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Published: April 20th 2006
Mundaring Weir
Not a bad dam for 1903 - and the water ends up nearly 600km in the
goldfields to the East! My ice-cream melted down my arm because of
the heat.......sticky hands.....not nice.Weeks 3-4 (24th March - 7th April 2006)
Although it seems a tradition to name your vehicle when travelling so that you can call it names if it breaks down, our truck is still un-named! We have already had one suggestion of calling it 'Roly' which seems quite apt as the thing has more roll than a hotdog vendor when cornering at speed. This of course never happens when Claire is driving (guess who's writing this blog at the moment??). Any further suggestions to the name of the beast will be much appreciated - it's chunky, heavy on it's feet, not too good looking, is a bit bouncy on bumpy ground and grunts a bit when put under strain! One suggestion from the diveclub will be ignored however......we're not calling it 'Moose' ! ! !
Anyway, nuff of all that.
At the Caversham campsite near Perth we met Matthew and Flick (like Holly Valance in neighbours) from Tasmania who had written off their car using a kangaroo! This meant that they'd gotten the chance to get a nice new car but it meant that they had to wait in a campsite until the insurance blokes sorted it all
Lake Clifton
Inland coral, whatever will they think of next?
out. They had travelled across Southern Australia to Perth where they had the good fortune to meet us. We inherited a crabbing-net from them when they left the campsite even though I had warned them that our truck was already full and a crabbing net was low on our list of priorities!! We have no need for the net, don't want the net and will be posting it back to them in Tasmania......maybe I will leave the stamps off so they have to pay when it arrives? Either that or they should be prepared for a series of emailed 'art' photographs involving the crabbing-net in different places around Australia. Hope their in-box is big enough.
From Caversham we went out to visit Northam, a little way to the northeast of the campsite. Unfortunately Northam is rubbish - although it reputedly has the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Australia. Signs along the river warned against touching the blue-green algae that grows in the river - not my idea of how to attract tourism but there you go. The river was called the Avon which is obviously a name nicked from England. This 'name theft' seems to be very common so
End of the pier show.
Some bloke nicked our camera and forced us to pose for this photo.
He originally wanted to take it looking the other way, which was to the
underwater observatory. This is essentially a shed on the end of the
pier so not the best of backdrops thankyou very much. far as we've seen signs to York, Torbay, St. Ives and even Knutsford. Maybe some of the prison settlers were deported over here for 'name theft'? I will check with the locals and find out!
A little way from Northam we went to see the Mundaring Weir which was constructed in the early 1900s when some bright spark thought that it would be a good idea to get some water to the goldfields during the big gold rush. They dammed off the Helena river and piped the water all the way to the goldfields, which were 594km away to the east, through what is now called the gold pipeline. The pipeline has since developed an alternative use in the irrigation of the vast wheat belt areas of the west and can be seen following the roads all over the place.
Travelling down from Caversham to Busselton we called in at Lake Clifton. This is an ancient lake that has lots of minerals and nutrients in it which have allowed the growth of prehistoric organisms called microbialites. These miniature creatures extract the minerals from the lake water and create the lakeside equivalent of coral. Lake Clifton is apparently the
Busselton Pier
1.8km of walking to the end. 50 minutes round trip. Not for the faint hearted. No ice-cream in sight though. biggest lake in Australia where microbialites can be found. You can see that there is a pattern forming here can't you? Lots of places that we have been to so far claim 'Longest' this, 'Oldest' that, 'Largest' the other. I'm not too sure if this is because the country is so large that you couldn't possibly check to see if there is another 'Roundest Plum' somewhere else in Australia or if the claims are in fact true! I will be noting them down to see if we can find contradictory evidence as we travel and then complain to my local MP or something like that.
Before reaching Busselton we had a quick look around Bunbury which was very nice. This was the first place that we've visited that actually had a bit of character and has gone onto the list of potential places for us to live. Not sure what the hell we'd do in a place like that but it had a nice scale, old and new buildings, some interesting topography and also beaches. It's also not too far to Busselton which is also a very nice place on the coast where we stayed for a few nights.
Under Busselton Pier
Under the water. 1.8km from the coast. Bit warmer than diving......but the sealife looks so nice. Maybe a dive is in order? Following a bit of an argument over where we parked our truck we got talking to a couple with a huge caravan who invited us in out of the cold to have a coffee and some nibbles. Tony & Jen will be managing a rather posh campsite on the outskirts of Perth so we will be calling in to see them when we return to Perth in the coming weeks. We went down town for a meal with them and Tony succeeded in p*ssing off the waitress to the extent that I was checking my food for foreign bodies before putting it in my mouth. Good fun though & we seem to be integrating quite well with the wildlife, maybe this is because I'm rude just like them!
Busselton is famous (ish) for it's 1.8km long pier. The pier started out at 70m in length but over the years, as ships got bigger and cargo heavier, they extended it to cope with the increased demand. Not quite in the mood for a cold dive in the Indian Ocean, we walked the 25 minutes to the end of the pier to visit the Busselton Underwater Observatory. The sea-bed is only
Boranup Karri Forest
Even though the sky was overcast, the colour of the trees makes them look like they're shining in the sun! If you look on the road at the right hand side you can see a tiny little Claire being dwarfed by the 100 year
old trees. 8m below the waves, even at 1.8km from the coast, so the observatory is a nice way to check-out the underwater world without getting wet. I know - we totally sold out and should have our diving qualifications cancelled but it is only 20 degrees in the water this far south and we thought that we would ease ourselves in gently. Instead of diving to the depths, we were introduced to the local fish-life by our guide Emma, who told us about tides and the wildlife that we could see through the polycarbonate windows. A very nice way to spend an afternoon that got us in the mood for a dive, so we went and checked out what was on offer.
The next day we went a bit further south to Dunsborough to dive a wreck called the HMAS Swan. An ex-naval vessel, the Swan was sunk 8 years ago in a similar way to the HMS Scylla off the south coast of Britain. There are lots of large holes cut in the hull to allow divers access to the interior but unlike the Scylla which has been mostly stiripped of any dangerous bits we found the fixtures and
End of the world
Rubbish sign. No neon or anything! fittings mostly intact - such as the knobs and buttons surrounding the radar displays and even the captains swivel chair, which still spun around. Although quite a cold dive we both had a good time and as we were experiencing choppy tidal conditions following a tropical cyclone up the coast, I even had the common courtesy to feed the fish - not too sure if they like tomato soup and bread rolls but tough if they don't!!
Next day we had dried out enough (physically & alcoholically) to set off south to the Margaret River wineries, which we both respect for their alcoholic output - but couldn't really give a stuff about the winery tours that you can pay 20 dollars for. I prefer to drink it, don't really care how they grow it, squash it and stick it in a bottle. Far too much information I reckon. Instead of a wine tour we had a nice lunch and went to check out the international masters surfing competition being held off Prevelly Beach. They wanted 8 dollars to see some blokes half killing themselves falling off 6 metre high waves crashing onto sharp pointy rocks. We told them they
As far as you can go
Keeping each other warm at the stormy southwest of Oz. were dreamin' and drove back to the campsite to plan our onwards path south. We are already turning into tight-arsed backpackers but haven't started shopping in pound-shops just yet.
Heading towards the south coast we travelled through Boranup Forest where giant Karri trees grow. The road curved around through the tall, straight trees and the canopy high over our heads seemed like a huge umberella. This was good, as no sooner had we taken some pretty pictures showing the huge scale of the forest, we were greeted with some good old fashioned rain. I wouldn't mind but this is not even a rainforest, just some rather well watered trees. Australia seems to be full of oversized things - making a short bloke like me feel much shorter. I will have to use my advanced mental capacity to overcome this scale problem in some way......let me think about that and get back to you! We took a slight diversion after the wonders of the forest to check out the most southwesterly point in Australia. At Cape Leeuwin there is a big white lighthouse whose purpose is to keep Papuan refugees from smashing their little wooden boats on the huge rocks
The Gloucester Tree
Another big tree - this time with a built in ladder! (bit of politics for you, my name's Ben Elton, good night!). The lighthouse marks the point where the Indian and Southern oceans meet. It was a bit disappointing really as I was expecting the confluence of two great oceans to be marked with a bit more than a poxy wooden sign - in my mind I was possibly expecting torturous, frothing wavefronts signifying the conflict between the surging water bodies, or at least water of two slightly different colours ........but no! Just a wooden sign. And a long white building with a big torch on top (probably Australia's biggest torch, but there were no plaques or billboards to say this so I dunno).
Having wandered and driven through the tall trees for most of the day we found ourselves behind schedule somewhat and ended up pulling into a coastal campsite at a place called, quite descriptively, 'Windy Harbour'. No, it's not called that for mere marketing purposes. Windy Harbour consists of a harbour and lots of wind. We spent one tent-flappingly gusty night at the campsite and then swiftly moved on towards Walpole, the home of the Giant Tingle Tree! I can hear your anticipation......
Due to the
UP The Gloucester Tree
Looking down it seemed that climbing 60m up the side of a tree on little metal pegs hadn't been one of our better ideas. Interesting when you had to pass someone coming the other way though. heat and rather volatile nature of the eucalyptus trees (both giant and koala food) Australia is apparently quite prone to simply setting itself on fire. An early warning system was devised many years ago by some pioneering tree climbers. They carefully selected a network of the 60m Tingle trees and built lookouts at the top of the straightest ones in order that they could spot potential fire problems in the distance and give word so that the whole place didn't turn to ashes. The Gloucester Tree in Gloucester National Park (another poached british name) is one such example of a 60m Tingle Tree that you can still climb today. The tree has ladder rungs spiralling up it's trunk that you precariously climb up to reach a crow's nest structure perched at the top. The view is spectacular and the climb down supposedly fraught with danger - I thought it was p*ss easy and wrote such a comment in the visitors book! Maybe my hard northern upbringing taught me to shin up and down drainpipes with ease? I may be from the rainy north but a bit of a rain shower in the afternoon meant that we booked into the Walpole
Giant Tingle Tree
Big old tree with a huge hole up the middle - you'd think this would have been chainsawed down and turned into a table due to health and safety issues! Backpackers for a night of luxury, sleeping under a real roof in a bed with a duvet. It was Claire's idea - I would have roughed it in the damp if she'd not insisted we go upmarket.
Refreshed from a good night's sleep we got up early and travelled to the Giant Tingle Forest. Engaging the diff-lock on the wheels of the truck we headed off-road along a sandy track and across the old wooden Sapper Bridge crossing high above the waters below. Claire walked the bridge first to check that the '12 Tonne Weight Limit' sign wasn't put up before the bridge had become rotten and worn. After a successful river crossing we came across the Giant Tingle Tree which is about 6 metres across at it's base and is split in 2, allowing a whole bunch of people to stand inside it's trunk. The tree, and many others like it, is still living even though it has suffered severe fire damage over the years - this is due to the way that the living outer layers, directly beneath the trunk, are
Valley of the Giants
The start of our walk into the treetops. Very hi-tec eco-tourism. all that the tree needs to sustain life. Quite interesting really but our tolerance to big trees was starting to wear a bit thin........moving swiftly onwards to Nornalup National Park, our visit to the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk would prove to be the straw that broke the camels back!
In the name of eco-tourism the National Parks Trust has devised a very cunning way of showing tourists the wonders of the giant Karri and Tingle trees. Through the Valley of the Giants they have constructed a 40m high walkway that sits on only 8 (ish) stilts allowing you to walk up from the forest floor through the tree canopy and back down again. This gives you a fantastic close-up view of the forest and also great distant views of the surroundings. The construction of the walkway was a feat in itself and we both took lots of panoramic photos that have tested our photo-stitching software to it's limits. Bit fed up with trees now though - all big-treed out to be exact! Bring on the simple splendour of the outback I reckon.
Following a nice thai curry in a place called Denmark (hmmm.....haven't I heard of
Long way down......ooh look a big tree!
Looking down to the forest floor from the 40m high walkway........the 'Big-tree-ometer' is beginning the read 'OVERLOAD' however. a small European country named that? Let me think....) we headed onwards to the lovely coastal city of Albany. I'm not sure if the people of Albany refer to themselves as Albanians but I don't recall seeing any of them stocking shelves at the Abingdon Tesco. Or are they Croatians? We've had a couple of overcast, but very chilled days in a 5-star campsite on the beachside, complete with pool & hot-tub. This is nothing like camping in Cornwall. It seems that some scientist bods have figured out that the coast line-on the south of Australia used to be linked to Antarctica! And not a penguin to be seen. A few million years ago (or something) the mega-continent of Gondwana was split into several pieces under huge volcanic forces. Then a few more years later it was found that the rocks on the coastline of Albany are really similar to the rocks on the coastline of Antarctica. The Albany coastline is quite magnificent though and has put Albany onto the list of possible places to live - so it turns out that Cheryl was right all along! Daytripping from our luxurious campsite we went to visit the 'Natural Bridge', 'The
Tightrope walker
Claire balances precariously above the forest floor as I bravely take her photograph with a mere inch of aluminium between me and certain death. Any more big trees and I will gladly jump! Time for the outback...... Gap' and 'The Blow-holes'. The names give them away really but the volcanic history of the coastline has created a series of rather dramatic sights - a bridge of rock smashed by the harsh Southern Ocean waves, a gap carved into the rocks where waves blast high into the air and a huge fissure through the rocks where tidal pressure creates a growling jet of air as it rushes to escape. All of these sights are within 10 minutes of each other so quite convenient really.
A cold night requiring a blanket has made a visit to the camping shop back in Perth a necessity. We got the 'nice and thin' sleeping bags thinking that we would be too hot in 'normal' sleeping bags........ whatever! We seem to have bought 'Australia's coldest sleeping bags' - a possible money spinner if we were to set up a national park with the sleeping bags in the centre with an information board telling tales of teeth chattering and shivering. Nuff said. After some good times in Albany, including a naked run across 'Little Beach', we will be setting off towards Esperance and Kalgoorlie over the next 3 or 4 days before returning
Natural bridge
Look at me manfully jumping from rock to rock, unaware that the most impressive view is to be seen from where Claire is standing! to Perth........or that is the plan.
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Claire White
non-member comment
Fabulous!
Hi Cris and Claire What a fabulous piece - I so enjoyed reading it, and thanks for the wonderful photos. I really enjoy looking at places where people have been as it saves me lots of money cos now I don't have to go there (unfortunately this theory hasn't actually worked in this case as your pics and stories have made me want to visit, and yes, even see all the giant trees). Glad to hear you are having a great time. I have some friends who have a holiday home in Albany - if you want the details for further visit there, let me know. I think the Mind the Gap rocks you went to were where I went in 1983 - if it is the same place, the stand along rock was still attached to the mainland and I walked across the bridge. Two days later the bridge collapsed - and no, it was nothing to do with me! Great to hear from you both, love Claire (White)