The Great Southern

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Well the day had come to leave our southern hemisphere home - albeit only for just over a week - as we made our way south and our first stop of Albany on the Southern Ocean and some 409 km from Perth. The scenery down south was certainly different to what we had encountered up north - for a start it was slightly greener, there were rolling hills and it was a bit chilly - never thought I would say that of temps in the mid 20s!

Apparently Albany was West Australia’s first white settlement, established in 1826 (some 3 years before Perth) and its original inhabitants were the Aboriginal Menang Noongar people. It used to be a whaling port and whales can still be seen offshore today although thankfully they are now an attraction for those with a camera and not a harpoon. During WWI it was used as a coaling station for British ships heading for the east coast and it is still a busy port today. To be quite truthful we felt that, although the town itself was okay, it didn’t have much to offer. On a wander around the town we did, however, stop and have a look at the replica of the Brig Amity, the original carried the founding settlers from Sydney in 1826, and this was open for ‘scurvy swabs’ (not sure what they are but I am sure we qualify) to board and have a look around however as we are poor backpackers and they wanted our money we decided that a good look from the outside would suffice.

On our one full day in Albany we decided that first some exercise was in order and we decided to walk along the coast to Middleton Beach and, armed with instructions from the Lonely Planet guide, we made our way along Princess Royal Drive. Well, to say that the first 20 minutes of the walk was picturesque would be pushing it, as we found ourselves in the heart of the busy port with land-trains thundering past us. We felt we might have gone slightly wrong but decided to persist and our error was confirmed as we finally found ourselves joining the correct walking track which would take us round the headland. We made a mental note to follow the correct path back into town (although to be quite truthful it wasn’t that great either). When the track began to meander around the headland things picked up a bit and we were afforded some nice views of the sea and some flippin big container ships making their way in and out of the port. En route we passed a bronze sculpture of the Turkish leader, Mr Ataturk, who stands overlooking the channel from which Australian and New Zealand troops left to fight in Gallipoli. The channel he stands guard over now bears his name as a gesture of peace. Our destination of Middleton Beach was very nice with lovely white sand and turquoise blue sea, so we decided to stop for some refreshment and soak up the sun before our trek back. It was an okay walk although the scenery nearer Albany was a bit boring and to top it all Chris forgot to put on the factor 30 and realised too late that he had burnt his forehead, which would look very attractive later when it began to peel!

During the afternoon we drove around to Frenchman’s Bay to have a look at some of the myriad of coves and rock formations in that area. Our first stop was Jimmy Newells harbour, or Jimmy Newhill depending on which of the stories you believe. The first tale is that of Jimmy Newhill a deserter from an American whaling ship who was captured near the site and put to work on a chain gang and after his release he married and stayed in the area. The second Jimmy Newell was a convict from Tasmania who stayed on after his release and brought his family over. The choice is yours to which you prefer, but to be honest the tale is more interesting than the tiny rocky bay which has greenyblue sea but is not as spectacular as some of the scenery we have seen over the last few months. We then headed round to the blowholes, but as the sea was calm and there was no swell we didn’t bother to walk down to them because we were almost certain they wouldn’t be performing. On to ‘The Gap’ and ‘The Natural Bridge’ which turned out to be pretty impressive, especially when you read that they were formed when the super continent of Gondwana broke apart 45 million years ago creating what we know today as Antarctica and Australia. Today rock formations from Southern Australia can still be matched to those in Northern Antartica near Windmill Island. Our last stop for the day was Stony Hill which has some interesting rock formations, a good view and was once the location of a signal station, but all that is left of this now is a commemorative plaque and some pieces of concrete.

On to our next destination of Walpole the following day and we decided to make a few stops en route as the journey was relatively short (in Australian terms anyway). We had a quick look at Cosy Corner Beach, because it sounded cute, and Lowlands Beach before we stopped at the information centre in Denmark. We had intended to have a quick look at Denmark because it looked like a very nice town, but the information centre recommended that we stop for lunch at Greens Pool and, as we were hungry, we set off. Everyone we have met said what a nice town Denmark is but we missed it. Oh well. Our first stop in the area turned out to be Elephant Rocks and, as we made our way down to the shore, the gigantic granite boulders do in fact look like a herd of elephants, but you do have to look at the formation in a certain way and use a bit of imagination. They are impressive enough if you just take into account their size, but the fact that they resemble elephants is quite astonishing.

In the next bay was Greens Pool, our lunchtime destination. It was only a small bay and very popular with bathers, but it was startling pretty and looking down on the bay from the headland the sea was so turquoise and clear it was breathtaking (photos don’t do it justice). Randomly dotted in this turquoise haven were granite boulders which provided great diving boards for the children who were obviously delighting in throwing themselves into the cold water. The more sensible adults were tentatively lowering themselves into the bracing sea - we decided to give it a miss and just soak up the ambience from the sand. Lunchtime over and we were off for dessert in the form of a honey ice cream from Bartholomews Meadery. Two double scooped ice creams later and a bottle of Spiced Honey Mead for later we felt happy enough to continue our journey to Walpole.

We had booked 3 nights at the Walpole YHA primarily to do some walking in the lovely forests and see some of the giant trees which the location is famous for. The Walpole-Nornalup National Park is some 18,000 hectares and within it are the Giant Tingle Tree and the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants. Just as well we weren’t expecting much from the town of Walpole itself because there isn’t anything, but it is a great location. After deciding how we were going to spend the next couple of days a trip down to the motel/hotel was needed for a cold beer and some pub grub. Not bad at all and it seemed very popular with both those passing through and those working in the area.

Our first priority the following day was a visit to the Valley of the Giants and the Tree Top Walk. This attraction consists of a walk which rises to 40 metres above the ground. The walkway is a gentle slope and is accessible even to wheelchairs, which we thought was a fabulous feat of engineering. The walkway was designed and built to have as little impact on the trees and wildlife as possible and is very impressive, it is even designed to sway slightly in the wind to give visitors a real feel of being in the canopy. Being at that height rewards you with views of trees that you won’t find anywhere else. The walk was only short but absolutely brilliant.

There was also a ground walk called the ‘Ancient Empire Walk’ which can be done with or without a tour guide. We opted for the guide kindly provided by the Dept of Conservation and we were so glad we did. Nobody else had bothered and probably missed out because Pete, our tour guide, brought everything to life for us. His knowledge and passion showed us numerous things we would have otherwise missed. As we walked along the gently meandering boardwalk Pete told us the history of the tingle trees. There are 3 types Yellow, Rate and Red and it is the latter ones that are found in the forest and grow the biggest. Apparently they got their name because the Europeans misheard the local aboriginals who referred to them as ‘dingle’ rather than tingle, which was an expression of the feeling they got whilst in the presence of these gigantic trees - but the damage was done and the name stuck. We were shown varieties of plants that grow in the forest and the mammals and birdlife that make their homes on the forest floor and we even had a bit of bush tucker in the form of some berries carefully selected by our knowledgeable guide, the white berries only from this particular plant, and definitely not the green ones. They had a pleasant nutty flavour, but would have taken about 3 days to pick enough for a meal. Further into the tour and Pete explained how the tingle trees grew so big; apparently they grow up first in order to gain some of the precious light from the canopy above and so for a while look like long gangly trees. Then, when they have grown up enough, they start to fill out and spend their latter years getting wider - I know how that feels - and they develop huge bulbous buttresses (no comment) to compensate for their shallow root system and gain the support they need. They continue growing for years with some of the oldest being over 400 years. The oldest one in the Ancient Walk was fondly named ‘Grandmother Tingle’ who had been aged at approximately 450 years - absolutely mind blowing. It is lucky for them they are plagued by termites, which makes them useless for cutting down and making into furniture, otherwise these magnificent old specimens would have disappeared years ago. Termite attacks are also responsible for an amazing fact about these trees; a number of them have been almost completely burnt out by forest fires but continue to grow. The termites attack a tree’s soft core and if there is a forest fire the damaged areas provide an opening for the fire to enter the tree and burn out a large hollow. Many of the older trees are scorched to varying degrees; some are so burnt out that you can walk through the middle. The trees can still live on mainly because of their shallow root systems, if they had one main root, as other tree types, then the fires would certainly destroy them. What an incredible example of how nature adapts to, what could be, catastrophic situations. Magnificent trees which were well worth a visit and the guided tour enabled us to understand much better how clever at adapting they really were - the more we see the more we understand that it is not just us humans who are the clever ones!

We had planned to have a long walk after the visit to the tree top walk but we had taken longer than expected on the tour so just decided to join a section of the “Bubblegum” Track for a quick 1 hour trek through the forest. Okay, its correct name was actually the Bibbulmun Track but we had nicknamed it the “Bubblegum” track because for quite a while we didn’t actually know what the correct name was. So for us it will always be Bubblegum. Opened in 1998, the Bubblegum Track stretches some 964 km and we probably walked about 5 km - only another 959 to go!!!!!

The following day we set out for a longer trek and made our way through the forest to Sappers Bridge. Although suggested by a member of our very helpful YHA staff, the walk was slightly shorter than we expected so we decided to extend it slightly and joined up with the Bubblegum Track with a view to walking to the Giant Tingle Tree. Well, 3 hours into the walk and the heat was beginning to take its toll so we decided to admit we underestimated the distance and walked the 90 minutes back to the car and drive to see the Giant Tingle. We didn’t really think it could be any bigger than some of the larger specimens we had seen in the forest already - how wrong could we be. It was absolutely enormous and even with the majority of its soft wood burnt out it still managed to stand. Not only were we dwarfed by the sheer size, but it must have been well over 400 years and we felt truly insignificant standing within its tortured frame. We were lost in admiration for how it had managed to withstand the termites and the fire which had ravaged it and even now continues to survive against all the odds - fabulous. After our long walk we spent the evening with the other hostellers watching Andy Murray getting his arse whipped by Roger Federer in the Australian Open - happy days.

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Photos

Tiny Brig
Wouldn't have fancied sailing all that way on this

Middleton Beach
Worth the walk for this lovely bay

Someones Harbour
Jimmy or James, who cares really

The Bridge
Wonder for how much longer?

Greens Pool
Great beach for families

Herding
Can you see what it is yet?

Tree Top Walk
Great views, shame Chris is spoiling them

Rooted
This one was probably only 300 yrs!

Tingle All Over
In the base of a 400 yr old tree

Grannys Tree
Can you see the face yet?

Eco Warrior
Lisa taking tree hugging to the extreme

Giant Tingle
Okay, it really does live up to it's name

Mermaid?
Calling to lonely sailors from the rocks ;-)

Holey
mmmmmmm maybe not

Tingling
Great shapes

Top of the Giants
Great Views, Great Engineering

Dingle or Tingle
The Termites have gone (hopefully)