Saturday 15 September 2007

Mulka Cave & Ravensthorpe

This morning when we got up the weather was still cold and windy but not raining so we decided to take a look at Mulka’s cave which is about 13km past Wave Rock. There is some aboriginal rock art covering parts of the walls and ceiling of the cave mainly in the form of hand stencils of which there are over 140 examples representing both children and adults. We couldn’t see that many but some are very faded and there may be more in the next chamber but Fin couldn’t see them using a torch. They are being studied so I imagine they will find out more about them in time; all they know at the moment is that they were probably from a local clan called the Noongar who probably used it as a meeting place. The legend of the cave is that Mulka was the illegal son of a woman who fell in love with a man with whom marriage was forbidden and that for breaking those rules she bore a son with crossed eyes who couldn’t hunt due to his disability. Out of frustration, Mulka turned to catching and eating human children and he became the terror of the district. It was said he lived in Mulka’s cave where the imprints of his hands could be seen much higher than an average man. His mother became distressed by his behaviour but when she spoke to him about it he killed her then ashamed he fled the cave for the south. The mob was outraged by his behaviour and hunted him down, catching him near Dumbleyung 156km west of Hyden. Because he did not deserve a proper burial they left his body for the ants; a grim warning to those who break the law! An interesting story to say the least. There is a rock pool or gnamma hole in the seasonal creek nearby which would have been a focal point for aboriginal camp sites also. We got to look at the aboriginal artwork without any interruptions and were just about to leave when a small bus group arrived – what good timing!
Next stop, apart from a quick morning tea break would be Ravensthorpe where they have a wildflower show at the moment. What better way to see all the wildflowers in one place than at a show? We did stop briefly in Lake King for coffee and tried to shelter under the veranda of a building but the cold wind was blowing right in on us very strongly so we moved on as quickly as possible. We found the Ravensthorpe Wildflower show in the local hall and paid our $3 each to go inside and take a look at the displays. Basically, they had collected samples of the wildflowers of the district and put them in vases/bottles of water with labels in front of them. There was also a video running about wildflowers of Western Australia and the mandatory stall of wildflower related goodies. Some of the display flowers were looking a bit sad and dying but most were still OK and it was really interesting to see them up close and identify what they are too rather than just seeing them along the side of the road as we drive by or seeing them up close and wondering what they are. I took some photos of a few that took my fancy including some flowers from the mallee eucalyptus that grow in the region and some beautiful tiny orchids too. One is called a Rabbit Orchid and you can certainly see why! It is very small and cute and the spidery one in the photo is a little bigger but still a small orchid. We were amazed to see that there are a couple of native geraniums because we saw some along the beach path to the blowholes the other day and thought they must have been weeds that escaped a local garden. The native hibiscus is very pretty also; we saw them at the Bungle Bungles. The Red bell-fruited mallee is one I love and we saw it on the actual plant later on, sometimes on a low shrub and other times on a bigger one but so bright against all the grey-green of the gum leaves! I didn’t get photos of these but we did stop and take photos of the grass trees which are flowering at the moment and look amazing with their tall spike. This one is a bent one. Nothing wrong with that! The little mauve/purple flower growing nearby was pretty so it got photographed too. Of course if we stopped every time I wanted to take photos of wildflowers it would take forever to get to our next destination so I have to be content with the memory of the ones I don’t capture.
We are back on the coast now, in Esperance, and it is a little warmer here than inland but still windy today.

Friday 14 September 2007

Drowning at Wave Rock

The plan today was to drive to Hyden which is about 421 km north east of Albany to see Wave Rock. We consulted Tom for directions since there seems to be a few ways you could go but he is supposed to choose the fastest route. It was interesting to see which roads we were directed to and it was a painless journey which went well. It was another wintery day with a little rain and a lot of wind with some areas showing obvious signs of being exposed to strong winds for much of the year with trees growing on strange angles. We were fascinated by the large fields of Canola crop growing along the way which contrasted beautifully with the lush green paddocks around it. The area we travelled through is a farming region for, not only canola, but also sheep which seemed to be mainly for wool production, cattle and wheat judging by the green fields and large silos we saw along the way. Actually, we saw a couple of silos or tanks being moved by trucks along the road with an oversized load escort; the tank actually has wheels on it!
We got to Hyden by mid afternoon and headed to Wave Rock to have a look at it and possibly other attractions at Hyden Rock and hopefully watch the sunset from on top however, the weather got in the way again and it started to rain while we were up on the rock and by the time we went over the top and came back down again the driving rain had drenched us once more. Meanwhile Wave Rock itself had lots of water running down it and puddling at the bottom and looked so much nicer wet so I took a few photos while the rain still came down but not so heavily. Well, once you’re wet through, you can’t get much wetter and there were no other tourists to get in the way by that stage! And at least we had a deluxe suite to go back to, change our wet clothes and warm our cold bodies in. We will have a look around the area again tomorrow before we head off to Esperance weather permitting.
A funny aside is that we now have another bus tour group that are crowding our space. The bus is an O’Shannesy’s one and we saw them arriving in Albany, at Whale World, Wave Rock and then here they are at our motel filling up the restaurant!

Thursday 13 September 2007

A whale of a time in Albany, WA

It was a stormy night with more hail, rain and a noisy wind which sounded like it would take the roof off but all was intact in the morning so I guess it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. The forecast was for a cold 15 degrees with showers so we were in no hurry to get out sightseeing but eventually we did head off to Frenchman Bay where the old Whaling Station is located and running as Whale World where they have adapted Australia’s last whaling station with audiovisual displays in what were the whale oil storage tanks and the Cheynes IV whale chaser ship and whale and dolphin skeletons to give visitors an insight into what it must have been like in whaling days which only ended there in 1978. They also provide guided tours which certainly give a graphic picture of what went on when a whale was caught, tagged & pumped with compressed air to leave it floating fro collection later and then brought to the station for flencing which means butchering to be processed into oil and powder solids. It was a very interesting place to visit; the displays are well done and despite being repelled by the information we heard on whale killing, it was still part of our history in Australia which thankfully is no longer practiced and in fact is in stark contrast to our whaling cruises experienced earlier where we heard about research and efforts to conserve whales. Did you know that dolphins have five 'finger bones' in their fins like we have? I didn't! My only gripe about Whale World was all the slopes or stairs to climb up or down since my legs after yesterdays arboreal adventure are very tender and Fin took great delight in my signs of discomfort although I am sure he hurt too but wouldn't let on!
After having lunch in the Whalers galley cafe we went back along the Frenchman Bay road to take a look at the Blowholes, The Gap and the Natural Bridge. The blowholes were not as spectacular as the previous ones we saw; more like a fine gush of spray upward which was sometimes quite big and sometimes not very impressive. The splash and spray on other parts of the rocks in that area were really good and it was still great to spend some time looking at and photographing them. The Natural Bridge and The Gap are quite amazing formed of granite that has had loose blocks torn away by the strength created by the pounding sea. The part of the coast where they are is very pretty but is very exposed to strong winds which you can see by the photo of the tree which has given up trying to grow vertically and accepted being a ground cover instead! Despite the cold wind, it was lovely seeing this part of our country which was once bound together with the coast of Antarctica. I have put the information board up rather than try to retype the explanation of how they were joined but it's a fascinating thought isn't it?


Next we went back along the coast road toward town and to the Avenue of Honour commemorating the lives lost in the wars. It is a long road flanked by three deep trees on one side and two deep on the other with the name of a serviceman or woman who had fallen under each one. At the top there is a carpark and a fairly long walk up a path to the actual ANZAC memorial. It is called Mount Clarence Lookout at the top and you get great views of the Albany and the coast all around; Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound with Michaelmas Island and Breaksea Island, Oyster Harbour and the Southern Ocean. It's quite a view! I need to learn how to make panoramas now.
Finally we went back to Dog Rock Motel where we are staying, did some shopping at the local supermarket, Fin washed the car and I uploaded the day's photos onto the laptop.
Now you may well ask about the name of the Motel but it is the name of the area itself and the reason is because of the huge rock in the shape of a dog's head on the side of the road there. Here is the photo so you can see for yourself.

Wednesday 12 September 2007

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.

Rain, 'up' towns, and giants of the forest



This morning we did some shopping then headed off south toward Pemberton via Bunbury and Manjimup. No, I didn’t make that one up and for whatever reason there are a whole lot of towns around there which end it ‘up’ like Boyanup, Nannup and Quinnup. I haven’t found out the significance of the ‘up’ on the end of each name but the people at the Information in Manjimup seemed happy people. It rained for much of our trip as you can probably tell from the photos. We definitely did the right thing getting the winter clothes out of storage!

We stopped at Bunbury, known as the city of three waters, first and took a drive around to check it out including stopping and climbing the Marlston Hill Rotary Lookout Tower which offers an excellent view of Bunbury harbour and the breakwater. We went to one of the many cafes in the busy shopping area there and had some lunch then continued on our way.
On the way we went through Donnybrook which has lots of fresh fruit and vegetable stalls and also has posts with large apples on them in the main street. I read in a tourist mag that Manjimup was the place where the Pink Lady apple originated but I got the impression when passing through Donnybrook that it was there. However it is known for its apples, stone fruits and wines as well as little galleries and cafes for those with time to meander.
Next we called into the Manjimup


Information and found out how to get to some of the main attractions of the area. We went to One Tree Bridge; a bridge that was built by the early pioneers of the area from one large karri tree and the Four Aces which is four large karri trees growing in a straight line that are over 300 years old. Then we went to the King Jarrah tree which is around 600 years old and is 47 metres high, 2.69 metres in diameter at chest height and narrowly missed being cut down in 1910 for fence posts and sleepers. It’s a huge tree!








Tuesday 11 September 2007

Swan River - Perth 10th September, 2007


Today we are in Perth and it was a 'get things done' day so we put the car in for a service, I rang Vodafone to sort out (I hoped) the internet problem and we got some washing done. We also needed to sort our clothes out because the weather is getting colder in the south of the state and most of our summery clothes could go into the big case and while our warmer clothes were needed in our smaller one that we take in with us where we're staying. So, a fairly mundane day really and after a lot of time spent I didn't get the Vodafone connection to work. In fact the updated program wouldn't even find the modem! The guy was meant to call me back but didn't so we are just fed up with it now and will use other means of connecting and deal with Vodafone later.

Eventually we went for a walk down to the river and along it for a while. There were quite a few interesting birds along there including a white faced Heron and an Australian ringed parrot but it was getting late and I didn't have my big zoom with me so I didn't get a good shot of it yet but we will be back in Perth after our look around the south so I plan to go back and see what bird shots I can get then. It is quite a pleasant place for a walk. I took a couple of sunset shots and reflections on the river as you can see. There were quite a few people using either the river or the path for recreation or exercise and the race track is right next door because we are in Ascot and so people take their horses down to the river too we could see by the places they have for them to do so.



Ancient stromatolites & Beautiful wildflowers 8th September 2007

I have put a photo of the view from our cabin so you can see what a strange caravan park this one is. It is a terraced park and we were at the top terrace with two below us. The ground was covered with little shells and shell pieces. As you can see, our view was pretty good!
Today we left Denham, the windy town, and headed back to the turnoff to join the highway that leads to Perth but we only went as far as Geraldton and tomorrow we will be in the capital. We called in on the way to Hamelin’s Pool where ancient limestone rock built by cyanobacteria (blue-green bacteria) called Stromatolites or living rocks still exist. These can survive in very salty water where many other creatures cannot which is why they are not grazed on by sea snails. Apparently the pool has a restricted tidal flow due to a sandbar at its entrance and it rapidly evaporates and so becomes very concentrated in saline which the stromatolites live in. They resemble rock which is what they become like but some do stay spongy underneath depending on where they live. These have been dated as being about 3,000 years old. They have a walkway to allow visitors to view the stromatolites up close without damaging them.
After this we got back onto the ‘big dipper’ road, which is what I call it because it is so up and down in great big dips that you can see from the distance, and headed off toward Geraldton. We had read in Western Australia’s Wildflower Holiday Guide that at Riverside Sanctuary about 50km north of Northampton we took take a guided wildflower tour on the farm in some of the 10,000 acres of remnant bushland so we went there but after rousing the farmer’s wife who sounded very doubtful then the farmer we were told it is a bad year for wildflowers but not as bad as last year but we could take a look along the Riverside Road on our way out. We did that and were still fairly impressed with the carpets of flowers we could see; white and yellow everlastings and a little pink one as well as some garden variety yellow daisy weeds. As you can see by the photos they make a lovely display considering nobody puts them there, they just crop up wherever the seeds have blown to. There are supposed to be wildflowers to see in Ravensthorpe area also, in fact there are many areas according to this booklet which breaks the wildflower tours into eleven trail zones which are different parts of Western Australia. For example, Perth Trail, Wave Rock Trail, Goldfields Trail etc. We were following guides from the Northern Explorer Trail. It’s a great resource for those who are keen to see wildflowers except sometimes the directions on how to get to a particular place are a little vague. I guess they hope you only use it as a guide of where to go and have better maps to help you also.
We got to Geraldton and found out, after some probing because the caravan park receptionist is not up with the internet services they offer, that they have a wireless service if you go into the games room but you need to buy a pre-paid card to use it. As it turned out, we could have paid online but we got the cards anyway; it was $10 for 100 minutes access and it was quite fast so at least I could get the photos and BLOG posts up very quickly and make the best use of the time available. I even got to catch up with my good friend Maree on MSN! When we get to Perth tomorrow we will call Vodafone and try to get the USB modem up and running again.