We continued to inch our way along the south-west, thoroughly enjoying this very special piece of Western Australia. The sheer number of people who told us to visit were 100% correct.
Margaret River
Margaret River is one of those spots, like the Noosa and Byron of the west. The difference was we didn’t find it nearly and wankerish as those places. Somehow it had managed to maintain its natural beauty and atmosphere while coping with the tourist love. It famous for its surf break and now wine, food and craft brewers. Besides a couple of swims in the ocean, we avoided those things and stuck to nature.
Mountain Biking – Woodtijup National Park
Our home in Margaret River was in Woodtijup National Park. Home to a series of Mountain Biking tracks which we eagerly rode. While we are still only beginners and sticking to the green runs, we had plenty of choice. We had the amazing Fluid loop, beginning right outside our campsite (literally) and continuing around the forest for 3km. The alternative was to take a series of linked green runs (with fairy tale themed names) that took us deeper into the forest and out onto the pine plantations.
The kids liked fluid the most, it had less hills although the screaming downhill runs on the larger loop got the tick of approval. It was just the old problem of getting to the top they didn’t like. It really cemented that this was something we all enjoy together. Not an easy thing to find sometimes.
Boranup Forest
The Boranup Forest runs almost the length of the coast from Margaret River down to Cape Leeuwin. It probably changes names at some point. But it is a continuous stretch and it is beautiful.
We took both routes to explore, starting with the sealed road, which gives you a brilliant view of the forest with all the comforts. It also has one of the most amazing places to stop and take the forest in, with a roadside stop that allows (and encourages) a little freestyle exploration.
The second option was to take the dirt road and head deeper into the forest. It gets you a little higher, taking you to a lookout and thicker and older sections of the regrowth. It’s a little less comfortable but gives access to the campground and beaches. If somebody were to ask, we’d say do them both.
Caves
We got a hot tip from Sean about the caves around Margaret River. It turns out there are quite a number than can be visited, but funds and time limited us to visiting two. We crawled and climbed out way through Giant Cave in search of adventure. The next day we went for the far more sedate but far more beautiful Jewel Cave.
Giant Cave is just plain good fun. It’s not for the faint of heart or those without flexibility of limb as it is a decent physical challenge. It’s probably as close to caving as you can get without actually doing it with a professional as exploration is entirely self-guided. Giant Cave is not exactly pretty but it is still amazing to see. It has some absolutely huge caverns combined some tight and twisty passages to navigate. Everything in the cave just felt big, probably why its called Giant Cave.
Jewel Cave was the opposite. A guided tour along carefully lit walkways and staircases, all designed to give the best view of the cave. It’s almost immediately obvious why they have done it this way, as the cave contains some of the most intricate and rare cave formations. Stalactites, stalagmites, tubular growths and horizontal formations are all to be seen. It was incredibly intricate and fragile and simply beautiful.
We have no idea what the other caves held, but while we could explore forever we were very happy to have seen this pair.
Beaches
Given the Margaret River is a renowned surf spot, it’s safe to say it has some beaches. Interestingly enough for us, they are not the stunningly beautiful beaches we have seen elsewhere in WA. They are not at all ugly, but they are definitely more famous for their surf than their beauty.
We are not surfers so it was more of an intellectual appreciation of the skill and danger surfers must face and posses to master these waves. We stopped twice at the river mouth. It was a pretty beach and in theory a swimming spot. On the first day through, it was too dangerous, with nobody venturing more than a couple of metres into the water in one corner. The waves looked good to play in, but the clear pull out to sea was not worth the fun.
Our second visit was a bit better. The strong pull was gone (or at least weakened) and a few stronger swimmers had ventured out. Christian waited and watched for a while before joining them. The conditions were tough, but manageable. He enjoyed his first proper body surf in months. Even Abby ventured in for a dip.
The girls were happy in the rocks though. They played in the shallow tidal pools on both days. Not a bad outcome given the sea conditions are not exactly child friendly.
Cape Leeuwin and Augusta
We wanted to tick off the other Cape in the area, Cape Leeuwin and the township of Augusta that is nearby. We really enjoyed this section. It was different to Cape Naturaliste and we spent some time in the lighthouse complex, reading the stories and absorbing the history. The area was pretty remote back in the day and the kids were amazed what the families of the life house keeps endured.
It was also pretty; the lighthouse looked pretty in the landscape. The old water wheel was interesting. The minerals in the water had completely seized the wheel and the coastline in the area was obviously rugged.
We had called in at Hamelin Bay on our way to see the stingrays. They didn’t disappoint, with several large animals coming close into shore. We were happy to observe, not feeling the need to get in and give them a pat. Each to their own.
Pemberton
Our next base was Pemberton. Another small former timber town in the southwest. We used it to see the local area, hitting almost all points on the compass. The area his home to some unique attractions, the two most memorable being the fire spotting trees and the Pemberton Pool.
Unique Pool
The pool wasn’t a pool at all, the river had been dammed, concrete lined and some facilities added. It was pretty unique. Talking to some older heads it had been around for quite some time, fallen into disrepair and brought back to life. It had a jetty like platform to jump off and a floating pontoon that floated around the whole area. It was certainly different and we went there every day for a swim.
Fire Trees
The fire trees were the other curious attraction. Used before the days of planes and helicopter, some brave soul would climb the trees in order to spot and track fires. Needless to say these trees are huge. Gloucester Tree is 45m high. The Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree is a dizzying 65m to the top platform. No longer used for fire efforts, foolish tourists (like Christian) can climb to the top. He went up the Bicentennial Tree. A very slow and cautious climb. Spoiler alert, he thought the best view wasn’t from the top platform (above the canopy). He reckons it’s the middle platform, putting you right in the middle of the canopy.
D’Entrecasteaux National Park
This was a bit of an easy National Park, with most of the attractions a short walk from the carpark. These attractions were good too.
In a short space of time we were able to view the Window and Natural Bridge plus a couple of other lookouts at Point D’Entrecasteaux, Salmon Beach on our way back towards Windy Harbour and Cathedral Rock at Windy Harbour itself. It was a nice and easy morning of sightseeing, the views were amazing and typical of what we have been seeing on our southern loop.
The only effort required was to scale Mount Chadalup. It was a steepish climb up the mountain before reaching its rounded granite peak. It was a chance to see some of the vegetation that clings to life on the granite peaks, with information boards explaining just how slow growing and fragile these ecosystems are. The view from the top was a good one, all the way back to the sea and for a long distance inland. It took far less time to come back down, we had our lunch and headed home.
Manjimup
Manjimup was a bit of an educational foray for us. Coinciding with the first day of term for Queensland students, it offered an Electricity Museum, Timber Museum, Historical Precinct and some fun. Working school into the day was pretty simple, the kids did some reading, answered questions and got some practical experiences too. It was a great attraction for that actually, with the information targeted across the age groups.
The fun was in the form of the highest slide in the southern hemisphere. It was pretty high. Abby and the girls gave it a go, but Christian stayed firmly grounded. His leg muscles were still not over the climb up the fire tree. The final bit of fun was back towards Pemberton, with a swim in the Big Brock Dam. It was a nice little day trip, mixing school and fun.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in this part of the southwest.