Tingle forests in Walpole- Nornalup NP

15th September 2014

There are 3 types of Tingle tree [red, yellow and Rates] and all them only grow in a very small area of the south west of WA. 6,000 hectares.  Many were cleared for farmland [fortunately the wood was not seen as valuable for logging]  until their uniqueness was recognised but now they are totally protected.  The forest floor around them contains species of spiders, snails and worms found nowhere else in the world.

The red tingle in particular is a remarkable tree.  It has very shallow roots despite achieving a height up to 70 metres, and compensates by forming thick buttresses at the base.  The bark is gnarled and knobbled with burls and the trees seem to have so much character they could almost start to move!

Red tingle

The heartwood is soft and is often sacrificed by the tree in forest fires leaving a hollow trunk which may only be connected to the ground in two or three places. We had a wonderful time admiring these magnificent trees along with the other plants in the forest.

Hollow red tingle

Whilst in the forest, we were also fortunate enough to see a quokka, which is usually nocturnal, a white breasted robin and two types of blue wren.

Quokka

White breasted robin

The male birds are all sporting their spring time mating colours so are especially beautiful.

We lunched at Peaceful Bay, a really beautiful place.

Peaceful Bay

Frankland River

Later, we went to an area known as Circular Pool on the Frankland River.  There is a natural widening in this fast flowing river which creates eddies.  The river is known as the cappuccino river due to the colour of the water [there is a large amount of tannin from the leaves] and the froth on top which is caused by a natural foaming sap in some leaf types.

Pemberton to Walpole via Shannon NP

14th September 2014

We initially intended to stay in Shannon National Park campground tonight, but as we arrived there so early in the day we were able to fit a good walk in and be away to drive further south east by early afternoon.  The rain started about then too, so good timing.

Shannon was a mining town built in 1949 and abandoned in 1967. Unusually, there is practically no trace it ever existed.  The forest is making a good job of reclaiming the dirt roads, the mill site and the townsite.  There were 90 houses here but all are gone including the foundations. For some reason the residents planted European Pines around the town and these remain in the campsite though not for much longer as the DEC are planning to remove them and open up a better camping facility.   The sporting oval has not yet been reclaimed by the forest and we could see the cricket pitch there still!

As this area is high rainfall there was lots of moss and lichen on the rocks and the old fallen trees, even on the track signs.

View from Mokare Rocks, Shannon NP

We took a walk along the Shannon River then high up to a granite outcrop known as Mokare Rocks. There was a great view from the top.

Beedelup and Warren National Parks

13th September 2014

First visit today was Beedelup Falls and Walk Through Tree.  There is plenty of water at this time of year so the falls were quite impressive.  The walk through karri tree seems to have grown as two separate shoots that have then grafted together, though there was no explanation.  The tree would be several hundred years old.

Peeping through the walk through tree, Beddelup NP

In Warren NP we did an 11km loop walk down to the river and back up the scarp.  The Warren river is beautiful and fast flowing at this time of the year.  There is a lot of tannin in the water from all the bark and leaves which get washed in from the forest.

Amazing reflections in the Warren River

There were some giant karri trees in this forest, some up to 90 metres in height so it was a wonderful walk and a beautiful sunny day.

John is dwarfed by Karri trees in Warren NP

Before leaving the area we visited the Marianne North tree.  This karri has a misshapen area on it's trunk so is highly recognisable.

Marianne North tree in Warren NP

Marianne was an intrepid explorer who traveled the world in the 19th century painting flora.  She painted this tree in 1880 and the painting hangs in the Marianne North gallery at Kew Botanic Gardens in London.

Margaret River to Pemberton, heart of the forests

12th September 2014

We ventured inland today into the heart of the hardwood forests.  Pemberton is located between 3 National Parks, Gloucester, Beedulup and Warren.  The town was built in 1913 for the purpose of felling and milling the surrounding Karri trees.  The forests have been felled twice since then.  Karri is a hardwood and naturally pest resistant so was used for railway sleepers on the Indian - Pacific railway which connects Sydney and Perth.  Huge trees of 600 years old were felled initially, then the regrowth about 50 years later.  Harvesting in still going on, nowadays most of the timber goes into flooring.

In the morning we took a heritage tram ride on one of the old forest railway lines.  This was somewhat disappointing and overpriced.

Pemberton Heritage Tramway

This afternoon we had a look at the Gloucester tree.

John up the Gloucester tree

The tree is one of the few survivors from the original forest and is still used as a 'fire tree'. Metal pegs have been inserted into the trunk all the way to a platform 53 metres up in the canopy.  The fire spotter can climb the tree and see over the shorter trees to spot smoke in the bush fire season.  This tree is still in use today. John and I both had a climb, but only to about 3 metres!

Lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin and Karri Forests

11th September 2014

Another night in the NP campground, then this morning we toured our 3rd cave, called Jewel.
Remains of 5 individual thylacines [Tasmanian Tigers] have been found in this cave along with remains of possums and other animals which had fallen in via a sink hole. Thylacines became extinct in mainland Australia about 3,000 years ago, this is thought to be a direct result of the arrival of the dingo which fills the same ecological niche. They survived in Tasmania into the 20th century as there has never been dingos there. However, with the arrival of Europeans their fate was sealed and they were shot mercilessly.  The last one died in captivity in 1936 due to neglect.  A very sad tale.

Unusual stalactite formations in Jewel cave

From the cave we drove through beautiful Karri forest to Cape Leeuwin, where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.

Southern Ocean meets Indian Ocean

There are often fur seals and whales to be seen here, but not today.

Cape Leeuwin lighthouse 1895

We had a look around the lighthouse precinct, what a hard life those lighthouse keepers and their families had.  The winds are very strong and there would be plenty of rain and sea spray too.


We drove back through the Karri forests which are such a majestic sight even though these ones are mostly regrowth trees.  The 600 year old trees, which grew up to 90 metres in height were felled in the last 150 years or so,  Karri grows nowhere else except in this small corner of WA.

Karri forest in Leeuwin- Naturaliste NP

Gourmet tour of Margaret River region

10th September 2014

We had a lovely quiet night in the national park, practically had the place to ourselves.
We were a bit cold in the evening though as unable to run a heater [on battery power only], so we were in bed by 8:30!

John was expecting bad weather today so he decided to book us onto a full day wine tasting/ gourmet tour.  As it is, it turned out to be a lovely day, no rain and mostly sunshine.

The tour started with a visit to a specialist coffee company for tastings.  They grind coffee beans from small plantations around the world and also from the only two places in Australia where coffee is grown, Mareeba in far north Queensland and Nimbin in NSW.

After this we took in 4 wineries [two in the morning and two in the afternoon].  This was about two too many!  The Margaret River region does not produce a lot of wine but is well known for quality and the small vineyards often take out top international awards.

Terrace at Leeuwin Estate restaurant

First stop was Leeuwin Estate which is one we had heard of.  The grounds are beautiful and an annual musical concert is held here in the summer with well known international
performers. There are usually about 6,000 attendees.

An enjoyable and large lunch was laid on in a boutique brewery, including  a choice of one of their brews.  Then, in the afternoon we visited an olive oil producer, a cheese factory and a chocolate factory.  So we did get a real feel for the local produce and a scenic tour of the very attractive area which is a mixture of horticulture, dairy farming and forest.

Pinjarra to Leeuwin Naturaliste NP - Conto campground

9th September2014

The weather forecast had been for more strong winds last night but fortunately the wind died down early in the evening and the night was tranquil, not even any rain.  Better still the rain held off all day too.

We set off south via Bunbury and Margaret River and into the Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP where we set up at Conto campground in the National Park.  There are very few campers here so we have a vast area of the forest to ourselves!

Fergus the bull, rig in the background

On the way, on the outskirts of Bunbury, we found this delightful bull in a rest stop.  He is carved from a single log.

Margaret River is a really lovely and popular little town.  In the summer it must be packed!  


The entire coastal strip from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin is formed of limestone for about 5kms inland.  This means lots of caves so John was very pleased.  We visited 2 this afternoon, the Lake and the Mammoth.  Both have slow moving rivers which run through and emerge at Conto spring, not far from where we are camped.

Magical formations reflected in the water of Lake Cave

Lake cave is very wet, every surface is glistening and it is full of spectacular formations.
This has to be one of the best caves we have ever seen.  The walk down into it is spectacular too as entry is via a doline [collapsed roof] which is circular and very deep.

Doline entry into Lake Cave

The mammoth cave is larger and the formations not as impressive, however this cave has yielded thousands of fossils from mega fauna and other long extinct species.  The animals may have fallen into the cave or been washed in during floods and then became fossilised in the limestone.  This is the place in Australia where giant wombats and marsupial lions were first identified.

Straw formations in Lakes Cave