Manjimup Cherry Festival- a day full of fun, food and great entertainment

Manjimup Cherry Festival & Big Brook Arboretum

Friday 9th- Sunday 11th December

We were lucky enough to be in the area for the annual Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival. The day was even better that we expected and we all had a great time. Highlights of the day included:

- The Grand Parade - it began with vintage cars and hot rods then moved to tractors and trucks and before we knew it semi-trailers (from the local farms) were rolling down the narrow, spectator lined street. It was a sight to see.

- Market Stalls - we all enjoyed browsing at the market stalls. Emilia and I picked up some cute earrings and we got lots of fresh produce.

- 'Fingers' aka Mitchell Cullen - this extremely talented musician plays the guitar, banjo, drums, didgeridoo and maracas...and also sings. He also does all his sound adjustments - with his foot. The music was great, and we were gobsmacked by his incredible talent on all the instruments. 

-Head over Heels circus - two street performers entertained us with their circus like antics and we all had a good laugh.

- The Woodchopping - we watched a few of the competitions, including the final. Jackson absolutely loved it and spent quite a bit of the day watching how fast the men could chop a huge piece of red gum in half.

- The blow-up climbing wall - the kids enjoyed the challenge of the the blow up climbing wall, and Jackson was the only child that day to complete all 6 levels in a row. He was dripping sweat by the end!

- The cherries - after chatting with one of the organisers of the festival, he asked the kids to come with him for a moment. When they returned they were holding a box of cherries that he'd given them as a gift. We were so grateful, especially when we tasted the cherries - they were amazing. 

We stayed just out of Manjimup at the Big Brook Arboretum, underneath all the big trees this area is famous for. It was a lovely camp area and we all enjoyed our time in the 'forest'. 

A large timber truck rolling down Main St during the Grand Parade (Jackson was watching it scrape along the tree near us).

Miss Cherry Blossom - the festival's mascot. She took a liking to us and chatted with us several times over the day.

Some of the dancers from the festival, and behind them are the people from the Torres Strait Islands that the government brought over to help with the cherry picking. The organisers said that if it wasn't for their help many of the farms would have struggled to get their fruit picked.

Head over Heels performers - they were very entertaining and we had front row seats.

Jackson was a superstar on the blow-up climbing wall - his arms certainly got a workout!

Pretty impressive how quick they can split the logs.

Fingers- Mitchell Cullen

We were so lucky to see him live (and literally a few metres in front of us). He is such an incredible musician. 

Just strumming the guitar.....whilst shaking maracas, hitting a drum with his left foot, playing the didgeridoo and doing his own sound adjustments with his right foot!!
Check out the videos below - apologies for the terrible camera work, kids kept walking in front of me.

The CHERRIES - delicious.

What is it about joined cherries that make us need to hang them on our ears??

One of the big old trees near our camp.

Jackson used all the fallen down branches around camp to build a cubby, he was very persistent as it fell down a few times! He was very proud of the end result.

Tearing down the tracks at Wellington National Park

Wellington Dam, Wellington National Park

Saturday 3^rd – Wednesday 7^th December

After a night at a great free camp in Burekup, where the kids enjoyed the local skate park and playground, we headed into Wellington National Park. The camp at Potter’s Gorge was right next to Wellington Dam and we even had water views from our site. Over the 3 nights we stayed there:

• -          We walked (the kids rode) to the dam wall and marvelled at the amazing mural painted on it.
• -          The kids enjoyed the pump track near our camp. Daniel also had several turns, teaching the kids a few of his tricks.
• -          We did a 4WD track along the Collie River and checked out a few of the swimming holes along the river (the water was icy though so we decided not to swim).
• -          Enjoyed several of the mountain bike trails – the kids rode them and Daniel and I walked, then Daniel took Jackson on some of the more adventurous tracks.
• -          Swam in the dam- the water was actually a nice temperature, it was just a bit cold when you got out as there was a cool wind.
• -          Laughed at the confidence and forwardness of the resident parrots – every time you tried to eat, they were there. They sat right next to you, looking in anticipation at your food. I was eating chips reading my book one afternoon and one jumped onto my foot and was staring right at me like it expected me to share!
• -          Enjoyed the lovely campsite and the fact we could have fires- it was so nice to sit around a campfire, especially as the nights got quite cool.

The kids had a ball on the many mountain bike tracks in Wellington NP.

After all the bike riding they chilled out with some Xmas craft.

The very impressive mural on the Wellington Dam wall- it depicts photos of life in the local area.

A stop on the 4wd track we did - a lovely area on the Collie River.

Ready for a swim - the wind was icy so we were not very keen, however the water was surprisingly warm.

The resident Australian Ringneck Parrots (also known as the 28 parrot as apparently it sounds like they are saying 28 when they are squawking as they fly) were very friendly, especially if you had any food.

I was trying to work when this one came to see what I was up to.

Then his two mates joined!

Bold as brass!!

Daniel had a few spectators when he was eating chips straight out of the packet - as soon as the rustling started they flew in from every direction.

This one was checking out the bbq plate!!

Windy Harbour (via Boyup Brook)

Wednesday 7^th – Friday 9^th November

After Wellington Dam we headed towards a campsite in the Warren NP, near some of the giant climbing trees in this area. We stopped off at Boyup Brook on the way and did the sculpture trail, we even got to meet one of the local artists who’d done many of the sculptures – Sandy was 96 and was there with a brush, cleaning the dust of his sand sculpture- great timing by us! After Boyup we stopped in Manjimup for lunch and the kids enjoyed the adventure playground (and the huge slide) before we made our way to one of the Karri forests this area is so famous for. We decided to ignore the sign that said no caravans allowed and head down anyway, but when we got to the camp area the camp host quickly stopped us and kindly explained that we were too big to camp here (technically we were not even allowed on the road with our caravan – whoops!).

On the way out we stopped at the Bicentennial Tree (which is currently the only one of the 3 climbing trees in SW WA that you can actually climb – the other two have been decommissioned awaiting engineering reports, safety assessments and repairs). At over 70m high it is an impressive tree. Daniel and I climbed it last time we were here, with Crello (while Bec kindly looked after the kids). This time the kids wanted to have a go. We got to the first platform (20m high) and both Daniel and I were feeling anxious about the kids climbing any further. We all decided that it had been enough of a challenge to climb this far, so we enjoyed the view, got few selfies then headed back down.

We then drove to Windy Harbour, a tiny beachside fishing village. It was horribly windy when we arrived (hence the name) and the beach was covered in piles of stinky seaweed so we felt quite disappointed. Thankfully when we woke up the next morning it was a beautiful day and we discovered a pristine beach just around the corner. Jackson and Daniel had a bit of a fish (no luck) and Emilia and I went for a lovely walk along the picturesque coast line. In the afternoon we went exploring the national park that surrounds the town. D’Entrecasteaux National Park stretches along this stunning piece of coastline, with huge towering cliffs, white sandy beaches (except for the one at Windy Harbour that gets full of seaweed this time every year) and huge boulders piled along parts of the shore line. Just in from the beach, there are coastal wildflowers, kangaroos and lots of birds. We visited a few of the beaches and lookouts, then I did a short coastal walk to the lighthouse and the others picked me up. That evening we walked around the village and marvelled at the size of some of the kangaroos that were feeding on the grass. The males were huge and rose up to their full size when we approached. We also spotted a very interesting female kangaroo. She had 3 stripes of pure white fur on her forehead, it looked like she had been branded but we assume it was natural. The kangaroos descended on the camp site in the evening and it was quite a treat to watch them up close.

One of the holograms at Boyup Brook, when you walked in a semi-circle around it, the eyes followed you and the body and head seemed to pop out and become 3D.

The incredible sand sculptures (with the artist who created them). Sandy is now 96 years old but still looks after his work. He has a cheeky grin on his face as he just told us he would be more than happy to move behind the sculpture for the photo, as he'd sculptured a reclining nude back there!!!

One of the other sculptures on the art trail we did at Boyup Brook.

One of the huge trees in Warren NP had fallen and had actually jumped over the road on its way down (this was on the road we were not meant to be driving on with the caravan).

Beginning the climb up the Bicentennial Tree.

There's a long way to go!

At 20 metres high- we decided to stop here.

It was still pretty high up.

The coast near Windy Harbour (this was Cathedral Rock)

Trying his luck at Salmon Beach.

The beaches and cliffs were impressive.

The Giants of Mandurah

Mandurah, WA

Saturday 26th November - Saturday 3rd December

We had a great week in and around Mandurah, especially catching up with Nathan, Bec, Steph, Ashleigh and Nikki (who we'd met and stayed with on our last trip), seeing the incredible Giants of Mandurah and marvelling at the impressive Christmas light displays- both on the foreshore and on the houses along the canals.

We caught up with Nathan, Bec and girls twice - first on Sunday where they took us out on their boat to see one of the Giants and some dolphins before an afternoon bbq at their place, and secondly on Friday night when we were treated to a cruise through the canals of Mandurah to see the spectacular Xmas light displays many houses put on. We loved our time with them, and the kids had an absolute blast.

The Giants of Mandurah are unique outdoor sculptures created by world renowned artist, Thomas Dambo. He has created 'Giants' made with recycled wood throughout the world, but these are the first ones in Australia. They are all in different places around the area, each in a different environment. We were extremely impressed with all of the Giants, though our favourite was the first one which is leaning up against a fallen down tree and is also holding a branch from that tree.

Our final highlights from our time in Mandurah were the Christmas lights. On Wednesday evening we went into the foreshore for a bbq dinner and to watch the sun set. Some of the light installations for the Mandurah Christmas Lights Trail were already up and running even though the official opening hadn't happened yet. We wandered along looking at some and we noticed lots of people around the castle display (even though it wasn't lit up yet). Elsa and Ana (from Frozen) were also milling around and once I saw a big tv camera I knew something must be happening. After a quick chat with the 2 princesses, we found out that the Mayor of Mandurah was about to officially open the Lights Trail by turning the lights of the castle on- so of course we stayed to watch. They asked all the kids to join so Emilia and Jackson ended up a part of the official opening!!! We came back on Thursday night to do the full lights trail, and we were all really impressed. The lights were as good as those in Perth (some were actually better).

Mandurah is known as the Christmas Lights capital of WA, the foreshore lights trails is only the start! Many of the homes along the canals (200+ houses) put up Christmas lights, with some putting up incredibly big displays (I'd hate to see their power bills). Nathan, Bec and the girls took us out Friday evening to see the lights. After a quick stop at the Xmas Pageant (big community festival) where the kids managed to find the 'decorate your own gingerbread cookie stall' we spent a wonderful hour or so cruising up and down the canals looking in awe at all the different lights displays- some people put in so much effort, Xmas lights are serious business in Mandurah! We had such a wonderful night and are so grateful to Nathan and Bec for giving us such a great experience.

We loved Mandurah last time we were over in WA and we both still felt the same - it is definitely a place we could live.

Out on the boat looking for dolphins.

The kids had lots of cuddles with their dog, Bella.

The first Giant we saw- he is best seen from the water. 

The kids had fun chilling on the front of the boat with Nikki (they had a great view of the dolphin mother and calf from there).

GIANT No.1

GIANT No.2

GIANT No.3

GIANT No.4 (this is the one we actually saw first from the boat)

GIANT No.5

On the foreshore of Mandurah.

An easy bbq dinner before we checked out some of the Xmas lights.

The kids helped the Mayor of Mandurah (and Elsa and Ana) move the switch to turn on the lights for the castle and officially open the Mandurah Xmas Lights trail

The official photographer was taking this shot so we thought the kids might end up making it into the local paper!

Inside the lit up castle - it was pretty impressive.

You were able to get photos in or on most of the light installations..so of course we had to get a picture with each one!

As it was so dark the camera wouldn't focus properly and we were all getting very sore knees!

Enjoying the sun set from the boat on our way into the Mandurah canal Xmas lights.

Getting their sugar fix for the night- decorating gingerbread cookies with LOTS of toppings.

Below are photos of just a few of the dazzling Xmas light displays we saw on our 'cruise'.

On our final night in Mandurah we moved to a caravan park closer to Nathan and Bec's place. It was right on the estuary and Jackson went looking for crabs the next morning- he found heaps but also got bitten twice while wading out!