Pemberton
We had planned to be in Pemberton with Mum and Dad in early December but Covid put a stop to that. Being here now is a reminder of how long we’ve been away from home, almost four months now, and the distance from family is starting to twinge. I’m particularly missing my nieces and aware of all the changes my kids are making which my parents are missing. The pitfalls of long distance.
We left Windy with the threat of big rain arriving later that day. The last of the Busselton caravan club big rigs rolled out with us that morning too. We stopped en route to Northcliffe to climb the granite outcrop of Mount Chudulup, an easy walk for Hugh with good views across the ancient seabed landscape.
Northcliffe was a short stop for lunch and to refill with water before heading on to find Drafty’s camp. Nestled under towering Karri and Marri trees on the banks of the Warren River, this was a beautiful and peaceful camp. Being right on the river was stunning, though the dense forest setting was not ideal for recharging our batteries (literally, not figuratively). Short on power, we had to live without a fridge for our five night stay. Our battle for solar and making sense of our battery system has been a challenge more troubling than our war with the mice. We’ve run multiple tests, consulted Facebook forums and read enough Google articles to warrant a degree. But we can’t seem to make our current set-up meet our off-grid needs. Investigations continue.
Soon after checking in with the camp hosts the rain set in. We spent the rest of the rainy afternoon colouring in and making pancakes (for dinner) in the camp kitchen. It poured with over 10mm of rain overnight. At about 1am there was a massive clap of thunder which sent Hugh flying into our bed. I bunked out and got in next to Claire leaving Matthias to contend with Hugh and all his arms and legs. After convincing Hugh that there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of, I lay awake imaging lightning strikes, forest fires and falling tree branches.
We survived all those threats and drove into Pemberton the next day for the playground and the IGA. In the afternoon we met the mighty Gloucester tree. Matthias flew up without a backward glance while I managed about 30 rungs before my imagination got the better of me and I headed back down. I wasn’t at all disappointed to enjoy the tree from the bottom, despite fervent encouragement from other climbers who were amped on adrenaline.
The following day we explored the path along the river from our camp till we came to a rocky road crossing. It was the kind of spot that demanded a paddle and the cool and drizzly weather wasn't going to dissuade the kids. So clothes were shed and three out of the four of us went swimming.
In the afternoon we walked two short legs of the Warren River Loop walk starting at Warren Camp, taking in the Lookout then finishing at the Dave Evans Bicentennial tree. Matthias was again up in a flash while I had a job keeping the kids on the ground.
We took a day trip to explore the Beedelup Falls, Donnelly River boat landing and Goblin Swamp, where Matthias made up for the lack of real goblins by offering his best impression. The Southern Forests Chocolate Company rewarded us with a chocolatey treat and we stocked up on supplies at "Ralph's roadside organic honesty shop".
Our final day in camp we abandoned plans to visit Big Brook Dam and instead enjoyed what was on our doorstep and took the surfboard out for a paddle from our river landing.
