Скачать или смотреть Granny’s Gap Year - Down “Up” Country, Southern WA. January, 2024

Porongurup, Bolganup, Millinup …. to name a few of the “Ups” travelled through early in the week…. This is “Up Country” (The suffix “up” is commonly found in place names in this part of the south-west of Western Australia. The suffix originated in a dialect of Noongar, an Australian Aboriginal language, in which "-up" means "place of")

Leaving Albany, we meandered through little “Up” towns and settlements. Our first stop was the Granite Skywalk on the Castle Rock trail in Porongurup National Park. This park is well known for its towering Karri trees and interesting granite rock features. It is thought that these formations were created around 1.1 billion years ago, when the earth’s crust collided between Australia and Antarctica to form Gondwana.
Castle Rock sits at an altitude of 570 meters above sea level and is aptly named due to it’s prominent position. It provides fantastic views over the nearby Stirling Ranges to the north. The massive form, hardness and texture of the granite here is slower to weather than the surrounding rocks. The flat face of the huge boulder of Castle Rock, upon which hangs the Granite Skywalk, is the exposed surface of a joint within the granite.
Along the hike to Castle Rock, we came across spectacular 'balancing rocks'. These are giant sculptures shaped by the natural forces of rain and wind.
Staying at Porongurup Village was quaint, albeit a bit chilly. We adventured along scenic drives which took us to built landmarks such as Waddy’s Hut and natural formations, such as the Devil’s Slide and spent the days hiking, geocaching and photographing magnificent scenery.
We ventured north and discovered a sensational drive through the Stirling Ranges National Park. Notable features here include Toolbrunup and Bluff Knoll and a silhouette called The Sleeping Princess which is visible from Porongurup. There are many bush walks and lookouts to explore, but sadly camping is not permitted within the park.
Near Bluff Knoll, we came across “Snowy” the tractor. Accidentally, we had just discovered the trail of the “Horsepower Highway”, a trail of vintage and quirky tractors. Many of the tractors have been donated by local farmers and have been embellished to represent the different aspects of Gnowangerup community. “Snowy” represents the sprinkles of snow which often fall in the Stirling Ranges in winter.
Heading north-east through the Shire of Gnowangerup, we passed by the “Up” townships and settlements of Amelup, Mungerup, Kaipanwymburup, Pendalup, Kookarkup and on to Ongerup, Needilup…. slowly heading to Jerramungup.
This is farming country and wheat fields and huge paddocks full of sheep line the highways.
Suddenly, a huge Dutch windmill burst over the horizon. The Lily Dutch Windmill is an authentic sixteenth Century design brick 'ground-sail' mill. The five-story full-size windmill is one of the largest traditional windmills ever built in Australia. The mill is fully-operational producing wholemeal stone-ground Spelt flour for IGA stores, health shops, commercial bakers and home users around Australia. Accomodation is available here.
Note: Jerramungup was selected to be part of the Soldier Settlement Scheme. The Commonwealth Government purchased land in this region in 1950 and the land was cleared, blocks were fenced, dams were sunk and houses were built - so that past serving personnel were rewarded with working farms. Many of the homes and farms in this area were started during this intervention.

Reluctantly, we left and started north west through Ravensthorpe, another small sheep and wheat town. For the latter half of the nineteenth century the district was rural and the town didn't really exist. Then, at the end of the century gold and copper were discovered, the town grew, and for a brief moment it was a prosperous mining town. The mines were short-lived however, and today it is merely a stopping point for people driving the South Coast Highway and for people wanting to explore the beauty of the nearby National Parks.

We visited Jerdacuttup Lakes Nature Reserve and camped at Mason Bay for several nights, enjoying beach walks on pristine sand and dabbling our feet in the bright blue water, clear enough to watch the sting rays. Unblemished and raw, we enjoyed the energy of the Southern Ocean bashing the rocks throughout the night.

Then it was back to the “Ups” of Darkanuttup, Munglinup, Yerritup, Coomalbidgup and into Esperance, where, due to the long weekend and school holidays still current in WA, we found no vacancies at Caravan and National Parks, so we camped in the ‘overflow’ section at the Showgrounds, next to the Stud Cattle pavilion…. ready to explore this exciting coastal town.