On our first day there, we took things pretty slowly. Beth was awake early as usual, but we set her up with her iPad, and the rest of us had a bit of a sleepin. We made porridge over the potbelly stove and had our showers. Hannah and Beth got into their game of Little House on the Prairie (Hannah was Laura and Beth was Carrie) and Lauren and Sam were keen to start a game of Monopoly (we had bought the electronic version in Perth when the kids had seen it there). Michael and I sat outside for a while relaxing and catching up on blogging. We had a late morning tea, and then I put together some lunch things so we could go for a drive. There is the Great Trees Forest Drive in the Shannon NP which takes you through some of the best old growth forest of karri, jarrah and marri trees. There are information stops along the way, set up by DEC and accessed via your car radio. So we listened to these. Some of the things we learnt were:-
– There are more than 700 types of eucalypt trees in Australia. In this particular area, the Karri, Jarrah and Marri make up most of the eucalypt trees, with a few extras scattered around.
– Karri is the 3rd tallest tree type in the world, growing up to 90m high ( the tallest tree is the Californian redwood which grows up to 112m).
– Jarrah grows up to 40m. Their branches grow upwards, like celery sticks.
– Marri, is also known as redgum. They grow up to 60m. Their branches grow more outwards.
It was a lovely drive. We planned to stop at a picnic stop marked on the map to have lunch, but when we got there, we found that both the track to it and the table itself were overgrown. We were nearly back to the lodge, so we went back there to have lunch.
Then some of us had a nap, while others watched a movie.
In the later afternoon, we lit a fire in the outdoor fireplace, ready to cook sausages on it for dinner. I also started a game of cricket outside with the kids. It was very enjoyable. We then sat down outside for dinner. As I washed up inside, Michael supervised the kids toasting marshmallows over the outdoor fire. It was a nice end to a nice day.
On our 2nd day there, we had another slow start. I got up early with Bethany and her and I had breakfast outside together which was lovely. Then Bethany played happily outside for about an hour while I did some reading and blogging etc. No-one else woke up until about an hour and a half later, so it was nice and peaceful. I decided we would have an early lunch of pancakes today before going for a drive to Pemberton and seeing some of the sights around there. So we had lunch about 11.30 and then set off. It was about a 20min drive into Pemberton. There was a climbing tree just outside Pemberton called the Gloucester Tree. The climbing trees are a system of trees which were used many years ago as lookouts for early detection of any bushfires. There were platforms built high up in the tree and steel rungs driven into the trunk to make a ladder. The Gloucester Tree had the tallest platform at 60m high. Lauren and I climbed the tree (Hannah and Beth were too young and Michael and Sam felt queasy with heights in this situation). It was a challenging climb up, but we made it and were rewarded with a great view over the tops of the trees and out towards the ocean. We then all did a nearby walk through the forest. We then drove back into Pemberton and the Michael and the kids went to a playground while I picked up a few groceries. We had thought we would see a few more things around the area, but the kids were keen just to go back to Shannon Lodge and play some more. We did that and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon there. We had dinner and then the usual bedtime routine.
The next morning, I got up early again with Bethany and enjoyed some quiet time again before starting on the pack up. We decided to have the kids do some schoolwork before we left the lodge that morning, and then they could do their own thing in the car during our drive to Albany.