Western playground: Pemberton, WA

According to online sources, Pemberton in Western Australia’s south west is one of the most visited places in the state thanks to its natural beauty and the abundance of things to see and do in the area.

As with most places I visit for the first time, my first port of call is always the local information centre so I can get a grasp on what’s in and around town.

With an armful of brochures and a headful of facts and figures, I was ready to explore, but not before spending a bit of time in the museum out the back. Here the collection of memorabilia, photos and displays offer a good indication of what went on in the area from around 100 years ago to the present day.

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Pemberton is a quiet town where you can sample local boutique wines and beers, the pies and cakes are still handmade, and the few shops scattered about the place still have a country feel about them.

Keen to check out the rolling stock, I headed down the back of the town where the old restored rail station is, and I wandered around the steam engine, round turntable, diesel engines and huge low-loader crane, and finally the disused tram that once ran tourists along the line several years ago. The tram and trains don’t run anymore but it’s still pretty cool to wander around here.

Predominantly, the rail was built in 1926 through the forest to Northcliffe when the timber industry was booming, transporting goods to newly opened up farmlands and moving loads of timber out.

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For 50 years it was an important link, but it ran at heavy losses – it was only the timber industry that kept it alive… just, but from around 1961 things started going downhill with bridge fires, and buildings were sold and relocated, and by 1986 the last train had run the line.

Today a majority of the bridges, sheds and the station are either heritage listed or considered highly significant. A tourist tramway used to run part of the line but sadly this closed in February 2023.

One of the most popular things to do out of town is the signposted Karri Forest Explorer scenic drive that loops around many of Pemberton’s attractions. Surrounded by National Parks (don’t forget to buy a pass), there are plenty of timber-related points to go and find.

Fire lookout trees

In the early 1930s local forester Don Stewart came up with the idea of using the tallest karri trees in the surrounding forests to spot fires and give those on the ground a fighting chance when detected.

His mate Jack Watson scaled a claimed 40 trees to find the biggest in the area, and between 1937 to 1952 eight of these were selected for fire-tower use. Large steel pegs were hammered into the trunks of the trees to form ladders that curl their way to the top where small cabins were built.

Today, two of these trees can still be climbed, while another can be viewed, but decay at the base makes it unsafe to climb. Climbing these trees definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted; there are no safety harnesses and no grab rails, so it’s one step at a time both up and down.

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The most famous of these karri tree lookouts is the Gloucester Tree, which proudly stands 53m tall and has a metal platform at the top giving climbers views across the surrounding forest… after clambering up the 153 pegs to the top, that is!

The other karri tree that can still be climbed is the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree in Warren NP; it stands 65m tall and there are 182 steel pegs to the top.

The third remaining tree is called the Diamond Tree, but due to the aforementioned rot the fire lookout hut has been removed. There’s a replica hut nearby allowing visitors to see just how the lookout men would have spent their time.

4x4 trails and camping

Most of the trails surrounding Pemberton are relatively easy touring tracks but for those after something a bit more challenging the staff at the information centre told me about Heartbreak Trail in Warren NP.

Finding it was easy thanks to ample signposting and this 12km one-way track descends into the Warren River Valley.

Apparently the steep track was handcut to provide clear access for firefighters to the river, and the name of the track reflects the difficulties involved in its construction. To be honest, it isn’t very steep and low range wasn’t required to descend it, but it would certainly be more challenging in the wet, and it's not suitable for trailers.

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Down in the valley the Warren River comes close to the track at several points and there are two shady campsites to choose from.

Both Drafty’s and Warren camp offer river access which is perfect for launching a canoe in the dark tannin-stained water, and both have day-use areas with a basic drop dunny. As with a lot of national parks camps in the area, there’s no booking; it's first in best dressed, and pay at the self-registration stations at each camp.

Nearby is Brockman’s Sawpit which is believed to have been dug by convicts sometime around 1865 for the nearby homesteads. Remarkably, the pit was found in 1972 by forest workers complete with jarrah logs, sawn flitches, an axe and a saw.

Water play

No forest can survive without water and surrounding Pemberton I found a handful of places to enjoy watery sites.

Beedelup Falls is one of the area’s major attractions in winter, when the falls are in full flow over the rock shelf, but at other times throughout the year the flows are reduced significantly. There’s a viewing platform at the top, as well as a 600m loop walk along a boardwalk and suspension bridge that leads you down and across the bottom of the falls.

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There’s also Cascades, where the water can apparently transform from a gentle flow to a raging torrent after heavy rains. This too has a top viewing platform and a 1km loop track so you can view the rapids down the basalt rock.

Big Brook Dam, constructed in the 1920s, and was the original town’s water supply, can today be used for swimming and fishing. Some kayakers I spoke with at camp told me they frequently paddle down the Warren River, getting picked up much further downstream towards the ocean.

Coastal exploration

After a few days of wandering around Pemberton and its immediate surroundings, I headed 40km south into D’entrecasteaux National Park to check out the maze of sandy 4x4 tracks.

The park has 130km of coastline frontage and was named back in 1792 by a French Admiral who spotted a point jotting out from the coast. There are a few different ways to enter the park; I headed towards the coast along the Yeagarup Track.

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You’ll need a good map or GPS to navigate your way through the park, where interlooping tracks are seemingly everywhere. Apart from exploring the stunning coastline, there are plenty of lakes and rock formations to check out, while other activities here include fishing, finding old huts and chilling out at some of the best camping spots in the south.

While this area may not offer the hardcore offroad scene that some may want, it’s a stunningly beautiful place to stay, explore and relax over many days.

The options are many depending on what you want to see or do at and around Pemberton, and this is a place where time doesn’t seem to matter.

Top five things to do

1. Indulge in gourmet food and wine.
2. Climb the amazing fire lookout karri trees.
3. Descend Heartbreak Trail to the Warren River Valley.
4. Walk around Beedelup Falls and Cascades.
5. Explore D’entrecasteaux NP’s sandy 4x4 tracks.

Fast facts

Where is it?

Pemberton is roughly 300km south of Perth in what is called the heart of karri country. One of the most visited towns in WA’s south, Pemberton has a cool Mediterranean climate with rich earth allowing for a diversity of plants and animals.

What to see and do

Pemberton is a place where you can indulge in gourmet food and wine, camp in secluded and stunning forests, paddle the still waterways, or head south to the maze of sandy 4x4 tracks where you can fish off remote and isolated beaches.

For those not scared of heights you can climb several of the old fire-tower trees that offer fabulous views and an insight into the area’s history.

There are plenty of walking and mountain bike trails to explore, plus there’s the history of old Pemberton. The 1000km Bibbulmun walking and MTB track passes through Pemberton as well as the Munda Biddi Trail, which is a world-class off-road cycling track.

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Other info

Pemberton has an amazing visitor information centre where the staff are willing to share everything there is on offer in the area.

For a donation there’s also a museum out the back of the info centre to give you an insight into the area’s history before you head out into the wild to explore it for yourself.

The information centre can be found in Brockman St, Pemberton, or by calling (08) 9776 1133, or visit the website at www.pembertonvisitor.com.au

You’ll need to purchase a National Parks pass for each park you enter. If visiting a few parks, it might be worth investing in a WA parks pass that will give you day entry to most parks in the state.