Day 190 Peaceful Bay (Walpole), WA

I have so many photographs to show you today as well as a GoPro video of the highlights.  What started out as another bleak rainy day when you just didn't feel like doing much, turned out to be a day full of magnificent scenic delights.  This area of Western Australia just keeps on giving.  I remember saying when we arrived into the South West that we would be here for months if we wanted to see it all.  I have to re-phrase that to "years" to see it all!  Unfortunately we are not blessed with that much time but we are trying to at least see the highlights.

We cooked up a decent breakfast this morning of Poached Eggs, Hollandaise Sauce, Chorizo Crumb on a bed of asparagus - that same asparagus that I bought fresh yesterday.  OMG!  It was so good.  I have never eaten asparagus that tasted as good because it was virtually from the garden to the plate.  After that hearty breakfast it was into the car for the short drive to Conspicuous Cliff that was a recommendation by the saleslady at the Leather Shop yesterday.  It is such a wise thing to start a conversation with locals because they really do give you the inside information on places.  We would never have visited Conspicuous Cliff without that heads up and it was certainly worth the visit.

By the time we reached Conspicuous Cliffs the rain had come in from the sea but the showers are quick moving and short lived.  But the wind.  It was so strong and almost blew us off our feet but the walk and views at Conspicuous Cliff more than made up for the uncomfortable wind.  We first walked down the stairs to the bay.  It is a well laid out path and even though there are many steps they are beautifully spaced apart so it was an easy descent and ascent.  After we had our fill of the ocean views we walked up to the lookout at the top of Conspicuous Cliff.  It would be a perfect spot for whale watching during the season but unfortunately by October the whales have moved on.  

As we were making our descent back down the stairs from the lookout, we watched a large group of school kids walking along the Bibbulum Track.  We ran into them again when we left the lookout and started a conversation with one of the teachers.  They were from Geraldton and were going to be hiking the Bibbulum Track for ten days.  Everything they needed for the ten days was on their backs!  Oh to be young again.....

You can pick out the Bibulum Track winding through the hills.

Our next port of call was the Giant Tingle Tree.  We drove through Tingle Tree forest as we made our way toward the Giant Tingle.  We had actually never heard of a Tingle Tree  but when we saw some photos of cars parked in the middle of a giant tingle tree (from the 1950's) it was an ahah moment.  We had seen those old photos but did not know that the tree was the Tingle.  The trees unfortunately were loved to death and because the trees have roots that spread out and not down a lot of them died because the roots were damaged.

The walk into the Giant Tingle tree is an easy one kilometre loop walk that takes us on an easy descent.  The Giant Tingle is magnificent.  It is more than 400 years old and I of course had to give it a big hug.  They truly are the Giants of the Forest.

By the time we returned to the car after our walk it was midday and rather than driving back to the caravan for lunch, we decided to give the Marron Tale Cafe a go.  We have both wanted to try the local Marron so it was the perfect opportunity.  The Marron Tale Cafe has been around for a long time (says my friend Jane) but it has had an overhaul recently and the cafe has been completely re-built. It is warm and inviting as we walk inside the small cafe and it has a lovely atmosphere.  

We are handed the menu and I am disappointed that they have removed the Marron Tail from the menu.  I mention this to the waitress who says "wait a moment" and comes back and says that the chef can cook one for us to share.  

The Marron, at the moment, are in short supply because they are "shedding" their belly shell and they lay low in the ponds so predators can't attack them and because of this they are very hard to harvest.  One of the owners brought us out two live Marron to look at as we commented that we had never seen one.  The Blue Marron was beautiful although the owner said that people don't like the colour once they have been cooked.  Really!  Are people becoming so precious that the colour of the shell makes a difference to the eating.  After all it is the same meat!

Anyway, our meal was delicious.  We ended up with share plates of Cooked Marron in the Shell with salad and fries, Marron Spring Rolls and Marron Fettuccine.  Marron tastes almost identical to the Yabbies that we had in plentiful supply at Julia Creek albeit much larger.

What a great day it turned out to be.  The rain has certainly eased as the day has passed although they are predicting the same tomorrow.  Mount Frankland National Park is on the agenda for tomorrow as well as the Valley of the Giant Tree Top Walk. 

Another GoPro for you viewing pleasure.....