Welcome
It only takes a couple of hours to lose yourself in the picture-perfect scenery of Ferguson Valley. The agricultural villages are transforming as wine producers, artists, musicians and small creative businesses move in. As you move up the mountain to the Ferguson Valley, the land is peppered with vines, wineries producing some of Australia’s best alternative varietals, and the odd brewery. With picturesque rolling hills, fertile land and a tranquil national park at its doorstep, the Ferguson Valley is the perfect place to base yourself and start exploring.
Break out box: Known for wines, picture-perfect country scenery and surprising discoveries. And gnomes.
We have created an itinerary that takes in the highlights but there is always more to see and explore.
Top Things to Do
Get to know Gnomesville
Gnombody quite knows how Gnomesville started, but gnomes come from all around the world to live here. Stroll around and have a giggle at what these 5,000 gnomes get up to. You can add your gnome to the community; it will need a sign saying where it’s from. It’ll be in good company among gnomes from New York, England, Ireland and Spain.
Visit the Dardanup Heritage Park – one of Australia’s finest collections of heritage items dedicated to our pioneering past, including a steam/diesel sawmill, mill settlement, engines, tractors, dozers, horse-drawn equipment and military memorabilia. The Park is open on a Wednesday and a Sunday.
Mountain Biking
For an adrenalin kick, grab your bike and set off for the Mount Lennard Mountain Bike Network, near Pile Road in the Wellington National Park. Mount Lennard, or Pile Road as it’s known to local mountain bikers, is a fun area of trails that are for the most part built on a very gentle slope. Compared to modern trails these are a little more organic with fewer machine-made trails and jumps. The one exception is the jump area at the bottom of this network, which gives riders a fun place to push themselves with doubles and table tops. The Grizzly Trail is one of the more popular and technical trails and is a one to three hour, 6km loop. This narrow single-track weaves through jarrah forest providing more than enough obstacles, jumps and berms to keep even the most experienced riders on their toes.
Walking trails
The Crooked Brook Forest. Hidden among the jarrahs, the four Crooked Brook Walk Trails range from an easy 600m wheelchair-accessible path, to the more moderate 10km trail that takes two to three hours to complete. If you like a little more intensity, the Marri Trail is also stomping ground for trail runners and delivers splendid views across the Ferguson Valley and out to the coast. The beauty of the Crooked Brook Forest excels in spring when the wildflowers come into bloom, but it has plenty more to offer up with a peaceful billabong, picnic tables, BBQs and a nature playground for kids.
At the northern entrance to the Valley, Evedon Lakeside Retreat overlooks a charming lake, surrounded by 320 hectares of natural Australian bushland. Catering for all tastes and occasions, Evedon Lakeside Retreat offers a stress-free environment for a romantic getaway or family weekend and boasts its own restaurant.
Food and Drink
Dardanup Tavern (aka The Dardy). Built in 1905, this country pub is sought out for their eight different types of parmigiana toppings. Happy Hour daily between 4-5pm, and on Saturdays, add another hour to 6pm.
Dardanup Bakery bakes authentic wood-fired sourdough bread and delicious almond croissants.
Wild Bull Brewery sits proudly on top of Pile Road, with stunning views over vines and valleys. It offers premium, locally- made beer, food, wine, art, and music. Try their range of specialty brewed products, expertly handcrafted, and perfect on a hot day.
Families love Bush Shack Brewery on Ferguson Road for its preservative-free beers and cider brewed on-site and served overlooking the brewery’s open grassed area and play equipment.
St Aidan Wines serves coffee and sweet treats. Taste their Zena Liqueur Muscat (it’s the Geographe region’s Best Fortified) with a morning tea ‘Sweet Bite’ from their European-trained chef at the rammed earth cellar door. The name derives from the district’s historic church that sits on its boundary. Check their website for special events including outdoor movie screenings in the summer
Ferguson Falls Wine Café is home to the Best Pizza in WA according to the Gold Plate Awards. In a small, intimate venue the mouth-watering stone-baked pizza topped with farmhouse cheese is devine. Take away a selection of cheeses made from the milk of the on-site dairy herd for a quick, light supper tonight.
Green Door Wines produce Spanish and Italian wine varieties served in cute carafes to sample at your table. Order their 100 Mile Platter with sheep’s milk cheese from Roelands, mixed olives from Boyup Brook, fruit loaf from Dardanup and more.
Stop for a tasting at Willow Bridge Estate. The Cellar Door is the Geographe Wine Region’s largest and most prestigious. Established in 1996, the 180 hectare vineyard is sited high on the western watershed of the Darling Ranges, offering spectacular views over the coastal plain and across the waters of Geographe.
Day One: Perth to Ferguson Valley
Drive to Dardanup to start your Ferguson Valley adventure. Aim to arrive by lunch time and spend a happy couple of hours lingering over lunch at the Dardanup Tavern (aka The Dardy). Before 2pm, pop into the Visitor Centre to buy yourself a Garden Gnome – you’ll need that tomorrow. There is a heritage trail you can follow to help you explore the town that starts at the Visitor Centre. Pay a visit to the Fifth Element Glass Studio and Gallery (book ahead). Check into your accommodation.
Day Two: Valley Immersion
Today is a day for exploring the Ferguson Valley. Start at the Dardanup Bakery which is popular with local and visitors for its authentic woodfired sourdough, homemade country pies and assortment of flavoured doughnuts. From here, drive to the Crooked Brook Forest to the accessible bush walking trail, also a great place to see wildflowers in spring. Next stop, Gnomesville, a quirky place that has the biggest community of gnomes in the world. This is where the gnome you picked up yesterday comes in handy – leave him (or her) there with the other friendly gnomes. Next, the King Jarrah tree estimated to be around 500 years old, and then onto Wellington Dam to see the impressive 8000m2 mural on the dam wall. There are some lovely walk trails nearby and bike hire is available from the Kiosk at the Dam.
Spend the afternoon back in the Valley exploring local producers including craft beer at Wild Bull Brewery and Italian and Spanish style wines at boutique local wineries. There are plenty of choices for lunch with a view. Green Door offers interesting, black-glass tasting and Spanish varieties, St Aidan Wines boasts award-winning drops and local produce, Hackersley is the place to relax over a lingering lunch, and there’s the family-friendly Bush Shack Brewery. Be sure to book ahead.
Day Three: Wellington National Park to Perth
Start the day at the Dardanup Bakery and buy snacks to fuel you through your morning activities. We suggest you head to Wellington National Park and if you have a mountain bike, check out the trails at Mount Lennard or the Wambenger Adventure trails within the broader park. Bike hire is available at the Kiosk at the Dam. Or simply, enjoy the walking trails, pools and waterways in the park. Either way, you’ll feel invigorated from the natural environment. Drive back to Perth via the Ferguson Valley and have lunch at the Wild Bull or Bush Shack Breweries.
