Moved 10km down the road to Fonty’s Pool. Beautiful place that has an interesting history. Fonty was Archimedes Fontanini who was born in Italy & came to Australia in 1904. In 1907 he was granted 460 acres on which he begun to farm. He built a dam which his kids & friends swam in. Over time the community also used it as a swimming hole & in 1925 it was opened as a public pool. This continued for many years until 1973 when Monty at 93 found it too much to manage. The pool closed for a short time until by public demand the pool reopened. Monty died in 1982 at the age of 102. Another great story of a great Australian immigrant.
Lunch at Hidden River Estate in an old rail carriage overlooking a dam with a Palomino. The beef cheeks were great.
A quick look at Big Brook Dam.
And then onto the Pemberton Tramway that runs on part of the line that was closed down. A great view of the old growth & new growth Karri Forests that run along the line.
The Pemberton Timber Mill closed in 2016.
Do you know the difference between the Karri tree & the Marri tree. The one on the right is the Karri tree (Eucalyptus diversicolor) & the left is the Marri (Corymbia calophylla). Very different trees growing in the same area.
Lots of fruit & veges grown in the area. Lots of apples, pears, potatoes, advocadoes, rocket, salads & heaps more. We are making the most of the road side stalls.
This is a strawberry farm. There are acres & acres that are undercover. Unfortunately there were no roadside sales.
Had a look at Beedelup Falls. Not much water unfortunately. Ulrika wasn’t keen to cross the suspension bridge.
Lunch at Karri Valley Resort overlooking the lake.
We climbed the Diamond tree. One of us got further up than the other. The tree is the oldest wooden platform fire lookout still in use & dates from 1939. It is over 52m high.
Beautiful Scarlet Robin sitting on the fence at back of caravan.
Visited Deanmill. Another small community based around a Timber mill. The mill was built-in 1912 & closed in 2016. Photos of community hall & worker houses.
This is St Thomas’ Church at Dingup. It was built-in 1895 by Thomas Giblett whose family still lives on the property.
Off to Walpole tomorrow.
Quote of the Day
“Are you sure you don’t want to get dessert”
Ulrika Macrae
♥️♥️♥️♥️😀😀😀