Natural high, Red Tingles and Wet, Wet, Wet!

This morning we thought we’d like to see the forest from a different perspective and climbed the Gloucester Tree which is a Jarrah tree in the Gloucester National Park that is available to the public to climb. It is 61 metres high and has 153 rungs to climb to get to the Lookout Tower up near the top. It is still sometimes used as a fire tower when needed which is what it, and two other tree towers in the area, was built for in the first place. It’s a pretty scary climb especially when the wind is blowing fairly strongly as it was today and you are just climbing up metal rungs sticking out of the trunk with wire surrounding you but not mesh so you could still slip if you were careless I guess. There is a warning at the bottom of course to make sure climbers know the risk before attempting the climb. I think I just decided I was going to do it and away I went but was surprised how difficult it was because some of it is near vertical and the rungs are not quite hard to stand on but are designed so you won’t slip off, not for comfort. Fin warned me when I commented on how tiring it was and more difficult than I thought that I should remember I have to come down again so maybe I should go back down if it’s going to be too much but I was determined to get to the top and told him so. Can’t a girl make a comment about the situation without someone assuming she can’t hack the pace!? Anyway, we got to the top which was a high in more ways than one but it was very, very windy up there as you will see by the photos but surprisingly the tree really wasn’t moving much at all. It is obviously a very strong, solid tree. The view was spectacular as you can imagine and the climb down was nowhere near as difficult as we thought it would be, in fact it was easier than the climb up which was a relief! More of a relief was that the rain started just after we got down and not while we were still up there or climbing either up or down. My legs were like jelly when I got to the ground and it took a while for them to feel normal again. Guess we'll feel it tomorrow too.
Next, we went to another part of the park, on the other side of Pemberton, to The Cascades where the Lefroy Brook tumbles over a series of rocky shelves. Unfortunately the rain did not stop so we donned our coats and walked into where we could view the torrent which is what it was due to the time of the year and the amount of rainfall which was obvious from the amount of water on the track also. We were planning to go to another waterfall after this but due to the unrelenting rain and the fact that it was in the opposite direction of our destination for the day we decided to give it a miss. So off we went further south-east toward Albany via the Valley of the Giants tree top walk where there is a walkway among the giant tingle trees. I think it rained all the way including at Northcliffe where we stopped at a little cafe for lunch. It was not raining when we got to the Treetop Walk but was very overcast and we decided to go straight onto the walkway in the hopes that we would beat the rain. No such luck! We not only got rain but we got full-on heavy hail so it was a case of going around as quickly as possible trying to see the view as we went but not bothering with the information boards. We got drenched! And my hands were frozen by the end because of course I tried to take photos! Oh well, we went back to the shop and within a short while it cleared up so we had another go at it, this time the sun even shone and it was really a very pleasant experience which we highly recommend. The red tingle trees (Eucalyptus jacksonii) is known to live up to 400 years and is one of the largest Western Australian trees. They can measure up to 16 metres around the base and grow up to 60 metres tall. The trees often have large buttressed bases as they have relatively small root systems and grow in shallow soil. After the treetop walk we went on the Ancients walk which is on ground level but has some very old red tingle trees, many of which have large hollows at their base; the shelter created underneath them is quite substantial due to their amazing girth at the base. You can see in one photo our shadows one of the towers between spans. Also, you can see the photo I took of the hail pelting down and the hail around the base of the trees also while we were up there the first time.
After this, with both of us being wet and cold, we headed on our way to our next overnight stop at Albany. The rain continued for most of the way although the sun made a good attempt at coming out even with the rain continuing and we found we were driving towards a full rainbow arch. The livestock along the way were huddling in groups trying to shelter from the weather but the bulls on one farm were all facing the same way but away from each other or in separate paddocks; they were obviously facing away from the driving rain and wind but it looked really funny!
We got to our motel (yes another motel) and were pleased to see it is a big room with all the comforts you want when you have had a busy day touring around in the wet and cold! Aaah, it’s nice to be warm and dry.