And this is where it all started - The giant tree surrounding this old Holden was a much loved tree int he South-West. At 24 metres wide, people would drive their cars through the hollow trunk to take that must have photo. Eventually from old age and the compaction of the soil around it's shallow roots, the tree fell down.
This spurred the development of the Tree Top Walk and Ancient Empire boardwalk in 1996, where visitors can now enjoy the tingle forest with minimal impact.
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| This is where it all started... - myself, our friend and my Mom behind the fake Holden
An entry fee of $19 ($13,50 for pensioners, overseas pensioners not included) gives you access to the Discovery Centre with displays and information and a gift shop, the Tree Top Walk - a 600mt long metal walkway , 40 metres above the tingle and karri tree canopies, and as you leave the Tree top walk you can wander through the Ancient Empire, via a trail across the forest floor between red tingle trees that are over 400 years old.
 
The Tree Top Walk was designed to complement the tingle forest, made with weather resistant steel and the pylons blend into the forest. The whole structure only occupies 4 square metres of forest floor.
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| The highest point |
The boardwalk is well set out protected with chicken wire so you don't slip in wet weather, plenty of seating along the way so you can contemplate nature, a few lookouts - all beautifully done!
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| You can see an elevated lookout above this giant root |
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| Stretched side by side in the hollow of an ancient tree - me , my Mom and our friend |
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| My Dad, our friend and my Mom inside another giant tree |
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| Another bench to observe nature |
Just outside this area we came across a plaque for the Bibbulmun track - this is Australia's only long distance walking trail, 963 km long, starting in Kalamunda, a suburb in the "hills" of Perth, running along the Southern Ocean at Walpole, and following the coast until it ends in Albany, 120kms away from Walpole.
It is named after an Aboriginal language group, the Bibbulmun, who inhabited some of the areas on the south coast. The track is marked with a stylised image of a rainbow serpent.
Anyone brave enough to walk this trail?
Anyone brave enough to walk this trail?
Hope you enjoyed the Valley of the Giants!
So beautiful down there Sami, your visitors would have loved it, the trees really are a wonder to behold. Pat walked the whole of the Bibbulmun track about four years ago, it took him five weeks, oh my gosh when we picked him up from the train station when he arrived back from Albany he had lost so much weight. An incredible experience though.. not for me :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I admire people that do that, it takes a lot of strength and determination! It would have been terrible seeing Pat so thin after that long walk!
DeleteOh, I remember we did that (?/a) treetop-walk in 1999, when my fear of height was only very mild. Anyway... huhhh. I guess I still have the ticket! Yes, I think it was this park, I remember those amazingly huge trees.
ReplyDelete963 km?! Never-ever! I´d need way more than 5 weeks. Like ... five months? ;-)
I think I couldn't walk all that either...and I agree if I could do it, it would probably take a few months, not 5 weeks.
DeleteI like those huge trees, I have seen some in the US. Amazing high and old. That first photo is so funny.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marianne, even though I had been there before, it was the first time I saw that "car" where we could sit and take a photo.
DeleteI love the fact that there's a place called Denmark in Australia! I would go for the long trail, if I would have the time and the means. Sounds like the kind of experience I would enjoy. As long as the risk of meeting snakes or other dangerous animals would be low, of course...
ReplyDeleteVery brave of you Sara! Being as fit as you are, it should be easy for you. I presume you would encounter a few animals on the way...
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