2015/10 Australia trip - Mount Frankland |
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Walpole and Nornalup are two small towns on the Frankland River’s estuary, and neither of them is actually in the Walpole-Nornalup park. The park is a collection of protected pieces and does not have a campground. We ended up camping at Crystal Spring, at the extreme eastern edge of D’Entrecasteaux, a tiny campground under the peppermint trees.
Our neighbours at the campground had a similar rig to ours and they asked how many motorhomes and caravans we’d seen on our way in. They were worried about the CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia) Rally that was scheduled to begin in nearby Albany on Friday. Like us they were members of the CMCA, but they were horrified at the possibility of sharing a campground with dozens of rally-goers. This was really funny to me as I could have given the same speech. One of the reasons I’d originally scheduled our trip to go clockwise around the southwest loop was to avoid ending up at Albany at the same time as the CMCA rally! We concluded that most rally-goers wouldn’t be driving anything that could negotiate the bends into the kinds of campgrounds we like.
Thursday October 22nd
For a change we had a warm and sunny morning, which meant the flies were out in force. The whole campground looked to be asleep as we headed down the gravel road to Mandalay Beach, named after a ship that was wrecked there a hundred years ago. Not only did the crew survive the wreck but they also avoided starvation when they met up with local settlers.
The beach gave us a view across the Chatham Island, fuzzy at times in the coastal haze. The haze didn’t deter the flies; a German hiker we met wanted to buy my hat and 
headnet.
Our next stop was Fernhook Falls in Mount Frankland national park, accessed by a rough track that crossed a number of streams.
The falls were not quite dry but it looked like they’d be dramatic during the winter rains. There was a pond and rocks below the falls and a large lake further downstream.
Water is often a novelty in Australia and this was an exceptionally nice spot. We climbed around the rocks and found orchids and lots of other good stuff. New to
us were this southern cross, red and green kangaroo paw, purple enamel orchid, blue lady orchid (I think), boomerang trigger plant, and pink hooded lily. Peas and orchids gave us almost luminous colour.
We continued up the road to Mount Frankland itself. The prime walk there is, of course, to the top of the mountain. It was very warm and humid and it was a long climb of 300 tall steps and a couple of ladders up to the old fire lookout. The mountain top was a typical granite dome with very steep sides but it had been fenced all around.
This skink lives on top.