Pemberton is a really quiet town and when I say quiet I mean QUIET! When I arrived last night (only at 8pm) everything along the high street was dark and closed, it was as though the town had completely shut down at shop closing time. The bus driver was kind enough to drop me right at the motel where I was staying (due to the shambles backpackers not answering the phone for 3 days and me being the only passenger on the bus!) which I was really glad of since it's up a really big hill and I would never have found it otherwise. I took dinner at 'the only pub in the village' (Little Britain reference for you there) and listened to a couple of old ladies complain that the coffee was too expensive before retiring back for some well earned sleep.

The weather didn't seem too bad this morning when I woke up but it's now been raining on and off all day. After a brief visit to the Visitors Centre to discover that if you walk in or cycle into a National Park in Western Australia that you don't need a permit I thought I would go to see the Gloucester Tree in Gloucester National Park. It was easy enough to find, about 2km walk from the Motel. Once I was there it was easy to see why so many people don't climb it. The tree is 61 metres tall with a fire look out box at the top, the only way up are rungs sticking intermittently out of the tree which look like giant nails. The old guy standing next to me said not to worry you can't fall out (there is netting along the outside) and I simply said...what if you slipped and fell between the rungs? He just looked at me and asked me if I was going to do it and he kept goading me and his German guest into getting us up the tree. After about half an hour they were just leaving (his German friend had attempted it 3 times and come back down saying it was too high) and I just thought sod it and went for it!

I have not been so scared in ages, my hands were shaking and my knees felt weak as I was staring at the horizon and not at the people below becoming smaller and smaller. I passed a couple of people on the way down and had a quick joke with them before carrying on. Getting to the top I felt a great sense of achievement (once I had calmed down) but despite being in a metal box firmly attached to the tree I just didn't feel safe. Maybe it was being 61 metres above the ground with the wind blowing making me think the tree was swaying. The view though was amazing, you could see for miles! The journey down...not so amazing. I got down pretty quick considering and the people at the bottom all clapped as my legs almost gave way due to shaking so much.

I then decided that I would take a walk through the rest of the National Park and I went on the Gloucester route which says it is about 10kms. Ok...sure it is. Felt a lot longer I assure you! I did get to see some lovely wildlife and no sooner had I stepped into the park than 2 wild Kangaroos crossed my path and hopped into the bushes! I got to see some peppermint and eucalyptus trees as well. I did have a small accident and slipped down an embankment due to the rain making the ground slippery but thank heavens I didn't twist my ankle, no one would have found me! It was raining again by the time I made it back and by this point I just didn't feel like doing anything but sitting down, getting dry and having a cup of tea! (Very English of me I know *laugh*) I may venture out for dinner in the strange pub again later on but it won't be a late one.

Tomorrow I am going to take the Warren Bridge train to the Karri Park and back, a nice little 2 hour jaunt before getting back on the bus, this time down to Albany.

The photo is a view from the very top looking down at the rungs towards the bottom of the tree, you can't really justify the height of the tree from this photo but all the others were of me looking like a rabbit in headlights still shaking at the top!