Pemberton to Albany

Last minute booking saw us searching for our next holiday home in Quinninup. As it turned out, the little timber mill cottage was straight out of Lissa’s dream home catalogue. Timber cladding, woodfire, cute bedrooms and a bread-machine to start the day in style, Splendid Wrens to greet you in the backyard. Wow, what a winner.

With clear skies we set out towards Manjimup. First stop was the Diamond tree; one of 3 fire towers now open for tourists. Climbing up the metal spikes  became a boys activity with 3 generations of Harris men reaching the top platform

Above the surrounding trees at a height of 60m we had quite a view but the thrill was in the climb. The girls managed to reach the halfway platform, a feat in itself.

Manjimup remains in the thick of the timber industry and seems to be flourishing. Hardwood plantations abound along with trucks laden with freshly cut logs. A walk around the Timber Museum grounds gives a view into the early years when big tree were brought down, transported and processed with the most rudimentary equipment. Hard work for hard men. It’s hard to imagine a modern Australian lasting very long in such a harsh world even if they snuck an ipod into the time machine.

Heading south on Day 2 to the sleepy holiday shacks of Windy harbour we got a glimpse of the Great southern coastline. The heavy wooded forests vanish, becoming low swampy marshland and then sand dunes.

Northcliffe offers a sculpture walk through the bushland with accompanying audio recordings of the artist’s reflections.  

Our final day with Nanny and Big Pop was a wet one. All aboard the Pemberton Tram for a trip through the Karri forest. 

Our guide informed us that Pemberton is home to the largest hard wood timber mill in the southern hemisphere. This may be the only fact that he managed to complete. In his anxiety to share all his knowledge, he skipped through information like a scratched CD. He was a classic case of a nerd with ADD; what grownups call a “character”.

With our guests and their credit card heading home, we hitched up our trailer ready for the home stretch. Only 5000km from home, looks like we will beat Santa.

The weather is fine and it’s hard not to enjoy coastline like this. Walpole is the first sign of civilisation as you swing down around the SW corner. It is the wet end of the state, with thick forests drinking deeply or lush pasture where trees once stood. It is a picturesque place which would be carved up by developers,  if only they could it move towards the rest of the world.

Walpole sits on the edge of the tea coloured waters of Nornalup inlet. Up the road is the Valley of the Giants tree top walk. Those who didn’t fancy clinging to the metal spikes and scaling a 60m tree in Pemberton get their chance to clear the canopy on a suspended walkway. I found the walk to be much more enjoyable than I expected. 

The drive continues through the old growth forests with stops at the Tingle Trees. These giants flare out at the base of the trunk to be up to 20m in diameter.

The tourist trail continues along the southern coast with more wineries, gourmet foods and galleries around Denmark. Scenic hilltop farmland with views to the ocean. Beautiful, but no place for the budget conscious. Our destination, Parry Beach is certainly basic but who can resist a beachside campspot. 

The water nearby was shallow and calm but we managed to find a spot to fish and we set about catching herring for our next fishing expedition. Eva and I had our own little session. Fishing is a mandatory pastime in our family. 

It’s what separates us from the beasts.

Elephant Rocks and Green Pool lie at the other end of the beach from Parrys. Beautiful scenery.

The harbour at Albany must have just cried out to the early explorers to be settled. The coastline is magnificient, bays, islands and peninsula at every turn. To me, I see fishing spots for all conditions.

The southern peninsula displays the deep water power of the Southern Ocean and the sheltered bays inside the Harbour. Crystal clear water and white sand allow you to see straight to the bottom.

Up until 1978, the local economy grew from the whaling station inside the bay. The site is now a museum detailing the history of whaling in the area. It is a gruesome business combining the roughest tasks of sailing and abattoir work. 

All this danger and carnage produced oil for such luxuries as lipstick, margarine, leather tanning, watch gear oil and automatic transmission oil. The whale skeletons themselves are mind boggling. The Blue Whale has a tongue the size of an African Bull Elephant. Cop that!

 It’s a hypocritical world. After sitting through a video presentation detailing the danger of shark overfishing, we noticed that the onsite café listed “Bronze Whaler” as its fish of the day. How Australian.

I was expecting a few more people in such a beautiful part of Australia as Albany. It is testament to the remoteness of the state that even in the temperate climate of the South, there are no real cities.

North of Albany is Mt Barker and The Porongurup Range. The ancient mountain island is covered in Karri forest and the view from the granite skywalk on top of Castle Rock shows farmland and plantation timber all the way to the coast.

We could easily spend a month in Albany, but in the name of progress and economy we push east stopping at Cape Riche for some beach side camping. These $10 a night beach camps suit us to a tee.