AUGUSTA and PEMBERTON

We are now at Augusta the most South Westerly point of Australia. We went to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse which is where the Indian Ocean meets with the Southern Ocean. Was a cold and blustery day but a nice change. I hope we don't have to endure this for very long.

Next day was Jewel Cave, this was absolutely amazing. Only discovered in 1957, these caves consisted of 3 main caverns. Each cavern was enormous. We had to descend about 40 metres down stairs to the lowest cavern, I was a little bit nervous about the height but was certainly not going to miss the experience. The photos do not do these caves justice, I was just amazed.

PEMBERTON

We headed to the Pemberton tramway for a ride, which has a tram style carriage but runs on a train line. It was an interesting tour through the forest with the towering Karri trees and we learnt some of the history of the town re the wood mill and its logging, which has now shut down. The towns swimming pool was built by the workers of the mill in the early days so they had something to do and to this day it still exists, but no way would I swim in it.

We also went to the Gloucester tree. This tree is 53 metres tall and anyone can climb it. It has steel rods which spiral around the tree all the way to the top. I was absolutely astounded that anyone can just walk up and start climbing this 53 metre monster and this is exactly what Lynette and 4 others did all the way to the top whilst we were there. I managed about the first 15 metres, But even better still, next day we went to the Bicentennial tree and this one is 65 metres (nearly the height of the light towers at the MCG) and you can do the same. I must send some photos of this to Worksafe Victoria, they will freak out.

Next day we headed to Point D'Entrecasteaux, was nice exploring the lookouts and beaches but was a bit windy. On the way back we stopped in at the Beedelup Falls and walked 2.5 klms to the Walk Through Tree, this tree is 75 mtrs tall and 2.4 mtrs wide.

We have now clocked up visits to 7 National Parks which all have entry fees. Fortunately we purchased a WA yearly parks pass back at the Bungle Bungles, so we have now reached the break-even point. Our decision to make this major investment is now about to start paying dividends.

Next destination is Denmark.