Eucalyptus trees are most often called “gums” here in Australia. The name comes from the fact that they exude a thick, sticky, viscous fluid whenever they suffer a break in their bark.
There may be bigger gums than this magnificent specimen that sits just outside Angaston, but it would be hard to imagine. Just look how insignificant in comparison to the tree Jamie and our friend John are.
Someone pulled out a tape measure and sized up a red tingle eucalyptus — supposedly the world’s largest gum tree — in Western Australia’s Walpole-Nornalup National Park. Its circumference worked out to a tad more than 24 meters (78 feet).
Next time we drive out that way I’m taking my tape measure to see how this one measures up.
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