Wednesday 12 February 2014 - Drafty’s Camp, Warren National Park (Pemberton) WA

Wednesday 12 February 2014 - Drafty’s Camp, Warren National Park (Pemberton) WA

We’re still in the forest and it’s beautiful. Last Saturday we drove from Alex Bridge through Nannup to Manjimup, very scenic (this is tall tree country we’re in now). We stayed at Fonty’s Pool for two nights, which is a really nice caravan park a few kilometres out of town. It’s also a piece of history – the pool itself is a concreted section of the Lefroy Brook that’s been operating on and off as the local swimming hole for the last hundred years or so. The grounds are absolutely stunning and the area is surrounded by huge pine trees and rolling farmland, populated with grazing animals such as sheep, cattle and alpacas alternating between huge orchards. 

On Saturday afternoon, we set up camp and after three days of no showers, Glenn and I rushed to use the flash amenities block. Squeaky clean, we then put the girls down for a nap, including ourselves in the process as well. Once we all felt a bit more human, we wandered down to the pool area where friends of ours, Craig and Sarah and their two boys Ryan and Connor, were having a football club bbq. We’d first met them at Lake Argyle last May and have stayed in touch ever since. The crazy kids were all swimming, even late in the afternoon, but funnily enough us Queenslanders stayed dry. The girls were quite eager to swim in the pool the next day but because we were out all day, they didn’t get a chance.

On Sunday the thermometer read 7 degrees first thing in the morning! I decided to warm up with a run and it was one of the most beautiful routes I’ve taken over the past year. After brekkie and a few loads of washing, we set out for the Edwards’ house for a guided tour of the Manjimup region. They took us to the King Jarrah tree first, which (I think) is over 400 years old. That was pretty cool. Then we called into the town park/museum/timber centre and had a bit of a wander and a play on the awesome playground. The flying fox was the best we’ve come across yet! Next it was off to another tree, a fire lookout called the Diamond Tree, which I climbed. Yasmin was dead keen but it's just not safe for littlies. After that it was another very scenic drive to Big Brook Dam, which is a beautiful picnic and swimming spot, a perfect lunch location. The kids had a swim at the sandy beach and the adults chilled out under the towering forest canopy, just magic.

Our last stop was the Gloucester Tree, another climbing one, which Ryan and I ascended. We could see the Yeagerup Dunes in the distance and the view was incredible, once we got our breath back from the climb! There’s nothing really to stop you falling from these trees, but you don’t really think about the height (50 or so metres) because you’re too busy concentrating on putting your hands and feet on the pegs. After the tree, we were aiming for Beedelup Falls, but Sienna put on a turn and it was getting late-ish, so we decided to call it a day. We returned to camp, quickly brought the washing in before it got cool and headed over to Craig and Sarah’s for a bbq using the previous day’s leftovers. It was lovely just to sit and chat with adults and the girls were quite thrilled to be in a house for a little while again. They’re a lovely family and even though we’ve only spent a short amount of time with them, we feel really comfortable in their company. It’s strange, because they live in a region that contrasts starkly against our home turf – hilly, cool (bloody cold in winter!), wet in winter and dry in summer, heaps of small towns near each other and of course, massive trees everywhere – but we still have heaps in common and lots to talk about. Craig is a wealth of information too, giving us lots of local insight on the area.

The fresh produce in the area is incredible – apples, stonefruit, avocadoes and berries are just some of the delicious fruits we’ve been consuming over the past few days. There’s also heaps of vineyards and all sorts of other delicacies... just next door to Fonty’s were two truffle businesses. A fruit and veg truck came to Fonty’s on Sunday afternoon and we bought a few yummy goodies and then on Monday morning we hit the local IGA (Alf’s) and stocked up even more – just under $50 for trolley laden with fresh produce! There’s also a radio commentary to accompany parts of the drive around the area, giving you heaps of information on the history. Glenn and I both find it really fascinating and I could definitely explore this area for weeks, especially with all the food and art, but once again, it’ll have to go on the ‘one day’ list because the kids wouldn’t tolerate it (and I don’t know if Glenn would either!).

On Monday we said goodbye to Manjimup and drove a short while down to Warren National Park, southwest of Pemberton. We’ve been staying in a beautiful campground amongst the karris since then, soaking up the tranquillity. On the first afternoon we walked to the little rapids (Yasmin did the whole lot, 2.5km return!) and yesterday we rode the Pemberton Tram and explored the town a little bit. Today is a chill-out day, which has allowed me to catch up on this, before we hit the road again. I did climb another tree though – the Bicentennial Tree just near our camp. I did a 3.7km walk to it (with an ‘accidental’ and not-very-scenic detour through some blackberry brambles = yummy feed + scratched legs). Glenn was hoping to go up the tree but he’s got a huge sore on the back of his ankle (Yasmin nailed him with the shopping trolley in Bunbury) and he can’t wear shoes, and you really need to wear shoes when you climb. This one was the biggest too, at 65m on the top platform. It felt high as well, some of the pegs seemed a little loose and it was cloudy so I didn’t get to admire the awesome views you’d get on a clear day. Still glad I did it though!