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  1. Default Ferguson Valley

    Ferguson Valley

    You can't go to Paradise but you can pass close by. And if the spring light is right and dapples the trees in all shades of yellow and green, you may think you have arrived.

    This is a part of the world where things are not quite what they seem. Paradise isn't a precise dot on the map yet Gnomesville - remarkably, where gnomes actually live - is real.

    No need to take a tablet and have a nice lie down. If you take a trip through this compact section of Western Australia's southwest, there are such surprises at most turns in the road.

    The Ferguson Valley is a fertile east-west trench sliced through the earth, opening at the quaint town of Dardanup in a meander towards Lowden or, depending on the turn, Wellington Dam.

    It has been farming country since 1838, when settler Thomas Little arrived under the direction of Charles Princep of India to establish a horse-breeding venture to supply India. The venture failed but Little stayed on, establishing Dardanup Park farm and, as a staunch Roman Catholic, attracting an Irish Catholic community to the area.

    The early settlers in the district were farmers leading a largely subsistence living. Some produce, such as vegetables and meat, was sold to the Bunbury township, about 15km to the west.

    So not a lot has changed. Ferguson Valley remains a food haven and, to the road traveller, scenic drives through an area renowned for its arts and crafts, wines, beers, cheeses and pastries. It also has bed and breakfast accommodation.

    This all melds at the annual Bull and Barrel Festival held each October to celebrate the area's dairy and wine industries.

    If you start from Perth, allow a day for the Ferguson Valley drive. That will give time for a wander, some lunch and a return. Dardanup to Perth is 180km, which equates to a leisurely 2 1/2 hours.

    Our drive from Perth in a Volkswagen Touareg diesel SUV covered 692km.

    The road from Dardanup to Lowden is only 30km. But it's a slow route thanks to its twisting and undulating path that follows the Ferguson River through farmland, past vineyards and orchards. Most of the road is 80km/h and the double-white line ensures there's no passing - so if you cop a tractor, be patient.

    It passes the Moody Cow boutique brewery and the Aidan, Carlaminda and Hackersley Estate wineries and crosses the 600km Perth to Manjimup section of the Munda Biddi off-road cycle trail. This trail will extend to Albany next year and then claim the title as the world's longest, continuous, off-road cycle trail.

    Gnomesville - see, I wasn't kidding - is merely a roundabout on the Upper Ferguson Rd on the way to Lowden.

    Some time around 2000 someone either made a home for an unwanted suburban garden statue or one world-weary gnome found his final resting place.

    Since then, about 3000 concrete gnomes have been placed by the side of the road. Most come from Australian homes but many are from overseas visitors.

    The site is frequented by travellers drawn to the peculiarities of the display and some because of the publicity in 2007 of the "Gnomesville Massacre" - the result of vandals attacking the community.

    The drive from Gnomesville to Lowden is about 6km but is set high on a ridge overlooking farmland.

    Optional is a drive back to the Wellington Forest Discovery Centre - about 4km of mostly gravel road - which displays information about the jarrah forest and has details of a self-guided walk through the forest.

    The loop road then passes the Wellington Dam - with a kiosk and picnic areas - then the Collie River and Honeymoon Pool, a pretty camping and picnic area on the river that has a cafe, toilets and tents-only camping.

    This drive is about 20km and returns to Pile Rd to link back to Dardanup. Pile Rd has adjoining mountain bike trails, the Wild Bull boutique brewery and five wineries.

    And Paradise? You probably don't need to go there because Ferguson Valley is about as picturesque as WA's southwest gets. But for those who have never seen it, Paradise Rd is about 8km northeast of Dardanup.


    Read more: Australia's best scenic drives | News.com.au

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    566

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    I often go down to Bunbury to see the family, next time I am down that way I will have to give this one a go.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Eastern Suburbs
    Posts
    177

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    Nice write-up there, you should be a travel editor for a newspaper or something.

  4. Default

    We own a farm on Henty road in the Furgeson Valley. All I have to say is be very cautious of random cyclists now'a'days.

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