South West Forests cover the area between the South Western Highway and the Vasse Highway, made up of huge 'Tall Trees' including Karri Trees, Jarrah Trees and Marri Trees.
It is a beautiful place to visit, and there are a number of places you can stay within the small Southern Forests towns. Unfortunately logging is still a danger for some parts of the forest, and the future as yet seems undecided.
Heading south through the South West Forests, you will get to Nannup, which is a pretty town featuring some interesting, historical buildings and a number of lovely craft shops.
The main street is Warren Road, where you will find a number of places to eat. If you are into canoeing then Nannup is the place for you, offering various trips along the Blackwood River. If you are feeling like a spot of adventure you could even follow the River all the way to the sea.
Continuing south you will get to Bridgetown which features more historic buildings including the lovely Bridgedale House, a mud and clay building built by Bridgetown's first settler. There are a number of local attractions around Bridgetown within the Blackwood River Valley.
These include the the flora in Boyup Brook, the beautiful glacial rock formations of Norlup Pool and the many Burrawangs and granite boulders. Bridgetown is also known for its November Blues at Bridgetown Festival, which is a really enjoyable music festival.
The centre of the South West Forests is at Manjimup which has a great Timber Park Complex in the town, well worth visiting. Around the town are some fabulous trees, including Diamond Tree where there is great lookout platform over the South West Forests, the Four Aces (four 300 year old Karri Trees) at One Tree Bridge.
From Manjimup you can head east to Perup where you may get the chance to see one of its six rare inhabitants, including the Chuditch, Numbat, Ringtail Possum, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Tamar Wallaby and Woylie.
Further south is Pemberton, featuring the beautiful Pemberton Pool set within the Karri Forests. The Karri Information Centre has an interesting museum, and a number of interesting displays. There are also a number of wonderful craft shops in Pemberton and a Trout Hatchery. A great trip to join from Pemberton is on the Pemberton Tramway, which takes you through the fabulous forests. It is a great way to see the area.
South from here is Northcliffe which hosts a good Pioneer Museum and a number of good walks. You can also continue to the coast and a small place called Windy Harbour. Windy Harbour, situated on 190 hectares of Crown reserve and known for worthwhile fishing, gives access to the D'Entrecasteaux National Park.
Within the South West Forests are a number of National Parks, which all offer something slightly different to the visitor. Beedelup National Park is around 100 years old after having regrown from being logged. The Gloucester National Park is home to the extremely high Gloucester Tree where you can climb the 60 metres to its lookout.
The Shannon National Park offers a fantastic and rather unique scenic drive, called the Great Forest Trees Drive. Along the way you can even get running commentary about the park, if you tune your radio to 100FM when the road signs tell you to. The Warren National Park is home to the tall Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree. All of the parks are worth visiting due to their natural beauty, and the magnificent flora and fauna that you will see.
South West Forests Accommodation
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