Fremantle to Cape Leuwin National Park

Day 224

Time to pack up and leave Fremantle, heading south for destination unknown.

Feels good to be back on the road again and I think Polly is enjoying the open road as much as we are as she purrs along as we re-join highway 1 and continue our journey.

Drive past Rockingham and after a brief stop at Mandurah for some shopping we decide to head for Yalgorup National Park. Turn off the highway and are, almost straight away back on a gravel road heading for the campsite. The road is pretty rough and corrugated but thankfully not too long and before long we have set up for the night in amongst the forest. Great to back in a National Park again, large sites with no neighbours and only $14 a night!

Take a stroll down to one of (the many) lakes in the area and consider a swim but the sun is not out and it’s a bit chilly so instead return to the campsite and settle in for a quiet night.

Day 225

After negotiating the corrugated road again we head, just a short drive further down the coast and past Bunbury to Bustling Busselton in Geographe bay. It’s still school holidays and the place is packed with holidaymakers (it’s a popular spot with Perthites) and after finding a couple of full campsites we have to settle for ‘Busselton villas’ just a bit out of town. I nearly fall off my chair (and probably would have if I had been sitting on one!) when the woman tells us it’s $58 a night!!

Well for this sort of money we were both expecting absolute luxury camping with an ensuite spa and a waiter to pour your wine. Instead we have to settle for toilets with no soap (a pet hate of mine) and a further charge of $2 to use the BBQ’s! If you ever find yourself in Busselton I would recommend sleeping in your car, on the beach or even getting arrested and spending a night in the cells rather than staying at this place. The shock of the cost still sinking in we jump on the bikes and head, along the cycle path and into town for a look around. Not much to the town itself but Busselton’s claim to fame is that it is home to the largest timber pile jetty in Western Australia (and what a claim that is!). The jetty is pretty and at 2KM long seems to reach far out into the ocean but we decide to save the walk to the end and back for tomorrow.

We return to the campsite half expecting the free drink to be flowing (they have to justify the cost somehow) but alas we are disappointed again and after cooking in the van (I refused to pay for the BBQ) we retire, intent on getting our money’s worth tomorrow somehow.

Day 226

Still smarting over the cost of the campsite we head off on the bikes into Busselton again to tackle the jetty. We lock the bikes up and pay our entry fee ($2.50 each) and rather than take the train (there is a train along the jetty) we decide to walk the length (and back) and so set off.

It’s pretty boring really, just a jetty with not much to look at except the sea and the land but as we near  the end the train passes us (heading back to shore), full of screaming children and I notice that the engine is at the front again (I’m sure it was at the front heading out).

We make it to the end and are slightly disappointed to find all that is there is a gift shop and entrance to the (expensive) Underwater Experience (an underwater observatory) and both think they are missing a trick here and should have at least a chip shop!

We both look at the end of the train tracks and there doesn’t appear to be any way the train can physically turn around, no turntable, no siding no nothing. No one else seems to be concerned about this but it begins to eat at me. How can the engine always be at the front with no way of turning it around?

Consumed with intrigue we now have to wait for the train to come all the way back so we can see how it is done during which time various theories are discussed and analysed. After what seems like an age the train comes back and would you believe that it’s not a train at all but a small tractor, with wheels pulling the carriages.

Cheat!

Luckily we hadn’t paid money to go on the ‘train’ or I would be demanding a refund. Train indeed!!

Mystery solved we walk back along the jetty and have another stroll through town, in case we missed anything yesterday (we didn’t) before returning along the cycle path to the campsite.

It’s turned into a nice sunny afternoon so we head down to the beach for a swim and a sunbathe and return to the camp where we are both hopeful once again that our money is going to include more than just a campsite (we were both disappointed once more).

Day 227

Pack up in the morning as it’s time to move on (we can’t afford another night) and head just around the corner, past Cape Naturaliste to the famous surf beach at Yalingup. The town itself consists of little more than a shop and a café but the beach is lovely (if only the sun were out) and is packed with holiday makers and surfers alike.

We stop for a look but as its grey and overcast decide not to stay here and instead head further south, past the town of Margaret River to Cape Leeuwin National Park. Considering how busy the roads have been around here we are thinking the National Park campground is going to be chokka block with campers but are both pleasantly surprised to see that it is in fact half empty and there are plenty of spots left. Pull into Hamelin hollow campground (which Carmen thinks sounds a bit Harry Potter) and set up in a nice spot with some shade for Polly and some sun for the solars.

The ranger comes around and we pay for 3 nights (which at $14 a night is cheaper than one night in Busselton!) and immediately find a discarded car aerial in the undergrowth which I soon fashion (with the aid of an empty can) in a Mc Guyver/A-team kind of way into an improved radio aerial improving our reception no end.

Day 228

Head off in the morning and drive back up the coast a bit to visit Margaret River. A busy little town with some nice (albeit expensive) shops. Stroll up and down the main street and visit the tourist information to pick up a map and decide to do our own little tour of the breweries in the area in the hope of picking up some local brews to taste test.

The roads are difficult to navigate and the signage is rubbish, tiny little things right on the actual crossings and so after several missed turns we finally arrive at our first brewery. The Cowramup brewery is nestled in the hills with geese in the front yard and a packed car park. We head inside and look for the shop but seeing there isn’t one we enquire at the bar about getting some take aways (I’m on my P plates remember and so can’t drink at all whilst driving). Turns out the only take away beer they do is in a fancy 2 litre bottle and costs a fortune (refills are cheaper) but not being able to try anything first we have no idea which (if any) of the beers we might like and so we make tracks for the next brewery.

The Duckstein brewery is equally as difficult to find and once we do it’s the same story, no bottled beer! The guy offers us a tasting platter of beer but reluctantly we have to decline and instead we jump back in the van, pinning all of our hopes in the final brewery. 

The Bootleg brewery is (thankfully) slightly easier to find and once we do we approach the bar, hopeful that this is the one and to our relief they do have bottled beer for sale! We buy a mixed six pack, one of each of their brews and happy that we have finally managed to purchase something head back to the van and drive back to the campsite. A bit different to our wine tasting tour the other day!

Back at the campsite I head off on the bike to have a look around and see how far away the beach is. I cycle down to the cliffs above the beach (not too far) and see that we are right on the route of the ‘Cape to Cape’ walk.

Stretching from Cape Naturaliste in the north to cape Leeuwin in the south, the walk is 140km long and is split into 5 sections. Returning to the campsite we decide to tackle a section of the walk tomorrow.

Day 229

Up at a reasonable time and after a hearty breakfast of eggs in bread (Ray would be proud) we head off to tackle part of the cape to cape walk. The day is just right for walking, not too hot with a bit of a breeze and so with a spring in our steps we start along the cliff top track.

Our chosen route takes us north along the coast, passing many secluded beaches and coves and through lush vegetation all the while following the line of the cliffs.

After continuing on for a couple of hours trek we finally descend down towards the beach, passing some rock climbers scaling the limestone cliffs before coming to a series of caves and finally out into open scrub land where we decide to stop for lunch looking out over the Indian Ocean.

Bellies full we basically have to turn around and retrace our steps back up onto the cliff top and all the way back along to the campsite where we started.

Exhausted but happy (we must have done about 12km) we cook ourselves some dinner and retire for a good night’s sleep.