Walpole - Valley of the Giants and Tree Top Walk

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Gosh a bit of everything today. Beach, Giant Tree, Tree Top Walk, Art Trail and a mountain!

We didn’t hear a peep out of the bikers overnight but come 7.00am they were warming up the hogs and it was noisy. We suspect one rider was having a little trouble with his bike as there was ignition, a lot of revving, then off and, upon peeking out the window, there were half a dozen of the bikers clustered around the one bike. Eventually a large contingent thundered off like the horsemen of the apocalypse, leaving us to appreciate the silence as we started making ready for the day!

We started out down at the Walpole Visitor Centre once again to take advantage of the local knowledge. We said we were on our way to the Valley of the Giants to the the Tree Top Walk and asked what else we should to to fill out our day here in Walpole. On the way in yesterday we had noted the sign into Coalmine Beach and the scenic Knoll Drive. It was confirmed that we should take a detour around there before crossing the highway onto Hilltop Road to visit the Giant Tingle Tree before heading to the Valley of the Giants.

We had also thought about exploring Hazelvale Road after the Tree Top Walk but we didn’t know if there was anything to see or do if we drove out that way. Once again, we were on the right track and it was recommended that we should head to the Swarbrick Art Trail before continuing to Mount Frankland. The one thing we were advised against doing was Fernbrook Falls as they are currently dry and we couldn’t even return to town via that route as the bridge is out. That’s the local knowledge that you go to the Visitor Centre for!

With our tickets purchased for the Tree Top Walk and all set to fill the rest of the day with activities we crossed the road to the bakery to stock up on carbs! We didn’t expect there to be anything in the way of shops where we were headed and the staff at the Visitor Centre confirmed that we should take our lunch with us.

Sandwiches and cakes stowed in the car fridges we headed east out of town and took the turnoff to Coalmine Beach which is named for the shallow seam of coal at the base of the cliffs. Attempts were made to mine the coal but apparently it is very low grade. It was gorgeous this morning on this beach on the northern shore of the Nornalup Inlet. So beautiful in fact that Steve said he would happily spend the rest of the day there!

We continued around Knoll Drive making one other stop at the Channels Picnic Area. This is another pretty spot situated on the narrow channel that links the Walpole and Nornalup inlets. We were already blown away by the Walpole Wilderness. Even on this short drive so close to town we were treated to a variety of forest trees including: Karri, tingle, jarrah, marri, peppermint and sheoak. In the right season(spring!) we would also have been treated to colourful wildflowers. Even without the wildflowers the forest was amazing.

We drove back out to the highway and then headed off the bitumen on Hilltop Drive. We stopped at Hilltop Lookout finding it hilarious that there was a guy in a motorhome parked right in the middle of the car parking area. Fortunately, he moved on quickly to make room for others at this popular stop with views of Nornalup Inlet and the Southern Ocean. From here we could have undertaken an arduous hike to the Giant Tingle Tree. So arduous the sign was suggesting that you would need to carry three litres of water! Thank goodness we could just drive to the Giant Tingle Tree picnic area and complete a much shorter walk (800-metres) to view the karri and tingle forest.

Once again, we were finding that the infrastructure was amazing in this national park. To protect the shallow rooted tingle trees there are boardwalks that allow you to get up close to the trees but at the same time keeping all the foot traffic from compacting the the soil around the trees. The tingles are just incredible with their buttressed roots and hollowed trunks. Many of them look like they should be dead, but they are three- and four-hundred-year-old survivors of fungal and insect infestations and fires. Their lifeblood (sap) is still carried to the strong canopies that rise above their hollow trunks.

The star of the show, the Giant Tingle Tree (red tingle, eucalyptus jacksonii) is 75-metres tall and has a girth of 24-metres. Beside it is another tree that is merely … HUGE. Rather than return to the car park the way we had come we completed the circuit walk which means that we walked a very short distance along the famed Bibbulemun Track. The Bibbulmun Track is a world-class long-distance (1,000 kilometres!) walking trail that winds its way through the spectacular landscapes of south-west Western Australia from Perth (Kalamunda) to Albany.

After morning tea amongst the tingle trees with fairy wrens hopping around our picnic table, we drove down Gulley Road back to the highway. A quick trip back over the Frankland River and through Nornalup before turning left onto Valley of the Giants Road. The famous 600-metre-long Tree Top Walk is suspended at up to 40-metres above the forest floor making it much easier to appreciate the canopy of the magnificent tingle trees. Yet more amazing engineering creating an all-abilities experience amongst the treetops.

Oops, we ventured into the gift shop before heading out to explore the forest at ground level along the Ancient Empire Walk. That cost us extra with Tracey purchasing a lovely wallet/mini shoulder bag. Then out onto the 450-metre ground level trail which gives a completely different perspective on these magnificent forest giants and includes one gnarly specimen known as Grandma Tingle. The forest is a mix of red tingle and yellow tingle (eucalyptus guilfoylei). The yellow tingles are shorter than their cousins only growing to about 35-metres and their bases do not buttress.

From the Valley of the Giants, we headed towards Denmark but turned left when we reached Hazelvale Road. Much of the land along this road has been cleared for pasture and we could see cows grazing. As we drove along one section of the road, we saw a very, very new calf being licked clean by its mother. We must’ve missed its birth by moments??!

At Walpole Road we turned right and shortly thereafter pulled in at the Swarbrick Art Trail. The 500-metre loop trail is set in a lovely stand of old-growth karri forest. The karri (eucalyptus diversicolor) is distinguishable from the tingles by its height (WA’s tallest tree at up to 90-metres), it’s long, straight trunk and its bark in varying shades of pink, orange, yellow, white and grey.

The art trail is entered through a mirrored ‘Wilderness Wall of Perceptions’ which included a selection of quotes and statements that were pro and anti-forest. Very thought provoking. All of the installations beyond the wall are intended to challenge visitor’s ideas about the wilderness and included The Ghost Feather, The Colonial Totem, The Golden Torus and 500 Seeds by Lorena Grant and Alan Clark

After a bit of dirt road driving, we found ourselves at the car park at Mount Frankland. Although it was classed ‘Difficult’ we managed to complete the 1.2 kilometre Mount Frankland Summit Trail. Most of the walk was a steady uphill grade but the last third involved (unevenly spaced) stairs and a ladder. Spare a thought for the fire spotters who have to take this route to work on a daily basis throughout summer! From the summit we could see the sea to the south and Mount Roe and Granite Peak to the north.

Returning to the car park we took the easy and accessible walk out to the Mount Frankland Wilderness Lookout. This is another engineered trail making the views in the national park possible for all visitors.

After another day packed with activities it was time to head back to town. We only had two close-ish encounters with macropods even though it was only 4.30pm. Soon after we returned to the bitumen a wallaby (?) came a little too close for comfort but did not collide with the truck. A little further along Tracey spotted a kangaroo sitting beside the road. Worrying more about oncoming traffic Bernie missed that one.

Before returning to the motel, we drove down to Swarbrick Jetty to check out the more interesting jetty in town and see if any kookaburras and kangaroos were about this afternoon. It was still beautiful down by the water this afternoon as it was this morning. It has been a perfect day in and around Walpole today while everyone we know in Melbourne has sweltered through another near 40-degree day! No kangaroos, but we spotted a kookaburra.

Dinner ‘in-house’ again. It was much quieter in the dining room that it was last night. The difference between a Saturday and a Sunday night.



Steps: 13,338 (8.73kms)

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