Western Australia – Day 4 – Warren National Park

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The highlight for Day 4 of our trip was a half-day tour with Pemberton Discovery Tours – what seems like the only day tour company in the small town. The company is run by a couple, and runs different tours depending on the time of the year. We opted for the half-day tour on a 4WD, and titled Beach & Forest Eco Adventure. The name of the tour couldn’t had been more aptly named because the about 4.5 hour trip was exactly that: half forest, half beach!

The company’s starting location can be a little hard to spot, as it’s not obvious from the main road at all. The map as seen from Google Maps below is a little deceiving: the tour company’s office actually sits between Millhouse Tearooms and Crossings Bakery, and it took us a while to find it even.

Map of the area.

Once we were onboard though, we were all set. We were the only family booked for the morning, so essentially enjoyed a private tour if still following the already-planned itinerary that took us through Warren National Park, D’Entrecasteaux National Park, then Broke Inlet, then Yeagrup Sand Dunes, and finally the beaches facing the Great Southern Ocean. The driver, Colin, is a retiree who’s lived his entire life in Pemberton, and who also previously worked 30 years as a school gardener. The main driver and also co-owner of the company was outbound for a different tour, but there were absolutely no issues with Colin as our guide and driver.

The vehicle was a Toyota four-wheel drive, and was our first extended experience in such a vehicle (outside the ones we’re all used to in National Service of course LOL) navigating through off-road terrain. Even with the vehicle’s drive power and muscle, the dirt roads, paths and later sand and beaches we drove across really stretched the vehicle’s prowess to its limits. Hannah was probably the only one who enjoyed the literal ups and downs as we drove around, Peter was knocked out for a good part of it (how he could sleep when the 4WD was bouncing in all directions I have no idea LOL), while I was trying my very best to hold my breakfast down!

The first stop was Warren National Park, a short 15 minute drive from Pemberton. Colin drove some way in, dropped us off, and told us “Get walking!” LOL.
Lots of things to see as we walked through the forest.
The forest was beautifully serene and almost defeaningly quiet with no human-made sounds beyond our own. We were absolutely dwarved by the majestically tall old growth Karri trees all round, many of which were centuries old and stretching 90m skywards. Even though the forest had not rained for a week, the ground was still quite moist and while it was level for the most part, we still had to watch our step. We remarked to Hannah that this wasn’t our first hike through a forest: the last one was carrying her at our Telunas Island trip, and a far less pleasant hike that was!
This got a bit scary when the distance between our vehicle and us grew longer, and we couldn’t but start wondering had Colin forgotten about us haha.
What a relief when the vehicle finally started up and caught us up. I guess Colin didn’t want a lost Singaporean family on his conscience!
We took also a walking detour to get a view of Warren River, which flows directly out to the ocean.
Colin also showed us Peppermint plants and plucked several leaves for the kids to get their scent.

Continued in the next post!