Friday 10th February, 2017.
We were meant to be leaving Pemberton first thing this
morning but seeing we missed the tram yesterday, the plan is to go on the 10.45
run today. The rain has finally caught up with us, not sure if it’s the Perth
drenching, or the rain coming over from Esperance, where Jo nearly got caught
in flooding when she left us at Albany. Either way, it’s not too heavy when we
wake up but the roads are very wet.
We eat breakfast in the hotel, where my phone rings. It’s my
cousin Jeff who has just realised I’m in WA. He’s heading over next week for a
holiday and we plan to attempt to catch up in Perth – him on his way in, us on
our way out. After brekkie we pack the car and drive down to the tourist info
centre, hoping to find out where we can see some marron farming, or maybe buy
some. Apparently there’s a place down the road with big tanks and the fella
there will explain a bit about them to us. Then we get to the tram by 10.30 for
the 10.45 departure. We board about 5 min early and the driver kicks the motor
into action. There are a couple of late arrivals but it’s ok, we can’t depart
until we get the green flag from the station.
The first bit of excitement happens not far out of the
station as we near the first road crossing. The driver stops the tram level
with a little locked box next to the line, opens it and throws a switch. This
activates the level crossing lights and boom gates! Awesome! A blast of the
horn and we’re away again, only to stop an equal distance on the other side of
the road for the reverse procedure to be completed. The lights stop flashing
and the boom gates lift. We pass the town’s timber mill, recently
decommissioned but still with piles of karri logs piled up, being watered to
reduce the fire risk. Over the many years it’s been here, it’s burned to the
ground twice. We also see a mumma kangaroo with a joey in her pouch standing
near the mill, watching the train go by.
The commentary is fairly continuous and interesting, ranging
from the pioneers of the area, to the different types of trees we pass by. We
stop at The Cascades for a 15 minute break, disembarking and walking down to
have a closer look. We are warned that the rocks can be slippery so we need to
watch our step. I feel my foot slip, and then the other one – my life almost
flashes before my eyes!! No!! Don’t fall!! Somehow I manage to stop myself and
carefully head back onto the dirt path. Phew!! No broken bones today! If only
we’d known, or been told that there was a metal footbridge over the brook about
100m further down, I would have taken that option. The driver toots the whistle
and we reboard to continue to Warren River Bridge, the turning point of the
trip. We’ve been very fortunate, there hasn’t been a lot more rain and even
though the windows are open, we’re not getting wet. It is a bit cold and windy
though. We return at a quicker speed and the tram makes more noise, so there’s
no commentary on the return. By the way, the driver just moves to the other end
of the tram and drives us back from there. 12.30 sees us back at Pemberton
station where the driver confirms the marron information the tourist info
people gave us. It’s easy to find the place in Pumphill Rd and we spend about
30 minutes there talking to the guy and deciding which size marron to buy,
ending up with the 100-150g size for $49kg. We are given a receipt because it’s
outside marron season and they’re undersize, so we’d be in big trouble if we
were pulled over by the marron police.
It’s lunchtime so we buy coffees from the Millhouse Café to
have with our sandwiches and I get talking to the woman there about the movie
‘Jasper Jones’. I knew the movie was out soon but I only found out last night
that it was filmed here in Pemberton. I was already looking forward to seeing
it, now even moreso. The scenes were filmed around town and in the forests, the
woman I spoke to said her house is in the movie. It was filmed about 12 months
ago. Pemberton has many heritage listed timber homes built from the local karri
trees. The tram driver told us that one tree provided enough timber for two
houses! The movie is going to look fantastic! I wish I’d taken more photos of
the houses.
We eat our lunch down by the local ‘swimming pool’, one of
the few places in town where there are undercover picnic tables. Years ago, the
locals decided they wanted a swimming pool, so they dammed the river and have
made it into a nice spot.
Time now to move on to Augusta, our next stop for a couple
of nights. I must say, I wasn’t that keen on Pemberton when we first drove in,
but it’s grown on me. Nice place to visit, but I couldn’t imagine living there.
Nannup is the major local town, but we didn’t see it, so don’t know what it’s
like. On the way to Augusta, we stopped off at the Beedelup Falls, where there
is a pleasant loop walk to the Falls and back to the carpark. One way is
wheelchair friendly, the other has quite a few stairs, but the bonus for
trecking the stairs is the swinging bridge! Just like being back on the Indian
Pacific. I imagine it would be a lovely spot for a picnic too.
Driving time to Augusta is about 90 minutes and the road is
pretty good, and there’s no rain to speak of. We arrive in town, find our
accommodation and nearly get blown away. The wind feels like it’s blowing
straight off the Antarctic, probably because it is! It’s also feeling a bit
wet, so we unpack the car before it gets worse. This place was available on Air
bnb, but it was cheaper on Stayz. Odd. The keys were where we were told they’d
be, always a good start. There’s room to sleep 6, but 2 twin beds are in the
living room, so, maybe not………
The Augusta Hotel is just around the corner, as is the IGA
and Tourist Information office. It’s a good location, as planned. We buy some
salt for our marron and book our lighthouse tour. Augusta is home to the Cape
Leeuwin Lighthouse, ‘Light Between Oceans’ territory. I’m in book/movie heaven!
I know this movie wasn’t filmed here, but it’s the setting, so that’s good
enough. If you plan on visiting Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse as well as Cape
Naturaliste Lighthouse, it’s cheaper to buy a combined ticket which we did. We’ll
visit Cape Leeuwin properly on Sunday before we leave. We had a bit of time
before it got too dark so we went for a drive out to the lighthouse just to
check it out. It’s wild and woolly out there today. I must be a lighthouse
junkie, my heart leaps at my first sighting! The Old Waterwheel is also close
and a good photo op, so we stop there too. Too cold for Trevor, so he waits
patiently in the car. The ocean is wild but I’m sure it’s gets wilder, let’s
hope we don’t see that! A drive home around the water’s edge reveals lots of
nice places, or they would be in better weather. We even found a potential
snorkelling spot, but I don’t think we’ll be getting wet at this rate.
Marron cooked as per instructions from the seller and they
turned out really well. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I liked them. Trevor
really enjoyed them, I think he really wanted to try some while we were here
and it looked for a while as if that might not happen. I forced him to go to
the marron farm and he thanked me for it!
Mel from Tipsy Tours is picking us up at 10am in the morning
for a winery tour. Just the 2 of us, she has no-one else booked. Lucky us!
Personal service. We’re getting picked up from here and don’t have to meet her
up the road at the ‘appointed place’.
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