dolphin discovery centre, Ferguson Valley, Pemberton

Dolphin Discovery Centre
On Wednesday we visited the dolphin discovery centre in Bunbury. they have a lot of dolphins that come in regularly to the calm waters of the bay and as a result have set up a discovery centre to facilitate dolphin research. We wandered around the centre's various displays, which are very interesting, before going out to the bay area but as it as afternoon we didn't see the dolphins. We returned on Saturday morning and were lucky enough to have a close encounter with several dolphins which was awesome.

Ferguson Valley
Thursday we drove through the Ferguson Valley which is yet another wine producing area. Our intention was to do a winery tour but most of the ones we went to were closed including the brewery which is normally open on Thursdays but on this occasion was closed for a private function - just our luck. We did manage a tasting at Willowbridge winery which was very nice -naturally we brought a few bottles to take home with us. From here we visited Gnomesville, a cute little gnome village that has progressively grown over the years. Apparently it all started when someone left a couple of gnomes on the corner of a major intersection and has been added to from there, particularly after it was vandalized. Now there are gnomes as far as you can see in every direction with many little gnome settlements and tributes hidden in all sorts of corners, next to trees and along the creek bed. It really is very cute. And yes, I am talking about the garden gnome in all its various shapes and sizes. Will add some pictures when I get home.

The drive through the Ferguson Valley was a pleasant change from the coastal scenery and it was nice to be driving through the hills, although their hills are more like bumps in the landscape compared to what we are used to. While here we also drove through the jarra forests including a visit to the king tree. Lunch was at the Bull & Bush tavern in Boyanup which was lovely. Thursday night we had dinner at Just One Thai restaurant which was delicious and resulted in yet another late night.

Pemberton
Our drive on Friday took us through the Harvest Highway to Pemberton via Bridgetown and Manjimup. The area north of Pemberton from Kirup to Manjimup is predominately a fruit growing area, mostly stone fruits, apples, pears and grapes with a smattering of cattle and huge timber plantations. similar to our Granite Belt region I guess. The landscape is often peppered with scores of hay bales waiting to be stored for the long, hot, dry summer ahead. We stopped at Bridgetown for morning tea an then at Manjimup to check the itinerary for the Cherry festival on the weekend. Unfortunately the main day of the festival was Saturday and we had planed to attend on Sunday so had to change our plans - good thing we checked or we would have been disappointed. I was surprised that even though we were in the heart of cherry growing country and the cherry festival was imminent there were very few cherries for sale and those that were, were very expensive. Quite a disappointment really.
Once in Pemberton we spent several hours exploring the national parks including the jarra forests and a visit to the Bicentennial tree which was dedicated as a fire lookout that visitors can climb in 1988. We didn't climb the tree on this occasion as my dicky shoulder wouldn't have stood it and John was also suffering from a strained shoulder. However, having climbed the Gloucester Tree in 1979 I don't feel that I missed out. We also visite the Cascades in Gloucester National Park as well as the Beedulup falls in Beedulup National Park. It was great to revisit some of the places that Helen & I visited with Jo in 1979 and we missed Jo on these occasions. John really enjoys the timber country and has been enjoying being a passenger so he can really appreciate the country that we are driving through. We also visited the Pemberton wine centre where we brought a bottle of a delicious white port that is not available on the east coast so you will have to visit us soon if you want to try it as it is only a small bottle - very nice!!! We then had a late lunch in Pemberton before wandering through the Pemberton museum which was very interesting. Pemberton is predominantly a timber town with a huge mill that caters for the many timber plantations in the south west. It also thrives on tourism on the back of the wine industry and the national parks. We covered a lot of miles on Friday through some very picturesque country and it was a long day topped off by dinner at Helen's and subjecting the boys to watching Mamia Mia.