Denmark

Denmark sits on Minang country at the mouth of the Denmark River, where the Wilson Inlet meets the Southern Ocean. The region is geologically much older than most of Australia's coast and the combination of granite bedrock and tall karri forest gives it a feel unlike anywhere else in the country.

The standout attractions are in William Bay National Park, 15 minutes west of town. Greens Pool is a protected granite-boulder lagoon where the sea is calm enough to swim, snorkel and paddle even when the Southern Ocean is breaking outside. Elephant Rocks, a five minute walk around the headland, is a collection of massive granite boulders that look exactly like a herd of elephants wading into the sea. The water is cold year round but the shelter makes it the most accessible ocean swimming on the south coast.

The town is also known for the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, a 40 metre high boardwalk through the canopy of tingle trees (one of the few places in the world they grow), and for 20 or so small cellar doors in the surrounding hills producing cool-climate pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling.