Denmark... Australia

Tuesday of our WA road trip was the day I fell in love.  But first we had a long drive through lots of trees.  We left Hamelin Bay in the morning and after a couple hours of driving stopped at Beedelup Falls in Beedelup National Park.  The falls was pretty small, but the highlight of this stop was the suspension bridge on the walk back to the car.  I can't imagine how Phil must have felt crossing it with his vertigo, but even without vertigo this thing was wobbling all over the place.
The Southern Hemisphere's most sketchy suspension bridge
Down the road we stopped in Pemberton to climb the famous (really?) climbing trees.   They are three trees that used to be used as fire lookouts.  To climb to the top you use metal rods fixed in a spiral up the side of the tree.  What happens if you miss a step?  Don't worry, I'm sure the chicken wire they wrapped around the outside of the tree will catch you.  And once you get to the top, you have to do it all in reverse.  It was once of those attractions that would never happen in the US because someone would inevitably hurt themselves and sue, but in Australia it's free game.
The Southern Hemisphere's most sketchy tree climb
Climbing the Gloucester Tree in Pemberton
For lunch we headed down a long dirt road to check out Mandalay Beach in D'entrcasteaux National Park.  It was a really long beautiful beach with huge crashing waves and not a soul in sight.

Mandalay Beach
Then, we stopped in William Bay National Park and that's when I fell in love.  As we walked down the steps to Greens Pool this amazing scene was layed out before us.

Large waves crashed against the rocks and absorbed the water's energy to create this incredibly calm pool at the shore.  The water was so clear and had an unbelievable colour and sparkle.

sparkly water
 There were a few large boulders in this natural pool that made the scene even more spectacular.
Love Greens Pool - my second favourite beach ever
After soaking in the scenery and climbing around the rocks we took a path over to another bay called Elephant Rocks.  I had thought it was called Elephant Rocks because there were giant rocks, but turns out there was a rock that actually looks like an elephant.
Elephant Rocks - look at the rock in the middle :)
The bay at Elephant Rocks
We walked back to Greens Pool to take in the view one more time, and just couldn't resist the pull of the water on this warm day.  We threw on our swimsuits in the camper van and took a dip in the pool.  Of course the water was so cold that we didn't go in past our knees!

Greens Pool
The next beach over was called Waterfall Beach, named so because of a small waterfall right next to the shore.  It was pretty, but paled in comparison to Greens Pool.
Waterfall Beach
Our final stop of the day was at Boston Brewery in Denmark.  Phil tried another tasting paddle and I enjoyed the sauv blanc at Willoughby Park Winery connected with the brewery.  It was a nice way to wrap up the afternoon before we headed to Middleton Beach for the night.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baw Baw Blog

Image
A couple weeks ago Phil set out to climb Mt Baw Baw again with a couple like-minded (read: crazy) bike friends.  We drove out with Les and met John and Glenda at the primary school in Drouin to start the ride.   The crazies started on their ride while John and I headed off to explore the area by car. Phil, Glenda, and Les at the start About 10km in to the ride, as they passed the Drouin West primary school, Phil realised that that was the place he meant to start, and now an already painful 80km ride had become 90km. John and I stopped at the Noojee Trestle Bridge and took a leisurely walk across.  Then we headed on to the "town" of Noojee and saw the sights - the water wheel that no one knows the origin of.  Then we enjoyed some lamingtons while we waited for the tiers to catch up.  They arrived and took a few minutes' break, then set out again on their adventure. Noojee Trestle Bridge Noojee Water Wheel John and I then drove to Tooronga Falls an...
Read more

Tanna, Vanuatu Part 2

Image
There was a wonderful snorkelling spot called the Blue Hole a short walk from the resort so we went there a couple times and frolicked with the fishies.  The weather was perfect and the water was warm so it was a very relaxing few days. The Blue Hole Fish in the Blue Hole More fish in the Blue Hole Blue starfish we found in the rocks Pretty sunset at the Blue Hole We also took a small boat up the coast to a place called the Blue Cave.  The boat trip in itself was worth the journey as it took us along unspoiled coastline for some amazing views. The coastline from the boat near the Blue Cave We got to the Blue Cave at low tide which made the opening just big enough to snorkel through.  Inside the cave was huge and the bottom was covered in clean white sand so it made the blue water of the cave spectacular.  A small hole at the top of the cave let a shaft of light through.  It was quite a spectacular place t...
Read more

An Aussie Birthday Party

Image
My parents arrived at the beginning of April and we took the opportunity to have an Aussie Birthday Party for my mom.  We invited her Aussie friends over for dinner and they enjoyed the chance to catch up.  My mom met these friends through a painting convention they teach classes at in Vegas.  Year after year she kept taking their classes and they became great friends.  The convention is now a yearly tradition for them, and they fit in plenty of fun before and after.  They had just been over for a visit in March, so it was nice for them to get together and laugh about their trip without all the distractions.  I made an echidna cake for dessert that went down a hit, even with the very American peanut butter filling.  After the party they spent a few days with Janice and Ted and then had a visit with Karen and family before heading to Kangaroo Island with us.  All in all it was a great way to begin their visit over here.  Gail, my dad, and...
Read more