With the southern parts of WA still clinging to the remnants of winter we set off from Pemberton under cloudy conditions but with the slight glimmer of hope that it may be changing for the better. Well after the first few miles were spent in on and off drizzle we pulled into Walpole for our smoko stop. Stepping out of the car into bright sunny conditions we thought our luck was changing. As it turned out we had been suckered and by the time we walked from the car to the info centre and toilets we were again in the grips of a miserable wind and rain combo. With no better options appearing to be offer we all piled into the local cafe/bakery for a bit of shelter and a sample of their pie baking skills.

Driving on through towards Denmark we had planned to call into the Tree Top Walk on our way past. The walk takes you up 40m into the tree tops via a suspended and supported open walkway. It covers nearly a kilometre and the view was fantastic. A separate walk covers a loop around some of the ground floor and signage explains the early history of the timber industry in the area and plenty of big words and info for all those who would enjoy it. As we were exiting the info centre we were caught in a massive downpour. While leaving we ran into Pete and Sue and Phil and Jo. It has been pretty common for us this year to bump into the same people on and off as we all make our way in the same general direction and see the same places.

Arriving in Denmark we found ourselves still in poor weather with a terrible wind howling and scuds of rain blowing through on and off. With only a couple of nights planned originally we set up and decided on an extra night as the bad weather was due to be lifting and we had a few chores to finish as well as see the area a bit before pushing on again. Our caravan park was huge and had an almost brand new amenities block. The upside to this also was that we were almost alone in the whole park! There were only a handful of other vans and a couple of the cabins being used. The park is only a short walk from the beach at the end of the town beach road. Being a Big 4 it was well equipped with playground and jumping pillow that the girls managed to use in between down pours of rain and 45Kn gusts of wind!

With a few local landmarks within short driving distance we spent our first full day in Denmark touring. The bitter wind was persisting and we were all rugged up again almost as bad as winter in Victoria! Our drive out to Green Pool and Elephant rocks was all I could handle for the day. The Green Pool was a beautiful lagoon at the beach front that would be the perfect place to spend a sunny day. We have found the southern ocean very chilly but, once you convince yourself to dive in, it is amazingly refreshing! Kylz does not always agree with that though and the girls and I often have to wrestle her into the water for a quick dip! This day however you would not have gotten any of us in the water for a swim. Our short walk to the Elephant Rocks was another windy one and we were glad to find that we could actually see the elephant shapes of the rocks. Kylz made a mad dash out through the narrow rock chasm in between waves to capture a couple of pics from the open side.

Arriving back at the park we were met by our travelling friends Luke and Megan from Brisbane, setting up. It had only really been a few days since we had last seen them at Busselton but the girls were over the moon to have Kristy and Laura to play with. Their friends Ben and Donna were also still enjoying the last few days of their holiday. Later that day we were also joined by travelling friends of ours that we had not seen since the Daly River NT. Carol and Kev, from Mackay, had left us way back in the NT and after many weeks of travelling and an extended stay in Perth they had arrived in Denmark at the same time as us. It also turns out that they had been set up in Exmouth beside Luke and Megan.

The strong winds and increasingly heavy rain drove us all to take shelter in the camp kitchen, which was a pretty new colour bond shed, where we all shared a few drinks and caught up on each other's tales of travel. That arvo and night the rain poured and we even copped a short spray of light hail! The next day we were packing up and heading further along the coast to Bremer Bay. Ben and Donna were leaving from Denmark to return to Perth and both Kev and Carol and Luke and Megan had a couple more days of things to see before leaving. We made some rough plans to perhaps catch up in Esperance and once again said our good-byes.

Our chosen caravan park in Bremer Bay was the closest to the beautiful beaches and we were no sooner set up then we were off to see the area. The beaches were as good a beach as you will find, even if the water was still pretty cold and probably does not get real warm even in summer. Many of the beaches were first used and explored by the local farmers who blazed trails through the bush to reach the water. The local wharf and jetty is home to a couple of pro fishing boats and we even took time to bait up and throw in a line for a couple of hours as well.

We made a trip into the small town and found it to be a very quiet little village style place with a supermarket that sells everything from weet-bix to fishing tackle and even fuel, grog and double pluggers! Charli found the wind generator on top of the town lookout hill pretty fascinating, once she was sure it could not actually hit her!? Being such a small community the wind generator provides over half of their required power. Sensible idea for this area and works well with or without a carbon tax!?

Back at our park we met a lady travelling solo with her daughter from Perth to Sydney. Kath and Matilda were both characters and her quirky nature and tales of travel and adventure had us and the girls entertained. Travelling in a pretty new pop top cruiser with a few other small luxuries they had already crossed the Nullarbor together solo when Matilda was only 12mths old! Some people are really blessed with an adventurous spirit.

We both found Bremer Bay to be a very pretty and relatively unspoilt area, probably helped out because it is 70km off the main tourist route. With a few more well known spots along the main road, and being surrounded by farm land, it may remain that way for a few more years. However looking at all the blocks of land with for sale signs on them and newly erected holiday homes it may come sooner rather than later. Bremer Bay may very well be a place neither of us ever visit again, but we are sure plenty of others will.

Setting off from Bremer Bay we were headed towards Esperance for a date with crystal white sand, rolling blue/green water, a couple of pretty hungry sea-lions and the pink lake that IS NOT pink, as well as our biggest reunion of travelling friends.