Peaceful Bay and Tingle Trees: Points 170, 171 (click for pictures)

We got out of the park early and pulled over to eat breakfast in the Giant Karri Tree Forest. This was a nice spot and the trees were huge. (There were some caves to explore if we wanted but we had a long way to go...) Unfortunately, there are very few places and they are small where there are old growth Karri Trees. Smaller peppermint gums tend to grow where the Karries are cut down. (A bus full of backpackers stopped to admire the trees while we were there. After they sign up and pay, backpackers can get off and on wherever they want. We picked up a brochure later on that system while in Perth.)

By noon we were in Walpole, a much quieter tourist town with views of the Southern Ocean and a short drive to the Giant Tingle Trees. We had a very tasty lunch of local fish. The weather was windy and we decided to head for a caravan park at Peaceful Bay. The park nestled into the trees, including many Banksia trees, a short walk from the beach. The whole community there seemed to be an extension of the caravan park. They fish for salmon in Peaceful Bay. The beach is probably very nice in the summer, but was windy and chilly when we were there.

The big reason for coming down this far was to see the Tingle Trees and walk the Tree Top Walk in The Valley of the Giants. We got there early in the morning on a Monday and there were not too many cars. (Almost all Australian cars that they take on “holiday” are white for some reason.) It was blustery with showers when we arrived but cleared away as the day went on. Because the trees grow downhill from the visitor center, you can walk the 600 meter walk without noticing much of a climb. What you do notice is that you are suspended on these 100 meter long spans of steel that bounce as you walk and it is a long way to the ground, about the height of a 12 story building, and the trees are still stretching into the sky above you. Actually there are both Karri Trees and Tingle Trees in this forest. The Karri trees can actually get a little taller, the Tingles however have broader buttressed trunks at the base to offset a relatively small root system. Both types are as much as 400 years old. The Karri has a little broader range where they grow but both are only found in South Western Australia.

There was not much wildlife in the tree tops. There were however lots of people from all over the world. The parking lot filled up soon after we got there. The trees had withstood many fires which often burned out their hollow centers. Like any Eucalypts, they re-grow well after most fires. Many of Australia’s trees, such as these, trace their genes back to common ancestors with South America from the super continent Gondwana, 600 million years ago. They enjoy the 185 days of rain in this costal rain forest. Much of the forest boardwalk that was not in the air used local hardwoods. They hold up well in this climate. A plaque on the wall showed the many different kinds of hardwood available here. We left the Valley of the Giants with a feeling for a much older Australia. On the highway out we passed a lumber company with sheds full of hardwood planks drying in the air. We didn’t suspect that we would soon come upon one of our most satisfying finds on this trip along the Southwestern Highway…Barrecas Winery, the next story.