We drove up the main road into town and the first thing you notice is the houses - all timber !! there are some newer brick houses , but the majority are timber , creosoted timber .
Continuing on , the Gloucester Tree was the next stop , only 3klms away , just past the high school we entered the forest . The trees just seemed to stretch skywards , there was the under storey trees - they were up to 10 -15 m tall , then there are the Karri Gums !! We pulled into the carpark , stopping at the entrance - there is a $12 entry fee to the national park - our yearly park pass has come in handy again , we pointed towards it and the attendant apologised and let us carry on . The trees are amazing, the trunks are nearly the same diameter 30 m off the ground as they are at ground level, the colours - orange , pink & grey .
We parked and wandered down the track , expecting to have to walk a distance to get to the tree , but no , here it is in front of us !!
Without any further ado , I slung the camera over my shoulder , and up the tree I went . Lyn sat on the seats below and watched as I scrambled up the tree . There are two rows of staked that have been belted into the tree , with some larger mesh on the row above you as you climb - don't think OH&S would think much of this set up !! After 25m , I stopped and waited for the father & daughter who were in front of me , to move further ahead , so I took a few photo's , then kept going , catching them up again . Before much longer we got to the top and onto the platform 53m up , the views were great , looking out over the tops of neighbouring trees to the hills in the distance . This tree was one of 8 that were used for fire lookouts for many years until planes took over - however , the planes couldn't always fly due to high winds and at night time , so observers were used at some of those times .
Climbing back down was easy , although there was a little bit of rubber finding it's way into my knees & thighs !!
Back in the ute and off to the next destination , we headed back through town and southwards - there was a stray cow wandering around , so I drove up to the nearest house and notified the owners of their wayward cow - they sounded Irish and they were in their 80's , in the middle of cutting up a tree in the back yard - the wife turned to the husband ( who must be a bit deaf ) and yelled " I told ya they'd get out of that paddock " . They thanked me and we headed off again .
Couple of klms down the road we turned off to the Cascades , a section of the Lefroy Brook that runs through the caravan park and continues through another section of The Gloucester National Pareto where we are . It would be really good to see more water flowing down there - they need some rain badly here as well - apparently winter time is better - it was still good , with some great reflections in the still waters .
We followed a walking track along and around the brook and then up into the forest . It was a 1.2 klm loop and led us through some more forest and back to the brook again . On the walk I noticed something on the ground , so stopped and picked it up , turns out to be a wing of an insect ??? It is pink with a yellow / green cover and was about 6cm long - it must have been a rather large creature!!
We headed off again , out to Warren National Park , it is only about 10klms away , and covers more forests and the Warren River . The Bicentennial Tree is there as well - another one to climb - this one is 72m high !!! The road in turned to bauxite - little round gravel balls and very slippery , corrugated and dusty . I stopped to take a photo of the trees with the ute , to give you some perspective of the size !!! and these are young ones - wait till they get older - they can get to 95m high !! - That's Impressive !!!!
The tree has a platform about 25m up , so that people coming up / down can pass each other . I took a couple of photos there that show the under storey below and the rest of the trees above . Another 25m up there is a platform with another 3 sections with ladders to climb up to the top platform . These all have floors and are surrounded in mesh . The climb up is a little interesting , with the stakes spaced a bit further apart and a little bit flatter , so you are leaning a bit more than you would on a ladder . It made for an uneasy feeling as I climbed . I had the tree all to myself and my racing heartbeat - it settled quickly though .I took in the views and spotted a fire about 30 odd klms away - another burn off .
I made my way back down and we had some lunch - it was nice to sit for a while .
There is a scenic drive that follows the Warren River , it has 3 camp sites and access to the river for kayaking , so we took that so we could check out the campsites and the river . The road is accessible by cars , 4wds and camper trailers only - caravans not allowed - and it's a 10 klm one way road system . The campsites have to be paid for - national parks charge $10 per head per night - there's toilets and fire pits and flat areas for your tents , one larger area has an undercover camp kitchen with gas Bbq's - other than that you are camping in the bush - but the bonus is you have the river not far away from you .
There are steps down to the water in several places at different spots along the river . There are 2 camping areas , that cater for 22 campsites . Today there were only 6 sites being used . We chatted to a guy that drove in after us - he is from Mackay Qld and couldn't believe that there was no-one there !
Tents can be seen in the trees .
On the drive out we stopped at a lookout over the river - it was a bit covered in trees - we could see about 50m of one tree , but couldn't see ground level !!
The track out was surrounded by tall trees that dwarfed the road . The last stop was at a day use area called Blackbutt - it gives you access to the river again . The river is amazing , surrounded by all this forest , it would be stunning - it would be hard to know where to look - it is stunning already !!!
We decided to call it a day , we had planned to go to a few more places , but have run out of time today , ah well , there's always tomorrow !!
Here's todays map link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kjUrDdCB9oWY&usp=sharing
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