A week in the Wilderness

Before setting off for our week in Walpole we visited the markets in Freemantle.
Here we are watching the street entertainers.

We set off South for the 5 hour drive to Walpole where we had rented a villa for the week. This gave us the chance to revisit some of the places we went to on our journey around Australia 8 years ago. We were also able to catch up with friends Pat and Richard who live in nearby Denmark.

The area we were heading to is a vast forest of Karri, Marri and Jarrah, a real wilderness bordered by a magnificent coastline dotted with inlets.

Introducing Emily - the expedition photographer.

Here are a few pictures of us meeting some of the locals starting with a Green Parrot. . . 

Emily feeding a roo.

A Spiny Lizard. 

A Carpet Python.

(Sorry for not warning those of you who are a bit ssssssqueemish about ssssssslithery ssssssserpants!)

The weather has been fairly good, a couple of rainy days but several hot sunny ones so we spent a couple of days at Greens Pool where we went swimming. 

We revisited the Tree Top Walk. The last time we were here was 8 years ago but it hadn't changed much.

If you remember, the last time we were here a Tingletree swallowed Ali. Well it looks as if she was hard to digest as she is still in there! 

We spent a morning on an Eco cruise to the entrance of the inlet of the lakes near Walpole. It was a very interesting tour, thanks to Gary our guide. Gary convinced us that the centre of the World is Walpole. He explained about an interesting link between Bournemouth and Walpole via Leo Tolstoy. If you want to know more you will either have to come on the cruise or read Gary's book: "Tolstoy to Tinglewood".

When we reached the mouth of the inlet we went ashore and followed a track across the headland to a remote beach.

This is a flowering tree grass we saw along the track.

There were loads of wild flowers in bloom including these (which I can't remember the name of!).

Bev and Emily enjoying the remote beach near the entrance to the inlet.

After the cruise we headed off to Elephant Rocks (you can see how they got their name) and went for a dip in the nearby Greens Pool to cool off.

On the way back to Perth at the end of the week we diverted via the timber town of Pemberton.

Bev tried her hand at climbing the Gloucestor Tree.  Its an old fire lookout perched on top of a 72mtr high tree. (The second tallest of its kind in the World). The only way up (and down) is via the spikes driven into the trunk. It was good to see that they have added a bit more string on the outside since I climbed it 8 years ago, I suppose it might slow you down a little if you fall off! I guess not too many have fallen off as the only safety limitations are that it is not recommended for people with heart conditions especially if they are wearing thongs. (That's flip-flops in UK speak!)