Karri forest

Yeagarup Dunes

The Southern Ocean beyond the dunes

D’Entrecasteaux Point

The tannin-stained waters of the Warren River feeding into the ocean

Lake Yeagarup at the close of day

In Pemberton we joined a ‘Beach and Forest Eco Adventure’ and bounced through ancient Karri forest and the landlocked Yeagarup sand dunes, to the Southern Ocean. Finding yourself in the middle of an inland dune system is quite surreal. Forest gives way to coastal scrub and, suddenly, you could be in the Sahara Desert. The Yeagarup dune system measures about 10km x 3km and starts about 6km in from the beach. The dunes are advancing inland at a rate of 4m per year and will eventually swallow the Yeagarup Lake where we stopped for afternoon tea. We continued through the dunes to Yeagarup Bay and the outlet of the Warren River into the mighty Southern Ocean. The beach is about 30km long, stretching west from D’Entrecasteaux Point, and is stunning. Huge breakers were crashing in and swirling around the river mouth, mixing the treacle-coloured (tannin) of the river water with the sea.