When our good friends Alex and Mary Ann invited us on a trip to Denmark, I thought “great, I’ve never been to Scandinavia, the home of Google Maps, Lego and salty liquorice”. When Mary Ann sent me the details, I realised to my horror it was camping in the Western Australia’s south-west town of Denmark.

There’s a pattern developing here.

The Labour day long weekend in Western Australia is the first week of March, not in May like every other place in the world. We took the Friday off to make it an extra long weekend. We set off on Friday morning for the five hour drive to the lovely little town of Denmark. Denmark is situated on the south coast of Western Australia 420km south east of Perth. Its relatively straight drive down Albany Highway turn west at Mt Barker. We’re travelling with two other couples, Alex and Mary Ann and Steve and Annabelle. Alex and Mary Ann’s cheeky 5 year old, Marcus is with us too of course. We stayed at the Big 4 Caravan park in Ocean Beach, which is about 10 minutes outside the main town. Alex and Mary Ann are seasoned campers and have a caravan with all the gear. Steve and Annabelle had a small tent similar to ours. When I say “ours” I mean the tent we borrowed from Alex and Mary Ann.

We arrived first, soon after by Steve and Annabelle and later Alex, Mary Ann and Marcus.

Once we were all set up we congregated at the Pecoraro estate for drinks, nibbles. This flowed on to dinner and we finished the night with Whiskies.

Saturday night we awoke late and a little hungover. After a wake up coffee and bacon and eggs, we set out eager to explore the south coast. First stop was the Valley of the Giants, in particular the Tree Top Walk. The Tree Top Walk is a walking structure that takes you up 40m to view the magnificent Tingle Forest. I had been there before, but this was a first for many in our group. The Red and Yellow Tingle trees are endemic to this region and are impressive in their height, girth and the gnarly shapes of their trunks. After the tree top walk there’s a ground level walk called the Ancient Empire Walk where you can walk through the burnt out trunks of the “giants”.

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After leaving the Valley of the Giants we stopped for lunch at the Demark Good Food Factory. The place boasted the best burgers in Australia – which actually wasn’t far from the truth. We all agreed the burgers where first class. Jane and I had their cider tasting paddle. They were quite good, with the highlight being their Jalapeno Cider. They also had a soccer-golf course that looked quite interesting – no time for that though because Steve already had his map out.

The decision of where to go next was an easy choice, as we were all hanging to go to Elephant Rocks and Greens Pool at William Bay. In my opinion these are two of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Huge granite boulders poke out of white sandy beaches and the pristine clear water of the Southern Ocean. It would be perfect if it weren’t for the other tourists being there too. I took my drone and got some stunning shots of the coastline.

We spent a while swimming, taking photos and droning at both beaches.

On our way back to the campsite we visited many of the viewpoints along the south coast, such as Madfish Bay and Waterfall beach. We arrived back at the campsite ready for a shower and something to eat (and drink). Alex got his barbeque out and we ate, drank and talked BS until what felt like the “wee hours” (but more like 9pm). We hit the air mattress ready for tomorrow’s expedition.

Sunday after a late breakfast we set out to explore some of the attractions closer to Denmark. First stops were some lookouts around the mouth of the Wilson Inlet. These included Sinker Bay, Black Hole Rock and the Lions lookout. All offering spectacular coastal views.

We then headed up the hill to see the big windmills at Denmark Wind Farm. There’s two giant wind turbines high on the hill. The girls had fun taking photos, while the engineering nerds tried to guess some windmill stats.

We went back into the town itself for lunch. It was actually quite difficult to find somewhere suitable. In the end we got takeaway from various places and sat in the park by the river. Jane and I got pies from the “world famous” Denmark bakery – seems like every town’s bakery is world famous these days. The pies were nice, although Jane’s potato pie was too heavy on the potato.

After lunch we drove up Mt Shadforth. This is the highest point in Denmark and promised good views towards the coast. The drive up the mountain was very nice. Tall Karri trees lined the road. The view from the top, however, was a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps we should have been visiting the wineries along the way.

Someone mentioned “chocolate” so we all headed to the Denmark Chocolate Factory. Everyone (except me) ordered expensive hot chocolate which they all enjoyed. I explored the stunning grounds and managed to spot a blue wren. I only had my phone camera and got a blurry photo. (Not worth posting).

The last stop was Monkey Rock. When we got there the signage was non-existent. Jane and I were weary and fearing a long climb we decided to head back to the campsite for a rest (beer). The others pushed on and when they joined us back at the caravan they told us the views were great (of course!).

It was our last night in Denmark so we decided to go out for dinner. Captain Steve did the research and suggested Boston Brewpub. We’d found out during the day our old mate Conrad was also staying in Denmark with his partner Riann. We were yet to met her, so we invited them to join our group from dinner. It was nice to meet Riann and catch up with Conrad. The food at the Boston was great and service very efficient.

Back at the campsite we had a couple more drinks and retired early. Big drive home in the rain tomorrow.

As much as I hate camping, I must admit I had a good time. Big thanks to Alex and Mary Ann for their generosity and organisational (MA) skills. Thanks also to Steve and Annabelle for making a fun group to travel with.