The magical South West - Denmark and Walpole reveal many wonderful things to see and do

With the Little Fisherman nursing his sore knee, we found ourselves suddenly far more restrained in our choice of activities - a salient reminder to us how important our health is.  Unfortunately touring wineries and other gourmet delights doesn't interest the little people, or else it could have been a real blessing in disguise.  Mum did take the opportunity to indulge a little, so we all were hauled to the Mount Romance Sandalwood Factory, and the Bushfoods Cafe near Denmark.  Just quietly we all enjoyed ourselves - especially the delicious cakes at the Bushfoods Cafe!

We made camp at Parry's Beach, between Albany and Walpole.  A delightful bush camp with good amenities and reasonable prices, we settled in and decided to base camp here for a few nights whilst taking the chance to explore the area.

Valley of the Giants 

Our first activity was to check out the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk.  This easy walk takes you 40 metres above the forest floor into the canopy of the giant Tingle Trees.  These trees are found no where else on earth, and are a prehistoric tree from Gondwanan times.  Their simple root structure is susceptible to damage from compaction, hence the development of this novel way to see the trees.  The whole 600 metre walk only takes up about 4 square metres of space on the forest floor and is an engineering and architectural marvel.  This walk recently celebrated its 3 millionth visitor since opening in 1998.

On the Tree Top Walk among the ancient Tingle and Karri Trees

The Tingle Tree is one of the most iconic in Western Australia as it grows to massive sizes.  Its shallow roots and structure mean that bush-fires often hollow out the internal heartwood of the tree, creating large openings that are big enough to fit a car in.  Many families used to holiday in this area and take photos of their car inside the trees - which unfortunately led to the early death of some of the trees.  Thankfully the practice has stopped, but you can still get a photo with a special car inside a special tree!

Give us a wave! Wave Rock and Mulka's Cave

From Kalgoorlie-Boulder, we decided to take a somewhat scenic route to Esperance, via a small town called Hyden - better known as the home of Wave Rock.

As with all good journeys, we enjoyed getting there as much as the rock itself, touring on small backroads that cross some of the largest remaining woodlands on earth.  A woodland is more open than a forest, as the tree canopies do not touch - and these woodlands are unique for their size and diversity of species.

We stopped and explored McDermid Rock, learning about the precious waterholes or 'gnammas' that these rocks hold.  Of great importance to the Aboriginal people, they are also havens for wildlife, and support some incredibly hardy vegetation.  

On McDermid Rock

This area lies on the largest granite belt in the world, giving rise to many of these rocks and their precious water storage.  It also means that as granite erodes into sand, the surrounding soil is very sandy.  It is also very low in nutrients, which is why it has never been cleared for agriculture and why it is such a unique woodland.

Eyre Peninsula - Eastern Shore

We stayed near Whyalla on the beautiful Fitzgerald Bay.  It had been a long day – and the wind was fairly blowing, which is almost sure to spell disaster in our family.  We tried a few potential sites, before finally settling back a bit from the beach in some sheltered trees.  It was a great thing to be out of the wind.

Monopoly Game - great for a rest day

We checked out some of the southern most mangroves in Australia, and also improved our maths skills with a game of Monopoly.  The game proved an interesting battle of strategies – with quick cheap development triumphing over the more costly longer term development of Mayfair and Park Lane.

The first ship built at Whyalla - the ex HMAS WHYALLA

We decided to join the Whyalla tour of the One Steel steelworks.  This was industry at its finest – but we figured it was important to see steel being made in Australia, particularly before seeing the export of iron ore in the North West.  We enjoyed the tour – but we weren’t allowed off the bus, and it was a little bit of “in this building they do…”

Arkaroola in the Northern Flinders Ranges

We had heard good things about Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, in the northern Flinders Ranges, but weren't sure what to expect when we pulled into Arkaroola village and found the place all but deserted.  Yes, we had come out of peak season, and we almost had the camp ground to ourselves.  We toyed with the idea of bush camping however with no one else around, it made sense to camp near the amenities block and settle in.

Our beaut camp at Arkaroola

For those who have never heard of Arkaroola, it is a unique geological part of Australia, purchased by the Sprigg family in the 1940s.  Reg Sprigg was one of Australia's best regarded geologists and in these hills found fossils of some of the earliest forms of life found anywhere in the world.  A real pioneer in many fields, he also was the first person to drive (with his family on-board) across the Simpson Desert.  Gresilda Sprigg (his wife) recalled the crossing and many other anecdotes of an extraordinary life in "Dune is a Four Letter Word".

Arkaroola is now run by Doug and his sister Marg, and their property is as much a botanical and wildlife refuge as it is a geological marvel.  After clearing nearly 100 000 feral goats from the place, native plants such as native orange, pines and myrtles are recovering.  Relics from much wetter times, their tenuous existence is incredible to witness in these rugged hills.

All set and ready for our adventure

We were extremely fortunate to have Doug Sprigg take us on the flagship tour of Arkaroola, The Ridge Top Tour.  The tour follows some extremely steep rocky tracks put in by companies seeking to exploit some of the mineral wealth of the area.  Thankfully the mining wasn't profitable enough to go ahead, but the legacy is some unbelievable scenery accessible in the 'comfort' of a 4WD.

Oodnadatta Track and the old Ghan Railway

We departed Coober Pedy early in the morning, hoping to get to Oodnadatta and The Painted Desert.  Unfortunately roads through the Painted Desert were still closed as was the track south from Oodnadatta itself.  Tony at the Desert View offered us a very discounted rate if we wanted to stay another night, but we decided to set off to Oodnadatta via the Kempe Road.  As it turned out, we should have taken Tony up on his kind offer.

Just a bit of water on the road

The road to Oodnadatta was open to 4WD only, and at the first major creek of the track we found out why.  Water was still over the road, and in places the floodways were still very boggy.  More telling was the fuel consumption as we drove on a soft road - getting close to 18L / 100km on the 200km to Oodnadatta.

Oodnadatta Station - the former rail head of the Ghan Line

Damn camera shake - at the iconic Pink Roadhouse - Oodnadatta

Coober Pedy - a magic place to visit

Coober Pedy - what can I say.  Everyone has heard of it, and these days it is as much a tourist town as it is an Opal town.  That said, we loved every minute.

After visiting White Cliffs mid last year, we had decided that Coober Pedy was a must stop town on our adventure this year.  We had been watching the daily maximum temperatures with trepidation leading up to our visit.  Mid 40s was the norm, and frankly we were contemplating bypassing Coober Pedy this time around and coming down to it from Alice Springs later in the year.  The big rainfall that had drenched us in Adelaide also brought the temperatures down inland - so we made tracks to Coober Pedy.

No prizes for guessing where we are

We decided to stay at the Desert View Underground Apartments - and booked into a two bedroom fully self contained apartment.  Our host, Tony, couldn't have done more to make us feel welcome as we made ourselves at home.  The kids were thrilled at sleeping in their own beds for a change.  Ah, joys of space.

Craters, Cones, Lakes and a Peacock

We left the Great Ocean Road at Port Campbell and headed inland looking for a quiet camp, and found a sheltered spot on the edge of Lake Elingamite.   There was a playground for the kids, nice shady trees to protect us from the wind, and not too many other people around.  It slowly dawned on us though that we were sitting in what very much felt like a crater, and indeed it was.  More correctly termed a Maar Crater, meaning it was formed when upwelling lava met groundwater and caused an explosion of steam and rock. It doesn't have the classic cone shape that you would expect a volcano to have.  Needless to say, we were surprised, having grown up thinking Australia was a geologically very stable country, and here we were in a recent (of sorts) volcanic landscape.

Our camp at Lake Elingamite

We explored further and visited Mount Leura near Camperdown.  A classic cone and maar system, it also had fantastic views across the surrounding plains.  Some of the lakes were simply beautiful, however most are on private property and you cannot access them.

Great Ocean Road Victoria

With temperatures set to soar again in Victoria, we decided to head for somewhere where the air was cooler - and of course this meant a run to the coast.  So with the Air Conditioner working overtime, we pointed our bonnet southerly and headed for Queenscliff.

I know we missed seeing a heap of stuff at Ballarat - and heaps of stuff at Geelong too, but we live less than a days drive from here - and we will be back - one school holidays - to explore this area further.

Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale stand at the western side of the notorious entrance to Port Phillip.  And having seen the lights - indeed used them for safe navigation previously, it was great to visit the lights up close.

One of the leading lights at Queenscliff

These lights watch over the entrance and the notorious and aptly named 'Rip' that swirls the tidal waters like a washing machine.  To have felt the power of those currents from a ship - it was much more pleasant to watch them from the safety of the beach.

Point Lonsdale Light and former signal station

We continued along the coast, and enjoyed a camp at Ocean Grove near the heads of the Barwon River.  It was a wonderful evening for a stroll after dinner - and we tried a new form of selfie!

Some nice surprises at the end of our time in Tasmania

We thought the Bay of Fires was going to be our last wonderful experience in Tasmania, but we were happily surprised.  Tasmania was not done with us yet.  We enjoyed a delicious cheese tasting at the Pyengana Cheese Factory - and one of the best milkshakes I have ever had, before strolling down to St Columbia Falls.  At 94 metres - one of Tasmania's highest (but yes - we're still bitter at not getting to Montezuma Falls!).

St Columbia Falls, Pyengana

We stopped for lunch at Derby, a small former tin mining settlement. It had an excellent Tin Mine Centre, explaining the importance of tin over history, its peculiar properties and the devastating collapse of the dam wall in the 1920's.  This was a town that had a hard history, and it is well portrayed.

Freycinet Peninsula and the Bay of Fires

After picking up our delicious bread from the Ross Bakery, we made good time to the coast, and before we knew it we had set up camp at Coles Bay.  The first thing was to claim a washing machine and start working through a mountain of clothes. The second was to head down to the beach!

Coles Bay is the stepping off point for the Freycinet Peninsular. Camping in the National Park is extremely popular between Christmas and New Year, however there were plenty of spots available at the time of our visit, and if we were to come here again, we would definitely stay in the National Park.  As it was, the caravan park, with its playground, was a hit with the kids, and we were burning dollar coins in the laundr

Mole creek and Ross

We enjoyed a slower start the following morning at our beautiful camp. The boys loved exploring the camp area on their bikes, whilst mum and I enjoyed a refreshing dip :)