Day 37: More Hiking

This morning, Greg, Madi, and I headed out once more to go hiking.  This time, we would go on a shorter hike so that we could make it back by midday.  We left early and drove south for about an hour to get to the park.  After we left the freeway, we drove through farmland that distinctly reminded me of the midwest.  We started on a big, wide, two lane road, and every time we turned, the road got narrower and narrower, until it was a two way, one lane road.  As we turned in to the park, this road became gravel.  Of course, the internet had very sparse data on the hike we wanted.  We knew that the trail was in Serpentine National Park, but not where in the park.  We drove through the park, with a vague idea of where to go, but not much.  The road, in many places, was spotted with large rocks or routs, which proved that Greg’s car is not much of a four wheel drive.  After driving all the way through the park, we went a bit north and finally found the trail head.

The hike itself was nice, but fairly uneventful.  At the beginning of the hike, the trail was poorly marked, and we had to look around to see where it went, but once we found the main trail sign, it was well marked from there.  At one point, we walked through a section of pine forest which made me believe I was back hiking in North Carolina for a few moments.  The trail followed a stream in the valley one direction, then turned around and followed the hill back.  The trail on the hill was covered in small rocks, and the top had several rock outcroppings with overlooks.  From one we could see the ocean, far to the west.  We were somewhat disappointed by the rocks, as we had heard about “cliffs,” but saw no such thing.  Unfortunately, we did not get any good views of kangaroos, though near the very end of the hike we caught a glimpse of one hopping away from its hiding place in a bush near the trail.

Climbing a giant fallen tree.

On top of the tree.

Hiking

Across the river.

The ocean in the distance.

Taking a break.

Some of the rocks.

After the hike, we stopped at the Jarrahdale General Store, just outside of the park in a town with a population of 600.  We had Australian meat pies for lunch, which were pretty good.  I had a beef one, which was a bit like sheppard’s pie.  They also had quite good carrot cake.  After lunch we headed back to Perth, where we saw Harry Potter 7 Part II.  I wish I could say I saw it the day it came out, as that was two days before it came out in the US.  However, we decided to go on half price day, because tickets are $22 per person, $11 on half price day.  That is for a matinée showing in 2D.

Lunch!