Going Up

There were a couple of themes of my really cool super awesome Christmas Bus Tour. One was flies. Not so really cool and super awesome. Seriously, it's no joke. They are EVERYWHERE. It's a Western Australian thing. Another theme was walking UP. Mountains, rocks, steps. All of the above.

1. Going up Wave Rock. One of our first stops was Wave Rock. It's a granite rock formation out in the bush of Wheat Belt.

You can also walk up on top of the wave for a view of the country. It also offered the first taste of "At your own risk" attitude of Australia. Going back down the rock, you can take the safe way down the steps, or you can take the "steep descent" where you step over the knee high guardrail (which is really to catch rain water and not at all for safety) and walk straight down.

 

2. Going up East Mount Baron. We were up at 5 am on Day 2 to walk up East Mount Baron. Conveniently, our camp was in it's shadow, a stones throw from the ocean. At the top, there were breathtaking views of the coast.

We all made it to the top and followed a kangaroo on the way down. Can you spot it?

3. Going up Frenchman's Peak. Our next climb was Frenchman's Peak in Cape le Grande. It was not a trail. We walked up a rock. The only 'path' were some sticks wedged into the rock face. At the summit, there were not the familiar warning signs, barriers, or park rangers as I've seen in America attempting you from plummeting over the side of a cliff. And it was windy up there.

4. Going Up Bluff Knoll. Christmas day, we took on the second highest peak in WA: Bluff Knoll. I do note that Australia is now known for it's mountains, and Bluff Knoll was only 3,606 ft (1,099 meters). Still, the path just went up. And up. And around the corner it went up again. Our conscientious tourguide made sure we were prepared with water and jackets (I was sweating at the top, but I was prepared ;)).

Bluff Knoll is in the Stirling Ranges and the contrast of the cleared farmland and forested park was beautiful.

At the top we found an older couple having their Christmas Day picnic. They watched our van park down below and were impressed with how fast we made it up (We were racing the sun. It's a 3 hr hike and we didn't start until 4ish). I was impressed that they brought crackers, cheese, and drinks up there!

5. Going Up Trees. From the rocks to the trees, we went to the tree walk in the Valley of Giants and climbed the Fire Tree. The Valley of the Giants is near Denmark (Australia). The tree top walk was built so tourists could enjoy the towering trees without damaging their shallow root systems on the forest floor.

On this whole trip, Sean peppered us with tree after tree we were passing in the bush. My brother-in-law would be so proud. Do I remember it? No. But I do know these giant trees were red and yellow tingles (types of Eucalyptus trees).

Red tingle on the left and yellow tingle on the right.

We then went to a fire tree in the middle of the forest. This is a 50 m tree that is used to spot bushfires. Metal rods stuck into the side of a tree. Again, in the Australian view of safety, it was climb at your own risk, no park ranger looking out for you, but there was a thin net should you step to the side. It is maintained, and the rungs were replaced in the 90's. Only a couple decades ago. At the platform halfway up, they did remind you to "Re-assess your situation and if you have nay doubts, please turn back." In the competitive spirit that seemed to be developing among our tourgroup, Sean beat his record and raced up in 1:30. I took about 3 minutes. It was my first attempt, I'm sure I'll be faster next time ;).

View from the top. No bushfires today!

6. Going Up and Down Ngilgi Cave. Our last set of steps was actually going down (but we did come back up) into the Ngilgi Caves. It's in Yallingup which may or may not be the aboriginal word for 'Place of Love' because of the many ceremonies that took place in this region. Lots of places around here end in '-up' which means "place of" in aboriginal languages. We learned about Aboriginal culture and learned about the Rainbow Serpent, boomerangs and had our own expert didgeridoo performance by Josh.

More steps!

Going up was always easier. As a graduate of the UNiversity of South Carolina Exercise Science program, I am well aware that eccentric contractions, such as walking down hill, cause muscle damage. Feels oh so good the net day! Good practice for trail running :).

And to prove I was actually at these places, here's my selfie montage.

 
Wave Rock


East Mount Baron

Frenchman's Peak


Bluff Knoll