This morning we got up at a reasonable time (not toooo early though!) and drove to the main surf beach in Margaret River where the popular main break surf spot is to watch the huge waves crashing and rolling – pretty impressive stuff!!

Next we drove to a winery (the company we did the tasting with before dinner yesterday) to buy Craig’s parents a bottle to thank them for having me, plus after a quick 10am tasting, a bottle of late harvest for me too!

Then it was full steam ahead to Pemberton! I’m still in awe of the wildlife in Australia it amazes me on a daily basis! We saw emus, cows and an owl in the space of 30 seconds! Crazy!

Eventually we reached Pemberton and headed to Gloucester National Park to climb one of the trees that used to be used as fire lookouts until 1952 – Gloucester Tree – we climbed it via the 153 metal spikes spiralling around the trunk of the tree to a height of 53m. The view at the top was pretty impressive I’m not sure the photos do it justice! The way down was slightly trickier trying to find your feet on the spikes below you! The health and safety department in the UK would’ve had a field day!!

After our lovely climb we drove into Pemberton city centre and then decided to visit the Lavender and berry farm. It was ok but nothing too exciting!

Next we headed to the Pemberton tram, a really old tram that takes you on a trip for 1 hour 45mins through the southern forest whilst the driver tells us all about the history of the forest and it’s trees.

It turns out some of the timber in Pemberton was cut down and used for the London Underground! Links to my homeland indeed!

The forest was made up of a variety of trees but most predominantly is the Karri tree. This is the tallest tree in Western Australia reaching heights of up to 95m and living for around 500 to 600 years. It is unique to WA not growing anywhere else in the world. It’s a beautiful looking tree with smooth, almost metallic bark, that glistens in the sun!

After that lovely little trip it was time to head to Walpole our next destination for the trip!

We arrived and checked in to Walpole Lodge, where we were greeted by a lovely lady who ran the place. It was budget accommodation aimed at backpackers but was actually really nice! A cute twin room for us which was warm and nice and clean, a kitchen and living room with a tv. Plus the added bonus of free tea and coffee!! The shower room was also nice and spacious and clean, so all in all a really good find!!

We went to a restaurant for dinner round the side of the only pub in town for dinner. I had steak sandwich which was delicious!!! Such a good meal! And of course a glass of late harvest white wine (the best kind!). We popped into the pub for one more drink after dinner before we headed back to the lodge.

Well that’s about it from me today! Ciao!