There are few places on earth where towering forests and a picturesque wine region co-exist with an amazing coastline that blends the beautiful and tranquil with the raw and exhilarating.
There are few places on earth where towering forests and a picturesque wine region co-exist with an amazing coastline that blends the beautiful and tranquil with the raw and exhilarating. With its pristine environment, serenity and the good life, Denmark is a place where you’ll find the people are genuinely friendly. Walk through the town centre and you’ll see and hear people from all cultures, ages, and countries – it’s just buzzing with community spirit. Of course, the first people in Denmark were the Aborigines – the Noongar people who lived off the resources of the karri and jarrah forests. Thanks to archaeological evidence found in the Wilson Inlet and along Ocean Beach, their initial presence has been traced back to about 40,000 years ago. In the late 1800s, Denmark was a farming town, then for a short time became a centre for timber milling, before shifting back to being an agricultural community. Then, in the 1960s it became known as a place of free love, attracting waves of hippies. The ‘tree and sea changers’ have come more recently, many of them with their sights set on a livelihood in tourism. Denmark is now a town for visitors, through and through. The seven-days-a-week town centre is bordered by the Denmark River on one side, and boasts quaint and earthy specialty shops and services, restaurants, cafes, a supermarket, a tavern and a hotel. Although the highway goes through the town, most of the shops are found off it, on the quiet side streets. Concealed on the hills behind the town are wineries, restaurants, breweries, galleries, stunning accommodation and farms. Down at the coastline, it’s all about the magnificent beaches. Greens Pool features a tranquil lagoon-like swimming bay that’s dotted with perfectly placed boulders, making it a beach to rival the best in the world. Just next door to it is Elephant Rocks, a tiny bay populated by rocks that resemble a herd of the aforementioned pachyderms – it makes for amazing scenery. The fresh salty air and waves rolling in at Lights Beach and Ocean Beach add to what are glorious coastal experiences. There are plenty of other walks and rides that will take you along heritage routes, by the ocean and through forests, including the famed Bibbulmun and Munda-Biddi tracks.Image credit: Sunset over water - Tourism WA
