As reluctant as we were to leave the beautiful Margaret River, we needed to head off towards Denmark, the next destination on our road trip from Perth, Western Australia. The total drive time for the day was 3.5 hours, so we planned on several pit stops along the way. Little did we know what reward was waiting for us in Denmark at the end of the day…
Margaret River to Denmark is 3½ hours of driving if you go straight through, but you should take longer. Take Caves Road south through the Boranup Forest, stop at Hamelin Bay for the sting rays, Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Pemberton for lunch and the Valley of the Giants.
Pick up a breakfast ‘to go’ from the highly recommended Margaret River Bakery, and head south from Margaret River on Caves Road. If you visited one of the 7 caves open to the public during your stay in Margaret River, then you will be retracing your steps for a short distance. However, if you did not visit one of the caves, then this would be another great opportunity to do so – Mammoth Cave, Giant’s Cave or Lake Cave along this road.
Eventually Caves Road enters the Boranup Forest, a most beautiful stretch of towering Karri trees which was reborn around 120 years ago after extensive logging ruined the area.
Shortly after passing Giant’s Cave, you will reach the parking lot at the side of the road.
Make time to stop and walk along the footpath into the trees to feel part of the forest. Enjoy the silence, with just the sound of bird calls interrupting the peace and quiet. We felt dwarfed by these huge trees which can grow to 80-90 meters high and are sometimes called ‘widow makers’ as they frequently drop their branches from on high.
Further along Caves Road, bear right at Eco Adventures Margaret River, onto Boranup Drive which drives even deeper into the forest and passes the Boranup Tree Lookout. Although Caves Road and Boranup Drive follow the coastline of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, you can’t see the coastline when you are on the main part of the drive. However, if you head to the Boranup Tree Lookout then you will find a fantastic view of the trees running along the coastline.
Back on the road again, and the tall trees start to give way to views of the ocean ahead. Just 30 minutes south of Margaret River (without stops) you will reach Hamelin Bay where a group of sociable sting rays typically hangs out by the old jetty.
From the car park at Hamelin Bay (with toilet facilities should you need them), head to the beach and walk towards what’s left of the old wooden jetty, just past the boat slip road. No doubt there will already be an audience standing in the shallows, looking into the water, and trying to spot the sting rays.
At first when you look at the water it’s difficult to see anything, but then you will start to notice shadows moving around. Be patient until the sting rays glide past you in the shallows, sometimes very close to the shoreline, giving you an excellent view.
Some sting rays can grow up to 2 meters wide. We were thrilled with our sightings and probably saw about 5 or 6 rays of different sizes. A lovely way to start the day!
Whilst they are friendly, be respectful and watch from a distance as the rays may lash out of scared or surprised. If you are travelling with small children, don’t let them splash in the water too much.
A 30-minute drive south from Hamelin Bay brought us to Cape Leeuwin, the most southwesterly point in Australia, with Africa to the west and Antarctica to the south. I couldn’t get my head around the fact that Cape Leeuwin is closer to Antarctica than Darwin, but does go some way to explaining why the water is so ‘fresh’ on this coastline.
We climbed the 176 steps to the top of Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse to admire some windy views of the place where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was built after 21 shipwrecks on the Cape, and since it was built there has only been one more shipwreck.
I don’t buy into my husband’s view that ‘when you’ve seen one lighthouse, you’ve seen them all’, as I love getting up high for an excellent vantage point, and a good leg workout – visiting Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse gave us a brilliant opportunity to do exactly that.
Still full after our breakfast from the Margaret River Bakery, we decided to drive 240 km to Pemberton in one hit and go for a later lunch. The drive was long but easy, with empty, tree-lined roads. Where is everyone?
Our destination for lunch was the Wild at Heart Café as seen on Bill Bailey’s Western Australia programme. The falafel salad was delicious – thank you for the recommendation, Bill!
We could have planned a longer stop in Pemberton, however, we were just passing through with time to just grab lunch and pick up some supplies for our dinner from the IGA supermarket. Had we stopped longer we would have considered:
Climbing the Gloucester Tree: A 50-meter climb on long metal poles hammered into the tree (it does have a safety barrier!)
Taking the Pemberton Tramway: A scenic 75-minute loop journey through Karri and Marri trees, over trestle bridges to cross rivers and streams.
Visiting one of the national parks: The Warren National Park or the D’Entrecasteaux National Park, including the Yeagarup Sand Dunes (maybe on a 4WD tour)
Visiting a local winery or cidery.
Our last stop was the Valley of the Giants at Walpole, an hour and 40 minutes from Pemberton, where a 600 metre walkway carries you 40 metres up into the tingle canopy. It is the best tree top walk I can remember doing, and late afternoon is the quiet time to arrive.
Prices, opening hours, accessibility and the Ancient Empire boardwalk below it are all in our Denmark guide:
After the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk we completed the final leg of the day’s journey to our Airbnb in Shadwell, Denmark. The sun was starting to set as we arrived, and we noticed a welcoming committee in the garden of our bungalow – a mob of grey kangaroos.
With a ‘tinny’ in hand we sat on the back terrace of a 1980s ‘Neighbours style’ bungalow, watching the kangaroos for about an hour before they hopped off into the sunset. It was one of the highlights of our trip as we spotted Mums with babies, and some of the male kangaroos squaring up to each other and boxing. It was like they put on a special show for the English visitors!
So, although we did a lot of driving on this day, we also felt that we had seen a lot, enjoyed some memorable stops and witnessed the landscape changing along the way. Whilst we were on a mission to get to Esperance for a longer stay, there was plenty of enjoyment to be had along the way.
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