Journey details: Bremer Bay – Albany – Denmark -Northcliffe- Pemberton. Tuesday 4^th – Monday 10^th May  2021. Total 500 kms. Western Australia put on a show this week with some cracker beaches and some crazy tall rocks and trees to climb! You can see more in our week 4 video.

Tuesday 4^th May – Beautiful beaches from Bremer Bay to Cheyne’s Beach

After driving out to Point Henry and exploring the beaches walking along our new #1 rated white sand beach: Native Dog Beach we hit the road for Albany stopping short at Cheyne’s Beach for the night.  Cheyne’s Beach caravan park has great water views, kangaroos galore and killer crispy chips from the fish and chip van! Three things to tick here were mostly along the Point Henry Drive:

1.Point Henry drive and the spectacular Native Dog surf beach 2. The native snail bike trail from Cheyne’s Beach to to Wallstead museum and 3.  Manypeaks nature reserve inlet

Wednesday 5^th Crazy rock climbing in Porongurup NP and Mt. Barker

Wow Porongurup National Park is loaded with big granite slabs you can walk straight up, and delicious wineries (best explored after the walking up rocks bit) and Mt. Barker is a little slice of gourmet greatness.  Three things to tick in these areas are: The 4.4km return hike to the Granite Skywalk with a vertical steel ladder up a granite slab to a horizontal platform over the rocks for great views (unless it is raining and you’re in the cloud like we were – but hey there were no queues!). 2. The Porongurup ranges wineries with Duke’s Vineyard for their award winning Riesling and super friendly staff and Ironwood for great little café and Cab Sav. 3. Mt. Barker for the best Bakery pies and bread plus some pretty nice produce shops.

Thur 6^th May – Albany views from massive rocks, wind farms and The Gap

Albany is Western Australia’s third largest town so it was our first taste of the ‘big smoke’ on this trip. It’s loaded with lookouts atop mountains (Melville, Clarence) a neat beach at Middleton and a decent arts and theatre scene. Plus it gives you access to Torndirrup NP 24kms west with cliff hanging lookouts, cliff edge blowholes and an historic whaling station/ museum.

Three things to tick in Albany are 1. The wind farm with its great walks, stories of indigenous life and earth focused facts and quotes 2. The 24 km drive out along Frenchman Bay rd to Torndirrup National Park (or bike ride as we did) to see The Gap – a cantilevered platform jutting out over a deep notch in the coastline where the waves roar in and Natural Bridge a natural stone arch which the waves roar under, the Blowholes with its puff the magic dragon steam coming out from the rocks down a 1km steep path and the Whaling station exhibit 3. Gourmet finds including Gourmandise for fresh hot fluffy croissants and killer baguettes and Liberte an eclectic Vietnamese/French fusion restaurant in the old London Hotel.

Friday 7^th and Saturday 8^th May – Denmark delights with natural swimming pools and sunsets

It’s only an hour’s drive from Albany to Denmark and this town looks like the next Byron Bay!  It has the hinterland Scottsdale tourist drive with some pretty fine wineries and cafes looking out over pastureland to the ocean, the William Bay National park with its famous Green Pools and Elephant Rocks swimming spots and the Denmark river and rail trails for great riding and hiking plus a character packed town with lots of hippy café’s, coffee bars, massage, yoga, a great bakery and a killer pizza joint called Massimo’s.

It’s hard to pick just three things to tick here but the highlights are: 1.Mt Shadforth road tourist road with delicious boutique wineries, cideries, ice-creameries, cheese farm and café/restaurants 2. Sunset over Denmark Rivermouth or 6kms down the road at Ocean Beach to watch the groms catching a dusk wave 3. William Bay National Park and the picturesque swimming hole called Greens Pool where you can swim with the rays and around the corner, squeeze through the granite boulders to swim at Elephant rocks

Sunday 9^th May On the art trail from Walpole to Northcliffe

Heading West from Denmark you start to hit the big tree zone with Red Tingles, Marri and Karri trees soaring up to 75 metres high and with 20 metre girths!  

The highlights on this nature-packed stretch are: 1.Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk which lets you walk 40 metres up in the forest canopy for 600 metres along suspended walkways  2. The Understory art and nature trail in Northcliffe  with 50 sculptures along a 1.2 km trail. The highlight was the faces carved into the burles of burnt trees depicting the people who fought or were affected by the massive fire that swept through the area. 3. Sid’s campground – an eclectic private campground on Sid’s property 4km out of Northcliffe with a great collection of dunnies, showers, bar-hut, camp kitchen and firepits made out of all sorts of recycled materials (mostly old jeeps). Friendly,  fun and wish there were more spots to stay like this!

Monday 10^th May More natural beauty from Windy Bay to Pemberton

About 30 km south from Northcliffe you hit Windy Harbour and the gateway to the D’Entrecasteaux National Park which has some pretty special cliff top walks, beaches and vistas. Then on to Pemberton which is the gateway to the Big Brooke Arboretum and the Big Brook Dam as well as the massive karri trees that used to be used as fire-lookout towers and two of the trees still have the climbing pegs in them for people to climb!

Three highlights in this area include: 1. D’Entrecasteaux National Park’s Salmon Beach and Clifftop walk to the Tookulup lookout where we saw dolphins surfing and ‘Natures window’ a natural gap in the cliffs framing a view of the ocean. 2. The Karri Forest explorer drive where the massive eucalypts frame the road and 3.  The Dave Evans Bicentennial tree –in the Warren National Park which is the tallest of the climbing trees in the area standing at 68 m high .

Next week: Margaret River and the quest for the best Chardonnay!