Oh my! We had quite a storm through the night proving the rain up to yesterday was but a hint of things to come. We had let off erecting our awning which was just as well, or left our mats or any other bits and pieces we might otherwise do. The caravan rocked and shuddered in the gusts, thunder crashed and then the power went off. The wind and rain continued through the night, and when we woke this morning, there was still no electricity. The camp owners drove into town to hire or borrow a generator to save the contents of their freezers, ice-creams, fishing bait and the like, from thawing, although that was not likely to occur in the cooler temperatures.
Fortunately the computer’s battery was well charged up and we spent the morning attending yet again to business emails before deciding that we must head out into the day; there were still tourist attractions not yet visited.
We set off north back toward Manjimup, but pulled into the Mt Clare access track just 8 kilometres out of Walpole. I had seen pictures of the bare granite of the mountain and was interested to see this for myself. Chris was not as excited.
All along the road, starting with that from our camp gates, tree bits were strewn everywhere, branches, twigs, leaves and large limbs having dropped from great heights; it was a like a battle site or a teenager’s bedroom. We had to shift several small trees off the track into Mt Clare to proceed to the car park for the walking track.
Part of the track to the summit doubles as the Bibbulman Trail but here is not at all attractive. We suspect the earthmoving machinery came through to clear the old mill track very recently; now there is a muddy mess lined with piles of crushed scrub and wonderful tingle trees. Leaving this unattractive section of this otherwise tantalising trail, we pushed our way up to the summit through more scrub, emerging on to a granite expanse, the grey of the rock appearing like islands in a sea of squidgy green moss. It was quite lovely. The views however were not as I expected, but in all fairness, just as the guide book states: expansive views of the forest and the coast in the distance, such a distance the landscape makes for poor photography.
 |
| On top of Mt Clare |
Chris had suggested that we were unlikely to get much in the way of a
walk today given the weather, however we had managed the 2.4 kilometre walk to
the top of this mountain, 190 metres ASL.
We continued up the South West Highway for another twenty or so kilometres, then turned onto Ordinance Road, a dirt forest road short cutting across to Beardmore Road and running parallel to Deep River, one of the three rivers emptying into the Walpole-Nornalup estuaries, another dirt road, but one inviting tourists to enjoy the wild flowers most of the year.
We soon arrived at Fernhook Falls, situated on that same river, which today after all that rain, were quite spectacular. Like those on Frankland River viewed yesterday, the water was tannin brown churning up the same froth and scum, swirling in circles as it reached the lower pools. We lunched here, still having managed to dodge the showers that came from time to time.
 |
| Hazy views from Mt Frankland |
We continued along Beardmore Road, through tall stands of karri forest and as beautiful as all the other karri forests we have admired over the past week, and on up to the parking area below Mt Frankland. At the shelter we ran into a couple who are also staying here in the camp, having escaped their last child at home for just three weeks and dead envious of our travel situation. We gave them the standard lecture, about seizing the moment, the small window between childcare and parent care, and while health was good, then set off along the pathway.
They had advised us that the ascent was steep, over three hundred steps to climb the last 200 metres, and that an option was to do the first thirty steps and enjoy the view from there, as they had. We followed their advice, dodging the fallen trees, clambering over and around, arrived at the recommended spot but then decided we were quite willing to press on, and so we did.
The 360 degree views from the top of this mountain, 411 metres ASL, were indeed spectacular, however the wind howled as hard and as cold as last night, so we spent little time up at the fire watch tower. As we scurried away to the shelter of the massive granite rock descent, I was reminded of those who travel on tourist buses, arriving at a spot, alight quickly, snap a photo, file back on and drive away, all within five minutes. We were a bit like that today.
 |
| Chris becoming part of the artwork |
 |
| Park resident pelicans |
From here we came on down to Walpole, calling into the IGA to pick up a few provisions and the ordered newspaper. We learned the power had been reconnected less than an hour ago; we felt part of the community, swapping power interruption stories with the locals.
On the road back to camp, we called down to Sandy Beach, a kilometre detour off our road taking us to a small picnic spot on the Nornalup Inlet which would, no doubt, be quite charming on a sunny day.
We also called into the DEC park where we had seen a sign to “The Sawpit”. We walked briskly up the hill to the remains of a sawpit used in the middle of the 19th century; the remnants of a saw poked dangerously out the top side of a massive log and the lower half hung down into the pit. A couple of roos peered at us through the bushes, no doubt pleased to see us leave soon after.
Back at camp, Chris gave the landcruiser a cursory wash, enough to wash the worst of the mud off, while I took my camera for a wander down to the Inlet shore to chat with the pelicans and the fishermen, the latter a little more receptive.
 |
| The Inlet shore |
No comments:
Post a Comment