Overnight the dripping of rain from above turned into torrents at times with the occasional crash as small branches and bark were blown from the towering trees by the significant wind that had come up. Basically a miserable night outside and we had trouble sleeping given we were all alone in the midst of a pitch black forest while the wind howled and the rain came down. Our biggest concern was that a large branch would come adrift and crush us and the van – eucalypts are called “Snappy Gums” for a reason…
Of course we survived the night and given it was really cold got onto the road as soon as practical. The road continued on through lovely stands of huge eucalypts and with the rain and wind overnight was covered with debris including the bark and branches from the trees closest to the road. As a result we had to drive with caution trying to avoid as many of the branches as possible as some were quite large and we did not want to damage the underside of either the Beast or the van.
Our first little diversion was down “Tingle Road” to see some Tingle trees – a large variety of eucalypt, some with girths so large you could drive a car through. Very impressive trees. We were going to do a bush walk as well but the track was quite overgrown and with the wind and cold wet bush it was not appealing so we gave it a miss and went on to the small town of Walpole. Just a few shops and a bit of suburbia on the hills facing the ocean. We took the scenic drive just out of the town around “The Knoll” where the forest reaches right down to the sea. Quite lovely really and the cold grey water with whitecaps due to the strong wind that was blowing highlighted the fact that we were now driving along the coast bordering the southern ocean.
Lunch was at a rest area further down the road, once again surrounded by the forest. Our first indication there was a problem with the water supply in the van was when we tried to fill the kettle to make drinks – no water came out of the tap even though the pump was running. A bit strange… A quick check of the water tank levels showed one was empty which was odd as both were about half full at the start of the day. Ross clambered under the van and quickly found the cause of the problem in that a pipe fitting had been ripped off one of the tanks allowing the contents to drain out. Obviously one of the many fallen branches we had driven over had flicked up and caught on the pipe. Bit of a bugger really but after a bit of dicking around we managed to plug up the water feed hose so that the pump could work again drawing on what little water remained in the other tank. Hopefully we will be able to get a part to fix it in Albany, the next major town that is en route.
Our stop for the night was at Parrys Beach in a small campground that is run by the Shire but operated by volunteers. Given the location and facilities that are there the rate per night for a caravan was ridiculously low at just $7 – not that we were complaining. With the weather still mucky and a strong south easterly blowing in we just went and set up camp for the night in the hope that the low that was barreling along the south coast would have moved on by morning.
