2015/10 Australia trip - D’Entrecasteaux |
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We were driving down to the coast to take a look at the eastern end of D’Entrecasteaux national park. We passed through the little town of Northcliffe, left the karri forest 
behind, and came out onto the boggy scrub area of the Chudalup Plain.
This wasn’t an area for finding flowers as the water surrounded the road, but we came to a trail for climbing Mount Chudalup, another granite rock, with its lower layers supporting a stand of karri. Above the trees the trail became very steep as we moved out onto the bare granite. The slopes were covered with 
grass trees, while the top was bare except for depressions where little plants survived in the thin topsoil. This was not a place to be careless; a classic 
granite dome where the side slopes quickly became vertical.
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Mount Chudalup (1.12) |
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We drove down to the coast almost to the caravan park at Windy Harbour, taking the side road to Salmon Beach.
We had the spot to ourselves, well, us and the flies. Once we were through the dunes the wind kept the flies away but it was sandblasting us, not good for cameras.
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Salmon Beach (0.48) |
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We went to nearby D’Entrecasteaux Point for lunch, great craggy rocks and an automatic lighthouse. There were no big surprises in the flowers on this park, mainly colour variations on what we’d already seen.
There is only the one road so we returned to Northcliffe and headed east towards Walpole Nornalup national park. The road went through no more towns; it was a beautiful drive through forests of karri and then tingle trees.