Denmark is close to William Bay National Park which is home to some incredibly stunning beaches, namely Green Pool, Elephant Cove and Waterfall Beach. We left our caravan at the Information Centre so that we could go and explore the area without worrying whether we could take the van or not. All three beaches are close together, with Green Pool and Elephant Cove on opposite sides of a headland, and then a short 4WD to waterfall beach (I don't think it is in the National Park).
Green Pool was popular when we were there, even though it really was too cold to swim. The sun was shining but the water temperature was probably 18-19 degrees and the onshore wind was cold enough to make you want a jacket... totally not swimming weather for any of us. There were a few people who decided to brave it but it was obvious they weren't enjoying it and were probably just ticking a bucket list item. Green Pool is very sheltered from the ocean by granite (or granite like) rocks which create a beautiful, crystal clear, calm bay for swimming. It would be perfect for swimming in warmer weather and I am disappointed we won't be there to enjoy it. I can't think of any beaches back home that would rival it for crystal clear water and calm, sheltered swimming.
Elephant Cove is so named as there are a number of rocks that, when looked at from the right location and angle, look like 3 elephants. It is a beautiful, sheltered cove too and much less popular that Green Pool.
Waterfall Beach is named because there is a small waterfall part way down the beach, which I am guessing is spring fed. The water is very clear and very cold. We had lunch here and spent some time exploring the rocks and rock pools on this beach and headland. Tilda and I had a great time spotting all sorts of interesting things, like 2 different types of nudibranchs, 2 incredibly red anemones and some broken sea urchin shells. We also found some interesting fish, that were very hard to get good photos of, as they were perfectly camouflaged. I am so glad my little girl loves exploring rock pools with me. Rory does too but he has a tendency to stick his finger in pools and holes and that's not the safest thing to do so having him with me causes me too much worry.
The water looked so inviting but was very cold
2 red sea anemones
one of the nudibranchs we saw
The other nudibranch we saw
Denmark is also a good place for foodies to visit. There are wineries, at least 1 cidery, a honey place, a toffee and cidery place, a chocolate factory plus more. We stopped at the toffee place. It is a pretty interesting little business. They sell toffee and brittles, ciders and a mix of sauces and spice rubs, all made on site. They also sell ice creams that looked very yummy and have recently started doing burgers as well. We sampled some toffee and came away with a mixed bag that included choc mint toffee, peanut popcorn brittle, wattleseed and sandalwood toffee (I'll have to check that when I go to eat it as I'm not sure if that's what it actually was called) and more. We also taste some of the sauces. There were a few I liked but give that we had bought some at The Berry Farm in Margaret River, we didn't buy any more. Greg came away with some apple ciders.
On our second morning we paddled the canoe up river to the town, for a bit of fun and adventure. It was an easy paddle, of around 1.5km to town. We pulled the canoe up on to the river bank and wandered the shops of town, getting some morning tea at the bakery. It was quite calm and peaceful (if you tuned out the kids constant chatter) on the river and something I would like to do more of as it is a great way to explore.
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