and Tookalup Lookout would be an ideal place to while away a few hours.  We’ve had a very relaxing three days at Windy Harbour and our neighbours on the next site (Peter and Joan) have given us some advice on National Park Campgrounds for our next couple of stops and also campgrounds nearer to Perth.  We may meet up with them again in a couple of days as they are also headed our way.  We leave Windy Harbour and reach Big Brook Arboretum campground by lunchtime.  The campground is surrounded by big trees.  There are Karri, Marri and a grove of Californian Sequoia planted in 1929.  It’s a small campground with only a few sites but we manage to find a spot and after lunch drive into the town of Pemberton a few kilometres away.  A visit to the Laundromat gets us caught up with all our washing and a quick trot around the aisles in the IGA Supermarket stocks us up on the basics again.  Pemberton is surrounded by national forests and logging is still a big part of the community.  There are lots of hiking trails and forestry scenic drives in the area and before we go back to camp we drive out to take a look at the Gloucester Tree, named after the Duke of Gloucester who visited the area in 1946.  This is one of three fire lookout trees that the public are allowed (at their own peril) to climb.  The ladder up the tree is made of metal spikes driven into the tree trunk and Wok is keen to have a go.

Wok's attempt at climbing the Gloucester Tree (in thongs)

He makes it up a fair way before deciding he is not suitably shod.  Thongs (flip flops) were definitely not made with this purpose in mind.  We head back to camp, have an early night and in the morning hop in Mitzi to do the Karri Forest Explorer tourist drive.  The drive takes us in and out of three National Parks and winds through large stands of Karri trees.

Driving the Karri Forest Explorer track

Some of the roads are tarred but more often than not we are trundling along on one lane dirt tracks.  On the way into Beedelup Falls we came across this kangaroo holding a speed camera sign.

We like to make full use of our wildlife

We did keep our eyes peeled but at no time did we see a real live kangaroo rounding up speeding tourists.  Mind you, if they ever do actually train kangaroos to do such a thing it would really bolster up the ranks of the boys in blue.  The Falls weren’t running but we did walk the suspension bridge circuit and Wok quite liked the rickety wooden swaying bridge.

Aww come on!  Those creaking and cracking timber sounds are really nothing to worry about.

Robyn on the other hand likes her bridges to remain perfectly still and wasted no time in getting from one side to the other.  Despite there being no water running over the falls we did find some very large colourful fungi adorning the moss covered tree trunks.

Very large fungi

Our very last stop on the tourist drive was the Bicentennial Tree.   At 68 metres this is the tallest of the ‘climbing’ trees.

OMG!  And I thought the last tree was tall ......

The tree house cage weighs two tonnes and sways up to 1.5 metres in a strong wind.  Wok is not sure if he will be able to make it to the top but he bravely starts up the widely spaced steel rods.

Well ...... here I go!

The rods are at such an angle that it feels more like crawling than climbing.

Still climbing ....

Halfway up there is a platform and Wok decides that this is as far as he is going.  He is pretty sure that he could make it to the top, but getting back down may be a bit of a problem.  And where are the photos of Robyn climbing the tree we hear you mutter?  Well someone had to take the photos of Wok’s valiant effort for the blog.  It’s an important job but one has to make sacrifices doesn’t one?  At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  When we return to camp Peter and Joan have arrived from Windy Harbour and we have a nice chat before retiring for the night.

We’ve enjoyed the past week.  The Karri forests are wonderful and the beaches superb.  And we will always remember the ancient Tingle Trees …. here long before the Europeans came and maybe they will still be here after we have gone.