4 Stray Katz: Tearing down the tracks at Wellington National Park

Wellington Dam, Wellington National Park

Saturday 3^rd – Wednesday 7^th December

After a night at a great free camp in Burekup, where the kids enjoyed the local skate park and playground, we headed into Wellington National Park. The camp at Potter’s Gorge was right next to Wellington Dam and we even had water views from our site. Over the 3 nights we stayed there:

- We walked (the kids rode) to the dam wall and marvelled at the amazing mural painted on it.
- The kids enjoyed the pump track near our camp. Daniel also had several turns, teaching the kids a few of his tricks.
- We did a 4WD track along the Collie River and checked out a few of the swimming holes along the river (the water was icy though so we decided not to swim).
- Enjoyed several of the mountain bike trails – the kids rode them and Daniel and I walked, then Daniel took Jackson on some of the more adventurous tracks.
- Swam in the dam- the water was actually a nice temperature, it was just a bit cold when you got out as there was a cool wind.
- Laughed at the confidence and forwardness of the resident parrots – every time you tried to eat, they were there. They sat right next to you, looking in anticipation at your food. I was eating chips reading my book one afternoon and one jumped onto my foot and was staring right at me like it expected me to share!
- Enjoyed the lovely campsite and the fact we could have fires- it was so nice to sit around a campfire, especially as the nights got quite cool.

The kids had a ball on the many mountain bike tracks in Wellington NP.

After all the bike riding they chilled out with some Xmas craft.

The very impressive mural on the Wellington Dam wall- it depicts photos of life in the local area.

A stop on the 4wd track we did - a lovely area on the Collie River.

Ready for a swim - the wind was icy so we were not very keen, however the water was surprisingly warm.

The resident Australian Ringneck Parrots (also known as the 28 parrot as apparently it sounds like they are saying 28 when they are squawking as they fly) were very friendly, especially if you had any food.

I was trying to work when this one came to see what I was up to.

Then his two mates joined!

Bold as brass!!

Daniel had a few spectators when he was eating chips straight out of the packet - as soon as the rustling started they flew in from every direction.

This one was checking out the bbq plate!!

Windy Harbour (via Boyup Brook)

Wednesday 7^th – Friday 9^th November

After Wellington Dam we headed towards a campsite in the Warren NP, near some of the giant climbing trees in this area. We stopped off at Boyup Brook on the way and did the sculpture trail, we even got to meet one of the local artists who’d done many of the sculptures – Sandy was 96 and was there with a brush, cleaning the dust of his sand sculpture- great timing by us! After Boyup we stopped in Manjimup for lunch and the kids enjoyed the adventure playground (and the huge slide) before we made our way to one of the Karri forests this area is so famous for. We decided to ignore the sign that said no caravans allowed and head down anyway, but when we got to the camp area the camp host quickly stopped us and kindly explained that we were too big to camp here (technically we were not even allowed on the road with our caravan – whoops!).

On the way out we stopped at the Bicentennial Tree (which is currently the only one of the 3 climbing trees in SW WA that you can actually climb – the other two have been decommissioned awaiting engineering reports, safety assessments and repairs). At over 70m high it is an impressive tree. Daniel and I climbed it last time we were here, with Crello (while Bec kindly looked after the kids). This time the kids wanted to have a go. We got to the first platform (20m high) and both Daniel and I were feeling anxious about the kids climbing any further. We all decided that it had been enough of a challenge to climb this far, so we enjoyed the view, got few selfies then headed back down.

We then drove to Windy Harbour, a tiny beachside fishing village. It was horribly windy when we arrived (hence the name) and the beach was covered in piles of stinky seaweed so we felt quite disappointed. Thankfully when we woke up the next morning it was a beautiful day and we discovered a pristine beach just around the corner. Jackson and Daniel had a bit of a fish (no luck) and Emilia and I went for a lovely walk along the picturesque coast line. In the afternoon we went exploring the national park that surrounds the town. D’Entrecasteaux National Park stretches along this stunning piece of coastline, with huge towering cliffs, white sandy beaches (except for the one at Windy Harbour that gets full of seaweed this time every year) and huge boulders piled along parts of the shore line. Just in from the beach, there are coastal wildflowers, kangaroos and lots of birds. We visited a few of the beaches and lookouts, then I did a short coastal walk to the lighthouse and the others picked me up. That evening we walked around the village and marvelled at the size of some of the kangaroos that were feeding on the grass. The males were huge and rose up to their full size when we approached. We also spotted a very interesting female kangaroo. She had 3 stripes of pure white fur on her forehead, it looked like she had been branded but we assume it was natural. The kangaroos descended on the camp site in the evening and it was quite a treat to watch them up close.

One of the holograms at Boyup Brook, when you walked in a semi-circle around it, the eyes followed you and the body and head seemed to pop out and become 3D.

The incredible sand sculptures (with the artist who created them). Sandy is now 96 years old but still looks after his work. He has a cheeky grin on his face as he just told us he would be more than happy to move behind the sculpture for the photo, as he'd sculptured a reclining nude back there!!!

One of the other sculptures on the art trail we did at Boyup Brook.

One of the huge trees in Warren NP had fallen and had actually jumped over the road on its way down (this was on the road we were not meant to be driving on with the caravan).