Day 159 – Pemberton – Thierings on Tour

We said our goodbyes to the Douglass family and headed our separate ways. Our day consisted of going inland to check out some of the forest and nature spots.

Our first stop for the day was Pemberton, a quaint old tree mill town surrounded by forests, with a proud history of dedicated people.

As we waited for our turn to go on the train we checked out the local ANZAC memorial, canon and of course – the playground! We should call this the playground lap, we seem to be spending the most time at playgrounds every day…

At lunchtime we headed to Pemberton train station to get on a very old train to take us into the forest and to the cascades. It was a timber train with open windows and lots to see.

Our driver Adam shared about the history of the area and the Mill that operated from 1913 to 2016 producing sleepers for the Trans-Australian Railway, by 1939 making it the largest mill in Australia.

The forest had huge trees surrounding the train tracks and it was easy to see how some of the Karri trees grow to 90m. As it turns out, they first grow up and once they grow to their full length they will start to grow out.

When we got to the cascades we got to walk around and enjoy some of the beautiful sights of the area. A firm favourite was the hugging tree, which the girls replicated with their sister trio.

Then back on the train we headed back to town and enjoyed our favourite staple – hot roast chicken wraps out of the back of the car.

There was a quick stop at Diamond Tree – a huge tree used to survey the area for bushfires and other dangers. You used to be able to climb these until recently (not that I ever would!) but it is now boarded up and just stands there to show off a slice of history and the incredible natural wonder that it is.

We still had a bit further to go for the night, a town called Manjimup which claims to have the tallest slide in the Southern Hemisphere with the starting platform being 17m high. Now that’s seriously tall!

Chris for a tyre leak plugged and we all had a great time at the infamous playground which definitely lived up to its claim to fame. The slide was tall, it was a bit daunting climbing up the tower, but it was super fun and the whole family enjoyed a turn going down it… but even the rest of the park had so much fun stuff on offer.