Walpole to Frankland River

Arriving in Walpole, I popped into the Visitor Centre to see if Mike was working and to buy the Albany Map as I didn't have time to procure one before leaving Fremantle. Mike was there and he recognised me from my last visit in June so we had a bit of a chat while I signed the log books. With 19km to cover before reaching camp and most of that in my favourite kind of forest, I thought I'd best be on my way. There was a big storm the night before that I had to drive through to get to Denmark and although it had cleared by morning, the air was bitterly cold and there was a strong wind still blowing. The good news was the cloud formations looked stunning against the deep blue sky so at least the photos would be good. Once you find the waugyls heading east out of town it is a pretty pleasant walk as far as town walking is concerned. Turning at the post office you head down towards the inlet (which is a small inlet inside the bigger Nornalup Inlet) and this is where I got geographically embarrassed. It always happens out of town (did the same thing in Dwellingup) for some reason but there was no waugyl on the run down to the jetty so I kept going. I only went a further 50m or so until I checked the map and realised the error and I'm sure there was someone watching from their house wondering what this idiot was doing.

Once I figured out the right way I was a happy camper and the jetty down on the inlet was looking a treat. The combination of the white railing, fluffy clouds, dead tree and bright blue skies was great to photograph and was a nice way to start this section. From here you follow the edge of the water as the track tunnels through the Peppermint Trees and thick grasses. I kept an eye out for differing wildflowers as I walked along and was just happy to be walking in the South West again, a place I always enjoy visiting. Every now and then there would be a clearing in the Peppermint Trees and I'd see the inlet, which also meant a face full of cold wind. Along the edges of town there is a sign pointing you off towards Coalmine Beach and the feeling of being near a town starts to disappear. The wide path and thick undergrowth was great for blocking the wind and home to a variety of great wildflowers, most of which were hard to photograph as the wind wasn't completely blocked out. Crossing Collier Creek, you have the luxury of some boardwalk to keep your feet dry and here there are some magnificent paperbarks mixed in with some character filled eucalyptus trees.