The tram to the Cascades

Finally a restful rest day - and a complete day off the bikes! We took our time and enjoyed the eggs, bread and jam provided in the cottage.  We strolled into town via the picturesque streets with their lines of single story timber cottages. These were built to accommodate mill workers at the Big Brook timber mill that was opened in 1913 by the WA government to provide sleepers for the Trans-Australian railway project.  We also passed strategically located seats named after local families with QR codes to scan to find out more about them.  We stopped briefly at the Pemberton Historical Precinct with its plaster cows and historic rail engine. 

We dropped into the bakery to check out their wares and were pleased to see we would be able to buy pre-made rolls for our cycle tomorrow.  Next stop was the old station to purchase tickets for the afternoon tour on the Pemberton tramway,  We saw the tram pass us en route and it was packed - it turned out there was a Probus group on tour through the South West.

We wandered back into town for our morning coffee and browsed the local stores.  I was delighted to find a turtle which will become our new cycling mascot now that crab and sheep remain at home with their respective owners.  Wild at Heart cafe did excellent coffee and we sat outside enjoying the morning sun.

Next stop was the local bottle shop where the guy behind the counter told us about his time working on the timber mills and how the towns are located a horse ride away from each other.  It was a fascinating insight into local history and the impact of the closure of the timber mills.  Finally we picked up provisions for the next couple of days at the well stocked Ernie’s IGA (apparently Ernie sold it recently after owning it for 42 years). 

Back at the cottage we heated up our pies from the Hound and Hunter - and they were delicious.  We had time for a leisurely lunch before making our way back to the Tramway for our 2pm tour.  Our driver was the General Manager, Ben, who drove the two-carriage tram on Mondays.  We had to wait a little for a tour bus to arrive and then we rumbled off, at little more than walking pace.  Ben had relocated to Pemberton from his engineering job in Perth to raise his young family and had bought the tramway which had stopped running some 18 months previously.  With the help of his mate and father, they worked to get the tramway up and running again.  He took obvious pleasure in telling us a little more about the local history and the sawmill as well as pointing out native flora and its various uses. 

The tram moved very slowly over three bridges before stopping at the Cascades, where we had 25 minutes to explore.  We made a quick dash to see the hugging trees and then the suspension bridge before returning to enjoy the cascades before the horn blasted its five-minute warning.  It was a much quicker trip back and we were soon disembarking after a most enjoyable journey. 

Back at the cottage we cooked butter chicken for dinner, with enough left over to freeze for dinner tomorrow, washed down with the wine from Mountford estate.

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