Valley of the Giants...

After writing a post yesterday about our holiday in WA, I thought I may as well do a back to back WA post. So today's post is about our stop at the Valley of the Giants near Denmark. ( yep! There is a Denmark in Western Australia). 

Even the carpark area had interesting things to look at...

A sculpture...on the top left of the sculpture is a Tasmanian Tiger ( thylacine).  In WA I discovered that this creature also lived in this part of Australia at one time. I had thought it was only found in Tasmania but this wasn't the case...sadly it's extinct now.

A huge felled tree...

And we made our way to the Centre...

We took a guided tour along the walkways that wound their way between these magnificent trees...

And there were interesting plants at ground level...

The majority of the giant trees in this area are Tingle trees which are the largest species of eucalyptus; most are 400 years old. Tingle trees only grow in this relatively small area due to the fact that these trees need an incredible amount of rainfall each year...1 metre! or 39.37 inches. http://www.rainbowcoast.com.au/areas/walpole/gianttingle.htm

The tree in the next photo is known as Grandma Tingle...400 years old! So older than white settlement in Australia. 

The guide pointed out the protuberances on some of the trees...they are known as burls.

Many of these huge trees are hollow...sthere result of fires burning out the heartwood but the tree survives because its living parts are just below the bark...amazing? 

What great cubby houses they would make! Lol

Despite it being a very cold day, we both enjoyed the experience of visiting this area. After the ground tour, there was a treetops walk as well. Great experiences!