With all these tall trees about, there had to be one or two to climb. Further west from the tingle trees, near Pemberton, are the Karri Pine forests. We were headed there today. I had read about the fire trees, which are climbed to see which direction forest fires are going. The most famous is the Gloucester tree, a mere 60 metres to climb, using a metal spiral stairway – essentially steel rods hammered into the bark that are used as steps, and nothing else. That sounded great, but I had read on and found that the tallest of the fire trees is the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree, with 68 metres of climbing, found in the Warren National Park. That was the one I decided Darren should climb. Quietly bypassing the Gloucester Tree, I directed him to the Bicentennial one. I reasoned that there was not much point in climbing the second tallest of the trees, when the tallest was right ….here.
We arrived. I looked up, and promptly decided I didn’t want Darren to climb the tree AT ALL. I had been full of BIG TALK. Climbing was for FOOLS.
I peered up through the branches to the platform surrounded by a safety cage at the top, which, I am informed, weighs two tonnes itself and can sway up to 1.5 metres in either direction. No way did I want my dearest one anywhere near there. I felt dizzy just looking up.
Darren agreed on a compromise that he would only climb to the first level. This looked quite high enough, but I was grateful for his understanding. (I am sure he did really want to go all the way to the top?)
At the time there was a girl at the bottom waiting for her boyfriend who was somewhere up there in the branches. Once Darren started to go up, she too decided she was going to join her partner up there. Mad! I was barely able to watch Darren go up higher and higher – about 40 metres up. He stopped at the 1st rest platform and peered down at me, while I anxiously peered up at him. Then she passed him and disappeared up the tree. The foot holds are not all winding around the tree, towards the top some vertical climbing is involved. She made it. But we didn’t wait to see them come down.
Darren said coming down was harder than going up, as expected I suppose, when he happily got to the bottom he said his legs were aching and felt a little jelly like. Imagine feeling like that on a descent from the top!
I didn’t even put my foot on the first rung.
True Story: We later met a Swiss chap up near Monkey Mia, who told us he had climbed the tree, and at the top his teacher from his 8th grade had greeted him! And he had his 11 and 9 year old children with him.
Good Grief.
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