We drove down to see Uncle Larry Ah-Gee made sure I was buckled into my seatbelt. In Western Australia it is a very serious traffic infraction to be without it!
Once we got to Bunbury, Uncle Larry took us into the hills in Collie to go hiking. Uncle Larry and Ah-Gee love to go bushwalking in the many state and national parks in Western Australia. This time we went to Wellington National Park.
Here I am with some of the examples of flora and fauna at the park.
One really cool thing about Wellington National Park is that it contains a dam!
The dam was built in 1931 and used to produce hydroelectric power and drinking water for the people in Bunbury.
After spending some time looking at the dam, we all went hiking. The trail followed the river providing us with picturesque views.
We saw lots of really neat things, like speargrass.
I also saw trees that leak sap that looks like blood. The Noongar (the Indigenous people of Southwestern Australia) used to use the sap as medicine.
We also saw a big lizard!
We had to be very careful when we encountered the lizard because Uncle Larry and Ah-Gee had never seen one like it before, and many animals where they live can be dangerous. Ah-Gee also made sure that I followed other rules to make our hiking safe. I had to stay hydrated
and make sure that we followed the trail markers.
After following the river, we hiked through the woods. Before the land was a national park it used to be used for logging. Men would live in camps with their wives and children and work in the forrest all day felling trees. Evidence of the old logging industry exists in the park to this day.
After all of that hiking, it was time to go back to Bunbury and hit the beach.
We got to look for creatures in the tide pools and check out the vessels waiting to enter the port. It was a really great day!
