In my enthusiasm to post about the sea, I almost forgot to post about the truffle dogs I saw. They’re the ‘heroes’ of the truffle farm, as it is they who find the truffles in the massive groves. There were several dogs out on the yard, and they were very alert!
Apparently there was a young beagle about too, but we didn’t see him.
As I mentioned before, Manjimup is famous not only for its trees, but its truffles. It is the largest, and most successful, growing area in the Southern Hemisphere. Truffles are rather heady subterranean fungi that chefs love. They grow best near the roots of hazelnut trees.
So what does a truffle growing area look like? Hazelnut groves as far as the eye can see.
One last look at the forest. The major attraction in these parts are the climbing trees. These are very tall karri trees with a viewing platform at the very top that were traditionally used as bushfire lookouts. Now the majority of climbers are tourists hoping to get a great view of the Southern Forests, but you won’t see that view without climbing the (trecherous) numerous rungs, with nothing more than a feeble-looking safety net between you and the cold, hard ground below.
There are three climbing trees. The Gloucester Tree is the most well-known as it is a mere 3km from Pemberton. Its viewing platform is 58 metres above the ground.
The Diamond Tree is just outside of Manjimup, and its viewing platform is 51 metres above the ground.
But the tallest is the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree, with platforms at 30 and 68 metres above the ground.
To be honest, I was too scared to climb up any of these trees to the top – I could only manage the first 2 – 3 metres of all three of them.
My final post from Stonebarn is of its fledgling hazelnut grove. It is grown not only for its hazelnuts, but for black truffles. The region around Manjimup (Stonebarn is 20km south of it) is the largest truffle growing region in the Southern Hemisphere. Apparently they’re already beginning to harvest a few, but later I will show you a fully-fledged grove.
Static and Silence 