Oce(Anna): Excursion Part Two

Day Three:

Last Thursday we went on a bushtucker river tour. Basically, we traveled by canoe up a river and made stops along the way to discuss plants, learn some history about the area, go swimming, have a bushtucker feast, climb through a cave, and have a canoe race back. I didn't bring my camera, but here is a photo of me canoeing. I'm in the back, steering.

The feast was really interesting. I tried emu and kangaroo meat, a witchetty grub, and other wild foods. The grub can be found in grass trees and is an excellent source of protein. One wild nut looked like a giant almond and also tried a tiny citrus fruit that was similar to a kumquat. After lunch we went to a limestone cave in the side of a cliff. There was a large honeybee hive that hung from the roof. We also did some spelunking into a tunnel. It was a tight fit and I got dirt all over myself but it was fun.

Next, we traveled to the most southwesterly point in AUS called Cape Leeuwin. Here is Team Perth where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. It was super windy! My ponytail is flying away!

Danger: Watch out for freak waves and swells, avoid slippery rocks and wet surfaces, supervise children at all times, and be aware of strong winds!

The lighthouse. Apparently, its beam has the power of one million candles and can shine for 26 nautical miles.

After the lighthouse, we visited the Gloucester Tree, the worlds tallest fire lookout tree. Of course, I had to climb to the top. Surrounding the trunk there were rebar pieces stuck into the the tree. It was a little like climbing a ladder, but a really high one. This picture doesn't really show how high it was, but the view from the top was amazing. There were two guys from Australia and France at the top enjoying a beer.

It was a little scary climbing to the top; I just tried to not look down.

Day Four:
On the last day of our excursion we took a discovery tour out of Pemberton through a old growth karri forest in the D'Entrecasteaux National Park. Here is the 4WD vehicle we drove in:

The rocks on the ground were very spherical, I'm not sure why.

Here is one of the grass trees that the grubs live in:

"Kangaroo Paw" flower: I have seen these in several different colors including yellow, green and red.

After driving through the forest we drove onto the Yeagarup sand dune system. The tour guide had to let air out of the tires so the vehicle didn't sink into the sand too much. It is the largest land locked dune system in the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, the dune is slowly taking over the forest and burying the trees. When it moves sometimes ancient forest remains can be found underneath the dune. It was really big and it was difficult to get a picture to accurately depict it's size. You should Google it...

It was really windy when we got there and I had a lot of sand plastered to my skin and embedded in my hair. We also rolled down the side and ran back up.

Here is one of ancient forests unearthed by the dune as it shifts position:

After driving around on the dune and going up giant mountains of sand, we drove along a beach to the mouth of the Warren River. Fairy Terns often nest on this beach, but they had already left by this time of year. There were several gulls and cormorants at the beach though. I also collected these shells:

I made this shell design.

Cormorants, not penguins

After the beach/dune/forest adventure we stopped for lunch at a shelter. I had a sandwich and a cuppa (cup of tea)!

There had been a lot of fires a few months before we got there. The guide told us that they had tried to do a controlled burn but the winds shifted and it spread out of control. When we drove to the beach one side of the road was green and the other was burned. Interestingly, the only plants that looked alive were the grass trees and a few other plants that looked like giant ferns. I'm sure in a few years it will look back to normal.

The last stop on our journey was one of my favorites. We pulled over on the side of the road and suddenly there were gnomes everywhere! It was gnome shrine where people left gnomes with the name of their group written on it. The trail of gnomes kept going! There were so many...