So I'm not afraid of Heights

We packed up this morning and left Albany heading for Busselton.  A world record pack up we were up and packed including breakfast and lunches made in just over an hour, this was good going as we had the awning and bed flies to deal with as well.  We are like a finally oiled machine now when setting up and packing up, everyone has their jobs to do and we get it done!

Stopped at Walpole for morning tea and then onto Pemberton for lunch.  The roads heading along this stretch are narrower and more windy than what we've grown used too and took a little more concentration.

We arrived at Pemberton and found the Glouster tree.  The Glouster tree is the highest working fire lookout in world.  The tree is over 60 metres tall and there are 153 rungs in the tree that you use to climb up it.  There are no harnesses or safety equipment - you just have to hang on!!

The photos below show the tree, the rungs on the tree that you hang onto (just lengths of rio rammed into the tree.  They aren't very wide and they flex considerably when people pass you on your way either up or down) and a very unflattering photo of me coming down.

The climb up is the easy bit - one foot after the other.  There is a branch towards the top that you have to climb over and then 3 platforms at the top that complete the tower.  Getting down was the challenging part, it requires much more strength than going up and its a little weird on your eyes as well as you try to judge hand and foot co-ordination.  I am very proud to say that I was the only one of the 4 travelling Odell's that made it to the top and back.  Standing at the bottom looking up I really didn't think I would make it all the way, I was sure I'd be scared of the height however that really wasn't a problem so I guess I'm not scared of heights after all.

We headed off from Pemberton and arrived at Busselton mid afternoon.  After a quick setup we headed to the Jetty and the beach area for a walk and an ice cream (thanks Dave - heaven rocky roads are just wrong though!) Checked out the water slide park - the kids are very keen to try it out.  We have booked our train and underwater observatory trip for Friday morning.  The weather here is beautiful - really warm and sunny - feels like summer has finally arrived. 

We headed back to camp and the kids enjoyed a swim in the park pool and for the first time in weeks we were able to sit outside for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow we are off to Margaret River - on the agenda there...surf (Dave is ever hopeful), chocolate factory (yummo!) and perhaps a cave if there's time.