What to do in Pemberton with kids?
Pemberton is a quiet old logging town located about 3 hours south of Perth and it has a good family feel to it. It’s popular Karri trees are the star of the town and are picturesque as you drive in. They sore high into the sky and in the winter have a magical mist that surrounds them.
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WHAT TO DO IN PEMBERTON WITH KIDS
What to do in Pemberton with kids?
We drove in on the Great Forest Drive and that was just magical. Our stay here was for 2 nights, 3 days and we found plenty to do. We could have sat in the National Park for those three days and gazed at the trees but our kids had other plans.
PEMBERTON TRAMWAY
The Pemberton tram is a fun trip for both young and old, the tram goes through the Karri forests, over bridges and waterways. It really is brilliant, the views are stunning and picturesque. Now if you are only in Pemberton for a few days, the tram stops by the cascades so you can tick two destinations off your list in one day.
Our children were all under 8 years oldand we brought some snacks for them because the tram ride is nearly 2 hours long. My kids did start to get restless towards the end as they didn’t appreciate the beautiful scenery as much as us.
CLIMB THE GLOUCESTER TREE
There as some massive trees in the National Park and The Gloucester Tree is one of them. This tree does have some history behind it, it was used to spot fires many years ago and the pegs in the tree still remain. The distance soars 53 metres into the air and you can climb WITH NO ROPES OR SAFETY NET.
We chose not to visit the tree, our little ones were a bit young and we had no desire to climb up it (we are a bit chicken). Teenagers and over 12 would love this adrenaline rush.
Cost to enter is the $15 National Park fee. This fee is to maintain the National Park.
HIDDEN RIVER ESTATE
We love a good pub/winery visit and this didn’t disappoint, for many reasons. First being the kids playground, our kids love being outside so the sand pit, swings and trucks were a family winner.
There is a restaurant and cafe here where you can sit in air conditioned trams, pretty cool huh! The food was great and the kids lunches were even better. They were traditional kids lunchbox lunches like vegemite sandwiches, pasta with cheese sauce, ham/cheese pizza. You know the real basics that go down well without any waste and reasonably priced too, starting from just $3 a lunch
BIG BROOK DAM
The Big Brook Dam is the swimming hole for both locals and tourists, it is a short 10 minute drive from Pemberton and is surrounded by tall trees. The lake has a walking trail which surrounds the lake and is accessible for wheelchairs and prams.
There are no cafes or water so you must be prepared when you come, yes there are toilets. Although we did not see any bins but I may be mistaken.
This is beautiful to cool off and is great for younger children as the lake has a small beach access. The children can paddle in and make sand castles. Well worth the trip out there.
THE CASCADES
If you are a lover of natural waterfalls then this will be right up your ally and drag the kids along anyway. We had already seen the cascades when we did the tram ride so we didn’t go again. But if you haven’t done the tram ride then pack a picnic and head on out to have a look.
PEMBERTON TOWN PLAYGROUND
The playground was the first place we visited. We stopped to look for our next plans and the kids were out the door to go and test run the playground. It worked perfectly because we grabbed a coffee, sat and worked out where we were staying and our plans for what was next.
I know! We leave it right to the last minute lol
WINDY HARBOUR
If you are really craving the beach then no stress you are only about a 40 minute drive to windy harbour. The coast is stunning and there is lots of walking trails if you and the family are interested.
When we visited Windy Harbour a whale carcass had washed up on shore. There was a shark feeding frenzy going on and a foul smell at the Salmon Hole beach. We decided it wasn’t our day to swim and instead took a drive to check out the look outs.
Our favourite and one not to be missed it is Point D’Entrecasteaux, it is a short walk to the the lookout. There is some really cool rock formations to see. Including ‘The Window’ featured above in the first photo of the blog. It’s absolutely mesmorising.
So to wrap it up…. what is there to do in Pemberton with kids? LOADS
Enough for at least 3 days worth!
