|
33:56.838S
115:04.467E
MARGARET
RIVER and SOUTH WEST CAPES REGION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
24TH
– 30TH August 2007
We
found this place truly inspirational. It could be because of the
spectacular coastal and forest scenery, the wildflowers, abundant native
fauna and of course some of the best wine in Australia.
Lunch at Berry Farm should be
called lunch with the New Holland honey eaters and Splendid Fairy Wrens
They showed total fearlessness in
approaching us and hopping on to our table, so long as sugar crystals were on
the go! The Western Rosella parrots and Australian Ring neck 28 parrot on the
right flocked to us whilst we held a small piece of bread in the forest where
we climbed up the ‘Gloucester tree’ near Pemberton.
 
David
has the rosellas and 28s in his hand, isn’t he delighted!
Pat
Negus is one of the artists in the area who is prolific with watercolours of
the flowers, birds and plants of the area. It was delightful to meet
her in her studio, surrounded by all her efforts. Her husband also
makes wine, and they both built all their outbuildings, including a chapel to
the flowers out of mud and clay bricks they made themselves!
 
Here’s
one of her paintings in the process of being completed of the male and female
golden whistler
The
forests or the magnificent towering jarrah, marri and karri trees were simply
breathtaking. Though the timber industry remains a major player in this
region, the state governments’ recent forest policies have scaled down
native forest logging, brought an end to the controversial wood chipping of
old-growth forests, and have several new national parks as a result.
Former timber towns which we visited have been forced to move into new
industries and embrace new ways of thinking.
The
60 metre climb to the top of this KARRI tree sets no challenge to
David, he’s so used to climbing the mast! They used to climb
these trees, sticking in a rung one at a time, in order to do the
fire-watching from the top.
Valerie
managed to climb some of the way, more of a challenge as she suffers with
vertigo! It was easier walking in the Tree Top Walk amongst these
massive Tolkienesque TINGLE trees in the Valley of the Giants , despite the
swaying platforms. These giants are on the way to Albany from
Pemberton.
 
These
tingle trees really are the largest we’ve even seen in the Southern
Hemisphere, at around 500 years old, it’s simply wonderful that they
have been preserved, and not used for timber.
But
the old Jarrah wood which had originally been cut makes the most beautiful
furniture that can be made anywhere in the world, as this lovely desk shows,
at the Boranup gallery, created by Mark Howieson on site in the Margaret
River area.
We
could have spent a week visiting all the studios of artists working not only
in wood, but also in glass, metal, enamel, jewellery and ceramics, as well as
paintings and fabrics. It must the remoteness of the area and sensual
surroundings that inspires so many artists to be creative in such a small
corner of Australia.
|
