Balingup Autumn Colours

Greenbushes Discovery Centre was open this morning. It's opened Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. For a mere $5 entry each, there was much to discover and experience. Through many interactive and audio visual displays, we experienced what it was like to be in an underground mine. We drilled with a machine called the Jumbo so that explosives could be set, reinforced the mine shaft with steel nets and bolts, and detonated the explosives. We even got familiar with the Recovery Chamber so we could be recovered should there be an accident or incident. After that we toured the Greenbushes town of old, and read about the grocery boy who delivered and sold groceries from the front basket of this bicycle. Being a small lad, he often had trouble keeping the heavy laden big grocery bicycle upright . However, no grocery was ever lost. Every bit was always recovered, dusted down, or wiped with his shirt and delivered or sold. Once, the bread boy and him had a race which ended with bread strewn across the dirt. No one went without bread that day as the boys carefully picked most of the leaves, dirt and sand off the bread. Grace and I then toured the forests of South West Australia, acquainting ourselves with the flora, fauna, and abiota. Next we were into the timber industry which took us from logging to timber processing for furniture and paper pulp. Thus Greenbushes Discovery Centre is somewhere I thoroughly recommend, and would dearly love to visit again.

After all that activity, we went to the cafe Tasty Edibles for morning tea. We had the most delicious bacon and sausage roll ever. After the obligatory stop at both op shops in Bridgetown and a rather average Beef Pho noodles at the Vietnamese cafe, we went in search of our next campsite. It was either Karri Gully or Willow Springs, both about 10 minutes from each other, and only about half an hour from Bridgetown. Karri Gully looked like a rest stop on Brockman Highway. Although under the gorgeous. Eucalyptus Diversicolor aka Karri trees, it was just too much a pit stop for both the highway and the Bibbulman track. We ventured further off road to Willow Springs. Not a soul in sight, tall trees abound, perfect place to set up camp. Tent up, no need for shade tent as there was no rain forecasted and we were under the trees for shade. Set up our stove for a cup of tea, and, "No Gas!" exclaimed Grace, "We're out of gas!" No worries. There's a fire pit. We can cook over the fire pit like true forest women. Collected some wood, which we were not supposed to. We're to bring in our own wood as collecting wood can disturb the biodiversity and ecosystem balance of the forests. We tried to just collect the fallen and felled pinus radiata aka common pine as that's not native and should not be in our forests. Looked in the bag of matches and fire starters, and no fire starters! Not one. Zilch. Zero. It rained in the last 3 nights and most of Monday. This part of the South west forests has a rather high humidity. Everything was damp and wet. We only had a small A4 sheet of damp cardboard. No newspapers, no papers except for Bibbulman maps and I'll never burn that. What do we use for kindling? Fortunately, Grace found some shredded bark , and there was some other fibrous stringy bark, albeit all very damp. With that, we managed to get a roaring fire going. Relief. It won't be cold bread and tuna for dinner, and we can maybe boil the kettle on the fire. After gathering more wood, Grace went to get the kettle, and "ohhhh, ohhhh" madam said.,"We do have gas!" Whatever! We also have fire. We don't usually light a fire when we camp as I don't want to add to anymore greenhouse emissions, after driving all that way. However, a fire is lovely, and it does provide much warmth.

We have decided that we can now elevate our status to Seasoned Campers. We camp in the middle of nowhere with no one else around and we can start a fire with just forest gatherings and a few matches. Maybe that says more about the tinderbox that is our forest, but we'll still claim some credit.Les mer