32. Land of the Giants, tiny birds and mountain walks in the amazing SW of  WA.

Giant trees abound in the forests of the south west corner of Western Australia.
The Gloucester Tree was once a Bush Fire Observation Tower and is now available for those with either a sense of adventure or a death wish to climb.  In most parts of Australia, access would be impossible without signing waivers, wearing safety gear, and ensuring that in no way anyone could fall unhindered.  There are no safety features about the climb and a warning we read was that a fall would mean death or serious injury.  At 58m, the tree is the second highest fire lookout tree in the world.  (The tallest is nearby)

The tree looks quite inviting with the ladder spikes fitted in the 1960s protruding from the tree. 

The double story observation post is hidden in the canopy and needs a good zoom or binoculars to view.
An intrepid climber is seen taking on the challenge.  

Don disappearing into the clouds.  Fortunately the clouds prevented him climbing further.
Imagine climbing a 17 story building high ladder without any safety harness.
That is what this tree is about!!

Zoomed in to the tree top.

Gallant climbers, Jess and Dawn, ensuring a good grip for the steady safe ascent and descent. 

Going down.
Their legs were quite shaky by the time they safely reached the deck. 

Near the ground but still high by any standard. 

Nannup is one of the many "up" towns scattered through the SW corner of WA.
The up in so many names come from the Aboriginal Noongar language but there is some dissension as to whether it means place of, water place or meeting place; and most likely it is a combination of all three translations.
Billy Joel's uptown girls song could have been written in the area.

The area is renowned for the rail trails, whereby obsolete rail tracks have been converted into push bike trails.

Classic railway bridge now an over engineered push bike bridge. 

Cyclist/pedestrian view of the Nannup bridge. 

The town has beautiful old-world charm.

With new-world conveniences. 

Triffids abound in the area. 

An ornithologist's haven with such a range of bird type and especially size.

Across the road from these emus, two kangaroos were lazing in the sun.
It felt like they had all recently escaped from a coat of arms. 

Also escaped from a Rosella jam tin wrapper. 

A wonderful courting dance by these Splendid Wrens.
Great to watch as not much to eat. 

Pemberton is a small rural community with a tram featuring a drive along old rail lines through the forests of the area.

Our tram for the 90 minute rumble in the jungle.  

Trains of yesteryear out to pasture. 

The envy of every model train collector. 

The bush is slowly reclaiming the trains. 

View as we idled out of the metropolis of Pemberton. 

So many old bridges standing the test of time and tram. 

Blue Bells take on all forms. 

The end of the line for our tram. 

Returning to Pemberton and causing traffic chaos by stopping traffic flow at peak hour. 

Giant trees abound with many of Australia's tallest trees found in the area.
The area features Red Tingle, Yellow Tingle, Karri, Marri and Jarrah.

Fortunately, the tree relies on the outside and not the inside for strength.  

A teepee is not necessarily made of animal skins. 

Driving through the forests was a delight. 

Local non-life - threatening reptilian resident  

Massive arboreal architecture.  

Survival through bush fires. 

Sextuplets 

Known locally as Grandma Tingle, she is 400 years old, has a circumference of over 12 metres and stands proudly at 34m. 

The tree apparently grew around this ancient boardwalk, blending in beautifully. 

Driving between forests, a kangaroo showed why they should never be trusted.
Driverless car testing found that kangaroos were extremely difficult for the car's computer systems to preempt, due their motion and random patterns of movement.

Its OK when the path is along the side of the road. 

This is the reason we have a Roo Bar.
Fortunately we haven't had to use it. 

 A 420 metre tree top walk raised up to 12 stories above the forest floor was a must see in the area.
Like so many of the structures in Western Australia, it was an engineering masterpiece.

The suspended tree top walk can be seen disappearing through the distant tree tops. 

Impressive spans.

Bird's eye (excluding emu and quail) view looking down.

Note the emergency exit branch to the right. 

The sturdy structure made us feel we were only two feet from the ground rather than the actual one hundred and twenty feet. 

Great for pedestrians, not so good for cyclists. 

The view was so different to the general view of looking up. 

Trying to stand in the corner. 

Mind blowingly brilliant.
The thick lower foliage was reassuring in case of problems with the structural integrity of the suspended walkway. 

Conspicuous Cliffs provided more great coastal scenery and wildlife.

The limestone cliffs we were standing on were not so conspicuous from land, however the beach was brilliant and untouched. 

Wildflowers were still hanging in there with the onset of warmer weather. 

The warmer weather also brought this chap out.
We allowed it to clear the path before continuing.
It looked healthy and moved with grace.
A bite possibly would have seen us not so healthy and moving in a similar fashion.  

The greenery indicates the rainfall in this area is more plentiful than in many areas of Australia presently.
Note competing grazing types. 

 Unlike their grazing companions, kangaroos are not so restricted by fences. 

Mount Frankland is the highest mountain in the region, and hence must be conquered.  A marvelous wheel chair friendly viewing platform features on a man made marvel walkway.

The drive is dwarfed by massive trees once more. 

Space age design blending in with the bushland setting.

Inviting view. 

100km views once looking the right way. 

We then took on the summit, following the track up the mountain from the Towerman's Hut.
From 1956 until the 1970s, three times a day, the signalman would climb to the peak to check for fires.

1956 Towerman's Hut.
The gas tanks and plastic pipe didn't quite fit the era. 

Fluid shapes of rock and path, combined with great moss colourings.

Original staircase from 1956

Up to date ladder with rails. 

The final onslaught to the summit. 

Great phone reception whilst sheltering form the wind.

Views to the coast. and 100kms all around.
Hence a great spot for fire detection. 

A walk downhill and around the granite peak surprised us with this wonderful walkway preventing a painful slide down the slope.

Christmas baubles growing wild. 

Bookends without books.
Another iconic Aussie scene.  

Reaching for the sky.

Blending the colours of moss and bark. 

The lower track was not wheelchair accessible.

 Following our big morning and many steps, we had lunch at Thurby Herb Farm, where flowers and birds also feature.

Wonderful lunch setting surrounded by nature. 

A Ringneck or 28 Parrot reaches for a feed.
It is called 28 due to its contact call. 

Gaol bird

Another splendid wren 

Shake your tail feather!

The Swarbrick Art Loop near Walpole was completely unexpected in the bush.

About a dozen art features along a sealed path. 

The large mirror brought another dimension to the bushland setting.

Always putting the best foot forward. 

The area is known for UFOs. 

UFL
Unidentified floating leaf

And back to nature for shapes and colours. 

Heading into Albany next and on to tackle some more great mountains including Western Australia's 2nd highest peak; and some impossible to believe structures.

In the meantime, please, climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, till you find your dream!!

Cheers, Don and Carrol.