Making our way down to Pemberton from Busselton we travelled through some changing scenery and were glad to have so much to look at. It made a change from the long distances covered in the north of the state with not very much to look at between stops. Lush farming pastures and paddocks full of mown hay and round bales as far as the eye could see gave way to the thick forests and winding roads before we hit the south coast and the more coastal type scrub you see along much of the southern coast roads. The on and off showers of rain we were having continued all the way to Pemberton, making driving the windy roads with the van on a bit more challenging than usual.

Pulling into the Beedulup National park around lunch time, we took on a few short walks before pushing on into Pemberton. The Beedulup falls were flowing and the walk across the suspension bridge over the 100m granite waterfalls was made all the better as the sun decided to shine through for us. After those couple of shorter strolls we headed off out to the Walk Through Tree. The uphill section right at the start was nearly the end of us and the actual tree was a bit of an anti climax as well. The walk was not to bad though as the girls had plenty of energy from the car ride down and were walking along chatting away all the way there and back.

Setting up in Pemberton across from the saw mill in the caravan park you can still see the huge impact that timber and its related industries has had on these areas. Now admiring these huge trees from the ground is amazing in itself but when you head out to the Dave Evans Bicentennial tree you get the chance to really experience just how big they are! Courtesy of a couple hundred or more lengths of reo bar and some chicken wire, as well as WA's no nonsense approach to health and safety you can climb to the top of the states tallest fire look out tree! A white knuckle climb of 75m!! After a quick swap from my thongs to Kylz sneakers, Yes I went in thongs and yes I have girls sized feet, I set off for the top. Having no real drama with heights and having climbed a few long ladders from underground before, I really enjoyed the climb. The view from the top was as you would expect, awesome. 360 degrees from sand dunes to the forests! I was joined up top by another overseas traveller and we were able to share the experience and take a photo for each other. No pay, no harness, no guide NO WORRIES! My sort of show.

The rest of our day was spent driving some of the windy roads outside Pemberton. There were some nice riverside camp sites on the Heartbreak trail which winds through the Warren National Park. The lookouts were a bit overgrown but we were in some pretty scenic areas no matter where you looked. We even ran into some fellow travellers we had met before. We arrived at the Cascades in time to watch the historic rail train pass over the river crossing there as well. Travelling with our friends Pete and Sue, were a couple from north of Sydney Phil and Jo (and kids Aiden and Elise). Saying a quick hello then, we were not to know that we would soon meet them again and share some big laughs while travelling one of the most well known roads of our country. We made it out to Big Brook dam also. It is a very well looked after area and would be a popular spot for locals on a hot day. Don't know if they get them down here or not!? It provides water storage for the town as well as being the starting point for many walking and mountain bike trails.

Pulling up anywhere in our car now has become a nervous event for Kylz and I, and seeing a car full of young blokes at the dam made us even more cautious. They turned out to be fine lads but we are pretty "winky" on that thing nowadays. Since having our car broken into in Perth we have become a bit "gunshy" on leaving anything in the car. Not that we were overly blasé before but now it takes us about five minutes to just get out of the car after checking everything of any value is locked away or with us. Kylz has not let her big camera get out of her sight since that fatal day, and often leaves the car loaded up like a European backpacker at a Greyhound depot.

Back at our park Charli, Kylz and I spent an arvo sharing some of our by now well travelled bird seed with the local Port Lincoln parrots that stopped by. We have been carting it since the Gold Coast! Still the birds loved it and Charli was in amongst it this time having grown a bit since we last were mobbed by parrots. Chelsea still avoided them as she did not want them landing on her clothes or hair. Our last afternoon was spent at the new scooter park with Jo also escorting her and Pete and Sue's kids up. Both the girls love those parks and have even learnt to come down the ramps! So Jo and I chatted while hordes of kids scooted and skated til the tears were flowing and the rain drops started to chase us back inside. It really is one big holiday when you are a kid whether you are home or not isn't it!?

Having spent our couple of sunny days in Pemberton it was looking pretty grim on the day we packed up. With not too far to go we were gone early and had decided to squeeze in a trip to the Tall Trees look out on our way to Denmark. We have met so many people travelling at many different places this year, that we were not surprised to meet some new and old (not too old eh Carol!?) friends when we arrived in Denmark.