Entries about trees

This turned out to be one of those days where looking back over it, you think 'There's sooo much more I could have got done'. But then, considering the things that popped up... you actually didn't do too badly!

As mentioned in a previous blog post, Clancy had needed to visit a doctor earlier in the week, where he had been diagnosed with an inguinal hernia and told to visit the hospital emergency department if things worsened. Well things had slightly degenerated since then, so it was decided a trip to emergency was warranted before we left Hobart, to confirm that things were still ok. And clarify what level of physical activity would be recommended or not. Considering we'd planned to do a lot of walks involving carrying both children, this could drastically alter our travel plans. If not destroy them altogether.

We figured going in and being able to act on whatever results were given during regular business hours would be the best thing to do, just in case a total new set of plans were needed to be made. Having experienced numerous emergency room wait times elsewhere, we were pleasantly surprised and got seen rather quickly! The staff member who assessed Clancy was great, and explained things very well. The verdict on how much he was able to do was also rather reassuring. Stating that easy to moderate walks should be fine so long as Clancy took it easy, and didn't try carrying Sonia for any of them! Worked fine for him! I didn't mind too much either, as it meant we wouldn't have to totally change our previous plans. Alter them yes, but not start again from scratch and miss out on many of the things we really wanted to see.

So having gained this knowledge, it was time to get back to exploring Tasmania! And for today... it was the Arve Road and Tahune Airwalk.

Geeveston

• We got to Geeveston in time for us to once again enjoy a local bakery's hot food.
• Clancy then took Sonia to find the towns local playground, while I visited the library to quickly print off some documents and feed Kaden.
• Looked like there was a nice area of parkland with a creek/river running through it to explore if we'd had the time for a walk as well.
• There were also many wonderful woodcarvings of local people who'd had an impact on the community.
• The Forest and Heritage Centre then became our meeting point, where we all enjoyed the museum, tasting different types of honey, and picked up information on Arve Road, and tickets for the airwalk.
• Sonia really enjoyed the playground and interactive items in the museum

Arve Road

• This's the road out to the Tahune Airwalk from Geeveston.
• There were numerous well signed things we could look at or do along the way.

Keogh's Creek Walk

• A nice short loop walk, with boardwalk running beside and crossing over Keogh's Creek.
• Sonia enjoyed being able to run free and explore (until she got reigned in by us telling her she had to be able to see us!), and climbing up into the base of a big tree.
• I carried Kaden in the Ergo carrier, but could have easily used the pram.

West Creek Lookout

• This was a nice lookout to see the tops of trees and bushes covering the slopes of a deep steep valley right beside the road.
• The sign about bushfires, and how some firefighters saved themselves in the fire of 1967 really caught my interest having experienced a few smaller fires myself in farmland.

Arve Picnic Area

• This area looked really nice beside the Arve River as we drove past

Big Tree Lookout

• We actually stopped in to look at this one on the way back out from the Tahune Airwalk.
• The lookout platform was under repair, however we were still able to see the tree and read the information signs.

Tahune Airwalk

• This was a great walk and well worth the cost to go on it.
• I carried Kaden in the Ergo baby carrier as we weren't sure how many steps were likely to be involved.
• Following the main walking tracks from the river up to the start of the airwalk platform there were quite a few steps. But the platform itself would've been fine for a pram, and it looked like they catered for wheelchair access as well with a labeled parking area beside the start of the actual airwalk platform entrance.
• Looking out through, and then over the trees was awesome. Gave you a totally different perspective. Enabling you to appreciate the bush on a whole new level.
• The view from the cantilever lookout was awesome!
• Sonia once again loved being able to run free. She also liked the perspex at the end of the cantilever lookout. Totally scaring Clancy as she leant against it to look out!
• Sonia didn't really want to keep walking after we got off the airwalk platform. Continually asking to be carried. We managed to encourage her to keep walking, counting the number of steps in each block of steps with her, and making Clancy tally them all up together! (Got up to about 67 steps. Started counting part way through though). Plus keeping an eye out for fungi.
• There were some nice picnic areas beside the river.
• I would've liked to have been able to do more of the walks available, but once again, kids and time did not allow.

Sonia and her starry pink gumboots!

I grabbed one of Sonia's shoes to take as a size sample (she was fast asleep), and went to see if they had anything... nope... smaller, and much bigger... but none anywhere really near Sonia's size. Back to the car, where Sonia'd woken up and I realised the Mitre10 we'd parked in front of was also still open for another minute or two. So in we rushed to find plenty of kids gumboots in army camouflage colouring, or sparkly pink with silver stars. You can guess which one's Sonia wanted! Sorry, Kaden... pink it's going to be when you get older unless Sonia totally wears them out first! Finding the right size was then not as easy as we'd thought it'd be with all the different sizes available. I narrowed it down to 7's and 8's, with 7's looking like they fit really well right then, but 8's looking like they may have been a bit too big, but had better growth room available. Decided on the 8's, and off we went, just as they started shutting up for the night.

The next morning however, when Sonia was having fun running around with her new boots... I soon realised that we probably should've grabbed the 7's. When she'd put her feet into them and stood still, allowing me to squash the toes to see how much room there was, she'd pushed her feet as far forward as they'd go, leaving half an inch or so between her heel and the back of the boot! So yes, that's why the 7's would've felt too small for her toes to grow, and why they would've looked a better fit when she walked. Oh well, she didn't seem to have any issues walking in the 8's (or running and jumping for that matter!), so we kept them, and didn't need to struggle at any time to get them on or off whenever we got in/out of the car or campervan when we had that.

But in summary of the Arve Road and Tahune Airwalk day... we really did manage to see and do a fair bit. Especially considering the late start we'd had to the day. What with the much shorter number of daylight hours, and experiencing a day at Bruny Island, a day to do the Tahune Airwalk, and a future day to do the Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs, it was really confirming that being able to stay more local to see and do what was available in an area, would've dramatically improved a lot of things in general.

For a slower day where you're able to do a variety of things close together, the Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs are well worth it. The way the whole area has been set up accentuates all the natural sights really well, creating a totally relaxing atmosphere. Nice walks, interesting information signs, pool, outdoor and undercover picnic areas with big fireplaces, hot showers in the change rooms... They also cater for wheelchairs (excluding cave entry unfortunately). We all totally enjoyed our day exploring this area, and also managed to return in time to get all our accumulated clothes washing done!

Roads

• Clancy enjoyed the C636 road heading to Southport, saying that he'd like to do it on his motorbike.
• We found the dirt road off the C636 that takes you into the caves and thermal springs to be very corrugated and rather slippery, considering all the rain it had recently had, and continued to get while we were there.

Newdegate Cave

• You need to book your ticket at the information centre (this's well signposted) before continuing onto the cave parking area.
• We parked beside an old tree stump with a rather old looking can on top of it at the cave parking area, which rather fascinated me!
• It was then a further five minute walk along a boardwalk and up some steps to the cave entrance, where we had to wait for the tour guide to enter the cave.
• The cave had a lot of interesting formations, and the tour was very informative.
• According to the brochure we'd picked up, there were approximately 245 steps each way inside the cave.
• Sonia enjoyed the steps, but also wanted 'up' for a fair number of times too. It was definitely easier for her to walk up the steps than down.
• Kaden didn't really want to be in the Ergo baby carrier on Clancy's back though!

Thermal Springs

Me feel water dad!

• We enjoyed lunch at the information centre - Felt like forever waiting for the kids to finish so we could go see the thermal springs, but that's kids!
• Exchanged our national parks pass printout for the correct access pass while waiting for the kids to finish lunch. It came with a little passbook that you could stamp at each place you went to as well. Was really great for those places that still had the stamps. Many parks no longer had them unfortunately. Cradle Mountain National Park staff explained to us that their stamps for the passbook had been stolen!
• The thermal pool area was really nice. Could see why the brochure mentioned it being a local picnic spot. - Picnic and moss/grass areas, pool, barbecues, large sheltered area with numerous wood fireplaces, change rooms with nice hot showers, toddlers paddle pool.
• Sonia enjoyed the pools, but they were still too cold for me and Clancy. I'd probably enjoy them more in summer.
• The Platypus walk and Thermal Springs circuit walk were also really good. Going through various different types of bushland, allowing you to see and feel some of the thermal spring water at it's source, and also have a chance to look for platypus. We didn't get to see any.
• Sonia enjoyed running and looking at all the different things along the sides of the track while I carried Kaden. We could've used the pram, but didn't think the walks were really long enough to warrant a trip back out to the car to get it.

• Cradle Mountain Accommodation

Considering the volume of wet gear we had from splashing our way to and from Montezuma falls, we decided we'd pay a bit extra that night and camp in one of the cabins available at Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village. They'd come up the cheapest after a quick call to the Sheffield Information Centre. Doing this would hopefully allow us to wash the mud out of everything, and then get it all as dry as possible... including the pram and our shoes/boots! Washing everything in the shower, then hanging everything in front of heaters overnight, we partially succeeded. We managed to get the pram dry enough to use the following day, but both my boots and Sonia's shoes still needed a bit more dry heat. So onto the van's dashboard in the sun (as much as we were likely to get!) they went for the next few days.

• Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain

We woke to a lovely clear morning, and headed into the information centre to see what we could feasibly do that day. As we had a regular sized van (length and width), and two young children (one close enough to still be considered a baby), they said we could take our vehicle through the boom gates and all the way up to the Dove Lake carpark. Otherwise we would have had to leave the campervan in the parking lot at the information centre, and catch the shuttle bus service.

Understandably so as we found out on our return trip. The road in to Dove Lake is rather narrow (mostly single lane) with plenty of blind corners, and few wider areas for passing. Some really nice scenery and views to see along the way though. Going in was ok, as we were relatively early and nearly all traffic was also heading in to the lake at that time. Coming back out... there was a lot more traffic going in both directions causing you to constantly be on the lookout for oncoming traffic, and also places to pull over to allow each other to pass. It would've been crazy if we'd had a wider or longer vehicle.

Interesting stones

The view across Dove Lake to Cradle Mountain is stunning! We were very lucky with only a few clouds in the sky for the time that we were up there. Reading the signs and maps detailing the walks available, and standing at the edge of the carpark looking towards the mountain, we decided that walking to Glacier Rock would be the best option for us. A shorter, flatter, easier walk. The pram once again got delegated to Kaden, while Sonia managed the distance walking there and back reasonably well. There were some steps leading up to and past the rock, which Clancy, Kaden and the pram handled ok (plus a few hints from me after the Montezuma Falls walk experience!), but otherwise a nice short, easy walk for all involved.

As soon as we got near the rock, I once again made sure Sonia's hand was held especially well. All she wanted to do, was jump in puddles, and jump off any slightly higher point. Not quite the safest thing when there's a decent sized cliff nearby! Despite this, the views were once again amazing! Definitely worth a return visit for longer walks if we ever get the chance.

• Walks near the park entrance

Come on Dad!

Starting at the bridge between the park entrance and Cradle Mountain Lodge, is the Enchanted Walk. A boardwalk well suited to young children and prams. It meanders along beside the Pencil Pine River, with a few side detours involving fun tunnels and pictures for kids (and kids at heart!). I enjoyed seeing the differences in vegetation types, and managed to spot a wombat in the distance, and several wallabies near the track. No platypus sightings for us in this river either unfortunately. But yes, a nice, well thought out short walk.

The track to Pencil Pine Falls, and Knyvet Falls starting opposite the Cradle Mountain Lodge, is also a boardwalk, but involves quite a few steps after the initial viewable flat section. We took Kaden in the pram down to Pencil Pine Falls, but then folded it and left it beside the track for the return trip, before continuing onto Knyvet Falls.

Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin passed us on the way down to Pencil Pine Falls, where we met up again and swapped camera's for family shots with the waterfall, before they continued back along the track to Knyvet Falls. I wouldn't have recognised them if Clancy hadn't said anything to me later. And no, we didn't acknowledge to them that we knew who they were, figuring they might like some anonymity.

The boardwalk section between Pencil Pine Falls and Knyvet Falls was also really nice with numerous little rivulets and waterfalls running down the nearby slopes and under the boardwalk. This resulted in frequent pointing and cries of 'Wart Fall' from Sonia! She also enjoyed being able to run along the zig-zag walkway, jumping up and down the frequent steps (even after accidentally sliding off the boardwalk at one stage!).

• Gowrie Park

We were hoping to explore Tasmazia the following day, so after looking at a map, decided we'd camp at the Gowrie Park Wilderness Village that night. On the way, we detoured in to the dam at Lake Cethana, and then up to the lookout point on Olivers Road beside the Mount Roland Regional Reserve. Where we were rewarded with a nice view over the surrounding hills and valleys.

On arrival to Gowrie Park Wilderness Village (we hadn't rung ahead), we were informed that we were in luck. Apparently the campground would normally have been shut at this time of year, but this year was different. More tourists continued to trickle through, warranting them staying open for longer into the winter season. They had a small but decent enclosed kitchen, the cheapest laundry we'd seen so far, pademelons hopping around everywhere, and pay showers.

Bicheno

• Sonia, Kaden and I enjoyed the playground at the Bicheno East Coast Holiday Park while Clancy finished packing up, then off to start the days exploration.
• Diamond Island:

I'd previously read that it's possible to walk out to Diamond Island at low tide. Unfortunately for us, I later found out when we got into town, that low tide had been at 05:30am or 06:00am that morning. So no adventuring out to Diamond Island for us.

• The Bicheno Blowhole and Rocking Rock:

These were great to see (I think the huge rock sitting beside the blowhole is Rocking Rock, not 100% sure though!). With regular, decent sized spouts of water shooting up into the air, and plenty of large picturesque red rocks to enjoy running and jumping on.

Freycinet National Park

• Some of the beaches we visited:

1. 1. Friendly Beaches - Nice long stretch of sandy beach, with a few sections of rocks running down to the water. Seemed like there were some good spots available for camping as well if we hadn't needed to keep moving south.

1. 2. Richardsons Beach - This was easily accessed from the Freycinet National Park Visitor Centre, and provided some nice views over Great Oyster Bay. A short walk that was perfectly fine for a pram.

1. 3. Honeymoon Bay - We found this to be a really nice spot to enjoy a picnic lunch, and had it pretty much to ourselves for the time that we were there. Sonia and I enjoyed climbing up onto a soon to be island rock as the tide was coming in, then rejoined Clancy and Kaden to find more rocks that just begged to be clambered on. The water was calm and really clear as well, allowing us to see all sorts of interesting things amongst the rocks under the water.

• Cape Tourville Lighthouse:

The boardwalk/track up to and around the lighthouse was wheelchair accessible, and provided some amazing views looking south along the coastline.

• Sleepy Bay:

Another picturesque bay with contrasting red rocks, water, and sky. Nice short walk down some steps to the lookout vantage point. The track continues on to Little Gravelly Beach, but lunch was calling, so no visit from us this time.

• Wineglass Bay Lookout:

Well worth the time to climb all the steps to get there. The views are just stunning! After completing the Cape Tourville circuit walk and then clambering over a lot of rocks with Sonia and Kaden at Honeymoon Bay, Clancy really didn't think he'd survive the walk to and from Wineglass Bay Lookout, so opted to stay with the kids at the van and watch the wallabies around the carpark area.

I found that the first third of the track (or there abouts) would've been prammable, before the steps started, and never seemed to stop till getting right up to the lookout. A lot of track work seemed to be occuring while we were there as well, with numerous signs up explaining detours and closures of different tracks. I would've loved to have been able to share the awesome view from the lookout with Clancy, Sonia and Kaden, but ended up returning to find they'd enjoyed themselves just about as much watching the wallabies. The return trip dramatically got shortened for me, as I decided to have some fun and run (well, not really run as such, but more like a child pretending to be a horse!) down the steps! Hadn't really done this since coming down off a mountain with my brother quite a few years ago. Managed to stay on my feet and thoroughly enjoyed it! Reducing the total walk time for me down to about 45 minutes.

Coles Bay to Triabunna

• Another really nice, picturesque drive. With views of vineyards, bush, rolling farmland, and never ending coastline.

• Spiky Bridge:

An interesting convict bridge off the side of the Tasman Highway near Swansea, with stones set up like spikes on the top of the bridge walls.

• Triabunna Cabin and Caravan Park:

We'd rung ahead, and found that yes, this park was open at this time of year. They were quite happy for us to arrive late, choose a site, utilise the amenities and backpacker kitchen, then see them for payment in the morning. When we asked them in the morning, they highly recommended visiting Maria Island if we were prepared for longer walks and bike rides, as the ferry was free for the short time that we were there. Unfortunately for us, Clancy didn't think he'd be up to that with two young children in tow, so on we continued towards Port Arthur.

With a long weekend approaching... Nil other commitments for myself and kids... (No such luck for Hubby unfortunately. He had to work the Monday public holiday)... And no real rain predicted... the constant, slowly smoldering thought took hold and burst into flames. Lets go camping!!

Where to? - No real preference. Maybe try and avoid crowds. Good luck with that on a public holiday!
Just us or others to? - Definitely others too! Shared experiences are often enjoyed a whole lot more. Not to mention the much appreciated assistance with young kids!

Throw the idea around and.... The kids and I can head off early for 4 nights. Clancy will be able to join us for one night. Two of my sisters will be able to join us for 3 nights. And one other sister may be able to do a day trip out to see us and join in the fun for that day.

The consensus on where to go? - Still not solved! Until... Clancy decides he doesn't want to travel too far, and would like green and trees. Not 'boring old wheatbelt bush!'

So... Lane Poole Reserve... lets see if you live up to the reviews and expectations!

I had previously done an overnight school canoe trip through this area many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ayla (my youngest sister), had also been on a school camp to this area previously... but neither of us could really remember exact details. We all knew that there were plenty of things advertised to do in the area (far too many to complete in one weekend). So, despite knowing that it'd be fairly full of people, we decided to just have fun and make this an exploratory trip. Scouting out what extra there was to see and do, ready for the next trip.

Finding the Main Entrance

- I found the signage to be a bit lacking in Dwellingup township itself. Especially for night arrivals who've never been there (or can't remember) and are coming through Dwellingup from North Dandalup on the Southwestern Highway.
- GPS navigation systems are not always accurate either!
- So... Check direction details before leaving.
- If arriving during business hours, the Dwellingup Information Centre's definitely worth a visit. Very helpful in providing information on things to see and do. The informative displays covering the 1961 bushfires were also really interesting. The kids especially loved the old fire truck!

Campsite Arrival

- Once again... all good intentions failed. Resulting in an after dark setup
- Plus side to that... I now know that I can successfully erect our new BIG tent by myself in the dark and freezing cold.
- Well, bigger than our previous tents anyway. And not 100% dark, I did have a much appreciated head torch! Oh, and it wasn't really 'freezing'... it just felt that way to me at the time!
- Biggest thing I was thankful for during the whole experience... both kids stayed asleep in their car seats till I had the tent up!
- When they did wake, it was time to roll out sleeping mats and bags, cuddle into pillows, and sleep.
- Well... that's what I'd hoped! Unfortunately, I'd grabbed the wrong sleeping bags out of the back of the ute, meaning I kept waking up to the cold.
- And with both kids wanting to sleep in their individual sleeping bags (also not very suitable to cold), this required constant checking to ensure the extra blankets I'd thrown over them both, actually stayed over them!
- Note to self... take the time to grab the correct bags next time!
- Major re-organisation and explanations regarding sleeping arrangements to kids come morning!

Warm Sleeping Hints

- The following ideas are some that I've come across in my travels thus far that I've found to work for me.
- Put a silver car windscreen sun visor/ sun shield thing under your mat to help reflect the heat back up to your body and stop the cold seeping up through from the ground.
- Place a wool blanket on top of your mat/mattress to act like an under-blanket. And another one between yourself and sleeping bag (inside your bag if you're actually sleeping inside a zipped up sleeping bag).
- Try and keep your sleeping bag puffed up. I've found wherever it gets thin, gets cold!
- So... the kids new sleeping arrangements became...
1. Windscreen visor
2. Sleeping mat (like yoga/exercise mat)
3. Crocheted wool blanket
4. Flannelette sheet
5. Sleeping space
6. Flannelette sheet
7. Crocheted wool blanket
8. Regular wool blanket
9. Opened sleeping bags
- And, instead of sleeping them in individual 'beds', I put them together so they could huddle together and help keep each other warm.
- Success! Nil further waking in the night from cold.

Kids and Cold

- Not good!!! Major grisle, whinge, whine, cry time.
- I thought I'd packed enough warm gear for them. Obviously not so!
- During the day and evening was ok. Morning was the horror.
- Every morning was the same routine... wake up, toilet, PJ's off and into layer upon layer of day clothes, start breakfast... and as the cold slowly seeped in... so the issues started.
- With what we had available at the time, I think we may have finally figured it out by our last morning.
- Which was to... continue the same routine... but let them sit in their chairs all rugged up with extra jackets or blankets to keep warm. With one of us feeding them if need be. Then getting them up and about, actively preoccupied with something else as soon as possible.
- Remember for next time... gloves, extra warm jackets, sneakers as well as gumboots, scarves for faces, leggings/thermals.

Which Campsite

- Many of the possible Lane Poole Reserve campsites require pre-booking on the DPAW website.
- Others are available on a first come, first served basis.
- Some allow campfires out of fire ban time frames, others don't.
- If thinking about going over a long weekend or during school holidays, book well in advance if you want a booked site as they get booked out pretty quick.
- We were lucky despite booking relatively late for a long weekend and managed to get 2 sites next to each other at Baden Powell camping area (Everything else was already booked).
- No campfires allowed there. However... due to the cold over that particular weekend, the rangers informed us that we could have a fire if we had something to contain it in, and keep it off the ground (See 'For Future Trip/s' at the end of this blog for examples).
- Unfortunately we didn't have access to anything like that, so we put up with the cold and thought about planning for next time.
- We also used this trip as a scouting exercise to help decide where we'd like to camp next time. Thinking possibly the non-booking area of Nanga Mill or Nanga Brook if not canoeing. Otherwise, maybe Tony's Bend, which isn't too far from Island Pool.

Baden Powell Camping area according to kids...

Fungi	Stove operation	Water warning	BBQ warning

Gas stove	Collecting water	Our site number	No Exit

Kaden	Small tree	Crochet...	Aunty's

Black boy / Grass tree	Pine cone

Baden Powell Camping Area

- Book online
- No fires
- Free gas BBQ's (sheltered)
- Water available
- Designated camping sites
- Site sizes available for small tents up to campervans/caravans
- Long drop toilets
- Short distance down to the river and Baden Powell Day Use area and waterspout (swimming, canoeing, fishing).

Picnic table in trees	Fun on Mum's ute whilst waiting for decisions to be made!

- Apart from not being able to have a fire, we found it to be a really nice camping area.
- Considering the crowding we saw at Nanga Mill and Nanga Brook over the long weekend, we were rather glad to have booked a site guaranteeing a bit of space (even if small) between us and the neighbours.
- Being able to easily walk down to the Baden Powell Day Use area was also great. The kids loved exploring the rocks and water as much as we'd let them!

Baden Powell Water Spout	Fishing...	Catch me!

Up high!	What's in there?	Another photo?

Leaches!	River play	What the... free rides ?!?

Island Pool

- Nice big pool in the Murray River (canoeing, swimming, fishing)
- Wooden steps down to the river
- Rapids/rocks at the up-river end of the pool
- Picnic tables
- Toilets

Cold water	Where's the ducks?	Island Pool

Island Pool	Rocky river entry to Island Pool	Above Island Pool

Island Pool Walk Trail

- Click heading above for mud map. Click here for walk details.
- Starts from the upper car park.
- Nice walk through jarrah forest up, across, and down the side of a hill.
- Some steps at the beginning and end of the track.
- We managed with a pram/stroller, but definitely wouldn't recommend it!

Island Pool walk	Blackboys and trees...	Island Pool walk

Rougher terrain... righto, backwards pram...	Views from Island Pool walk	Backwards again...

- Kaden had fallen into a deep sleep on the drive there. I noticed that the steps were only mapped at the beginning and end of the track so thought we'd try the pram and see how we went. Kaden amazingly stayed asleep for two thirds of the walk despite a rather bumpy ride over rocks and sticks! It provided quite a workout pushing/towing the pram. The log seat at the half way mark at the top of the walk was much appreciated!
- Pram/Stroller hints... For difficult sections - towing the pram's often easier. For really difficult sections - a second assist for lifting/carrying the pram is definitely recommended!

Keep going Mum	Still asleep despite bumps!	Half way rest stop. All downhill from here! Yay!

Marrinup Falls

- Thanks to Dwellingup Information Centre for the heads up about this one.
- Located not far from the Marrinup Camping Area, the Marrinup Cycle Trail, and the historical Marrinup POW site
- The access road into the falls walk car park is apparently meant to be one way. However we found that a fallen tree just past the car park nicely converted it to a two way road.
- The walk trail is fairly short and nice over varying terrain.
- There were only pools of water to be seen while we were there. Would be great to see it in full flow!
- The kids enjoyed the walk down, clambering around the rocks, and finding various interesting things for Sharelle to photograph.

Marrinup Falls walk trail	Marrinup Falls walk trail views	Marrinup Falls walk trail

Fungi	Sticky plant	Flowers

Exploring...	Fungi	More steps...

Hold on!	Sitting on the road block

For Future Trip/s...

- Portable campfire thing
See if we can maybe make something like this ??... Other examples (...1...), (...2...). Otherwise... for a lot more money, a Snowpeak cary fire pit from Drifta (Currently on my wishlist!).
- Larger quantity of appropriate kids cold/wet weather gear
- Check and print out maps/directions prior to leaving
- Map and record possible geocache coordinates
- Canoes
- Mountain bikes
- Marrinup POW site
- Captain Fawcett 4WD Track
- Hotham Valley Railway
- Scarp Lookout and Pool

Any other recommendations... let me know!

• Survey reference tree

Found whilst stopping to look for a geocache en route to Lane Poole Reserve from Collie, via a gravel road we hadn't previously explored. This is an interesting blog about survey reference trees by Eric Smith for Doherty Smith & Associates Consulting Surveyors in NSW.

• Blackboys after a bush fire

I've seen plenty of blackboys with single spike flowers before, but never with flowers like in these pictures. We saw plenty of these driving through an area of Lane Poole Reserve that had the bush fires go through in January 2016.

• Old Stockton Mine entrance

Near Stockton Lake, and once again, found whilst looking for a geocache.

• Mungalup fire tower

Went exploring and found this with some friends. Kids loved exploring around it, but weren't too impressed with not being allowed to climb it at that particular time!

• Gibraltar Rock (Collie)

Not far from Cardiff, are some rocks known as Gibraltar Rock that are rather interesting to see and fun to climb. Made for a very pleasant day out in the sun after being cooped up sick for a week in a cold house. Please note, this is not the same as the Gibraltar Rock located in the Porongorup National Park.

After moving to Collie, Lane Poole Reserve has become one of the main areas for us and family/friends to get out bush and enjoy some 'away' time together. Mainly due to its location (fairly centrally located between all of us), and the varying things available to see and do.

Games while waiting for tea

For this trip, due to late confirmation of everyone's availability and weather, the only pre-bookable sites available to us were at the Chudditch campground (decided we'd avoid Nanga Mill on weekends due to crowds). Considering our plans of canoeing for the weekend, this actually turned out really well because of its location, despite the kids wanting their last campfire for the season, and fires not being allowed at the Chudditch campground. (Toasted marshmallows on the gas stove will suffice if they have to!).

Considering myself and one of my sisters were pregnant, and unable to now physically fit ourselves plus a kid or two into the kayaks we have... we decided we'd utilise the services of Dwellingup Adventures, and hire some canoes for a day trip. We found Dwellingup Adventures to be amazing to deal with. Extremely helpful and accommodating. We decided we'd purposely do a shorter trip (maps and info) so we could take it easy, have fun, enjoy the trip, and relax. So instead of going from Island Pool all the way through to Baden Powell, we requested for the canoes to be dropped off at Island Pool, and picked up at Bob's Crossing (map). This worked extremely well for us. I don't think either us, or the kids would have enjoyed it nearly as much if we'd tried to do the whole length through to Baden Powell.

Ready to go	Snack time

After growing up and canoeing on faster parts of the Avon River, my sisters and I found the section that we'd chosen to canoe fairly flat and slow. Perfect for introducing two kids to canoeing when you're pregnant! Due to the water levels at the time, and the extra weight of pregnancy, there were a few sections that required at least one of us to get out of the canoes to assist over rocks or logs. We also found that one of the canoes we'd been given had a small leak, requiring an occasional stop to empty it out. Otherwise all good, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Steps...	Leaky canoe...

Recommendations for next time... Remember the sunscreen!!! I'd forgotten that I'd removed the sunscreen from my vehicle's glove box after discovering it'd leaked everywhere several weeks prior... and so with everyone else also forgetting to bring some... we covered up as best we could and amazingly didn't get as burnt as I thought we might have.

Another thing well worth considering if you're hiring canoes, is to hire a dry barrel as well. With kids, canoes, and water (and the occasional small drop over rocks/rapids), having somewhere you can store and keep things dry is greatly appreciated!! We hired one, and were very thankful we had. Otherwise all our snacks, keys, phones... etc. would've been totally soaked by the time we finished.