Southwest Western Australia

We've just come back from four days in southwest WA, spending time at the ocean(s), in the rain forest, exploring a cave, and seeing lots of nature (Gary even saw a kangaroo in with a field of cattle, but I was not able to experience that, much to my disappointment.)

The first day we drove about five hours and ended up at Greens Pool on the Southern Ocean. It was a beautiful place, with great rocks to climb/walk on. All the time we spent at the ocean was really my favorite of all things.

That night we stayed at Bay River Cottage in Bay Bridge. There were Alpaca grazing in the pasture in the front yard. We had a supper of cheese and crackers, a glass of wine, and chocolate (of course). Then we had some rousing games of Dutch Blitz.

The next morning we headed to the Valley of the Giants, "giants" referring to the Tingle trees, which can grow nearly as tall as Sequoias and Redwoods. Tingle trees rot from the inside out, from the bottom to about 1/3 of the way up the tree. They have almost no root structure, but are able to grow so tall because as the bottom rots out, the trees get a hole in the middle of the bottom of the trunk, forming a buttress, so they can stand firmly:

As the Valley of the Giants became more and more of a popular visiting area, people would stand under, camp in, and even drive through some of these trees. Eventually, because of the small root structure, the trees started falling down. So a group got together to propose a tree top walk, so that the trees could be enjoyed withough damaging them. Now you can walk among and above the trees (you can also walk through some of the trees, but they have walkways to protect the roots).

As many of you know, I am terrified of heights, and this walk was no picnic! It swayed with the wind--and it was a fairly windy day--so that you could "feel as if you really were like a tree." The railings on the walkway are very smooth, testament to the many hands that have gripped them tightly! Several deep breaths and a little panic, and I made it. Afterward, Dan and Gary walked it again and could take their time. :-)

Here we are at the highest point--no, I don't want to do it again!

Later that day, we visited the Elephant Rocks, very near Greens Pool. Again, we did some more rock climbing/walking and enjoying the Southern Ocean.

They look like the backsides of elephants, don't they!

We stayed in the same cottage a second night, then headed to the southwest tip of Australia, where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. More on that in the next post.