Roving Penny

Walking Around Walpole and Its Tree Tops then Camping Out at Cosy Corner.

Wednesday 16^th October

We drove on to Walpole and after a chat with the man at the Tourist Centre we set off on the scenic Knoll Drive and Hill Top Rd to Circular Pool.

At Delaney Lookout, the waves were going one way and the foam was blowing across.

Then we drove past the channel between Nornalup and Walpole Inlets.

From there, we headed up the hill stopping at Hill Top Lookout.

Then it was on to the Giant Tingle Tree.

Along the walking track we saw lots of pretty impressive trees.

Tingle Trees are a type of Eucalyptus. There are three types of Tingle Tree: Red Tingle, Yellow tingle and Rates Tingle. Red Tingles are the largest and can grow up to 75 metres tall with a 20 metre circumference. Rates Tingles grow to 60 metres and Yellow tingles to about 35 metres.

These Tingles only grow around Walpole in an area of approximately 6,000 hectares.

This Giant tingle has a girth of 24 metres and is estimated to be about 300 years old.

Tingle trees often have hollow bases caused by fires. As long as part of the living layer of tree immediately under the bark remains intact, the tree will reshoot and continue to grow.

The wood is strong and even a thin shell will support the tree.

After we left the tree, the sun came out and we headed towards the Circular Pool. The water around this area is stained dark brown by the Tannin and there is a lot of froth caused by Saponin which comes from plants as they break down in the water. The result looks like a giant Cappuccino.

Just near the pool, we met a couple from South Australia and stopped for a bit of a chat. They were very nice and are on holiday for three months. We figure we will probably cross paths again.

Needless to say, we caught up with them again at The Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk. We did a free guided tour around the forest floor first.

It was pretty interesting. There used to be a huge Tingle Tree that you could actually drive a car through the base of but unfortunately all the traffic through and around it compacted the soil around the roots and it died and fell down.

They do however, have this rather delightful tree that they call ‘Grandmother Tingle’ because if you look carefully you can see a face formed by the burls and gnarled bark. She measures more than 12 metres in circumference and is about 400 years old.

Then we set off on the Tree Top Walk. The lady, who sold us the tickets, told me it was designed to be wheelchair friendly. When I asked what would happen if I got half way round and had a panic attack, she assured me they would come and fetch me….in a wheel chair!!!!

We started off bravely enough.

I must admit though, that by the time we arrived here, I was looking over my shoulder for that wheel chair.

The walkway floors were an open mesh so you could see through and the whole thing swayed in the wind. It was really scary for we who are not blessed with a head for heights.

By now, it was pretty late in the day and despite our best attempts at finding a freebie, we were forced to travel into Denmark and stay at Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park ($33.00).

Thursday 17^th October

We had missed a few of the ‘must sees’ between Walpole and Denmark so we backtracked along the road till we got to Greens Pool. I’m so pleased we did. It was beautiful.

Of course it would have been even better on a sunny day.

Actually our catch cries for WA are ‘It would be beautiful on a sunny day’ and ‘It will be lovely when the flowers are out’.

From there we went to Elephant Rocks. Again, some imagination required to see a herd of elephants.

I walked down to the little cove but the water was coming in so I did not venture out between the rocks.

Then it was on to Madfish Bay.

I’m so glad we went back. Even though it was a dirt road, Indie, being an all-terrain vehicle, took it in his stride.

On the way back towards Denmark, we stopped at (102) Cosy Corner East a freebie on the beach right near Torbay Head, the most southerly point in WA.

We walked along the beach. This time the sun was out.

Along the beach was a little Tannin stained creek running into the ocean. The water looked a lot like toffee to me.

We met the neighbours on both sides, an English Backpacking couple and a couple from South Australia. They were all friendly.

Friday 18^th October

What a difference a day makes! Our Backpackers have left. It is quite overcast and much cooler. Ronnie and I went for a walk along the beach and it looks so different.