Walpole and some really, REALLY, tall, old trees

We spent a Sunday (15th of April) driving around the Wapole - Nornalup region (pop. 450) exploring the tallest trees in Western Australia learning about the Karri Tree, the Red Tingle, Yellow Tingle and Rate Tingle trees and why they are so isolated to this region of Australia. We also learned some more about Godwanna (what the continent was called when Australia was still connected to Antarctica, India and South America. The little bits of information gathered from signs here and there about the prehistoric creatures that roamed this vast and tropical land was fascinating. The areas land managers have done a great job of making the information accessible, timely and interesting. An experience to do whilst in the area is the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants. This network of ramps and bridges takes you up to forty meters to walk amongst the tree tops of the giant Karri trees.

Valley of the Giants - Tree Top Walk - Wapole, W.A.

We then climbed to the top of Mount Frankland which was a lovely 300 steep steps to the top and well worth the hike. We could see in the north east distance the Porongurups and the Stirling Ranges which we had just come from. And as we returned to the car park, we realised we had the whole mountain to ourselves and also a chance to give some perspective on the size of these trees.


Karri Tree - Mount Frankland , Walpole W.A.

The Coalmine Beach caravan park just outside of 'town' was a great set up and we had some pretty serious rain, but the tent remained true and dry still. Unfortunately there was a large group of families that were all staying that the same campground and surrounded us with their very rowdy and early rising kids! None the less, we had a Kanga that supervised the tent raising activities and a few Kookaburras that waited patiently for our departure so they could scavenge for scraps. Can you spot one in the tree below?



Kookaburra, Coalmine Beach Caravan Park, Walpole, W.A.

On leaving Walpole, we stumbled upon Mandalay Beach about a half hour out of town. A single surfer (and his spotter) a pair of fishermen was all that shared this vast beach with us. We climbed around on the rocks and noted that this sand was some of the softest we had come across to date. Here are my footprints!

Footprints - Mandalay Beach , Walpole, W.A.