Week 4 highlights
Our slow pace didn’t last long as there is so much to see here. This week saw us moving camp spots every day to maximise our time.
1. Fitzgerald River NP
Fitzgerald River National Park is striking, notably, the royal hakea stands proud in the landscape with its yellow, red and orange variegated leaves that appear soft but are hard and strong. Contrasting with these guys are a whole lot of low lying shrubs, some surprisingly soft and others quite spiky.
Royal hakea
We hiked up the East and West Mount Barren peaks. Matthew Flinders named the rocky outcrops in 1802 as he sailed by, assuming that there was no life here. How wrong he was! The landscape is covered in incredible plant and animal life, with 75 plants found nowhere else in the world, 20% of the state’s plant species and over 200 bird species thriving here.
The walks were challenging but at the top we had 360 degree views of ocean and land stretching all directions.
The park is a designated UNESCO biosphere, which aims to enhance the relationship between people and their environments, through sustainable conservation and economic practices.
Night 1 we camped on white sand with melaleucas and succulents at Hamersley Inlet on the eastern side of the park. Night 2 we sheltered beneath a gnarled, hunched tea tree heath on the western side that protected us from the howling onshore wind at St Mary campground.
On another note, I saw for the first time this trip rubbish washed up on the beach at St Mary, flotsam such as old rope, package tape and the ubiquitous forever microplastic.
2. Bremer Bay Orca Tour
West of Fitzgerald River NP lies the small coastal town of Bremer Bay, home to wildflowers and whale watching, and the nearby Bremer Canyon orca hotspot.
We jumped on board the family operated Naturaliste Charters’ vessel in the hopes of glimpsing orca. The trip out was a rolling ride, in swell that was 1.5 metres but which felt much bigger. The Bremer Canyon is 70 km (40 nautical miles) offshore and drops down to 1000 metres. Birds are a sign for orca action and the crew spotted the first orca of the day.
It was amazing to see them in the ocean. The crew has a register of around 100 orcas that they recognise and have named as a part of their research. We saw male orca Nibbles and his pod, including Baby Wren. The research they conduct involves only visual collection of data; there is no tagging of orca. There has, in the past been, tagging by researchers but as they are incredibly intelligent creatures, the animals ripped the tags from their fins.
The pod swam around and alongside our boat for a few hours, with the guests racing from side to side as the orca fished and played. We have a lot of photos of waves and ocean, but we managed to capture them floating just below the surface and beside the boat.
3. Stirling Range National Park
Earlier in the trip we met a lovely couple from Brunswick Heads, Tony and Lee, who also happened to be travelling west. We arranged to meet after our orca tour at Mt Trio Bush Camp in the heart of the Stirling Ranges.
Driving into the park at sunset was a treat. The day had been a hot one and the colours across the sunset landscape glowed delicate and soft, pink, blue, gold. The ranges themselves jutted out of the surrounding paddocks standing proud, dark against the changing colours of the gloaming. Dinner was lovely with new friends and bed was welcome after a long day on the water and the drive into the ranges.
A visit to the Stirling Ranges wouldn’t be the same without a walk up a great hill. We tackled Toolbrunup Peak the following day, one of the highest in the park (1,052m), and the hardest walk yet. It is quite a short walk but it is up, all the way to the top. There is a lot of rock on the trail and towards the end, there is a long scramble over larger stones, ending with a climb to the peak.
On the way back down, I saw the ‘Mountain Risk Area’ sign, advising to ‘turn back now unless you are fit and agile, prepared to climb steep rocky sections… prepared to encounter loose and slippery rock’. The sign wasn’t kidding! It’s a good thing I didn’t see it on the way up. Need I say, spectacular views from the top including Bluff Knoll, the highest mountain in the park and sweeping 360 degree views.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find another campground in the national park so we headed back down to the coast, ending up at free camp Norman’s Beach east of Albany, in the first serious rain of the trip. It was a sand camp which made for a fairly miserable site. We left the following morning. Nonetheless, it was picturesque, backing onto Norman’s Inlet behind Cheynes Beach, with a family of black swans on the water in the broody morning light, two adults and five cygnets, and woodcock that visited.
4. Albany, Denmark, Walpole
Brief highlights in Albany were the Gap and Natural Bridge. The counter-levered viewing platform above the Gap provides the opportunity to perch high above the ocean as it crashes and heaves between the high natural walls. There are also blow holes nearby, all impressive rock formations, well worth the visit.
Around Denmark we stopped in at the beautiful Elephant Cove and Greens Pool, swimming at the latter.
Finally, we joined the World of Walpole eco-cruise with Gary Muir and niece Emma to learn about the Walpole Nornalup Inlets Marine Park. We were recommended the tour by Sue and Phil from North Curl Curl, who we met on the orca tour. One of the great aspects of travelling is meeting people from all over. We spent a lovely day with them on the cruise and managed to squeeze the eco-cruise into our itinerary.
Gary’s flamboyant, theatrical presentation, with his enthusiasm for and extensive knowledge of the area, gave us an entertaining and engaging education about Walpole and the marine environment. His family have been in the area for eight generations and conducting the tours for decades.
The end point of the cruise was Shelly Beach, where the Pacific and Indian Oceans meet. Gary told me that the Noongar people call in the whales from the headland here and have been doing so for millennia. In fact, he was invited to do this with them a few years back. Kim Scott’s “That Deadman Dance” provides accounts of this, along with the Noongar interactions with early whalers and sealers.
