Story: Pemberton Road-trip
Episode: 2
Presenter: Will
Air Date: 1 March 2026
Will takes a road trip down South from Perth to Pemberton, visiting some of the must-see spots along the way.
- Just 40km southeast of Bunbury, on the corner of Ferguson Road and Wellington Mill Road, you will find the magical and mysterious town of Gnomesville.
- Some locals say that Gnomesville started with one single garden gnome that exploded into a whole miniature gnome town, while others claim that it started as a small joke. Either way, Gnomesville has been catching the eyes of passersby’s on the roadway ever since.
- Will visits Donnybrook, known as the “Apple Capital of Western Australia”, with a long history of apple orchards and the annual Donnybrook Apple Festival celebrating its fruit-growing heritage.
- South-east from Donnybrook is Balingup, a small heritage town famous for the annual Balingup Medieval Carnivale and its surrounding orchards, boutique wineries, and scenic drives.
- Within Balingup is The Quacking Frog Teaspot Shed, a roadside café and gift shop, known for its large collection of teapots on display and its gardens featuring a giant frog sculpture, making it a popular stop for tourists travelling through the Southwest.
- Also along the way is Bridgetown, renowned for its beautiful heritage-listed timber bridge over the Blackwood River (built in 1908) and its lush valley setting, making it a popular destination for scenic walks, river picnics, and exploring local art and produce markets.
- To finish, Will takes a drive through the Land of the giants a world-famous nature attraction in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park where a 600-metre elevated walkway soars up to 40 metres above the forest floor through the canopy of ancient giant red tingle trees found only in this part of the state.
