30th January - 1st February 2016
 
Heading south west through the Great Southern Forest Region the road continues full of interesting views and driving. We were late on the road and it is lunchtime when we stop in Munjimup to buy the weekend papers and stretch the legs. An old gal at the Info Centre sings the praises of the local Truffle & Wine Co situated a dozen kilometres from town. We learn that this place sits in the middle of the Great Southern Wine Area which has more vineyards than the Margret River it seems, and Truffle & Wine has its own label of locally produced wines.
 
A look around and a wine tasting of selected wines and we have decided (surprise, surprise) to stay for lunch and a Truffle Estate Chardonney. The restaurant and wine tasting area is really comfortable with a relaxed ambience found in this rustic country setting...the menu is far from rustic and boasts an underlying sophistication and complexity. We immediately order a Tasting Plate to accompany the Chardy whilst we reading and re-read the menu. This takes time, discussion and debate until we settle on a trio of entrées and a salad to share and it works beautifully. The Chardy along with multiple courses all infused with truffles provides a marriage of tastes and textures that left us full yet wanting more...time to go!
 
Not far from Manjimup lies Diamond Tree, a 65 metre high Karri Tree that has a lookout platform at its crown, reached by a "stairway" of steel rods driven into the tree like a twisted form of spiral staircase. Evi is adamant that we stop, but it is not until she is 20 metres up the tree that Roscoe says "STOP! Get down, now"! We travel in silence for some time, but we both suspect that Evi shall have her way at some time soon!
 
Next town on our journey without a cause is Pemberton, an historic timber town stepped down a long slope in a narrow space between a fast creek and an encroaching forest of giant Karri Trees which have survived the mill. Pemberton wins as our new base mainly because of the torpor inflicted by the long lunch at the Truffle :-). The Caravan Park sits at the lowest point of the town on the creek flat, it's a bit tired but very picturesque with plenty of shady trees. Camp setup, an afternoon power nap restores the energy and we walk uptown to the pub sitting on the crown of the main road. This is a pretty place and very quaint and unusual in that the timber mill virtually built this town, literally. The clear majority of homes are identical two bedroom one bathroom timber cottages with a steep corrugated roof, small front verandah and steps on the right hand corner of every home. Most are not even painted but have that faded untreated timber look about them. Some have had additions and renovations made but there is no hiding their origins.
 
It's raining, in fact it rained nearly all our first night in Pemberton, and it's cold, and it's windy! Breakfast, coffees and read the paper ensures the morning passes in a companionable manner, but we are not used to confinement and debate begins, and that leads to only one outcome...we go for a drive and we find somewhere nice for lunch. Channeybearup Rd, about 20klm from town, forms a loop that shall give us a good look at the countryside and return us to Pemberton via some interesting routes. In fact Channeybearup is a noted scenic drive, and it is indeed as it bends and winds through the most wonderful farming land with dairies, properties with cattle, sheep, goats and deer, symmetric orchards and vineyards marching across slopes ultimately framed by the towering Karri Tree forests that still abound here. Signs proclaim directions to Bed & Breakfasts, Lodges, Eco Resorts and even Chalets, crickey, it's time for lunch!
 
Back through Pemberton we travel, then onto Golf Course Rd and we find the most lauded eatery that also happens to be a winery and a brewery, how lucky are we! Jarrah Jacks is hidden down a steep dirt road and a tricky turnoff, but it's an OMG moment as the restaurant is revealed sitting atop a hill overlooking a vineyard through which we are now climbing. The skyline is the ever present Karri trees, but the restaurant building just seems part of the landscape.

Greeted by an Italian barman with a big smile and happy to help us through beer and wine tasting selection, and a cheery hello from the kitchen staff we are off to a good start. With a pint of Red Ale and a Hugo in hand we retreat to a table in the modern restaurant setting with views over vines and dam, shrouded in misty rain. The menu is not extensive, but it is impressive and noted for its meat and seafood tasting platters that present a great range of product, textures and styles. We choose a seafood platter and a serve of hand cut fries, great choice all round, and a perfect wet day!
 
Still raining as we make our way back into town. Coffees are in order so we detour slightly through narrow streets lined with the timber cottages that feel like Grounghog Day all over again, and visit Holy Smoke Gourmet Foods. Here we discover that the café is appended to a woodwork, furniture and art gallery which is full of the most amazing pieces from local artisans and all made from the local Jarrah and Karri timbers. Fortunately, especially with $11,000 dining tables, we were not on a buying trip today. No, today was a Espresso and Linzer Torte (an Austrian cake that was Evi's dads favourite). A wet, cold and windy day spent most comfortably.
 
Next day dawns fresh but clear, today we need to walk off yesterdays excesses and we are soon in the Beedelup NP and its trails and waterfalls. No other vehicle is in the carpark, we have the place to ourselves as we set out through this magnificent truly ancient Karri and Marri forest. Despite the rain the falls are flowing very conservatively, but the forest is breathing deeply and smells both fresh and decaying at the same time. Bird life abounds, and we are in an area well renowned for snakes so our eyes are glued to the forest floor as we walk up and down hillsides and gullies. The Karri are amazing, many 70 metres high with dead straight trunks of great girth. Only lightly filtered sunlight escapes their canopy until you cross the path of one of the fallen giants 
   
We walk through the Beedelup Eco Resort and around a long dam to complete our circuit. Exercise done we head to the Warren NP to take the scenic 4 WD track, The Heartbreak Trail. No, not so quick, Evi has planned this step as here is the site of the Bicentennial Tree, a 75 metre monster Karri with 3 platforms at the crown and the ubiquitous steel rod steps circling the beast. Without pause, nor a glance back at Roscoe she is leaving planet earth for the lofty heights, as the photos show. Roscoe? Happily sits on a huge log with a muesli bar and a water ready to snap photos as directed! Evi, upon descent, is very chuffed with her own self, the climb was exhilarating and the view described in many superlatives.
 
Heartbreak Trail is somewhat a misnomer as these days we tackle it in Air Conditioned comfort in our computer laden 4WD's with mood music in the background. This track was named in former years when men were men and the women were too! That said, it is 4WD involving a long meandering track along the Warren River, dwarfed by the Karri trees as we dip and climb a number of gullies. Picnic and camping (tent only) areas give us cause to detour and checkout the river, as well as 2 lookouts that take advantage of ridges that must be climbed rather than circumvented.
 
Too soon we return to the blacktop and head eastwards to Northcliffe, named so though there be not a cliff in sight, to visit the Northcliffe Understory, a walking trail from the Info Centre that winds through native forest for about 2klm and is lined by sculptures created by about a dozen sculptors a few years ago. We spent an enjoyable hour and a half here walking with an audio set and earphones as each of the sculptors were interviewed regarding their work and its relevance to Northcliffe and surrounds. From small statues, hanging forms, towering abstracts to subtle renditions of nature, we experienced it all. 

Finally, by the end of the walk, interpretation and interviews we were treated to a series of music, songs, poems and prose written for the Understory and we sat on the verandah for some time, both enthralled by differing aspects of the offering. A couple came from the Info Centre with only one audio set and we both lauded the benefits of the whole experience so much that they returned to pick up another set. It was a truly excellent experience, made from the raw forest, bare of a story until this community had the foresight to engage these artists of differing paths, backgrounds and ethnicity to make the journey a modern dreamtime!

Thank you to the Pemberton community for a visit that shall always remain a highlight for us. Western Australia, you just keep giving and giving!