McCulloch Family Giant Leap: Discovering crowds in Denmark.

Yep I am glad that we packed up the night before as once we had finished inside we were done packing up outside within 10 minutes. The guy across from us even made the comment ‘I am getting a caravan’. Mind you they were staying in a cabin this long weekend as he thought the weather wasn’t going to be good and for only 4 nights he didn’t want to bring the camper trailer. Still it was a nice complement and he was even impressed how fast we hitched on and were the first out of the van park. Not too bad really and it was only 8:30am.

We had one of our longest drives we have had for a while, being a big 227km, but we also knew the road between Manjimup and Walpole was horrible and narrow so wanted to try and get on the road before others caught up to us. That proved to be a great decision but it still wasn’t a good drive at all. Yes nothing went wrong and for that I should be very grateful but it was tiring as it was so narrow, up and down and turns everywhere. So with lots of people heading home after the long weekend we had heaps of people on the other side of the road. If the road wasn’t narrow enough how it was, it certainly felt very small when other cars where crossing on our side of the road.

We also needed a toilet stop but of course there was nowhere to pull over. Oh yes there were rest areas but they were not well designed as there is no way a caravan could easily turn into them. Eventually we found a spot wide enough to let us pull over, fully off the road and go. Thankfully as we had just had a car pull off on the other side of the road (but still partly on) with a car behind it that started to move into our lane and then realised we were coming! Seriously I really am starting to hate school holidays as it just brings out stupid drivers. I was relieved when we made it to Walpole, nearly there.

We quickly stopped in Walpole so I could duck into the information centre and ask if they had caravan parking at the Valley of the Giants treetop walk. We were in luck as they did, so decided to pull in and do that since we were going straight past it. I soon came to regret this decision as not only did we have this wonderful idea but so did a million other people and quite a few other caravans. Thankfully there was a lady there directing the traffic and trying to make sure everyone fit. She squeezed us in and we unloaded ourselves. The thought of going inside the van for a bite to eat was gone. I just didn’t think we should do it as there were limited parks how it was so should be considerate to other travellers and just see what we came to see and leave.

The treetop walk costs $15 per adult which I think is fair, and I am certainly glad we didn’t have to pay for the kids. It isn’t a long walk but if you aren’t good with heights or more importantly moving heights it is probably best not to do it. Or just not do it when a million other people are doing it. Honestly I thought since it was made out of steel it wouldn’t move but it certainly did and at the second stopping point there was a lady getting quite upset at two kids who were deliberately trying to make it sway when they could clearly see she wasn’t enjoying it. Mind you I can’t talk; Hamish was hot footing it through the walk so I am sure his running along was not making it any better.

Part way through the walk.

Not really one for those who don't like heights.

Yes it was a long way down.

When I finally caught up to him Hamish informed me he was scared so was trying to get off. Fair enough really as it did have a fair bit of movement in it so I let him go ahead. It was really pretty but I did expect a lookout with a great view or something, but it was still very impressive. Though I am becoming really annoyed at fellow tourists who are not considerate of others and seeing where people have clearly left the track and walked around the trunks of the trees when the sign clearly says that this will kill the trees really got under my skin. I just don’t understand why for some people they think the rules don’t apply to them. Luckily I didn’t witness people doing it.

I think this is where we left Jason behind.

Getting closer to the end.

Look who is driving through a tree.

So back to the car we went. The place was only getting busier and I was really not enjoying the crowds. Not to mention by now I just wanted to get to the caravan park and set up. Thankfully the drive to Denmark was an easier one (i.e. wider road) so before we knew it we were pulling into our caravan park. The first thing we noticed as we drove through was the sheer number of people still here! I think I half expected it to be half empty but I would say this place would still be at least ¾ full. Getting to the site was a bit hard due to the lack of names of the roads and then there were a couple pulled over at the dump point (seriously how lazy are people when they can’t walk it to the dump point).

Of course Kayla had to jump in too.

Height check whilst on holidays.

Look who has grown heaps.

So we slightly missed our turn and had to reverse a bit. Normally an easy task but today there were a million kids riding around and even though I asked them to stop as we were reversing they just didn’t listen and kept going! We eventually managed to get back and no kids were injured. Luckily we found the site and it was easy to get into and nice and roomy. Best of all not too many people around!

Straight away the kids were out on their scooters. Just what we wanted as due to how busy the place was you really needed to walk with them and keep a close eye on them. So we did that for a while before heading out to the information centre to find out what we will be doing the next two days. We managed to also find a chocolate shop and I just couldn’t resist these cute little chocolate so bought some for desert. Then it was a quick fuel up which was actually driveway service which was nice, but sad that they mainly did it to stop people taking off without paying. We finished off with a drive around town before heading back out to the caravan park.

Enjoying ice-creams at the Information Centre.

Cute little chocolates (minus one).

Kayla fell asleep on the way home so we all relaxed for a while in the van where it was warm before eventually Hamish went back out for another scooter. By now it was really starting to get chilly so we took it in turns at watching him but eventually had to drag him inside as it was too cold. Mind you even more campers had turned up by now and it was starting to get a bit busier around us.

Well after a good night sleep we slowly started the day with the normal chores which I happily did whilst Jason chased the kids around the park on a scooter. Once the first load of washing was hung out we headed off and I swear it nearly took us a good ten minutes to leave the caravan park. The number of kids riding around on the roads made for very slow driving, especially since quite a few of them where unsupervised and just wouldn’t move off the road at all. I understand people are on holidays but for how busy the park is and for how young some of the kids are and obviously haven’t learnt the road rules I would think they might be a bit more concerned.

Today we were heading west to check out the William Bay Nation Park which is the home of Green Pool and Elephant Rock. The weather wasn’t ideal so we didn’t bother packing togs and towels and I was worried we wouldn’t get to take in its true beauty but it still blew us away. I can only imagine how spectacular it is on a warm day and apparently it is good snorkelling. Still we had a blast walking over all the rocks and checking the place out. We walked our way around to Elephant Rock which was just as beautiful and the kids had a blast playing in the sand while we took a million photos. There were some people out swimming in it. They are obviously a lot braver than we are.

Green pools - not bad for an overcast day.

Just taking it all in.

Well at least two of us were excited.

The sun came out for a bit.

From there we decided to do the tourist drive back into Denmark. The drive is really pretty and there are some beautiful homes with spectacular views over the green rolling hills down to the ocean. Our first stop was another roadside stall to see what they had. Luckily the farmer was there as some of the things I had never seen before so he kindly explained to me what they were and what to eat them with. So after buy a few vegies we hopped back in the car and headed off. Originally we thought we could stop for some honey ice-cream but as it was still quite cool we skipped that one and instead stopped in at the cheese shop which just also happens to sell lollies and chocolate. Jason and I bought some nice cheeses to enjoy one afternoon while the kids got a little treat each. From there we enjoyed the drive back into town.

They look so small against the rocks.

Elephant rock.

Down a bit closer to the water.

Kayla made some friends.

Apparently these are good with ice-cream.

All different types of corn.

Once in town we pulled up half way between the coffee shop and the playground. We all went into the extremely busy coffee shop, picked what we wanted (which was harder than expected due to how many people were there) and then the kids and I left Jason there to order whilst we went to the park. I started to wonder if Jason had decided to sit down and enjoy his coffee in peace and quiet, but no they were just so busy it took a fair while to get around to ours. Still our treats were nice and so was the coffee so it was worth the wait in the end.

After letting the kids have a decent play, we quickly posted some letters and a parcel of school books and headed back to the caravan for lunch. I took the kids out for a scooter whilst Jason made lunch and then after lunch he took the kids out for a scooter whilst I cleaned up. Hamish then came home and we chilled together whilst Jason and Kayla hung out at the jumping pillow and chatted to other travellers. When we were all back we decided to head out to try our luck fishing. Well Jason and Hamish were going fishing and Kayla and I were going to check out the town a bit more.

So we parked back down near the playground and whilst the boys went out fishing Kayla and I went in search for a new hat for her. Yes, she has lost another hat. This takes us to her forth hat of the holidays, so on average we are going through a hat every 1 ½ months at this rate. I have no idea how Kayla manages to lose it without us noticing but she seems to be very good at it.

By the time we got back to the boys I got to see Hamish casting his own line out and now he can bait his own line too. It is just so amazing how much the two of them are learning on this trip. The boys weren’t even getting any bites in the river so we packed up and moved closer to our caravan park. Jason hopped out of the car first to see if the place was any good and came back excited saying there were big fish. I didn’t believe him until I saw them for myself. Surely we have to catch fish here right! Well wrong, we didn’t even get a bite. We got talking to another farther and he said that they were most likely Mullet and the only way you can catch them is by netting them. Oh well better luck another day. So we packed up and returned to the caravan for the night.

The main bridge over the river.

Hamish having a fish.

Bit of a fire off in the distance.

As this was our last full day we decided to head out to the West Cape Howe Nation Park. It was a nice drive through varying countryside, scrub in some parks and other parts beautiful open green pastures. There wasn’t too much to see in this national park but we wanted to check out Shelley Beach. From the lookout it was pretty impressive looking back along the coastline and then down onto the beach. There were areas where people could hand glide from. I take my hat off to them as there is no way you would see me jumping off there.

Looking down onto Shelley Beach.

Actually down at the beach.

From the lookout we made our way down to the beach itself and it had a small camp area only suitable for tents but there were a few people staying there. It was certainly a pretty beach and I am guessing it might be a good fishing spot by the number of people there trying their luck. We sat and had our morning tea there whilst watching them but no one managed to pull any in whilst we were there. The waves looked quite big so really not a spot to swim, but Hamish made a new friend who had been digging some big holes in the sand, so he happily joined him whilst the rest of us sat back and just watched.

Looking back to our car and the big hills.

Hamish certainly was having fun.

Crashing waves.

From here we took a different road back around to the highway to get home, but before getting all the way back we just drove down past the caravan park a little further to check out the lookout over the nearby beach and inlet. Apparently people had been catching fish and crabs down here the day before so we just wanted to see where we needed to go this afternoon. From there we returned to the caravan to give us all a break from the car.

Hamish decided that a game of mini golf was in order so off we went to have a little round of that. For once I actually beat Jason. Only by one but a win is a win. Then as we were returning the golf clubs we spotted the four seat bike was back so we hired that out for the hour and rode that back to the caravan. What was going to be a leisurely ride back turned out to be a bit faster due to a shower of rain coming over! So whilst the shower passed we sat down and enjoyed some lunch. Then it was back out on the bike to make the most of our money. The kids certainly had it easy as they just got to sit on the front whilst Jason and I did all the pedalling.

Having lunch on the bike.

Mum doing all the hard work.

At least they were having fun.

After a little rest Jason got everything ready to try our luck crabbing in the creek across the road. So off we all walked to try our luck. After a while though we realised that we may just be a tad bit too early to be crabbing so decided to leave them in for a while and go and enjoy a little picnic over near the beach a bit more. As we hadn’t packed a picnic, Jason went back to get everything whilst I took the kids to see the beach. I thought that would easily entertain them but it kind of backfired on me as I had to carry them through the deeper water. Normally this would be fine if I was wearing shorts, but no of course I was wearing jeans, so I ended up very wet and uncomfortable.

Where the inlet meets the ocean.

Looking back down the other way.

Still it was nice to check it all out and then make the trip back to meet up with Jason and the picnic hamper. My idea of having a picnic on the little inlet was great in theory but as soon as we lay down the picnic rug, Kayla walked all over it with her sandy feet. Then sand just seemed to get into everything and over the food. Oh well it was worth a try. So we retreated to the van and had a quiet night in. Lately Kayla has been fighting to go to sleep and it has been making bedtimes so painful. She just won’t lie down in her bed and comes up with a million excuses. She is lucky she is so cute otherwise she might be banished to the tent outside! Hopefully this is just a phase that will pass.