Tired

The pace is starting to get to us. Up north, things were comfortably spaced, so you had plenty of time while travelling to gather your thoughts, think about the journey and work out what to do. Now down south, everything is so close together that you only just finish one thing and you are on to the next. You can always squeeze one more thing in to the day, which we have been doing in a vain attempt at not getting further behind. After our big day yesterday everything seemed just a little second rate today, but that is probably more to do with the fact that we are tired, rather than the quality of what is on offer.

Shannon turned out to be a beautiful spot. Created as a timber milling town after the second world war it peaked with over 160 dwellings and associated buildings before the mill shut down and the town sold off in the middle 60s, only 20 years later. The campground was probably a mill camp and so was better equipped than most, having firewood, bins and hot showers, if you were willing to stoke the fire.

Our cabin was cosy enough,with its fire going, but the fire didn’t last the night and the cold mountain air made its presence felt. Still, it stayed warm enough to respond to stoking in the morning, providing us with toast before a quick walk around the extensive, but largely vacant campsite before hitting the road.

The morning was spent doing the tourist scenic circuit through Shannon National Park. A common feature is a little FM radio transmitter at points of interest along the way, so you can hear the story on your radio as you travel. Shannon was used for cattle, before timber then the National Park, so it has quite an extensive story generated in a relatively short time.

We hit the coast again at Walpole. A fairly common feature around here seems to be extensive river inlets protecting a port from the wild waters of the coast proper.

Walpole also introduced us to the Tingle tree. A new one on me, by name at least. It is a eucalypt and only grows in a small area, but its trees are the subject of the Valley of the Giants, and also of another scenic drive we completed in the afternoon. Another forest monster, they don’t grow quite as tall as the Karri, but can have a massive girth. Living up to 600 years, they grow in shallow, sandy soils and support themselves against the high winds that buffet their coastal range location by growing an enormous buttress. In extreme cases it can be up to 20m around the base. A fairly typical feature, given the age the trees reach, is fire damage at the base, which can often burn into the buttress, giving access to the hollow core. Before it was realised what damage was done, it was fairly common to drive your car inside the larger specimens and park for a photo. That, however, killed off the shallow root system, killing some of the larger trees.

Late in the afternoon we made a dash for the Valley of the Giants. Perhaps because we had already seen many forest giants earlier in the day, the $25 (for the family) treetop walk felt like a bit of an anticlimax. It shouldn’t have, given the massive undertaking that the construction was, and the beautiful weather we were having in the late afternoon. The blaring PA system advising us to get out at closing time gave it a bit of a theme park feel.

We pressed on for the night to Parry Beach. A campsite recommended to us, it really is nestled in right behind the coastal dune, and protected underneath sheoaks and similar trees. Camping fees make no sense down here. We’ve paid $7 and get flushing toilets, hot showers and other facilities. We’ve paid over $50, for about the same in nowhere near as nice spots.

Tonight we really need to plan the last two weeks of the final approach. Too tired and too scary. What to leave out?