I do like my tree burrs. There’s something very primeval about them. On east coast gums they’re fascinating. On giant west coast karri, they’re absolutely spectacular.

Occasionally we came across some felled trees. Apparently, sometimes the logs were so big that they couldn’t haul it out of the forest. The ring detail is fascinating. No wonder karri wood was (and still is) in such demand.

Unlike the rest of Western Australia, they generally get good rainfall in the south west, particularly during winter and spring. So it wasn’t so surprising to find some interesting fungi on the trees.

I found it hard to find an angle that showed the true size of the tallest trees. This one shows the scale of the big tree in relation to the path and the forest floor. You can’t even see its branches here.

The Southern Forests cover quite a large area of the south west. The area around Pemberton is famous for karri, a species of eucalypt, and one of the tallest species in the world. It is not unusual to see trees over 50 metres, and they can grow up until 90 metres. Unlike other big trees, these are relatively fast growing. They can reach heights of 30m within 70 years, and 50+ metres in 100 years. That’s way it is unfortunately the favourite of loggers. Pemberton still has a large mill operating.