I have been fascinated with these structures on top of people's houses. I recognized a lot of solar panels, but was baffled by these which I saw everywhere. At Belinda Lay's house, it was explained that this is a solar hot water heater and that the hot water rose and was stored in the tank above. Did I miss a day in science class? Hot water rises? Good thing I was an art teacher and not a science teacher!
Most families I stayed with collected rain water, which was often used for drinking, as well as for other uses. I was surprised the pipe from the roof didn't go directly to the tank, but went underground first. Since the tank was lower than the roof, the water made it into the tank. Another science lesson!
Gaynor took me to the Tree Top Walk near Denmark, WA.
https://www.valleyofthegiants.com.au/
Okay, everyone, just put "Tree Top Walk, Valley of the Giants" on your Bucket List.
The early explorers found these extremely tall trees excellent for shipbuilding. Karris..Red Tingles...unfamiliar tree names to me.
Some of these trees have been here for 400 years.
This was a spectacular experience....
...great gift shop, too.
I have not posted many pictures of the local CWA of WA groups, but I have spoken at a lot of them. CWA of WA is a sister group of my own IAHCE. This one was in Manjimup, WA. These groups are filled with delightful, friendly women...and the meetings always comes with "tea" (meaning tea and scones and little sandwiches and little filled cookies and little cakes...).
Host Pat Twiss took me for a walk through the woods. The topography in south-west WA is quite different from the Geraldton or Kalgoorlie areas. It is quite densely populated with trees.
Streams as large as this were unusual in the northern area where I traveled earlier. In those areas, creeks were often dry until the winter rains came in May, June, July and August.
This tree was near the above stream. The yellow marks on the lower part of the tree mark the water level during periods of flooding. The yellow mark high up on the tree denotes the flood level in 1982. Yikes!
Pat took me to a joint meeting of the local Nannup CWA of WA group and the local sewing group. Oh, the wonderful projects they were working on! They showed me quilts, felting, knitting and a multitude of other projects. Many things were made to donate to local charities. Then we had tea and little cakes and little sandwiches....
In the smaller towns, small churches such as this one are a common sight.
This "re-purpose" idea made me laugh!
In Busselton, the Dunsborough ladies took me to the Busselton Jetty. On the grounds, there was this fantastic pirate ship for children to play on.
This jetty was built far out into the sea so large ships could unload. It was destroyed in a storm. The local people have restored and improved it.
https://www.busseltonjetty.com.au/
An underwater observatory has been developed to show the coral reef that has formed under the jetty. You can watch the fish and coral on live cam:
https://www.busseltonjetty.com.au/underwater-observatory/live-webcams/
(Well, you can't watch it at the moment I am writing this because it is dark, but please give it a shot in the morning...well, when it is morning here!)
Whales painted to scale adorn the jetty. Whales are sometimes spotted swimming near the jetty.
At Pat Twiss' house, a skink lives under the deck. What is a skink? A lizard who is shy. And timid. And who scares easily.
I saw the front half only after being really still for a long time. Later I came outside again and saw the back half of him showing. I v-e-r-y c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y tiptoed up to see if I could all of him.
I saw all of him.
He saw all of me.
In a flash, all of his black scaly lizard body disappeared.
I about jumped out of my skin.
Ah, ha! Who is the shy, timid one who scares easily now???
Jarrah wood was highly coveted as being very strong. This floor in a local art gallery was made from this beautiful wood.
Very interesting, thanks for letting us know about the way things are,
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