Heading east from the west coast leads through winding country roads covered by towering eucalyptus forests and dotted with quaint villages such as Pemberton, which was our first stop. We were lucky enough to arrive in time for the monthly Country Women’s Association markets.  I managed to completely bore Rob while I sifted through the old sewing patterns and chatted with the ladies. I didn’t realise quite what the CWA did however amongst other things, they build and provide cheap holiday accommodation for rural families to spend some time at the beach!

Just outside of Pemberton is the ‘Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree’. This tree is a tribute to the traditional ‘fire trees’ which were used for forest fire spotting. Once upon a time (before helicopters) cabins were built and mounted in the canopy of the tallest trees. Spotters would then climb the tree and spend the day with their eyes focused on the forest looking out for smoke and fires. No longer in use, these trees are now called ‘climbing trees’ and allow visitors to taste the experience of an era gone by.

The Dave Evans memorial tree is the highest of the climbing trees and stands at 75 metres in height and has a staircase of 130 metal spikes which climb to the top. At the top of the tree is a cabin which sway up to 1.5m in each direction!

Needless to say, neither Rob nor I made it to the top!

We continued further into the forest and spent a night camping in the ‘Valley of the Giants’ close to the town of Denmark. We learned that the Quokka, which we saw on Rottnest Island, also exists here! So much for Rottnest being the only place in the world where they live.

We spent the rainy days driving through the thick forest which was muddy and great fun in the 4wd! We visited the largest living Eucalypt tree which is a species call ‘tingle’.

We also visited the ‘Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk’ where Rob walked out on the platform through the Tingle forests canopy. (I didn’t go as I had visited the tree top walk two years earlier).

As we continued further East towards Denmark we left the canopy behind and re-united with the southern ocean. The cold drizzly weather wasn’t very welcoming. The below photos were pretty typical of our days. Grey skies, raindrops and a raging southern ocean.

It was a real shame as I fell in love with Denmark when I visited the area in 2009. I was really excited about showing the place to Rob and returning in the bad weather removed a lot of its charm. However my memory keeps reminding me of how beautiful the place is and I look forward to returning at a hot and sunny time of year.

We toughed it out and continued camping in the rain. We found this great little camp spot at ‘West Cape Howe’ National Park and sheltered in the bay. When the sky revealed this little touch of sun and colour to the afternoon I couldn’t contain my excitement. I ran out onto the beach and couldn’t take my eyes off the sky.

The next day presented some better weather and we made the most of the break in the clouds to sight see around the Albany area.

With more bad weather on the way we decided to head inland rather than stay on the cold rainy coast. Our next stop was the Stirling ranges north of Albany.  I had read about the ranges in the Lonely Planet and was keen to do some bushwalking. Our previous experience with National Parks in WA was that the distances and ‘grades’ of the walks were often grossly over estimated. Many times we had expected a tough walk only to find it relatively easy. In this case I decided that a grade 5 walk would be the best walk in the park. Grade 5 is the toughest walk you can do without qualifications in rock climbing and abseiling. Due to the overestimations in the past, I figured it wouldn’t be that bad. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Up to the summit of Toolbrunup we went. It all started ok, until we got to the scree slope. It went straight up and was loose rubble. The wet weather made everything slippery and it was tough work staying on the slope! As we ascended, we reached the clouds and before we knew it, we couldn’t see the mountain below us. As I looked down, all I could see was steep slippery scree slope falling into cloud. Scary stuff.

The scree slope went on forever and slowly I cried my way up the summit refusing to venture the last 20 metres or so while Rob enjoyed the view of well… just cloud!

Rob later admitted that it was the toughest walk he has ever done however I don’t imagine it would have been quite so tough had the weather been dry and the rocks not quite so slippery.

The clouds however did provide spectacular scenery when looking back up at the ranges.