Road to Albany - Hot Spots in Central Southwest Oz

With the days running short, and the amount of time left to explore what we could of Western Australia, we decided to mark all the wonders of the north corner off our list, and concentrate instead on seeing as much of the south west tip as we could possibly manage in the time that we had.
So much there is to see and do in this area of Western Australia that unless you are on a year long working holiday - don't try to see all WA's sights in one go. I highly recommend you do as we did and choose a corner to explore to its full extent.

We got in the car (you will want to rent if you don't have access to one on your trip) and headed south towards Albany and the southern tip. We loaded the car to be equipped for all possibilities and decided to take our time and see what there was along the way.

Despite getting almost no mention at all in our Lonely Planet guide that was aimed especially at Western Australia for places to visit - some of the little towns and areas along the way were exceptionally beautiful and offered many unique and different sights for the trip.
Take the area of Donnybrook for instance - with its miles and miles of beautiful orchards to drive through. If you pass this way, be sure to get a bushel of local apples to enjoy for the rest of the trip.
And Bridgetown, the beautifully quaint and picturesque little town on the way south.

Between the apples and the cidery, the orchards, towns and simple beautiful scenery this is a wonderful drive to make. It’s true it's not got the stunning appeal of some of the coastal roads and beaches, or the big sights you get in Margaret River or Cape Naturaliste - but going inland in south west Western Australia is more than worth the effort.

We left out of the little coastal town of Bunbury at around 10 am - and driving at a cruisy pace with lots of stops for photos and enjoying the places along the way we arrived in Walpole at around 5 that evening. You do have to remember that it's Western Australia, and make sure you correctly judge the scale on the map for driving time - but this is not a hard or especially long drive to make. I recommend you do it slowly and stop everywhere that catches your eye in between.

Quick Tips:

Begin your trip in Bunbury as we did, if you can. Not only is this the most convenient way to map the trip south - but its a great little town to fill up on supplies and sight see briefly - or have a bit of breakfast before you head out. Though not a bit town (don't be deceived by how it appears in size on the map compared to the other much smaller towns...) it does have plenty of shopping to replenish any supplies that may need to be restored - and there is a wide selection of both local and fast food restaurants.
Next head south (gas up in Bunbury before you go - prices and availability range far and wide once you head south) through Boyanup towards Donnybrook - where you should stop if possible and enjoy the orchards.

If you don't have the time or inclination, however, head on south to the little river side town of Bridgetown which is an excellent place to stop for lunch. Check out both the Cidery and some of the little local restaurants.
After this you will want to drive straight through to make up on time, to get farther south to the amazing forests of Pemberton and Shannon National Park. If you have any interest in doing any camping while in Western Australia (and I highly recommend that you do) then this is the place to do it. All on the honour system and very well maintained, the parks come with cabins or camp sites and are a very nice place to stay. Do keep in mind however, that they are very remote and be sure you have all you need to stay the night. Especially bug spray - I found my time in Australia with miraculously little trouble from insects, except for my time in Shannon National Park, where there were biting insects in abundance.

From there continue south as you choose hitting Walpole, Denmark, or Albany.
Coming back along the coastal road towards Leewuin-Naturaliste National Park and beaches in a wonderful way to round off the trip.

Best Way To Get Around:

As I mentioned above, a car is a must for this trip. Public transport here is scarce at best (I don't actually remember seeing any at all) but does exists in the form of the Transwa bus service which runs daily services from Perth to some of the towns along the way towards Albany such as Bunbury, Dunsborough and Pemberton. However, what is easily the most appealing thing about this drive are all the little stops and unexpected places you find along the way, and some of the great little towns not on the stops above. Not to mention the cost for these trips averages at about -25au one way. I highly recommend that you get a car if at all possible.

If you are beginning at Perth, head south on the old coast road towards Bunbury. If beginning from Bunbury or Margaret River head west to the south west highway which runs through Donnybrook and down towards Bridge town, all the way through the southern forest of Shannon National Park and Pemberton and to the southern coast of Walpole, Denmark, and Albany.
Allow plenty of time for this drive - at least one day to make it with stops for pictures and enjoying the scenery. As with travelling anywhere in Western Australia its a good idea to carry plenty of water with you in the car as cars are likely to overheat - as well as needing drinking water. Though this isn't exactly a drive through the desert, there are some long stretches where you don’t' see any other signs of life for many miles, and even being there in April (fall in Australia) it was very, very hot in the middle of the day.

Just off the main South West Highway heading south from Donnybrook and Bunbury in the heart of the little timber town of Bridgetown Western Australia is the quaint Riverwood House.

On driving home from the far southern reaches of Albany we were desperate for something nice to eat. Though there are plenty of places to stop heading down around lunch time - we discovered to our dismay that on the return journey - lunch time comes and goes in the vast stretches of Shannon National Park and the restaurant-free areas around it. We drove as far as Manjimup with out seeing anything that resembled food, and after a quick spin through this rather depressing little town, we continued northward, no less hungry.

So it was with great delight that we spotted the little Australian style house sitting right next to the river off the main road, beckoning us into to satisfy our now ravenous hunger.

And it turned out to be an excellent stop - not just because we were so famished, but because The Riverwood House is one of the nicest little family run restaurants I enjoyed while in Western Australia.
We arrived rather late in the afternoon - it's quite a drive up from Albany - and so they were kind enough to serve us despite the fact that the lunch hour had passed. It’s a very nice little spot - with a beautiful view of the river and the big gum trees hanging lazily over the water. Though they didn't seem to have any dress code - it was very daintily fixed up inside, and I felt a bit awkward tramping into the beautiful converted house with my hiking boots still covered with grit from the Pemberton Forest, and my hair amiss from all the wind down at Green's Pool.
So I was more than a little pleased when the extremely friendly hostess offered us seating in the screened in porch around the back - allowing us to enjoy the perfect Australian weather and scenery with out any of the local insects spoiling our meal.

We sat and had coffees while we waited for our lunch - a simple and light meal which was more than adequate and beautifully prepared. The cost wasn't too expensive either (I noticed while there that finding cheap food just to fill you up isn't as easy to come by as it is in the UK, and in these towns sitting down for a lunch requires more than your pocket change.)
Still - it wasn't too pricey, the atmosphere and service were wonderful, and it set us up perfectly relaxed and filled for the rest of our drive home.

Like virtually every other sight seeing attraction in Western Australia - the Cidery is beautifully constructed, and extremely accessible. With local history, family roots, and a lot of pride in the place, the product and extreme Australian enthusiasm in sharing this with visitors to the area - the Cidery ranks very high on my list of places to visit while driving through central southwest Australia.

Located just outside of the town centre of Bridgetown - an area known and renowned for it's apples and cider, proud of what they proclaim as 'the unique taste of Bridgetown' this little stop is the perfect respite from a bit of driving through the hot Australian country side.

The building itself is small, and quaint, and beautifully kept in the old style of the original farmers that worked the area and proudly developed the apple growing region as it is today. There are apples growing on the trees outside which you are welcome to help yourself to - though I recommend you make sure they are in season. We picked a few while there in April and to our dismay had to toss them out the car window just a few minutes down the road.

You walk into a rustic room - darkened and cool from the Aussie afternoon sun to a welcoming 'bar tender' who soon offers you a tasting of the most beautiful and fresh apple ciders you are ever likely to taste.

At this point in my Australian adventure I had spent several weeks in the wine region of Margaret River, and was certain that my capacity for being impressed at local vineyards and refreshments had been satisfied - and went to the Cidery almost entirely for the desire to stop and sample something free of charge.

But - also like most other stops of this nature in Western Australia, I left with several bottles of cider - wishing I had more luggage space to bring them back to all my friends and family back home.

Even if you are not a huge fan of cider (either alcoholic or not) this is a definite stop to make. I have never tasted such pure juice as I did in their lightest apple ciders - not as interesting a flavour as some of their fuller varieties. An Irish couple sample with us, and left with a crate full of bottles, which I eyed jealously as they walked out the door.

The Cidery 'family' are all very involved in the local community, in helping to show beautiful Bridgetown for what it is, and helping to bring more and more events to the area. The staff were extremely helpful and full of information. They host functions and parties, if that is something you are interested in, and even serve food which you can enjoy indoors or out depending on your mood and the weather.

Despite how pleased I was about the aspect of taking off in the car through central south west Australia to see what there was to see, this offered a few small hiccups as well

This review highlights one of the down sides, in that occasionally you stumble upon something that you simply do not have the time to explore the way you would like to, and that was the case with Shannon National Park. When looking through our map and guide book we decided we would do most of our exploring of this park driving through it - as a large part of our drive south towards the southern coast and Albany ran right through this National Park. Two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately we didn't realize how great a park and area it was and we spent most of the drive that was suppose to be 'through' it stopping for photos or to wander around and wishing intensely that we had another week onto our trip just for this one place.

So I highly recommend that if you are in the region of Shannon National Park... allow a couple days at least to enjoy and explore it. The scenery in the park changes so drastically from the coastal regions to the west and the drier areas north, even the wine region of Margaret River is drastically different and suddenly only a few hours away you find yourself in an entirely new place well worth exploring.

The trees in Shannon National Park are a wonder. Mile after mile of towering karri trees in the most striking colours of red bark and deep green trees you have ever seen. This is a place you could easily spend a week if you have any inclination towards walking or hiking or just camping.
The park itself is 535 square kilometres, and you will spend a great deal of a drive down south heading through it. There are numerous walking trails to explore, and some great paths to the Shannon Dam which I lament we didn't have the time to do. And as with most Western Australian camp sites, the camping here is excellent, with very well laid out camping areas, extremely well maintained and all with honesty boxes where you pay the local fee (usually very reasonably in the region of $5-6 AU per person for the night) into the box when you arrive.

When we arrived at our campsite we were met by the care taker who very proudly spent half an hour talking about what all there was to do in the area and how to go about setting up camp. After spending far less time there than I would have liked, I had to add Shannon National Park to my long list of places in Western Australia that I wish I could have spent considerably more time at.

But if your short on time, do drive through, it's amazing.

The one strong running tie you will see amongst all of the little towns running south from Bunbury on the South Western Highway of Western Australia is the strong agricultural influence.

Passing through the apple loving area of Donnybrook you drive through miles and miles of beautifully lined apple orchards, along with fruits of many other varieties of which I highly recommend you stop and sample along the way.

The drive from Kirup to Greenbushes is filled with passing logging trucks, and that the thick wooden smell of wood chips and sawmills.

And this is no less true for the little classical town of Bridgetown. Located at a perfect 'middle of the trip' stopping point (and the last real place to get a good meal for a while, I might add) Bridgetown is quickly becoming quite a fashionable place on the map of Western Australia.

The place becomes crowded with locals and tourists alike in November when it hosts its very popular Blues Musical Festival which is held over three full days in various venues over town. (I was there in April and so didn't get to partake in this event, but I had more than one local around Western Australia highly recommend it to me, so you may want to take a look if you will be in the area at that time. For more information, visit their website at http://www.bluesatbridgetown.com/)

For me, Bridgetown was just about the nicest little town in Western Australia. Though still proud of their agricultural and lumbering roots which shows in all aspects of the area Many of the buildings still standing in Bridgetown are beautifully maintained and over a century old. Bridgetown doesn't give the impression of what it might have been like many years ago - it still maintains it, and does so beautifully.

But it is growing as well, and yet manages to keep its style and integrity perfectly intact. It's not a big town; you would drive right through the centre of it in a matter of minutes. But there are some excellent places to eat here (try the Riverwood House perched directly on the Blackwood River which runs alongside the town) and some good accommodation here as well.

Even if Bridgetown isn't your port of call - as it wasn't mine on this trip, I highly recommend you mark it on the map as a place to stop for a breather and to refuel (both yourselves and your car) as I mentioned before, the next stops along the South Western Highway are precarious at best.

April is a wonderful time to visit the area - still warm and beautifully sunny weather, but not scorching or unpleasantly hot. A wonderful little town.