Wolf & I Co. Blog | Adventures Of The Wolf Pack

Dre & Dug are two fun loving labradors from Perth. They are spoilt for choice for adventure hot spots and after hearing a little about their recent Great Southern Getaway from Ash, we just had to share it with you all!

So you can get an idea where The Great Southern region is located, it’s on the south coast of Western Australia and Albany is the largest town which is 422 km from Perth.

Dre & Dug are super adventurous dogs who travel just about everywhere and I mean everywhere. Their favourite types of activities would have to be anything forest/bush related. Somewhere to enlighten all the senses, sniff all the new smells, in a quiet environment. Their next favourite by far is the beach. Labradors & water, what a combination! Just perfect!

Dre & Dug enjoying the Dog Friendly walks of Western Australia

For the most part the region in general is dog friendly! But, please do keep in mind most of the areas are surrounded by National Parks so no dogs are allowed there.

We still made the most of the area, there is still plenty to see and do. We travelled everywhere small and large from Dunsborough to Albany including:

• Dunsborough
• Naturaliste
• Yallingup
• Prevelly
• Nannup
• Cowaramup
• Walpole
• Peaceful Bay
• Denmark
• Albany
• Mt Barker

The first few nights, we based ourselves in Dunsborough which is about 2.5 hours south of Perth, along the coast. We chose to stay here for a few nights only because we hadn’t had much of a chance to spend a bit of time in Dunsborough previously and wanted a few days to explore. We based ourselves at a gorgeous little one bedroom Airbnb just out of town (walking distance) with a yard big enough for the dogs to roam around freely & safely.

Making the most of the dog friendly accommodation!

Dunsborough itself is fairly pet friendly, there are plenty of open spaces, ovals, beaches, cafes, parks etc you’re able to take your dogs too but the surrounding areas although we found plenty of pet friendly places nestled in between the towns there is a lot of surrounding National Park meaning - No dogs allowed.

We travelled onto Denmark and surrounds which is by far one of the most spectacular tourist drives we have done to date. Plenty to see and do in and around the area. This one is a MUST!

Dre & Dug enjoying one of the many amazing dog friendly ocean side walks

In Denmark we stayed at an Airbnb on the most amazing fifty acre property just outside of Denmark in Scotsdale. The farm stay is called ‘Harewood Hideaway’ it was everything we wanted and more. We had it all to ourselves to enjoy and explore every inch, spending our time with the resident Cows and Alpacas.There was a fenced in area at the back of the home for the boys to enjoy, a dam, plenty of space to explore. Peace and tranquility.

Funny story actually, Dre’s 11 years old this year and his all time favourite plush toy is a Alpaca he’s had for years now. So when we went to the accommodation we had the pleasure of meeting the resident Alpacas and Cows. Both boys are great around other animals, so they weren’t super fussed by them. We’re happy enough to sit and watch them from a distance. We never got to close to them as we didn’t want to scare the animals. But when Dre did see a real life Alpaca his eyes lit up like all his dreams had come true at once. Dug wagged his tail uncontrollably. The cows we never got too close to as they were quite timid.

What snack time looks like on road trips when travelling with dogs!

We visited a fair few dog friendly places all the way from Dunsborough to Denmark, both of our boys aren’t great in cafe environments so I don’t have any cafe recommendations in particular but the town centres were super friendly, just about every cafe we passed had dogs and their owners sitting enjoying a cup of coffee and a bite to eat.

Here’s the places we loved:

• Anvil Beach - Anvil Beach on the south side of Nullaki Peninsula on the Great Southern Ocean.
• Denmark Community Windfarm - The Windfarm sits at the top of Wilson Head, just South West of Ocean Beach. Be prepared for a walk with a steep incline up the hill. Super worth it when you get to the top! The view is so beautiful.
• Heritage Rail Bridge Trail - a gorgeous walk, the bridge is easily accessed from Denmark Town driving south along the river (Hollings Drive) where you will find parking spaces, picnic tables and a gazebo set for tourists. Take a stroll across the bridge and along the trail on the north side of the Inlet. It is also a lovely walk along the river either from town, or down to the river mouth. There is a parking at the rivermouth. The walk is also part of the Munda Biddi Trail.
• Mokare Heritage Trail - Essentially a river-side walk from Denmark Town south to where the Denmark River empties into the Wilson Inlet. It's 1.8km or so one-way so prepare for the length of walk you intend to take. If you want to do a return walk, cross the river at the bridges either end and continue along the river in the direction from which you came.
• Lights Beach - The Eastern Beach leads down to Princess Pool, a delightful rock pool for swimming, and to the stunning bay. You can walk all the way around the headland. This is a dog friendly beach. The views from the headland down on to the beach are stunning and there is some grass and a park benches available for picnics.
• Dog Island - There is a great dog-exercise area on Dog Island, accessible just north of Prawn Rock Channel via two footbridges. Please check signage in the area, there are certain parts of the beach pets aren’t allowed.
• Harewood State Forest - Harewood Forest was logged of all large timber in the late 1800's. It has recovered and is now a great example of regrowth karri forest. We followed the 2.8km walking trail through the riverine vegetation and tall karri trees. The trail follows the Scotsdale Brook and is it by far one of the most stunning walks I have ever seen.
• There are a bunch of surrounding towns etc that are pet friendly, most request that dogs must remain on leads such as: Yallingup, Prevelly, Nannup, Cowaramup, Walpole, Peaceful Bay, Albany and Mt Barker.

Our top suggestions of things to do with your dogs in this region is EXPLORE, EXPLORE, EXPLORE! Just spend some quality down time finding all the things that bring you joy. Any of the places listed above I’d recommend to anyone. Even the tourist drive itself is just stunning.

Chatting with the locals of the Great Southern Region of WA

The boys by far had the most amazing time, so much exploring done, so many places seen that not a lot of doggos get to venture too, lots of activities, catch ups with a few friends! We feel so lucky to be able to do this with them, show them that there is a big wide world out there!

It was so beautiful to watch them just be Dre and Dug, no rules just doggos enjoying themselves. They had a ball.

The weather in that region during the time period we stayed (June) was a little chilly and rainy most days except a few. Even though it rained it didn’t stop us from having an incredible time. We would love to go back soon, if you’re not to keen on the rain and are after some warm sunny weather I’d recommend going in December - February. Or in the Spring/Autumn seasons.

Dre & Dug the labradors happy exploring on their recent dog friendly road trip

Many of us have sensitive dogs, so we love trying to normalise that travelling with ‘reactive’ or ‘nervous’ dogs is ok! And just as fun. There’s so many options out there. You just have to do a bit of research. There s a big wide world out there waiting to be explored by four paws!

We go away on trips super often with the dogs. We head down south with them all the time to one of our favourite spots, Mandurah and we are already in the process of planning our next trip. We are hoping to head up the North Coast of Western Australia. We have now done two Great Southern Trips of WA. This trip and the Margaret River Region late last year.

I could go on and on about our trip but to sum it up it was one of the most rewarding, beautiful holidays we have ever been on and we feel so lucky to have experienced it all together as a family.

In case you were wondering, I purchased Dre & Dug the Check Mate No Pull Dog Harnesses as well as the 6ft Sensei Rope Dog Leashes over a year ago now. We absolutely love them! The quality is truly amazing 10/10 from us. We love that they aren’t restricting and provide amazing range of movement. They look super cute, fit both boys comfortably and are super easy to put on. The leads are incredible! That extra bit of reassurance that the carabiner won’t come undone and is super strong and reliable. The leashes themselves are wonderful, comfortable to hold. We love supporting Australian Businesses, can’t recommend highly enough. 

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