White sand, turquoise waters, granite peaks - Cape Le Grand

Had a massive drive to Esperance and arrived quite late.  Turned again to tripadvisor to check out the caravan parks and aimed for the preferred.  Not exactly taken by this one on a drive-by, we rejected common wisdom and went to the one that got crap reviews.  Oh, so well deserved it turns out.  We were delighted to discover that our site for the night in this very big capacity park was immediately opposite the toilet block. Yay.  Being late (and not keen on eating alfresco) we decided to eat out and found our way into the very quiet town.  It is probably lucky that a big cruise ship had just docked, so there were some places open for dinner.  Kel drove back insisting she was not affected by her rather large cider, then nearly chopped her arm off at the boom gate by closing the window on herself by accident.

We were delighted to leave the joint the next day and head out to the beautifully named Cape Le Grande National Park.  Did we mention it is windy still?  Seems there is no escape from an ever-present gale.  Drove out through huge, low lying yellow fields interrupted with swamps and timber plantations.  Saw the fattest black Angus cattle we have ever seen and we weren't the only ones to think so - some other tourists pulled off the road to take photos of them.  On one particular crest, we were surprised to see a bizzare re-creation of Stonehenge.  Why Stonehenge? why here? No idea, but the vacant car park and the blockade around the fence made us wonder how many people would pay money to see that.

The park is covered in low shrubs, all in bloom.  It was lovely to see the wildflowers, along with many outcrops of granite, hills and valleys.  But then we arrived at Le Grande Beach.

We thought we had seen some pretty amazing blue waters at Broome, and then again at Monkey Mia and Exmouth.  But truly, Esperance takes the prize.  The sand is white, the waters are shallow and the most luminous turquoise you can imagine - like the bright blue that kids might paint the ocean. 

We were a bit disappointed to be turned away from the full campsite here, but high-tailed it over to the other larger one at Lucky Bay with an equally lovely beach.  Found ourselves a nice spot and got comfy.

Went straight to the beach to have a look.  Right where the entrances to the beach are, we discovered that the sand was completely covered in seaweed.  This was no ordinary seaweed though, it was like standing on a carpet of shredded paper 50cm thick.  At places the layer was thinner and the water soaked up through, thongs disappeared and it felt like walking on quicksand.  It reminded Kel of the living island in Life of Pi.  The kids were horrified and a little panicked!  After extracting our footwear from the stinky mess, Kel and kids retreated to the campsite for some water pistol maths.  Rich soldiered on past the seaweed to reach the white sand and fly the stunt kite.

Spent the next few days hanging out at the campsite, visiting various beaches and chatting to neighbours.  The wind was intense and the only day it wasn't windy, it was raining!  We did enjoy ourselves anyway, soaking up the beautiful scenery and being visited daily by wallabies.

One of the days we set ourselves the challenge of climbing Frenchman's Peak.  At around 300m high, the walk was 1000m up the smooth and steep granite surface.

A couple of times we thought we might lose the kids over the edge with the wind!

We all made it safely up to the rock arch and back, which was exhilarating. Rich summoned his courage and walked up to the very top, on top of the rock arch - battling his vertigo with every step.

We headed back down the mountain and made it back to the car safely. We all really enjoyed our conquering of Frenchman's Peak.

Another day we discovered the mis-named Hellfire Bay.  A beautiful little cove, complete with white sandy beaches and dramatic rocky headland, it looked more like paradise to us.  We wondered if it was named by athiests, then discovered that apparently it has something to do with lightning flashes above a ship's mast.  Finally finding some respite from the wind, we spent a few hours playing here in the sand, climbing rocks and spotting turtles.  It was so lovely, we returned another evening for a beachside BBQ.

We also visited Thistle Cove (gees, nothing like inviting names around here) which was equally nice (almost a carbon copy in fact) and had some interesting 'whilstling' rocks.

We can't forget to mention our very lovely camp host, an ex-Englisher with Aussie kids named Chris.  We so enjoyed his daily greetings and chats and his games with the kids that, as a family, we together considered the idea of kidnapping him so he could host the rest of our journey :)  The kids made a special effort to say goodbye and give high-fives on leaving.

When the time had come to go, we left the picturesque park behind, stocking up at Esperance and getting photos with tanks before turning north in the general direction of the famous and feared Nullabor Plain.

Heading South Along the Vasse Highway to Pemberton, Denmark and Albany

We said our goodbyes to beautiful (but dangerous) Yallingup and began the drive down the tree-lined Vasse Highway to Albany.  Our conspiracy theory radars were running hot when we passed several signs tucked in bushland and at the entrance to dirt tracks, stating in bold black and white "Disease risk area".  What kind of disease, we wondered, trying to figure whether we were anywhere near Woomera.  Disease for who, we pondered.  Surely plant pathogens or ticks for livestock.  Why not just state that?  Our suspicions were heightened when we encountered small green signs announcing "National Park" but failing to provide the park with any kind of name.  Alas the mystery remains unsolved. 

We stopped at a quaint little one-time forestry town called Nannup for some lunch.  This was another town with carefully tended flower beds lining the main street, several cafes and an average population age of 80.  Not sure what becomes of a town like this in twenty years or so, gives it all a melancholy air.  We continued on through the rolling hills and tall Karri forests until we came to Pemberton, another old timber town, this one slightly more lively though. We checked out the 75m high Bicentennial Tree.  There are several very talls trees that have been used over the years as lookouts for fire spotting.  A couple of them are open to the public to climb if they dare – but Rich’s vertigo got the better of him and he whimped out on climbing up the reinforcing steel peg ‘ladder’, conquering only 10 metres.  Kel was (conveniently?) wearing thongs so naturally was unable to prove her superior skills at climbing heights.  We did, however, stay to cheer on some Italians with more courage than us.  We then headed back into town and checked out the Gloucester Tree – this one was only about 60m high – but had the same kind of ‘ladder’ without the comfort of a half-way rest platform and was just too freakish for Rich to take on.

The next day we continued on our beautiful drive through the farmlands and forests. On the way to Denmark, we stopped off at the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants National Park. We all enjoyed walking up the steel ramp to the 60m high steel bridge that threaded its way through the 70m high Tingle Tree forest. We then visited the adjoining Ancient Tree Walk where we enjoyed seeing ‘Grandma Tree’ and the kids hid from us in the hollows.

We hit Denmark in the late afternoon, and got lucky with one of the nicest caravan parks ever.  But ugggghhh, the wind!!!!  It is so incessant it makes it hard to think straight and robs you of energy (oh - that might be the kids).  After setting up, Rich had a sleep on the grass in the sunshine on the non-wind side, Kel read her Kindle, and the kids played on the jumping pillow and on their bikes. That night around 50 or so kangaroos descended on the caravan park, and it was a bit tricky heading to the bathroom.

Next morning, Rich went for an early morning walk to the lagoon and beach, and then we packed up the van and headed off to Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks.  Having seen some fairly impressive coastline already, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Greens Pool was a wonderfully scenic place.  Out of the infernal wind, we decided to hang out here with the locals, swatting a few thousand flies (who also like to escape the wind), while the kids paddled around in the blue water for a couple of hours.

We wandered over the rocks to Elephant Rock – but it was a bit windier and cooler here – so Kel took a few photos while we watched Dylan playing with (throwing rocks at) crabs hiding beneath the big rocks we were sitting on.

We then back-tracked to a toffee factory, enticed by the sign "the biggest cone in Denmark", he he, let's see what this place is all about.  Tested out some samples under the watchful gaze of perhaps the scariest customer service person out there, who looked like she was on day release from Pentridge and answered all questions in the tone of "do you wanna fight?".  Rich quite literally ran away, discovering a sudden keen interest in finding Wilbur the resident pig, leaving Kel to face down the stare and finish up the purchase of the toffee (which was pretty good).  

At Albany, we checked into the caravan park and realised that the reason it was so busy was because the Albany show had just been on - damn, missed it!  It was still pretty windy, and we set up while a few sites down some other campers spent an hour or so ripping their somewhat wind destroyed awning off their van.

Next morning we were up pretty early and headed up to the Castle Rock Granite Walk in the Porongurup National Park. It took a fair bit of negotiation first with Dylan, and then Ari to get them walking (but we've got some good video footage of them for showing at their 18th birthdays!). We walked up the 3km to the top of the hill, and then had to climb up some 'stapled' rocks and then up a 10m high vertical ladder to reach the steel walkway bolted into the rock at the summit. The view was awesome and the kids ended up having a really great time. They were also pretty proud of themselves for getting all the way to the top.

We headed into town in search of a late lunch and found ourselves at Dylan's Cafe where we had a nice - but rushed meal (4 o'clock closing time) in a beautiful old building overlooking the bay.  Had our first encounter with police for the day, Rich earning himself a tut-tutting for speeding through an unmanned construction site.

We then headed over to an old Brig that is parked at the entrance to Albany where the kids played Captain and Coxwain.  On the way home, we enjoyed spotting unusual wildlife road signs - WA is definitely the winner for those - making sure we kept to 40km through the "turtle crossing zone" and kept our eyes open for waterbirds and malleefowl desirous of reaching the other side. 

Back at the caravan park, Kel had a great idea to go for a spa (this is one special caravan park let me tell you). The spa was awesome, heated and indoors. Feeling very happy with ourselves, we put the icing on the cake and headed off to the family bathroom for a family bath (no photos here I'm afraid folks).

After putting the kids to bed and feeling rather chilled after our bushwalk, cafe meal, spa and bath, we heard a late night knock at our door. We opened the door to find a lady there in obvious distress asking for our help. After some questions to understand the legitimacy of her distress we invited her into the caravan.  We then had our second encounter with police for the day, after they were called in by security (who we called) to deal with the situation.  Such a commotion probably raised the eyebrows of the people around us, with all the cars and men in uniform outside our van at midnight.  Our neighbour also found himself having to make explanations as he walked down the road in the dark carrying an enormous TV (!?!).  The last we saw of the lady was when she got into the police car and it drove away.

The next day we packed up and made a quick excursion into Torndirrup National Park.  Again we were diverted by the signage, these ones warning of treacherous coastline accompanied by graphics of stick figures falling in all sorts of hilarious postures.  Skipped on the Whaling Station tour, Kel exiting stage left when the lovely guy at the counter enquired whether we had brought our lunch with us, 'cause the tour takes two hours and people stay all day.  Visited the key attractions (more rocks, this time grey instead of red) of the Gap and the Rock Arch.  Apparently this section of the coast fits a corresponding section of the Antarctic coast like a gigantic puzzle piece.  Karate chops failing us, we had to run back to the car and try to get in before the swarm of flies, hitting the road once more - this time heading for Esperance.

Big waves, caves, and near disaster at Margaret River and Yallingup

We ended up staying at Prevelly Beach for 3 nights, and then heading up to Yallingup for another 3 nights.

On the first day at Prevelly, Rich got up early and went for a drive around the Margaret River area, starting at Surf Point, heading down to Gas Bay, Grunters and then around to Redgate, and Contos to check which surf areas were working the best.

He got back to the campsite at around 10am, and then we all headed off to Busselton – the Busselton Show was in town!

We took in the sights, sounds and smells of the Busselton Show, and threw down some egg and bacon rolls. The kids tried their hand at the climbing wall, Ari surprising us with her skill, clambering almost to the top.

They then tried their hand at the giant balls, Dylan surprising us with his skill at bumping into other balls (and the giant balls owner). We hit the show bag pavilion and Rich and Kel had to negotiate with the kids to get them to agree to a single showbag each, Wizz Fizz Bag for Dylan and a Supa Lolly Bag for Ari.

Following the Busselton Show, we took the kids to the Yallingup Maze where Rich and the kids spent 2 hrs running around shooting each other with waterpistols while Kel had a quiet ice chocolate while reading the paper in the cafe.

Followed this up with dinner in Margaret River at Godfathers, pizza and some yummy deserts. Wow - what a day!

On the second day in Prevelly, Rich got up early and went surfing at Surf Point. It was really cranking, with 6ft offshore, and 8 or 9ft sets.

Rich was a bit worried, not having gone for a surf for 3.5 months and feeling a bit unfit after months of Southo and Cokes. He summoned up his courage, donned his wetsuit and headed out. The first thing he realised was that it was pretty big out there, the second thing he noticed was that the local surfers out there were very good, and had very big boards. Rich and his 7.2 ft didn’t really stand a chance. After a couple of hours dodging the larger sets and the local surfers screaming down from extremely late takeoffs, Rich finally caught a relatively small 5ft wave. After getting caught inside and receiving three 8ft waves on his head, Rich decided he’d had enough and paddled in. On the way back to the car, Rich got chatting to an older local who showed him the 5(!) gun boards he had in the back of his car. The smallest one was 8 ft 2 and they went up from there to around 9 ft 6. He told Rich that for these waves you need the right equipment. Fair enough!

Hung out at the campground for the rest of the morning. Got chatting to Chloe’s parents who seemed to be doing things a little tough. Rich then took the kids over to the Rivermouth where they spent the afternoon building sand horses, sand boats, sliding down the banks of the lagoon and having a great time. Kel spent this time to prepare for her second interview.

Next morning we packed up and shipped out, leaving Chloe a little present by her tent, and drove 50kms up the road to lovely Yallingup.

We were able to check in early so that Kel could undertake her second interview. Rich took the kids to ‘Xscape’ where they basically ran, climbed and jumped themselves to exhaustion, while Rich kicked back with a coffee and planned the next stage of our trip in the cafe. After lunch and back at Yallingup, Rich went for a surf -  but the big mushy 6ft onshore waves pushing onto the reef made things difficult and after an hour and a half or so of paddling out, Rich gave up and came in – arms wrecked. We spent the afternoon hanging out at the great playground opposite the caravan park (it even had a pitching barrel wave, complete with steam / spray when a button was pressed).  Kel jumped on realestate.com!  She loved the beautiful beach, the awesome park area and the very cool atmosphere, perhaps we could live here!

Rich and Kel watched the surf roll in while a kite surfer took it on, and made friends with the resident stumpy tailed lizards begging for food. In the late afternoon – we spotted some whales out to sea when we were on our way back from the shops.

On our second day at Yallingup, the kids did some homework in the morning and then we drove down to the caves. We stopped first at Mammoth Cave – which as the name indicates was HUGE! The thing went in about 500m and had many cave formation everywhere – they’d even found a fossilised prehistoric wombat (zygomaturus something) jawbone which was left insitu for everyone to see.

Next stop was the cave visitors centre which was interesting. The kids convinced Rich to go in a mock canyoning cave that you had to crawl though. After getting stuck several times and having one kid pushing his butt through while the other one pulled his arms (much to the amusement of the other visitors) we all headed off for a very quick tea and scones at the cafe next door.

The next cave was called Lake Cave. This cave wasn’t as large as Mammoth Cave, but its entrance was amazing, as were the formations in the cave itself – one of which resembled a dragon and another that resembled a table suspended above the underground river by two large pillars.

After the caves, we continued down south, through the impossibly tall and mystical looking Karri forests via Hamelin Bay to Augusta.


If you go down to the woods today...

At Augusta we took a drive around the wind blown and treacherous coastline to the lighthouse, before returning via the picturesque bay and then back home arriving at the caravan in the dark.

On the third day at Yallingup, Kel and the kids took off for a morning horse trail ride while Rich hit the surf at Yallingup. At the horse riding, Kel and the kids nearly met with disaster when they came across a man walking his dog in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Just moments before, Ari had been chatting away about her horse riding lessons and then uttered the fateful words "I never fall off".  The little ponies that the kids were on were being lead by the guide.  Trained apparently to do the same thing day in day out (and stop when the guide's horse stops, not in response to the rider :(), they were visibly nervous.  The large dog at the other end of the trail, about 70m away, was lunging toward the horses on it's lead.  Then Kel's nightmare played out, both little horses backing up and wheeling around to flee.  Kel was on a giant (needed a step to mount it), but fortunately lazy horse.  She grabbed the bridle of Dylan's horse from the saddle but was unable to hold it.  Then she leapt down from the horse (still not sure how she came to have her feet on the ground!) and started to run after them, watching with horror and disbelief as her two babies were carried away on bolting horses.  Kel was shouting to the kids to hold on and fortuntately the horses stopped.  They both managed to keep their seats!  Catching up, Kel grabbed Ari's horse by the lead with one hand and pulled Dylan (who was a little skewed in the saddle) off with the other.  Some time after this the guide turned up (where was she all this time?!).  The man and his pram and dog had disappeared but Kel was no longer interested in continuing on with the horses stirred up as they were.  Also, Dylan's little horse had snapped the reins and cut its mouth.  But the kids very bravely rode back to the stables and spent some time in the arena practicing their skills.  Afterwards they were raving about how much of a great time they had!  Kel, on the other hand, needed a lie down! 

While all this was going on, Rich was out in the large 7ft surf trying to get out. After about an hour or so of non-stop paddling (and some shouting), he thought he had made it out the back when a monster set came through. He made the first wave, but not the second, and after climbing back on his board and duckdiving the third wave, his board floated to the surface in two pieces. Surfing was over for today – Yallingup had won.

Kel and the kids arrived back at the van just after Rich, and we swapped our disaster / survivor stories.

We decided to cut our losses and headed out to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, where we sampled a few chocolates and then participated in a family chocolate fondue and buying some 'souvenirs' (including a chocolate Australia J ).