PEMBERTON, WA DADS BIRTHDAY SEPTEMBER 2013

Not being much of a photographer, well maybe it is more the fact that I do not quite feel comfortable enough to carry my camera around with me wherever I go. The below photos do not do Pemberton justice. I only took the camera on a hike to break in my boots and up two of the tall trees that you can climb in the area.

We went down to Pemberton for my fathers birthday. We were heading down with two other families the Moustaka's and the Spivey's. This trip was planned for months, mom had been back in the states for some time taking care of her mom and she was even coming back for it. 

Pemberton is an incredible part of the Margret River region. Located roughly five hours south of Perth and nestled in the tall Karri forests. The Karri trees are some of the largest trees in the world only second to the Sequoias in Northern California. To say the least standing next to these giants is a very humbling experience. 

My parents had made it down to to the Pemberton area before, but were really only driving through. They were so intrigued by the surroundings that they needed to plan a trip to soak it all in. My fathers birthday was the perfect occasion. Each family booked a cabin at the Salitage winery 10km outside of Pemberton. It was "really" nice, don't ask how much it was a night:) 

*SA LI TA GE is the first two letters of each of the owners children. Learned that on our tour, must say until now I have never been partial to any winery, but after the tour we had from the owner at Salitage, I am partial to Salitage wine.

Our Cabin at the Salitage Winery

The Picardy Vinyard
Fun fact, when I got my job at Bankwest
my mother took me out to celebrate and
we had a bottle of the 2010 Pino Noir, it is excellent!

The below photos are from a solo photo bomb. I needed to break in my new hiking boots:)

Most people when they see photos like this
would not believe they are from Perth, Western Australia..but they are

The Picardy estate

Come at me sheep

One day I want to live off a road like this

Just me

Sheep congo line

Cheeky Bull

Kookaburras

This is the first of the tall trees we climbed in Pemberton, the bicentennial tree. It is the tallest of the trees that you are able to climb. Though the one that you hear more press about is the Glouster tree (I climber that one as well) probably because it is closer to downtown Pemberton and well people are lazy. If you look closely you can see a halfway platform and a series of platforms above that. There is a sign that says no more than six people on the tree at one time, but well that suggestion is lightly followed to say the least.

The top of the bicentennial tree

Little about the trees; the pegs and platforms were initially constructed for early fire watchers. The Karri trees, the tallest in the area, offer the best lookouts. Now they are now a common tourist attraction. Not sure if they would be able to get away with this many other places.. no lines, no guards, no rangers, no safety harnesses, no nets to catch you, no ropes etc. Just a series of pegs posted into a tree that spiral upwards to the top. This is not just a couple feet it is a couple hundred feet! One misstep or slip and you go straight to the bottom (SPLAT). That being said I do not believe anyone has ever fallen off the trees. General rule of thumb for climbing the tree as well as for any ladder for that matter is always have three points of contact with the tree. Two arms and a leg, two legs and an arm, get it? Needless to say there were no casualties in our crew.

Gates at the top of the bicentennial tree

The very top, we didn't get up there

Hard to get the perspective, but its a LONG way down
People looked like ants

I wanted to put this photo in to point out that when building a house or cabin that has only one way of heat, particularly a wood fire stove. Do not place a smoke detector directly above. It went off every time we started a fire, my ears are still ringing.

Top of the Glouster Tree! She made it!

Celebration at the top!

Nice iphone case

How does this thing work?

The view from the top aint bad

The final decent!

Success

Again anyone? 

Our trip to Pemberton was incredible! Some of the photos that you missed were the ones of my fathers birthday at a food school, very interesting takes on some dishes. We did manage to spend a lot of time in the actual town of Pemberton which was lovely. I wish I could remember the name of the breakfast spot we went to, it was a gem, there was only two or three in town. Chances are if you go to Pemberton you will eat at it as well. We also got to take advantage of some great hikes along the bibblemen track. The new hiking boots were worth it! Lastly, I got to do some serious mountain biking! I recently brought my bike back from the states, got it all assembled and took it to the hills of Pemberton. The tracks were serious, not sure if I had ever been down such serious terrain. I will be back to visit.

Last fun fact; almost all the avocados consumed in Perth, WA come from Pemberton. They're fields of avocado trees lining the hills.

Next time my trip back to the USA for the Merrit and Watson weddings!!!

Hiking Smart, FRIENDS!, Cape Naturaliste!!! HOME...BEER

HAHA and he is back. Need to continue documenting the quarter century life crisis. 

To finish off the Cape to Cape trek I will take you through the photos!

From the last post I believe I left off making it to the Ellenbrook campsite. This is the next day on the way to the Moses campsite. The original plan was to hike 35km to Mt. Duckworth...I cannot believe I ever thought that was a possibility. After two solid 20+ km days I was ready to take it a bit easy enjoy the walk a little more. Moses Campsite was the end spot tonight (21.5km).

The hiking smart part of the title is in regards to the fact that I was now going to be hiking for an extra day and that I needed to ration my food appropriately. Great fun, I didn't starve.

DAY 4 ELLENBROOK TO MOSES

Running in between the waves at Lefthanders surf break

I had to hike back from the Ellen brook campsite and around because they were cutting down trees, hence the danger do not enter tape in the last post. The picture to the left is of a helicopter taking logs out of the bush to another location. Really cool watching it fly so low. 

SNAKE!!! I saw my first snake of the trip on my way into Gracetown. I could say it was huge, ten feet long and ready to bite, but that is far from the truth. It was tiny, but if bitten I'm sure it would have been problematic..particularly hiking alone. I kept my eyes peeled for the rest of the hike.

Those of you that are avid surfers this is a photo of the memorial in Gracetown. I was unaware until I reached the memorial that during a junior surf competition a few years back spectators gathered on a cliff to watch the young kids battle it out when the ledge broke and the onlookers were sent to the bottom of the ocean under hundreds of pounds of mud and rock. 5 adults and 4 children lost there lives. The above memorial was made in their honor so surf spectators will always have a safe spot to enjoy the competition.

Can you get a better view? I actually had a sit and watched some rock climbers climb the rock face in the distance.

Photo was taken in the morning at the Mount Duckworth campsite

FRIENDS!! So nice to run into someone on my travels. I had been alone at every campsite until then. We dined together and exchanged info. Evan, the guy in the middle have actually met up for drinks a few times in Perth since. He is an adventurer that love to get out, a big rock climber. 

DAY 5 MOSES TO MOUNT DUCKWORTH (23.5km)

No detours, no rerouting, no problem. For once during this hike I was not needing to rush against the sun to find camp! It was a good feeling. Just a walk through the bush taking in the scenery.

I believe they call theses Tea Trees

Hey there little guy! He was my hiking buddy for a little while.

This is a photo from Yallingup! Funny story here, remember this trip was my last hoo-rah before I start work. Well, I turned on my phone when I got to Yallingup figuring I would check in with the rents, let them know I'm still alive. What happened was I got a boatload of emails and missed calls form the recruiter at Bankwest asking for me to click yes (a consent form I believe) after clicking on a link. Long story short, we exchanged a few emails, a few phone calls, all ver unproductive..apparently I was unable to access/submit the form from a mobile device...ugh. We left it as "they may have to delay my start date". Well that was not cool, I thought we had cleared everything up before I left and after 4 months of unemployment I was ready to work! Oh well could be worse. 

Yallingup was a beautiful spot, I filled up my water bottles used the clean, public restroom at the beach (awesome) and took a nap on the grass. 

I strolled from Yallingup to Mt. Duckworth only about 4km. I got to camp at 430 loads of time to spare! Due to the rationing I had oatmeal for dinner, but to be honest I quite like oatmeal. It really is the perfect backpacking food, light weight and keeps you full (well at least not starving after). 

I wish I took a photo of the campsite because it was quite odd. I was literally laid out on the side of a hill not a flat spot to be found. It was possibly done for drainage, whatever the reason it was strange. 

Sitting in the tent the last night, I was thinking that I was going to miss my little routines or rituals that I got to take part in every day. Setting up camp, taking down camp, cooking food, cleaning utensils all things absolutely necessary no excess. Hiking or traveling where you leave no trace is something I think everyone should experience. Makes you realize how much you waste or take for granted in the real world. 

Tomorrow it was back to the "real world" big comfy beds, fancy meals, showers and technology. Like a lot of things that I have done this year I am not sure if I will ever get the chance to do something like this again. It was an unbelievable opportunity and experience. 

Rollers!!

DAY 6 MT DUCKWORTH TO CAPE NATURALISTE

There was actually a double rainbow, but the pictures did not turn out as well.

Now I believe I forgot to take a picture of the campsite at Mount Duckworth, but I know I didn't see rainbows until my last day. What a way to end this right of passage into Western Australia. 

Doesn't even look real

Ahoy!

Surfers getting creative. Doubting they have monkeys in the area, I took a closer look and it was some kind of bird drawn over with a permanent marker, very creative.

Getting fancy with the selfi

CAPE NATURALIST!!!

THE CAR..where did I put those keys?

Even though they charge $5 it was worth it. I needed proof:)
Even had it signed by the Chairman! (whatever that means)

THE END back to PERTH!