26/08/2019

Waking up in the middle of the bush is a great way to start the day. Now the logistics of turning around on the track and heading back to Redmond West road is our immediate concern. We had to reverse the campers back down the track about 100 metres where there was a push back into the bush. Deb completes the manoeuvre reasonably easily however Richard baulks after his first attempt and heads back to where we camped to try his luck. Nothing doing back there so he attempts it a 2nd time and after a bit of toing and froing he also turns around successfully.

Whilst waiting for Richard to catch up I go for a walk ahead and find one lone Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) growing on the verge.

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Steady going until we reach the water hazard with the 4 options again. Deb takes it first and travels the same route and ends up in the same predicament. However this time with her toing and froing the camper jumps out of the tracks and becomes bogged in the surrounding marshy ground. I end up stripping down to undies and singlet, then using the small shovel dig out mud so the MaxTrax could be inserted under the camper wheels. With another attempt Deb successfully gets out of the bog. Whilst doing this 3 motorbikes turn up and we find out they had crossed the Hay river. Initially they thought we had as well and were amazed as it would have been too deep for us. They were relieved we had not tried to cross.

Now it is Richards turn. He ends up taking the opposite track and with some speed makes it through on his first attempt. Oh well we know better now to check all tracks thoroughly before making an uninformed decision.

Finally we reach Redmond West Road and head west back to Hunwick Road and west to Keith Road which follows the Hay River down to the South Coast Hwy. From here we head to Denmark and decide to have a pub lunch. We drop into the Denmark Hotel and order our lunches. We sit outside in the fresh air and enjoy our meals and drinks. We then go for a walk around the town checking out the quaint local shops. I also take the opportunity to visit the bank to say hi and grab some cash. Leaving Denmark we stop just past Walpole at Crystal Springs campground which is in the eastern part of D’entrecasteaux National Park. Way to weedy for us so we move on to the next camping option.

This is Centre Road Crossing which is located in the Walpole Wilderness Area (WWA). Established in 2004, the Walpole Wilderness covers more than 363 000 hectares of national parks, nature reserves and forest conservation areas. It incorporates seven national parks and surrounds the Walpole and Nornalup Inlets Marine Park. We find this campground empty with enough room for our two campers so we set up camp .

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I then go for a little explore and stumble across a nice hood of snail orchids growing on a fallen log some 1.5m above ground level. The crinkled leaves to the rosette provide a clear identification. The Slender snail orchid (Pterostylis sp. ‘crinkled leaf’) is found flowering from Perth to Albany during the period late June to September. It is said to grow to 200mm in height however one of those found measures 280mm in height.

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Fading light, so time to sit back and enjoy the campfire and company. Not such a great day for orchids but we are now on another adventure. Roll on tomorrow.