South of Perth theres a lot to see

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I was lucky to have family that live south of Perth so really had a local’s view of Oz for the first time. A lot of time while I have been travelling the things you see are on the back packing routes so it is mainly backpackers you see. Western Oz is the exception although we still came across a few; the land has so much to offer the only way to really see it would be to hire a car.

With my family leading the way I started in the small town of Collie situated south of Perth. The town is in a great location if you want to sit back and let the world pass you by or if you love nature and walks here is an idyllic place to be. From here we headed south to Manjimup again another small place as most places are in Western Oz south of Perth. The landscape on our way there was breathtaking although I spent a lot of time reading you would only need to look up to see acres of trees on either side of you for miles around. From here we headed towards the national parks. The parks are well kept and rely on donations rather than actual fees for many of them. We saw Bedelup Falls which was a heavy flowing waterfall. The falls vary in flow with the seasons and are not always as fast and strong as when I saw it apparently. The next area was the Cascades unfortunately the bridge here was damaged probably due to the excess water but again another nice view but of rapids rather than waterfalls.

The next day we headed south on the long drive to Albany again the views along the drive were impressive with a large number of Karri trees following the path of the road not too mention a million other trees that I don't know the name of. These trees are enormous though with some reaching up to 60metres high I was lucky enough to climb one up to 30meters which was enough for me. My achievement was eclipsed by that of a 6 year old girl who managed to reach the top of a 52metre high tree. We arrived in Albany on an overcast and windy day but our spirits weren’t damped although are clothes were. We saw the natural rock formations along the coast line. The coast was magnificent with real variation within each formation, shame the weather was against us. The last thing we did that day was visit a whale museum which used to be used for getting blubber from whales. This was interesting but it really turned my stomach hence the lack of photos. The whales are just destroyed and ripped to shreds for there skin and natural oil which is used in cosmetics etc.

The return journey took us through Walpole to a place called the Valley of the Giants so named because of the large number of red and yellow wood trees as well as more of my old favourites the Karri. The valley has a canopy walk where you can walk 40metres above the ground and near some of the tree foliage. The views are magnificent and there is also a large amount of information available on all the trees if you’re that way inclined as well guided tours.

My last stop was Cape Leeuwin which is the most south westerly point of oz. Situated here is a lighthouse which is necessary for shipping when you look out too sea you can see why. There are a large number of rocks and small islands that protrude out just near the surface of the water. This means there are some interesting breaks in the water causing large and irregular waves.

Great spending time with the family and with some real ozzies (does it count if they are originally British?). Many thanks to Ruth and David.

Little known fact. Did you know Courtney was the 81st most popular girls name last year.

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Photos

Western Australia
Giant Karri tree

Western Australia
My very own train

Western Australia
"What Skippy, someone has fallen down a well and you want a trained lifeguard. Look no further I'm your man"

Western Australia
I'm having a whale of a time

Western Australia Walpole
Valley of the Giants