Upon leaving the very cold
Pemberton this morning, we headed towards Walpole, which wasn’t far to drive at
all. There were many vineyards, a lot of
green countryside and just lush bushland along our journey. We pulled into the Walpole information centre
before deciding on a caravan park – we were trying to find the least windy
spot. The caravan park was located on
the western side of the Walpole Inlet and even though it was quite open we were
out of the wind a little. The first
thing we did after setting up was drive south along a remote track which
followed the Nornalup Inlet. It was
obvious that not many people took this track as the bushes crept right over the
track as did many big tree branches.
Josh pushed on anyway but became unstuck when there was a large tree
fallen across the track – time to do a 12 point turn and return, checking the
light scratches down the side of the car back in the open. We ventured north of Walpole into the
Walpole-Nornalup National Park towards the Hilltop Giant Tingle Tree stopping
at a lookout over the Southern Ocean along the way. We reached the tingle and karri tree forest
where the giant tingle tree stands. This
large red tingle tree has been fire-hollowed at the base of it over time. We look like tiny standing beside it. Further out of town is the Valley of the
Giants Treetop Walk, our next stop. It
is a bit pricey for a short wander through some trees but I guess the
engineering involved in this suspended walk would have cost quite them quite a
bit to build. We did it twice (to Zoe’s
disgust) just to ensure we got our money’s worth. At one point you reach approximately 40
metres above ground level with a stunning view across the top of the
forest. The tingle trees are amazing the
way the bases are hollow, the roots don’t go very deep into the ground and at
around 70 metres tall I’m surprised they don’t just topple over. Josh wasn’t comfortable walking so high above
the ground especially with the bridges bouncing and swaying as we walked (or
the kids ran) along them. We did a short
walk through the Ancient Empire Boardwalk before heading back through to the
Wilderness Discovery Centre where the kids had a bit of fun pretending to drive
an old Holden. We drove a bit further
east, down a track leading to the coast of the Southern Ocean to a place called
Conspicuous Cliff. Josh took the beach
walk whilst the girls and I headed up to the lookout, you might notice Josh
looking like a dot in one of the coastal photos. It was a stunning view and there were a lot of
coastal wildflowers in the area but a bit of sunshine would not have gone
astray.
The following day was filled with
school work – need I say anything more than it was frustrating!
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