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| A view up one of the Walpole giant tingle trees |
| Glenn's Journals 11-28-02 Western Australia We were up early as we wanted to leave the hostel by 9:00 am so we could see some of Albany before stopping into the Tree Top Walk and then making our way on to Bunbury by tonight. The hostel offered free breakfast which we found out to be days old bread and jam with either tea or coffee. We grabbed a few pieces of toast before heading out for the day. We drove out to Torndirrup National Park on Frenchman Bay Road until we came across the Gap and Natural Bridge. These are natural rock formations created over time starting when Australia and the Antartica seperated many thousands of years ago. We also stopped at the Blowholes which can be quite loud when the rough seas force air through the holes in the rock formations. The first time it will scare you a little bit until you get comfortable with the noise. We drove around the National Park including by Whaleworld museum (which we did not stop at) and along the sea coast. It was just before noon and we still had a drive ahead of us so we headed out towards Walpole and the Tree Top Walks. The Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants is a 600 meter long walkway among the tingle trees and at heights of up to 40 meters. The eye level view of the tingle trees and the view back at the forest floor provide a unique way to enjoy a walk through the woods. We also walked along the Ancient Empire which is a 600 meter boardwalk along the forest floor of the tingle trees. By now it was well after 2:00 pm and we had some driving to accomplish before we reached Bunbury. The drive was scenic through some of the old forest roads and many small towns that make up Southwest Australia. We arrived into Bunbury after 6:00 pm and went in search for a place to stay. Our first attempt was at a hostel but we found them to be more than full for the night with no recommendations for other accomodation provided. We tried a few hotels only to determine that they were full. As we were heading out of town farther hoping to find almost anywhere to stay we ran across the Bunbury Hotel. It was definitely run down but was very elegant in it's day with the huge entrance parlor and staircase. The good news is that they had availablity and the price was right. We checked into a twin for the night with shared bathroom. No worries as the place seemed deserted. Once we had settled in we went back into town for dinner. We parked at the local Target store and walked around the central part of town until we found a decent restaurant for dinner. There were plenty of choices but we preferred a sit down dinner where we could watch the crowds stroll or drive by. Our waitress is from Adelaide and was only living in Bunbury for her boyfriend. She said that we would enjoy Adelaide very much and that she missed home. We chatted with her and a few guys at another table during and after dinner before we finally called it a night. We retired to the television room for a while before calling it a night around 11:30 pm. |