Shannon's Campground & the Pemberton & Manjimup Areas

We left Contos camp on the 20th of November 2014. It was now time to start heading back east exploring the south of WA as we went. There were a few camping options around Pemberton that looked okay. First up we tried the parks & wildlife camps at Grass Tree Hollow & Snotty Gobble Loop, both set amongst the forest. Both had no sites suitable for us & most were tent based sites, it really make us wonder why they set them up like this & exclude a lot of paying costumers & most numerous campers in camper trailers & caravans. So we head further in towards Pemberton towards a camp called the Aboretum. Again we were disappointed. This time there was plenty of room, but they had been working on the roads & with all the rain most of the area was a muddy mess & with more rain forecast it didn't look fun. Great 3 ruled out. The other option was one called Shannon's so we headed over that way. This was better, with about 30 sites, a lot weren't suitable for us with the solar panels & the rainy weather but we managed to find an open site & set up.  The rain continued & didn't really let up for the 3 nights we stayed here. The bonus of the campground is that it did have hot showers, yeah, they were heated by a wood chip heater, but really good. The cost was $10 per person per night. 

The next day we went across to the small town Northcliffe for a loaf of bread & then headed out to Windy Harbour. What a beautiful spot, but of course it did live up to its name & was blowing a gale. There is nothing really out there except a caravan park & heaps of fishing & holiday houses. We explored the town & boat ramp & beach while it wasn't raining to much. 

Windy harbour 

We then headed out to Point D'Entrecasteaux, again I wish the weather was better to really show you the magic of this place, there are various lookouts & walking tracks to explore. Definitely a must see spot on the south coast. 

Point D'Entrecasteaux

It was then back to camp, the weather held out for us & we managed to get the fire going & cook up some corned beef for dinner. 

Recipe coming soon

The next day the weather was even gloomier. So we went for a drive in to Manjimup, we were surprise to find a big town with both a Woolies & Coles. We grabbed a few supplies & some diesel. We also had to find a camping shop. I am sure it comes as no surprise to our family to hear Mat needed a new chair. He is a notorious chair wrecker! We are very surprised the Roman king canvas chairs we bought lasted this long, getting used every day for 9 months, but one final gave up. We would definitely buy another one, but of course we couldn't get one, so we will see how at Oztrail Titan chair goes this time. 

We then headed into towards Pemberton for a look, on the way we found another brewery at lunch time, so I guess it was fate. We had a lovely lunch platter overlooking a dam & vineyard, with some fresh Marron. Can't say they tasted any different to normal old yabbies to me, but they sell for extraordinary amounts over here, we have seen $85 a kilo. Might have to start a Marron farm. 

After that we headed into Pemberton itself & went past about 200 bikies at the local pub. It was a very picturesque town amongst the rolling hills. On the way home we called in at the Big Brook dam, the Boorara tree a huge tree that used to be used for fire spotting. 

Big Brook dam

Would of been an interesting climb to the top

We were going to do the walk to Lane Pool falls, but again it started raining. We took the Great a Forest Drive home to camp, meandering through the forests, although I have to say it is probably time to get out of the forests & find some new adventure. That night the rain held off again until during the night & we cooked up some warming lamb shanks for dinner. It has to stop raining & get warmer soon.......