Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree
Climbing one of the tallest treetop lookouts in the world
AUSTRALIA
We were making our way down the West coast of Australia and saw a road sign for the Dave Evans Bicentennial tree. It hadn't been on our radar but with not much on the itinerary for that day other than driving to our next destination, we figured we would make a stop and check it out.
From the signage in the area, we found that the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree was the tallest of two fire lookout trees that were opened to the public in the Pemberton area. It was pegged in 1988 as part of Australia’s bicentennial celebrations. Although it was built for visitors to climb and appreciate, it had been used on occasions as a fire lookout when the aircraft were unable to fly. Steel rungs were pegged around the tree to form a spiral ladder that led to a lookout at the top, with stunning views of the sprawling forest canopy.
They had a sign at the base warning you of the dangers. I felt that any climb like this in Canada or the US would have a harness and additional safety gear, but here you just had rebar rungs going up the side of the tree in a spiral staircase design with nothing to catch you or stop you from falling if you loose your grip.
You can just barely make out Janet high up on the rungs as she made her way all the way up to the top.
On my way to the first platform I made a quick video from my perspective. This was definitely high enough for me!
In the video below you can see the first platform that I called it quits at. When I went back down, Janet decided to make her way up and went all the way to the very top for the great views across the forest.
We were glad we made this unplanned stop as it was such a unique destination that hadn't been on our radar. If you want to climb up 65 meters and get some sweeping views of the surrounding area be sure to put the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree on your map. Happy exploring!
