The South West coast of WA is littered with National Parks and we stopped off to see the sights, as we weave our way north.
Elephant Rocks, they look more real in the flesh
Demark, is home to award winning pies and as we sailed through this hippy little town we stopped off to treat ourselves. Yummo. Good pie, certainly warmed our bellies against the chill in the air. Content we arrived at our camp for the night- Walpole. A peaceful town, it is close to majestic forests of giant tingle trees. The tingle tree is only found here and is a type of eucalypt, but does not have a taproot. Instead they have a shallow root system that spreads as they grow older, causing the trees to buttress. With not much planting them into the ground compaction by people and cars can cause them to fall over.
Grandpa Dave driving through a replica of the famous tingle tree
Hence in 1990 the most famous tree, which you could drive your car through, did indeed fall over. The tingles have adapted to fires, fungus and insects hollowing out their trunks, and only need a thin, healthy outer layer to continue growing.
Dave inside a tingle tree
To protect the tingle forest, but still be accessible by all, a tree top walk has been erected. Reaching a height of 40 metres, I can’t say I enjoyed the experience as the bridge spans swayed in the breeze of the tree tops. Back on terra firma, I preferred the walk through these ancient giants, which reach up to 75 metres high and have a girth of 20 metres.
Tree Tops Walk- 40 metres above ground level
Back at camp, I soon forgot the tree top ‘ordeal’ as a pair of Blue Wrens played near our home. Such pretty birds, they are quite plentiful in the South West. The endangered Black Cockatoos are also easy to spot over here and we watched a flock demolish a Bottlebrush Tree.
Swarbrick sculpture walk, Mt Frankland National Park, Walpole
Wall of perception, Sculpture walk- pretty cool in the middle of a forest!
Just like Tasmania, this region was once home to timber mills. The biggest is now the Shannon National Park and includes the Great Forest Trees Drive. A very pretty drive, it leads you deep into a grove of very big trees. Emerging from the forest, we headed for the coast and the French sounding D’Entrecasteaux National Park. It is a complete contrast to the tall forests, with its wild stretches of heath, sand dunes, cliffs and beaches. Windy Harbour, certainly lived up to its namesake. The bitterly cold wind whipped straight through our clothes. No wonder there are no tall trees here!
D'Entrecasteaux National Park- so very cold and windy
Some great views, but not all that comfortable to set up camp for the night, so it was off to Pemberton. Pemberton, a historic town in a small wine region, would have to be one of the prettiest spots in Australia. Surrounded by tall Karri forests, green pastures roll into a fertile valley, home to an amazing array of birdlife. Relaxing for the afternoon we were soon joined by the local ducks and Twenty-Eights (birds similar to a Port Lincoln Parrot). These very cheeky parrots were soon jumping onto our shoulder, wanting a share of our cheese and bikkies.
A cheeky Twenty Eight parrot on Dave's shoulder
Realising that we were not going to feed them, they opted to play a game of hide and seek. Perched atop our awning, they would peer over one side, when we said hello they would then retreat. We could then hear the pitter patter of their little feet as they ran across the awning to the other side, to once again peer over.
Good thing we recharged ourselves, for the following day it was off to the Gloucester Tree, a climbing tree once used as a fire lookout.
Dave climbing the Gloucester Tree
Dave half way up the Diamond Tree
Metal spikes jutting out from the trunk serve as a crude stairway some 60 metres to the top. The Diamond Tree- another climbing tree is where climber Dave got into action, reaching the halfway mark. I opted to play photographer instead......
Pemberton is surrounded by national parks and within the Warren National Park is the tallest of the climbing trees, the Bicentennial Tree. At 68 metres this was one climb that we did not attempt.
Aptly named...... sign in national park, Pemberton
We had planned to stay at Augusta next, but with an extra 6,000 expected in this small town for the Anaconda Adventure Race, we continued the 40 odd kilometres to Margaret River, but not before checking out Cape Leeuwin.
Australia's tallest lighthouse, Cape Leeuwin
The most South Westerly point of Australia, the Cape is home to mainland Australia’s tallest lighthouse and is where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. From a vantage point you can actually see the meeting of the two oceans! The Southern Ocean appears to roll in from the left and the Indian from the right, before a miss mash in the middle. Unusually, the weather was becalmed the day of our visit. In rough seas the meeting point is all the more visible.
Voyages Winery, Margaret River
The journey onto Margaret River was picturesque, driving through wooded forests before arriving at shrub covered sand dunes. And of course the wineries........... Our tour of such took us to some of our favourites- Evans & Tate, Vasse Felix, and Leeuwin before ending the day at the most spectacular winery ever- Voyages. The winery and cellar door has been fashioned in my favourite architecture- Dutch/ South African. Rose gardens complete the picture...... and the wine aint bad either.
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