Wine vines and tall trees in WA’s southwest

We are on a road trip around Australia’s southern, central and western states, and recently spent time in the capital of Western Australia (WA), Perth, and several places nearby. After that, we drove south, heading for WA’s Margaret River wine region.

Marg with our wine purchases, Churchview Estate, Margaret River, WA

Arriving into Margaret River, we had intended to stop at three or so vineyards to sample wines. However, we got to the first one called Churchview Estate, tasted some stunning wines, bought two bottles, then learned that we could camp there among the vines. So we tasted some more, knowing we didn’t have to drive any further on this day.

Our overnight spot at Churchview Estate, Margaret River, WA

After our tasting, we drove through the vineyard to a camping spot overlooking the estate billabong, and enjoyed a lovely sunset, the antics of the local ducks, and a quietness that we hadn’t had for a few nights. The next morning, we drove into the Margaret River township.

Top: Xanadu Vineyard. Below, Marg and Margaret River house, WA

The town was established in 1913 and now days, has a population of around 7,500. It has a scattering of galleries, eating places, wine and curiosity shops, and is quite quaint. After a wander around the town, we had lunch and picked up some essential supplies at the supermarket, then headed off to have two more wine tastings.

Voyager Estate Vineyard, Margaret River, WA

The first was at Xanadu Wines where we loved their signature Cabernet so purchased some. The next was the Voyager Estate which produces organic wines which we also enjoyed. While at Voyager, we heard from Simone and Peter who we’d met in Monkey Bay. They were just arriving in Margaret River so joined us at Voyager Estate where we had a lovely catch up.

Marg at the Margaret River Distilling Co., Margaret River, WA

That evening, we checked into a camp close to the town centre. A day or two later, it was Leigh’s birthday so we walked into town then enjoyed a seafood lunch to celebrate. On the return walk, we noticed a distillery and poked our nose in to find that it had tastings. So we tasted a few gins and whiskeys, and they were fabulous. Later, we had a lovely walk back to camp feeling that we had celebrated Leigh’s birthday quite well.

Mouth of the Margaret River, Prevelly, WA

After a great time in Margaret River, we drove to the mouth of the actual river named Margaret. This river that gives the wine region its name, is 60 km long and starts near Bunbury where we were a week or so ago. It then carries on through the wine region to gently merge with the Indian Ocean near the town of Prevelly. It’s a very pretty spot.

Surfers Point, Prevelly, WA

We were surprised to find that next to its outflow, is a famous surf beach called Surfers Point. It turns out that this particular bit of beach is on the World Surf League list of top surf beaches, and its well set up for competitions with amenities, food trucks, and grassed areas for spectators. The colour of the water was beautiful and there were plenty of surfers out that day. 

Surfers Point, Prevelly, WA

There were also plenty of watchers and swimmers with the whole area having quite a vibrant feel to it. We saw a wonderful statue of a female form on a board at the entrance to the area, and another of a woman sitting on the rocks around the surf area. We were quite impressed with this whole site. 

Scenery along Caves Road, Margaret River, WA

Leaving Prevelly, we drove along Caves Road, a notoriously bendy but pretty drive that took us past several caves in the Margaret River region. We stopped at a few, only to find that we needed to have booked in advance, or we would have to wait for almost an hour to go through. We skipped them, then found Giants Cave.

Leigh inside the very dark and austere Giants Cave, Caves Road, WA

Giants Cave is the deepest cave in the Margaret River Region at 86m. We entered, received a safety briefing, hard hat, and torch, then made our way down into the cave. This cave is not a ‘show’ cave, it is an adventurer’s cave with rough surfaces, no boardwalks, no lighting, a gazillion steel stairs up and down, tight places and rocks to climb over, and it’s as black as pitch when your light goes out. It was a little scary being down there by ourselves, but we loved it.

The beach at Hamelin Bay, WA

Sometime later, we emerged from the cave and drove about 15 minutes to Hamelin Bay. We were there to spot the stingrays that habitually swim in the shallows of the bay. Unfortunately, while the beach was lovely, there were no stingrays. Apparently, it was too rough and windy for them on that day. And it was very windy, especially at our next stop.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP, WA

We went to the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park to see its historic lighthouse. Built in 1895 from local limestone, this still active lighthouse is the tallest on mainland Australia at 39 m. It sits on a cape where the Indian Ocean meets the turbulent Southern Ocean, and we could see why it’s needed on that cape as the wind was absolutely atrocious and the waves enormous.

Wind surfers at Hardy Inlet, Augusta WA

Shortly after, we arrived in the town of Augusta (pop 1,109) where we stayed the night. Augusta is an ex-whaling and timber town that dates back to 1930. Our camp was on the edge of Augusta’s Hardy Inlet and we couldn’t believe how many wind surfers were taking advantage of the gale force winds. They looked like a flock of birds. 

 

Restored buildings in the historic centre of Manjimup, WA

The next morning was again windy, and also overcast as we drove to our next stop, which was the town of Manjimup. Known for its produce such at avocados, truffles, fruit, and vegetables, it is also known for its history and after we’d had lunch there, we went for a walk through its restored and quaint historic centre.

The karri and marri forest drive, Pemberton, WA

Our next stop was Pemberton; a town built on logging because it is surrounded by giant karri and marri trees, both a kind of eucalyptus. Karris are huge, and known for being the tallest tree in WA as they can grow to over 90m high. We drove through an impressive karri and marri forest to our next stop which was to see the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree.

Leigh climbing a giant karri tree lookout, WA

The Dave Evans tree is an absolutely huge karri that has stakes nailed into the trunk, enabling it to be climbed. Historically, it was a fire lookout as its huge height provided panoramic views of the forest. These days, it’s a tourist attraction and you can climb to a platform at 20 metres. Leigh went to about 6 or 7 metres and said that it was hard work. However, she was mollified hearing that only 20% of climbers make it to the platform.

Leigh and parrot, Pemberton, WA

That night, we stayed under the trees at a caravan park in Pemberton. At one stage, Leigh was standing by Ixi’s open door when a colourful parrot paid a visit. He sat on the top of the door for ages just looking in and parrot-chatting. We learned later that he was an Australian ringneck parrot.

Our Pemberton Tramway Co. train, Pemberton, WA

The next morning, we headed to the historic (1926) Pemberton Train Station to take a train ride with the Pemberton Tramway Company. The windy weather was still with us but it had also become cold, so we rugged up for the 75-minute each-way ride. The tramway company also provided rugs so we were quite cosy in the end.

Old trestle rail bridge on the Pemberton rail line, WA

The driver provided an amusing yet informative commentary about the important role of timber railways in this region’s development. The ride took us past some historic buildings in Pemberton and the now closed Pemberton Saw Mill. Then it rattled over several ancient trestle bridges taking us deep into the karri forest.

The Cascades, Lefroy Brook, Pemberton, WA

It dropped us at a river area called The Cascades, which is where the Lefroy Brook flows across a series of limestone shelves creating a gentle waterfall. We clamoured over and around the rocks there for 25 minutes, before boarding the train for the return trip. All up, it was a lovely day, showing us a very pretty part of the forest.

 

The Gloucester Tree, Gloucester NP, WA

After that, we drove into the Gloucester National Park to find the Gloucester Tree. This famous tree dates back to 1947 when it was selected by foresters as the first of the tall trees to have a spiked ladder for climbing as a fire lookout. This 61-metre-tall karri tree is the world's second tallest fire-lookout tree after the Dave Evans tree, and although it was closed to tourists in 2023, its grandeur remains intact. 

Sculptures on the Northcliffe Sculpture Trail, Northcliffe, WA

Our next stop was at a sculpture park in Northcliffe village where we saw some really interesting sculptures. Over 70 of them were artistically placed in strategic parts of a 1.2 km forest trail. The sculptures included carvings in trees, people carved out of shale, carvings into stone, knitted critters, and lots of other artistic endeavours. It was so very different, and we really enjoyed it.

Nornalup inlet, Walpole, WA

At the end of the day, we drove to Nornalup inlet in Walpole and admired the scenery. The weather was still cold and windy and now, also very wet. The cold weather in this southern part of WA is such a far cry from the 40 degree heat we experienced in the northern parts. We weren’t enjoying the cold.

Kangaroos at our camp in Walpole, WA

But what we did enjoy, was the family of kangaroos that ran through our Walpole camp at dinner time. Initially we heard a rhythmic thumping sound, and when we check it out, it was two very large kangaroos galloping by. The next morning, we saw the whole family of around six animals. What a treat, as they were the first kangaroos we’d seen that had not been victims of traffic.

 

Leigh on the windy treetop walkway, Walpole, WA

This southern area of WA is known for its big trees and in keeping with our tree theme over the past few days, we visited the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk. This involved us walking out onto a sturdy metal structure built around 40m high, to look over the canopy of a tingle forest. Tingle trees are the largest girthed eucalypts in the world and are also very tall. It was a great experience, but it was incredibly windy up there.

Leigh in the base of an ancient tingle tree, Walpole, WA

Leaving the treetops, we then did the Ancient Empires Walk at ground level, which took us past the base of 400-year-old giant tingle trees. These amazing trees are unique to the Walpole area so it was a special experience to be there. Many of the trees have been through several forest fires over the years and have burnt out centres, yet the trees live on.

Grandma Tingle, Walpole, WA

Some of the trees here are so old that they have names. We really liked the 450-year-old Grandma Tingle, named for her age and her gnarly and wrinkly look. We had a great time wandering through this area and learning about the karri, marri and tingle trees, but it was time to move on. Our next stop will be in Albany and you can read about it in the next blog.

This post is the twelfth in a series about our travels through Australia’s south, centre and west. The first post was about Adelaide and can be found here.