Valley of the Giants and a Train, well a tram! Day 7

To pack a lot into today we had to leave Albany early, well about 8.30. The Bayside B & B was really comfortable and suited our needs perfectly. We left Albany under grey skies, which were typical of our stay there, however we loved the town for its character and authentic welcome. Our first stop was about one hundred miles due west near the village of Walpole. By now the countryside had changed completely and we were driving through forests of towering eucalyptus trees that grow to over seventy metres. The National Park has built an attraction that allows you to walk in the canopy of the trees via a series of suspended bridges around one hundred and fifty feet off the ground.

They are unobtrusive and the metal grating on which you walk allows you to look straight down to the forest floor.
The structures do however sway somewhat alarmingly. It was a fascinating experience to view the forest from another perspective. It was also constructed so that Marion had no difficulty accessing it. We were doubly fortunate in that we got there before the crowds, and managed to walk round before it seriously started to rain

We then drove another hundred miles west still through the eucalyptus forests to the village of Pemberton, why there? I had heard that there was a tram operating on an old railway formation. Marion, who is experienced in these matters, spotted the railway station, which was like the Marie Celeste. It had the tell tale signs of railway enthusiasm with a huge number of engines and rolling stock rusting away in the sidings gradually being submerged beneath vegetation.

But as 2pm approached things stirred into life, we were sold tickets and clambered the one carriage vehicle, which was powered by a small diesel engine.

It rocked and rolled down the narrow gauge track deep into the woods, giving a perspective that you would not have experienced from the road. It passed very gingerly over several quite high trestle

bridges before after ten kilometres we returned to Pemberton. During the course of the journey we passed the site of one of only two train robberies to have taken place in Australia. It was a really lovely trip.

A piece of ephemera, we drove through the hamlet of Northcliffe, which was named in 1924 after the Lord Northcliffe of Daily Mail fame.

Just as it was getting dark we drove into our destination of Margaret River, where tomorrow we are taking a food and wine tour.