DENMARK - A QUICK TOUR OF THE TOWN (6 NOVEMBER 2014)

By any standards, Denmark is a lovely spot. Tall timber, green rolling hills, lush grazing lands, wineries, the Denmark River and, from a more salty perspective, the wonderful waters of the Wilson Inlet and the beautiful beaches of the nearby coast....this place has much to offer.  We were certainly glad that we had stayed beyond the Albany 100 weekend. With all that we had been up to, I left my meander around the town until the last minute. 

There is almost no outlook in Denmark from which tall trees are not a feature of the scene. The approach into town from Albany is no exception. 

The road bridge over the Denmark River provides a first glimpse of the main street of the Denmark CBD and 

of the black, reflecting waters of the Denmark River as it flows towards its mouth at the Wilson Inlet.

Within the town, well designed and utilised parks are a feature of the river banks. Looking to the north from the intersection at the western end of the bridge, we can see one of them.

There is little by way of infrastructure on these banks of the river, where this delightful river bank shelter sits on a sharp bend,

but downstream it is a very different story. Here the serenity of the beautifully kept lawns on the corner













and on the river bank nearby soon give way to 

kiddies corner

and a car park, which on many days is so full of caravans that it looks for all the world like a free camp site. And as you can see, to some of our fellow travellers, designated parking spaces never apply to them. Of course, what they rely on is that the town sheriff will keep his parking ticket book firmly holstered when those so blatantly ignoring the parking rules are off spending their loot in the nearby shops, cafes and pubs.

I find this parking arrogance more annoying when it occurs within no more than fifty metres of a large open space set aside for those towing. Sadly we have come to the conclusion that many of our fellow knights of the road are either lazy, inconsiderate or both.











The town's quite impressive War Memorial occupies the south-western corner of this first main intersection.








Looking west up the incline of the main drag (which is part of the South Coast Highway) the median strip, at the time of our visit, was awash with red poppies, planted specifically for the Anzac Albany celebrations.






Typical of many smallish country towns, Denmark hosts two main commercial strips. The main central through road is obviously one of these. A short walk up the hill from the riverside intersection brings the eager shopper or traipsing tourist to the second. Standing just to the south of the main highway and looking to the north-west across it, where the green slopes provide a leafy backdrop to the twin grey towers of the local Super IGA, the rural charm of Denmark is on show.





Strickland Street is a real example of country commercial charm, where the blandness of bleak, black bitumen has been replaced by far more interesting paving,












and pavement plantings soften the retail landscape.

Arcades abound,














one of which is a veritable botanic park.







What a delightful spot in which to sit and munch on an award winning pie (with sauce, of course). How the second Denmark bakery, a mere hundred metres down the road, survives in the face of the customer lure of this highly self-promoting wall of awards is beyond me. As to the veracity of the awards from a consumer perspective.....concern for the ever increasing effects of carbs on the waist-line prevented a comparative taste test and a first hand opinion....we shall just have to accept the judges verdict.

Our first impressions of Denmark were that it is quite small. This was soon dispelled as we ventured far and wide into the surrounding countryside on our various sight-seeing sorties. This is a town which spreads. Pockets of rural suburbia pop up unexpectedly in all directions. 





And, if our observations of the local populace are any indication, Denmark has a lot in common with places like Murwillumbah. Dreadlocks and a mode of dress reminiscent of the hippy era are not uncommon sights. Ads for yoga and mediation classes, various exotic forms of massage and practices such as aroma therapy, all feature heavily on community notice boards. We were not entirely surprised to hear on the local news services recently that Mr Plod had conducted some highly productive drug raids in the area.









Some of the shops in Strickland Street are obviously 

set up to attract a certain non-mainstreet clientele.












In the delightful paradox which is Denmark, shops like these sit almost side by side 










with their complete commercial antitheses such as the Australian Alpaca Centre where the goods on offer are exquisite, and not for the financially faint-hearted. 

For those with far more mundane requirements on their shopping lists, the somewhat bland exterior of the Denmark Co-operative Pty Ltd building opposite should not deter a visit.

Here one steps through the front door into a genuine, old fashioned country emporium, the likes of which we had not seen since we ventured into the claustrophobic clutter and chaos which is Searles of Winton.









But, like Searles, the range of goods on sale here is extraordinary. Clothing, foot ware, crockery, cutlery, cookware, essential items for bathroom, kitchen, laundry and loo, are all on display in a mass of merchandise.  It's almost daunting!



Dotted throughout the CBD, Denmark presents an array of high quality restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and take-away food shops, all waiting to tempt the hungry passer-by. 

One of the two town pubs looks out over the Denmark River. With all the socialising we had done with Cooky and Co, we did not feel the urge or need to grace this establishment,

but we did briefly visit the Denmark Tavern at the other end of town. Stupidly I forgot to take the camera and have had to rely on this Internet Google photo (and not a very good one at that) to provide some idea of the bush setting of this popular place.



Denmark is certainly commercially geared to tourism, with good reason. The scenery, wineries, river and beaches provide something for every taste. Not surprisingly, the town hosts a very large visitor information centre which we did visit but did not snap. But for any coming to the area for the first time, I would strongly recommend this as a place to start. 

Let me conclude this very brief snapshot of Denmark with a couple of completely contrasting natural scenes.




We walked the kilometre or so from our park into town on a number of occasions, a stroll which took us along a section of Hollings Road were it bisects swampy backwaters of the Denmark River. Here the profusion of paperbarks

and still, black waters from which they rise, reminded me of the Louisiana bayou....I was constantly expecting to see the semi-submerged snout of an ambushing alligator.














And just beyond this eerie swamp, a large tree, bursting into flower, looking for all the world as though its upper section has been dusted with icing sugar. 







But enough of this imaginary indulgence. It was time to leave Denmark......in more ways than one.

Storm clouds were rolling in over the Wilson Inlet and the wind was beginning to gust ominously from the west. 





I was more than happy I had pulled down the van in preparation for our departure the following morning. With the shade cloth stowed and the awning rolled, there was nothing to flap and bang. I was totally unconcerned about what the night would bring.




This was a just as well...a good sleep was in order. We had a busy day in store on the morrow.