Don't make a slip

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Western Australia no longer has a huge timber industry. In its heyday, fire lookout towers were built in the tops of tall karri trees in the middle of the forests. Climbing these trees was a big tourism drawcard and many climbed the trees over the years. In 2023, climbing the Gloucester tree and the Dale Evans (no relation) tree was banned by the government because of structural and safely issues. Before the changes, visitors could climb 61 metres without a harness or supervision. The height has now been reduced to 37 metres and a new viewing platform has been installed at that point. Residents of the nearest towns, Pemberton and Mount Barker, believe the reopening of the climbs will be a valued asset for the communities and will draw more attention to their area. The photo is mine showing a couch-surfer partway up the Gloucester tree. I couldn’t get back far enough to capture the whole tree. There is a small wooden cabin at the top where the fire-spotters would sit all day. As you can see, the steps are just a simple iron bar. Not much room for error.