Albany to Walpole

Wednesday, 8 June

A shorter drive today meant that we could do a number of detours to explore little beaches. We took the not all that scenic route to Denmark, our morning coffee and Wordle stop. It was quite a trendy, “roast our own beans” little cafe.

Then down Ocean Beach Rd to see where the Wilson Inlet meets the ocean and back into Denmark to the Information Centre. We got a great map there and some advice about a couple of pretty beaches, so off we set to see them.

The first was Waterfall Beach, which had a lovely little waterfall trickling down rocks, onto the beach and into the sea. Judy waded through to explore and got a bit wet but soon dried out.

A short drive away was Green’s Pool and Elephant Rocks. It was quite a trek down some steep steps to the bottom, where there was a sort of canyon you could peer through to see the beach. A little way above that was the main lookout over the Elephant Rocks. If there’s one thing they do well here it’s rocks!

Back in the car we drove on to Bow Bridge where we turned off to Peaceful Bay. A nice place to camp and enjoy the beach in summer but no stunning views. We backtracked to the Highway and crossed over onto Valley of the Giants Rd. Here we found the tingle forest with its huge, knobbly trees from 30 to 80 metres high and with a circumference of up to 20 metres. They can live for around 400 years. 

We arrived just in time for a guided tour through the forest with another expert and enthusiastic guide and were surprised to learn that there are quokkas all through the south west. Our guide, Helen, showed us the Grandmother tree which appears to have a face, and explained how the trees become hollowed out by white ants and fire. Many of the hollows are big enough to stand or shelter in.

After this we braved the Tree Top Walk which took us way up into the canopy on a metal walkway which was 40 metres above the ground at its highest point. It was like walking on one of those swaying suspension bridges, and sway it did. Apparently that was not to scare the pants off you but to give the sensation of being in the canopy. I can’t say that I loved the see-through decking but it was worth it to see this amazing forest without damaging the very sensitive, shallow roots.

We were very ready for a reviving cup of something as we departed, only to find that the coffee van had closed while we were doing the walks. Had to wait until we got to our motel in Walpole. Our room is a bit of a comedown after the lovely cabins we’ve been staying in, but it’s only for one night, it’s clean and it’s attached to a hotel, so only a few steps to dinner in about half an hour’s time.

Another great day.