Albany ahoy!! (part 3)

Porongurup National Park here we come. You can already feel the warmth today as we head off for our walk. Situated 40klms from Albany, the park is made up of  an incredible karri forest which surrounds one of the oldest ranges in the world. The rock formations are 1.1 million years old and are made from granite. 

.

On our way we drive past many boutique wineries.

First thing we had to do was to establish which walking track to take. We opt for the Nancy Peak 5.5 km walk which will take us across 3 peaks. As the information board describes, this is not the easiest, but by no stretch the hardest choice. Estimated walking time is 2 hours and should be suitable for all of us, from Boaz to Olga.

The all important map. Robbie photographs everything out of the car and Linda from within the car. He often cops a lot of flack for the number of pictures of signs that he takes, but after today we think all our travelling friends will find themselves doing the same thing! N.B When you arrive into a park you normally have access to the park map and information brochure. There were not any available for this park.

                                                         

The beginning of the walk has you ascending through the Karri forest and we develop an appreciation for how tall these trees grow. It is here in the beginning that we are already tested, as the climb seems to go on forever. Our large group now splits into 2.

It did make us wonder as to how beautiful this would have looked only a month ago when in full bloom.

Peak 1. We made it. There was certainly a bit of, ok a lot of huffing and puffing by some and some whinging by others, but at this point there was only way to go, so we thought.

Lots of cheers for achieving the first peak . Check out the perspiration marks.

Dieback Disease is a major problem in the South Coast of Western Australia. Caused by a pathogen found in the soil it kills plants by rotting their roots. Animals and humans have the potential of spreading the disease by moving infested soil onto healthy soil. It threatens not only the life of the plant but ultimately the wild life habitat as well. Part way through the walk we all regroup at the soil removing station and here we are asked to brush off the soil from the soles of our shoes. This is not a manned station so it requires the compliance of all visitors.

Heading for the 2nd peak. We are all starting to feel the heat now. Our group is now split into 3. Rob, Linda, Jack, Timna and Boaz are in the middle group and Benj has joined the lead. We question how frequently the rangers take this track as the signs did not indicate that we bring our own machette.

Looking back at the path.

Yahoo! Peak 2.

Morgan's View, peak 3!

Descending the steep and rocky path towards Wansborough Walk.

Heading back to the car park thorugh magnificent stands of Karri, Marri and Jarrah trees.

It is hard to believe that this is the rock formation that we successfully climbed. Taken as we took the scenic drive back towards Albany for a swim at Middleton Beach.

On completion of this walk we decide that this was probably the hardest walk to date that we have completed with the kids. With the varied terrains and the many peaks to climb it challenged us all in many ways. We also learnt that we approached this walk without the usual attention to detail that a walk like this required. We did not pack the kids trusty camels (water backpacks), nor our jerry can of water in the car, nor our satellite phone. Perhaps our week in Perth has made us too relaxed and complacent.