Well the year has well and truly started, with the end of summer looming and the evenings becoming a little cooler and much more bearable! With this change in weather, the number of events occurring in the region seems to have increased exponentially, creating many reasons to stay and play just a little longer... WA Great Graze - March 1st - 31st why not see what we are doing! Celebrating the best tastes of the West with a festival of food. In Western Australia we’ve got some of the best food and beverages in the world. This March, we’re inviting you to celebrate every single taste from wherever you are in the State with a program of grazing offerings. Welcome to WA’s Great Graze — a celebration of the incredible local tastes and farmers of WA. Warren District Agricultural Show - Rhea Park in Manjimup - March 18th - Side Show Alley 🎆 Fireworks 🎆 Ranger Red Zoo 🎆 Beat the Keeper 🎆 Lazer Tag 11.00am-4.00pm 🎆 RAC Helicopter 🎆 Old McDonalds Travelling Farm Fairground 🎆 Productions Emergency Services Zone 🎆 Lots of food vans, stalls 🎆 🎆 Lions train 🎆 Chickens, Cattle, Horses and Goats 🐐 And loads more! Visit https://www.warrenagsociety.com.au/ for further details! Mid-Summer Souiree - March 4th - Join Amersand Estates for a magical Gala dinner, Co-hosted by Brendan Owens, Executive Chef at Rockpool Bar & Grill, and Vasse Felix Head Chef, Brendan Pratt. Indulge in a five-course degustation dinner showcasing the finest ingredients from the Southern Forests around the world. Each course paired with one of our new release wines, Rainfall Distillery spirits and cocktails. $295pp Dont miss out | Book your tickets here🍷 Nannup Music Festival - March 3rd & 4th - an eclectic mix of acts over the first weekend of March each year, set to the stunning bush backdrop of Australia's South West and the small town atmosphere of Nannup. The festival highlights the best in new, emerging and Indigenous music over free and ticketed venues, presents the Nannup Emerging Artists and Director's Awards and offers workshops, talks, poetry, camping, kids activities, food and artisan markets. Karri Valley Triathalon - The swim in the beautiful fresh waters of Lake Beedelup, cycle route through the winding country roads and running through the karri forest and taking in the nature around you is the perfect way to finish the race. This year is the 20th anniversary event, again held at RAC Karri Valley Resort, over the Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th March, and hosted by Stadium Triathlon Club. Volunteers are welcome! Targa South West Rally - held on 18 March and will compete on closed road special stages in and around Pemberton township. The Targa South West Rallysprint is a unique Motorsport event that brings all the action to you. Unlike traditional motorsport, where you have to go to a race track to watch, competitors in the Make Smoking History Targa South West come to Pemberton to compete on the roads in and around the towns. The Shire of Manjimup welcomes the Make Smoking History Targa South West Rallysprint to the Southern Forests region of Western Australia! HELPERS WELCOME - VOLUNTEER FOR THIS EVENT HERE! The Stars Descend: The Stars Descend story unfolds over five regional locations from 17 March – 1 April, 2023 and is a vast trail of contemporary dance performances, aimed at transforming how people see and care for our country. Inspired by eco-restoration efforts across the Gondwana Link, it will showcase the importance of climate action and restoring health to the land and convey hope to audiences. Chapter 2 of The Stars Descend, is in Northcliffe located in Pibbulmun country on Sunday March 19th. The stars have travelled from Margaret River via tendrils of cool fire. In this performance, created by Australian dance legend, Chrissie Parrott AO, the stars appear inside the exquisite orchids that emerge after fire. A sensual feast, this chapter is underscored by the evocative sounds of musician Dave Mann and the fire inspired design of celebrated Northcliffe artist, Peter Hill. Audiences must catch special buses to access the performance to be held on a private property. Buses depart Brockman Street, Pemberton at 2.15pm and Northcliffe Visitor Centre at 3pm. Performance commences at 4.15pm and is followed by a community celebration hosted by Southern Forest Arts Book your tickets here. Performances will take place in spectacular outdoor settings to celebrate the rich biodiversity and ongoing restoration along the Gondwana Link’s 1000 kilometre ecological pathway. We’re using stars as a powerful symbol of hope, agency, and action. Stars represent ideas of deep time and the interconnectedness of people and the natural world. Pemberley Sculpture in the Vines - this stunning and famous exhibition returns for 2023, running from 21st to 30th of April, open daily from 11am - 4pm. The official opening of the exhibition will take place on Saturday 22nd of April (invite only). Located on the stunning gardens of Pemberley of Pemberton with wine to die for - add a visit here to your calendar. Visit https://www.pemberleyofpemberton.com/sculpture-in-the-vines for more info. Pinot Picnic - 28-30th April why don't you see what we are doing! Pinot Picnic is a three-day celebration of extraordinary events showcasing premium local Pinot and produce across Manjimup and Pemberton, Western Australia returning for its second year. Wine and dine your way through the stunning Southern Forests & Valleys with a variety of pop-up pinot themed events. ​ Foodies, wine-lovers and romantics will have the chance to sip, taste and explore this stunning corner of Western Australia across the three-day celebration, falling over the last weekend in April, with sparkling soirées, tasting masterclasses, vineyard experiences and wine-matching brunches, lunches and dinners. ​ Southern Forests & Valleys is Australia’s most exciting emerging wine region and the leading Pinot region in WA, known for quality, expressive wines. Combining southern latitude with high altitude and a relatively cool climate, the region is ideal for producing boutique, artisanal gourmet produce and wines that are favourites among the world's top chefs and foodies. ​ Raise a glass - it's the season for Pinot! Truffle Kerfuffle - YES IT IS ON!! Every weekend - something is on! Check out Gatsby's Skyline in Manjimup. Gatsbys Skyline is a glamorous space, artistically designed to showcase original Australian performances and live acts. They are dedicated to providing a safe, elegant and glamorous Cabaret Style Lounge in which you can be entertained, dance and watch some of the best music bands, comedy, circus, burlesque and other live entertainment on offer today. It is truly memorable and fantastic. Visit their website or follow them on facebook for more information (and to book) their events!

It’s that time of the year once again - and we have a few requests for gift vouchers as a last minute gift for family and friends. These make gift giving easy - we can package a tour with accommodation or just provide a value to go towards tours or camping adventures with us. For accommodation - send me an email with the names and value and I’ll send you through the completed gift voucher to print your end. For tours - Click Here - use your name for the booking but add your recipients as the guests names (you can also include some info about them in the about sectjon.) Just select ‘gift card’ when you book online - choose the tour you wish to gift and instead of date select ‘gift card’. The gift card will then be emailed to you. Thank you so much for thinking of us and we look forward to spoiling your loved ones this Christmas (or any other special occasion). Graeme and Toni

November saw our annual cleanup of our coastline in a partnership with Trackcare WA and Pemberton Discovery Tours. We do it with the support of Tangaroa Blue, Keep Australia Beautiful Council, Shire Of Manjimup and our local parks and wildlife DBCA. 2022 saw 32 people head out to the coast and clean up the beaches and tracks along the way. Over 1.5 tons of rubbish was collected last weekend. This included a large amount of rope washed in from boats, this was quickly claimed and will be re-purposed for arts and crafts in the region. We would like to thank all of the participants whom ventured down from the city to visit our region and take part in cleaning up. Local businesses who donated items for the participants and the organisations whom are so grateful for the data we collect. Would you like to join us next year? It’s usually the second weekend in November. Check out our link for booking here: https://pembertondiscoverytours.rezdy.com/516113/tangaroa-blue-yeagarup-beach-cleanup-with-trackcarewa

It’s hard to imagine 15 years ago we chose to purchase this land and plant trees… With fantastic rains this year we have also seen numerous grasses grow and bugs return to the soil. The trees we selected, and that have been most successful are salt tolerant species and of local providence and although we have had some tree deaths, the survivors are now flowering and fruiting. Providing habitat to birds, lizards, bugs and other creatures. Even the dead trees are doing their part in improving the carbon content of the soil and ground cover. It is exciting to see the changes we have made to the landscape by planting the right type of plant. Our future plans do include ripping and mounding as most of our successful species are growing in our sample mounds. We do have some special favourites and it’s always nice to see them thriving in this climate. We are appreciative of everyone who joins us on our adventures - it enables us to give back in this unique way. Thank you 😊

We love our track transfers - so to try and make it easy to organise we have listed the stages to book below. ◦ Contact us via email info(at)pembertondiscoverytours.com.au or sms 0427133335 to confirm availability and price. ◦ Once confirmed please jump onto our booking page and book in the day and preferred time. https://pembertondiscoverytours.rezdy.com/163134/bibbulmun-track-drop-off-munda-biddi-transfer-service ◦ Pop any details into the ‘special requirements’ section - if you are looking at booking multiple days you can include it here and we can adjust your booking to suit. ◦ Click on pay by Invoice as payment as the pricing will be incorrect. You are welcome to pay by card or cash on the day. ◦ We have an additional form which includes emergency contact information. You can include this information in a further email or in the ‘special requirements’ section online. ◦ We ask Track Transfer guests to please contact us the day prior to their walk date to confirm the transfer time and location and most importantly to ensure our services are still required. Thanks again for choosing us for your walk. We look forward to receiving your booking soon and will send through confirmation asap. Kind regards Toni

Join us this Sunday 14th November on our Annual Beach Clean up with members of #TrackcareWA Volunteers are able to register here : also make sure you register with Graeme and Toni on 0427133335 (SMS is fine :) Our annual beach clean up is held here in Pemberton over the 13-14th November with the fantastic team from Trackcare WA joining us to scour our beaches and pick up rubbish. Volunteers are welcome to join us this year on the Sunday morning - contact Toni on Facebook or sms 0427133335. We have been cleaning the Yeagarup side with Trackcare for many years – Traditionally we find a lot of commercial boat rubbish, toilet duck and brushes, long lengths of rope and broken fishing pots. With the 10c can collection available it makes it easy to recycle cans and bottles – and there should be no excuse for littering as our local schools and Sportsclub are fundraising using these 10c cans and bottles campers consume. A massive thank you once to Grant from Trackcare WA for organising the Volunteers from Trackcare to head to Pemberton, Parks and Wildlife for their assistance with trailer hire, signage and park entry, Tangaroa Blue Ocean Care Society for their data collection, Keep Australia Beautiful Council for organising the insurance waivers that make this all possible and the Shire of Manjimup for use of the rubbish tip for counting and dumping. Its on again so if anyone wishes to join us on a ‘free tour’ just let us know!

The Covid virus has been detrimental for our ecotours, we are really missing our interstate and overseas markets. We are just so lucky to have such a diverse business that keeps us going! With the cold wet weather seriously depleting our vitamin D levels, Graeme and I took 10 days to rediscover why we love what we do and where we do it! We fell in love with this map - save it to your Home Screen! It’s brilliant. We left on the 26th July, the day of one of the worst storms so far this year. The drive to Eneabba was blustery but manageable and our first stop was one of our ‘Meet the Charactors’ locations - Western Flora Caravan Park where our accommodation was a donga - it bought back memories of our first shared accommodation some 26 years in Leonora 😂. Clean and quaint - I did manage to catch a glimpse of a very docile ’Western Spotted Frog’ - my first one! The next day we walked to the swamp - full of water, a very cool bird hide and surrounded by a flock of very noisy corellas. We’ll be back to explore more another time! Our next stop was Carnarvon, a chance to explore the space museum, resupply and catch up with family before heading bush. I’ve been to Peedamulla before, a few times! Graeme hadn’t so it was fabulous to get out with Caroline as she showed us through her backyard. Peedamulla Campground is one of TourismWA’s camping with custodians camps - beautiful small campground in the middle of a working cattle station. You can check it out and book online here. You can see our little camp in the far right corner - we were pretty happy here! We decided to go 'off road' from the normal route to our next destination - so a detour via Pannawonica to Millstream Chichester National Park was the perfect lunch time adventure. We will definitely come back for a swim and a stay another time - because we had booked in for Karijini! I think I need to write another complete story about our experience at Karijini - it is a very special place which took us out of our 'comfort zone' and into a world away from our normal lives (which is usually incredible). The Karijini Eco Resort was a beautiful escape, our camp was nestled amongst the woodlands with privacy and the facilities were comprehensive and fabulous. We spoilt ourselves with a beautiful meal at the restaurant one night and were lucky enough to catch up with fellow tour operators from the South West for a relaxing fun filled evening. Jaffre's Gorge, Dales Gorge, Hancock Gorge were just some of the places we visited over our three days - great walks, busy but not too bad, we had places to ourselves wherever we journeyed - we also did our best to spend money at Tom Price; more specifically at the tyre shop as we did a good job puncturing one of our new tyres :) There were a few closures of some of the gorges so we have a very good reason to return. We were reluctant to leave and journeyed south inland watching the changing landscapes. The first red kangaroo we saw was opposite our first wedge-tailed eagle sighting just north of Meekatharra - both animals notably absent on our entire journey until that point. The lack of both kangaroo's and wedgies; usually a common sight along the highways caused us much discussion, is it due to more traffic, drought, feral species - or something more sinister... Our last night was a free camp just north of Meekatharra - and we thought it pretty amazing, as we set up camp, to see a Wedge-tail eagle fly up to a tree next to us to check us out before flying into the sunset. So that's a brief, little journey into our quick and beautiful holiday - The best things about holidays is realising that its pretty special to return home and appreciate our comfortable bed, our dogs, our beautiful home, business and community. We are so fortunate to be blessed with it all.

We have seen a number of Western Australian’s take advantage of exploring their own home state - it’s been absolutely amazing! With the #wanderoutyonder vouchers and #adventureawaits - it’s a fabulous time to see what is in your own backyard, learn a bit about our natural environment and realise just how good our state is as a tourist attraction. Pemberton and the Southern Forests and Valleys is certainly showing it’s colours at the moment and with fields of green it’s a special place to visit! Currently we have some wonderful displays of wildflowers - they will last until early November. Its a beautiful time to visit. Our doitinwa promocode is still available for direct bookings - or visit the Pemberton Visitors Centre for using your Wander out yonder vouchers. Graeme and I look forward to seeing you soon 🥰 Toni

Ok, these are anyone’s Anzacs - I just call them Dad’s as traditionally he makes them for us. Made with love and as he has been doing them for so long (a good 20 odd years) I think he is a bit of an expert! ingredients - this is the stuff you need to buy - I’ve put the values next the ingredients as you may have enough in your cupboard. Step one Turn oven on 180’C to heat. line 2 oven trays with non stick baking paper. Step two grab out of the cupboard: Plain flour - 1 cup Sugar (I like raw as it gives more crunch - but if you like a more toffee flavour use brown sugar) - 1/2 cup (you are supposed to put 1 cup in but I prefer them less sweet) Rolled oats - note you can use the quick oats but they don’t give the biscuit its texture and they turn out a bit muesli bar-ish. 1 cup Coconut (desiccated) - 3/4 cup These ingredients can be mixed together - you are supposed to sieve the flour but I’ve found if you lift as you mix together you get the same result. create a well / hole in the centre and wait for the next step. Step three In a pot add 2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup 125g butter and bring to the boil (turn off just beforehand) Mix 1/2 teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda in 1 tablespoon water and add to the hot mix. after the bubbles settle, add this hot mix to the dry mix and stir together - note less is more to keep the air in the mix. once combined, make sure your hands are really clean, take off rings or wear gloves. Make small balls - around golf ball size and place on an oven tray, squish. Leave a bit of room around the outside for them to spread. Step four Bake in the oven for around 12min. Leave to cool on the tray before storing them. Hide them from the kids.🤗 These biscuits and varieties like these have been around for a long time. They have a history of a mother’s love for her child - where they were packaged up and sent to our Anzacs Soldiers during the second world war. I like to see the same thing happening here - thanks Dad for making the best Anzac’s for your Daughter and SIL’s customers. I love you too. xx

Here in Australia's South West corner is the remnant rainforest of a bygone era. The Warren National Park is located in the heart of Karri Country and is a beautiful example of the Southern Forests and rivers. Travelling through the forests on his adventures, our tour guide Graeme Dearle offers a small intimate experience of what he has missed the most during this period of lockdown. We hope this little video, filmed and produced by our 17 year old son, Kieran, gives you an insight into why we are still here operating, and why we want you to visit this special, beautiful area. We are now allowed to operate with 10 people, and soon will be back up to capacity. However the wariness is still here. We have changed and updated our website to show our commitment to our customers and our community. We hope you can join us soon and encourage everyone to book direct if possible. It keeps the money in our regions and within our communities.

Life has changed for us here in the Southwest of Western Australia. Gone are the days of reactive bookings and face to face tours. Life has paused and it although it is weird, there is a certain peacefulness we have not felt in a while. Its been 20 Years of running a tour business, at the moment the kids are both home; one working, the other in year 12 and we are all enjoying a pause and break in reality to get to know each other again. Graeme and Kieran have filmed a series of short movies we will release as time goes on. Whether this encourages potential visitors back to our region, we don't know. But we do know it gives us great pride and love in sharing this region with people who are not in as fortunate position as us; with people planning their next holiday, previous guests on tours or who have stayed with us either camping or at the lodge. Is this virus the end of tourism as we know it? How will it change your travels? How will it change your purchasing? I know friends of ours who were considering some overseas travel holidays are now changing their plans to slow down and explore places closer to home. Our town is very small, a population of less than 1000, and we know that this virus will only bring us closer together. Townsfolk have allocated a street to assist residents who are self isolating, shopping for people they only knew by a wave a week or two ago, knitting us even tighter together. After this is all over, the result will definitely be an impressively proud and strong community. I read blogs and friends from around the world. Their situations are more frightening than ours, living in apartments with neighbours next door through paper thin walls; however the strength and beauty of everyone pausing for this time shows up in the tentative smile, the hesitant wave when they meet - all new experiences to traditionally busy people who have been asked to isolate to protect their neighbours, families and friends. Our Pemberton Lodge is now home to a group of 8 backpackers from France who are doing their 88 day stay here in Australia and are now stranded, we are not sure what work is around for them; but they are safe, well and very comfortable. There are also a number of chalets locally who have created safe places for travellers to stay and there are still rooms available at traditional lodging houses. There is not a lot of work though as local opportunities dry up over winter before the spring jobs start. This virus has certainly strengthened ties between ourselves, the backpacker community and more specifically these kids, who knows where this may lead. Stay safe and well, we hope you enjoy the video and look forward to seeing you once again. Graeme, Toni & Boys xxx

A year ago, when you were dreaming and planning your holiday, would you have imagined the scenarios that we see now with schools closing, borders closing and family becoming the most important thing on the planet. Staying safe and protecting your loved ones is important, it goes both ways so we are encouraging everyone who has booked to check in with us to make sure they are still ok to travel. We have 20% off our private tour rates available for guests should they wish to join us privately on our Beach & Forests Eco Tour - this means that they, plus our guide, will be the only people onboard the vehicle. It may not be for everyone, however is an option so contact us direct to confirm availability and use promo code 2020 when you book online. We encourage guests to wash and sterilise their hands, there is soap at the toilet stops and we do carry additional hand sanitiser for times we are eating together. We have packed additional cutlery and wash all our cups, plates and containers in a dishwasher above 60’. Our vehicles are disinfected before and after each tour and all care and consideration is taken to make sure we have done our due diligence to protect you and your family from any possible infection. The areas we travel through are pristine National Park, it’s quiet, peaceful and beautiful. All perfect reasons for travelling. 🌳 Please note, if you do decide to join us and find yourself sick after or during your holiday, please letting us know so we can help stop the spread.