Southern Forests

Switch off your phone and swap city streets for light-dappled forest floors, lush woodland tracks and canopy walkways. As day turns into evening, the sound of babbling streams and leaves crunching underfoot gives way to crackling campfires and tales of bushland adventures on this five day frolic looping just over 1,000 kilometres. From Perth, tranquil Dwellingup is your first stop, and its right in the heart of tall-tree country. Feel utterly dwarfed by nature's giants as a section of the Bibbulmun Track winds its way through ancient jarrah and marri forests towards Balingup's Golden Valley Tree Park – the largest arboretum in Western Australia. Or jump on a bike and enjoy the invigorating scent of eucalyptus as you pedal the Munda Biddi Trail. In Manjimup, highly trained truffle dogs forage for prized black truffles, one of the many delicacies and surprises you’ll find hiding among the orchards and bushland. Pause in Pemberton, the forest giving way to vineyards, inviting you to toast the region’s fragrant, wines. Brave souls can scale the 58 metre high Gloucester Tree for a bird’s-eye view of magnificent beauty. At the Valley of the Giants, near Walpole, wander among a canopy of tingle trees, hundreds of years old. Ancient granite goliaths await amid a carpet of fragrant wildflowers (from September to November) at Porongurup National Park near Denmark, where the dramatic scenery continues as rugged forests merge with wild coastline. At dusk, a magical torch-lit guided walk through Barna Mia bushland, just outside Narrogin, reveals elusive Australian wildlife, including spiny echidnas, bilbies and wallabies. Nearby, the Wheatbelt’s Dryandra woodland reverberates with native birdsong, from whistling Carnaby’s cockatoos to the distinctive hum of tawny frogmouth owls. The Gloucester Tree climb is currently closed over the winter months for maintenance. For the latest information on opening please visit the Parks and Wildlife Service website: www.exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/site/gloucester-tree.