April 20th to May 4th: First School Break - A Road Trip Down South

Fiery Sunset at Wave Rock Campsite

Well, our first two week school break had finally arrived... 

Galah at Wave Rock

Tom and the kids made it through the first term unscathed. We were very excited about the road/camping trip we were about to embark on. They were done school on the 19th and we headed off the morning of the 20th towards the south coast of Western Australia.

Wave Rock - 27 million years in the making

Our first stop was Hyden, where Wave Rock has been forming over the last 27 million years. It is a 110 meter long and 15 meter high granite rock that looks like a breaking ocean wave. It took us about 5 hours to get there with a lunch stop and few sight-seeing breaks along the way. We arrived at Wave Rock Caravan Park around 4 p.m. - just in time for Tom and the kids to go for a swim in the pool before it closed for the day. I set up the tent while they swam. The days are getting shorter here, so it gets dark at around quarter to six. We watched the sun go down and the sky ignite with the brightest red and orange - we almost expected to smell smoke. We then cooked and ate in the undercover area where there were kitchen facilities and barbecues. We met another family from Melbourne who were on a 3 month tour of Western Australia.

walking the top of Wave Rock

Vistas from Wave Rock

We woke up the next morning, had a quick breakfast, packed up and headed off to see what all the fuss was about. Well, we were impressed. We spent about an hour or so walking over the huge expanse of rock and taking in the views for miles in every direction. We walked back to our car and started driving. Our next destination was Esperance and Cape Le Grande National Park. With it being the Thursday before the Easter weekend we weren't sure if we were going to get into the park. We got there at about 3:30 p.m., shopped for food in Esperance and headed for the park. We got to the road that takes you 40 km to the park and luckily we were saved from driving all the way in by a park sign that said "all tent and caravan sites full". 

early morning at Quagi Beach Campsite

our 'balcony' at Quagi Beach

We headed back West about 60 km and turned off onto Farrell's Road towards Quagi Beach where we found what ended up being our favourite campsite. The local shire maintains this camping area. We kept our fingers crossed when we drove in because we only had about an hour left of daylight and if there wasn't anything we were going to be scrambling to find somewhere to stay in the dark. Well, we were in luck. The first night we stayed at a site more inland away from the beach - it looked like all the beach-side sites were taken or had 4WD access only. Each site was private and surrounded by brush so you weren't packed in with your neighbours. The facilities were basic with drop toilets and an outside shower - our kind of camping. We quickly headed to the beach before it got dark to see what we had to look forward to in the morning.We then went back and settled in for the night. While we ate, we watched a huge, gorgeous spider weave a perfect web between a shelter on our site and a nearby tree. After the kids went to bed we stayed up and took in WA's night sky.

abandoned bee hive

morning walk on Quagi Beach 

Quagi Beach: Walking West

starting a snail farm

I was the the first to wake up the next morning and went for a walk. I headed towards the beach and then walked the road alongside the beach. I soon discovered a fantastic and EMPTY beach-side campsite that was accessible with our car. It was perfect - there were no sites nearby, it had a 'balcony' over- looking the beach and its own path down to the beach. I headed back to our site and told Tom and the kids about my find. We soon packed up and made the move to our dreamy new home. Soon after, we headed down to the beach for a swim and surf. The waves were pretty small so we didn't attempt surfing for long. We grabbed our hats, slathered on the sunscreen and went west for a long beach trek. It was spectacular. I must be sounding like a broken record when I talk about the beaches here, BUT Western Australia's beaches have to be some of the top if not 


the best in the world. With each new beach we discover, we are blown away once again. Going West from our site, it was all huge granite slabs and boulders intermingled with igneous rock. We discovered a few beehives along the way and managed to escape with only Tom getting stung once. I pulled out the monstrous stinger that was embedded in the skin below his right eye. When we walked East a few days later it was all big ocean waves crashing against limestone shelves. Once we got past the limestone and reached another beach it felt like no else had ever been there. We decided it was appropriate to participate in the 'wildness' and go buck. There were definitely no nude police around to worry about. 

Where's Tom?

West Quagi beach 

Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grande

Since we couldn't get a site at Cape Le Grande, we decided we had to get back there for a day hike. We headed that way on our second day at Quagi Beach. We arrived at Lucky Bay in the late a.m. and Tom and the kids went for a quick dip. We were amazed by the sand - it was the finest, whitest sand we have ever seen and it squeaked under our feet as we walked along the shore. The water was the most amazing turquoise colour as well. We walked by the campgrounds and were relieved  to be camped at Quagi Beach. Because it was Easter weekend, the grounds were filled up choc-o-block, tents and caravans side by side. Not our kind of

camping. We hiked about 1.5 km to Thistle Cove where we walked to the end of the beach and had lunch and went for a swim. Tom hiked  back to get the car while I stayed behind and swam with the kids. There was a sun-bleached skull of a humpback whale that had gotten beached a few years ago. We ate in Esperance and got back to our site late. 

hiking to Thistle Cove

leapin' lizards, Batman!

picnic and swim at Thistle Cove

Easter Sunday, we woke up to discover Easter eggs that the Easter bunny had left behind. The kids got up and were soon hunting around the site and beyond to see what they could find. They raced 


around and quickly filled the bottom of their hats with chocolate eggs. We went swimming and surfing after. Seaweed had been spit onto the shore by the ocean during the night before and the beach looked like a 

whale skull on Thistle Cove beach

hunting for Easter treasure

chocolate loot - yum!

playing in the seaweed on Quagi Beach

different place - sadly we dis-covered a dead fairy penguin tangled amongst the seaweed. We thought  we had lost Silka in the seaweed as well when we couldn't see her on shore while we were swimming. There were a few moments of desperate calling and frantically ripping through large ribbons of seaweed and then she was with us again emerging from behind a nearby rock where she was building a sand castle. As I knelt in the sand, knocked over with relief, I knew that this won't be the last time I have that horrible feeling. They
aren't even teenagers yet! We had lunch and then did the Eastern trek mentioned earlier. 

walking East on Quagi Beach

floatsam sculpture

Stirling Ranges

Albany

Norman's Beach near Albany

Looking through to Betty's Beach

We stayed another night and pulled out on Monday after lunch after much debate about whether we should take a chance trying to find another site on the Monday of Easter weekend or stay put at the great spot we already had. We had to be in Denmark in a couple of days and we wanted to see a bit of Albany so we decided to risk it. We shot for the Stirling Ranges in Stirling Range National Park. The mountains glowed pink under the purple sunset as we entered the park and it was almost dark when we arrived at the park's campground. We discovered that our jug of drinking water had leaked all over our bedding so we were soon on the road again headed for Albany. It must have been serendipity because just after we checked into a hotel, the skies opened and the rain came down in buckets and rained like that all night. We were thankful for comfortable, dry beds.

playing at Betty's Beach

The next day, we walked through downtown Albany, had breakfast, checked out some of the shops and then made our way to Norman's Beach and Betty's Beach, two campgrounds between Waychinicup National Park and Two People's Bay Nature Reserve. We first stopped at Norman's Beach. The campsites were in the bush along the river that comes from Norman's Beach. They looked like they would be buggy sites but somewhat private. The beach felt like one of the wilder ones - no one else around. I walked to Betty's beach while Tom drove with the kids. It was a great walk and I got there about the same time as they did. We stayed for a swim and then drove to another campground not far away on Two People's Bay where we had a picnic lunch.

surfer dude, Sea Dog cottage, Denmark

walking amongst the 'giants'

We drove to Denmark and arrived at the 'Sea Dog' - the cottage we rented for 4 nights near Ocean Beach in Denmark. While

us in a Tingle tree

we were there, we went on day trips every day. The first day we went to the Valley of the Giants and did the Tree Top Walk amongst the Karri trees (the third tallest trees in the world). They are majestic in their ancient beauty. We were also very impressed with the engineering of the walkway that is 38 meters off the ground and amongst the canopy of the Karri and Tingle trees.Tom being not so keen on heights held on tightly and haltingly walked along ahead of me with a brave face on all the while. The kids ran the whole way with a few stops to feel the slight sway of the walkway under their feet. We continued with a walk through the Tingle forest below where some of the trunks of the Tingles were as big or bigger than a car. We ended our visit with a short hike on the Bibbulmun Track (965 km hiking trail from Kalamunda, near Perth, to Albany) through the forest to the 'Giants' campsite and back. Campsites have been built all along the track by volunteers. They have a 3-sided shelter, a tent area, picnic tables, containers to keep your food safe and a guest book.
When we got back to the 'Sea Dog', Tom went for a surf at Ocean Beach while I stayed back with the kids and watched a movie. He had the surfing experience of a lifetime - one that would look great air-brushed onto the side of a 1970s V-dub wan. This is the scene.... as he caught a wave (actually got up to standing) a rainbow coloured up  the sky behind him and 3 dolphins swam through the breaking wave and right underneath his board. Apparently, there were smiles shared all around amongst all the surfers that were there.

surfing at Ocean Beach, Denmark

Green's Pools, Denmark

We enjoyed a lovely visit and dinner with Tom's Department head at Mount Lawley, Mark Howard, who was also in Denmark with his partner, Lianne, and her kids. 

hand-gliding ramp at Shelley Beach, West Cape Howe National Park

above Shelley Beach

walking the Bibbulmun Track, West Cape Howe NP

goofin' around on Shelley Beach

On our third day in Denmark, we went and checked out Green's Pools that was recommended by a number of folks - great snorkelling. When we got there it was quite rough and the undercurrents were strong. Tom took Rein snorkelling holding his hand tightly the whole time. I stayed close to shore with Silka. It was a gorgeous spot and we could see that on a calmer day one would want to spend more time there. It was a bit chilly, so, we headed back to the 'Sea Dog' and enjoyed a quiet afternoon inside. Before dinner we went to Ocean Beach for a surf and swim - no Dolphins or rainbows that day. Our last day we wanted to go for a hike in a nearby park East of Denmark - West Cape HoweNational Park. There we discovered yet another beautiful beach! - Shelley Beach. If we had more time, we would have camped at the great site there. Maybe we will get back there one weekend. We drove up to the look out where they have hand-gliding ramps. We walked some of the Bibbulmun Track here as well. I wish we had the time to hike the whole thing. There were some pretty amazing vistas from some of the short distance we walked. We drove back down to Shelley Beach after and Tom went for a snorkel while the kids played along the shore. There were strong rip tides so no swimming for me and the kids. 

Conspicuous Beach, between Denmark and Walpole 

We headed back for our last night in Den- mark. Our stay there was prob- ably our rainiest exper- ience on the trip. Even though our pictures don't reveal it, we had rain showers every day while we were there. It was nice to have a change in weather from the hot, dry days in Perth. There were times and places during this part of the trip that reminded me a lot of Canada's West Coast. 

watching the massive waves at Conspicuous Beach

wet and wild at Conspicuous Beach

When we woke up on our last morning there, we packed up, had one last visit to Ocean Beach, enjoyed some breakfast pastries at the Denmark Bakery and then started driving West again towards Pemberton. We were hoping to find a campsite in Drafty's Camp in Warren National Park. We stopped at Conspicuous Beach where mother nature was wielding her humbling authority. We started heading down to the beach when it started to Rain hard. Tom and the kids ran back to retrieve our rain jackets. When we finally got down there, it was a spectacular scene. Dark whorls of cloud were blowing inland with patches of rain slashing down onto the ocean below. The wind whipped up waves that rolled in fast and furious at heights we have never seen. You just knew that anyone crazy enough to wade into that wildness would not be seen again. A woman that was down to the beach before us told us that she was almost swept away by a wave that came all the way in and travelled down a little creek that you had to go across to get to the beach. She passed on some cupcakes to the kids - she got them from a wedding she attended the previous night. We continued to drive. 

conspicuous Tom at Conspicuous Beach

Drafty's Camp, Warren National Park

kids playing at the river, Drafty's Camp

laughing kookaburra, Drafty's Camp

We ate lunch in Walpole and spent the majority of the afternoon driving. We did a quick drive through Pemberton and then headed for the park.It was a beautiful park nestled in the Karri Forest. Drafty's campsite was one of the best of the trip. The sites were fairly private with

Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree

lots of trees and bush around you. They had viewing platforms over the Warren River and steps to go in for a swim. It was cooler and it rained for most of our stay there but we were happier to be there than on the beach during that type of weather. Tom managed to get a fire going despite the drizzle and wet wood. After dinner, we entertained ourselves by dancing with our 'fire sticks' and making patterns in the darkness around us. 

looking up...

Contos Campground near Margaret River

We woke up the next morning to Kookaburras laughing above us. There was a day-use area about 100 meters away from us and Tom discovered a couple of friendly Kooka-burras hanging out near the picnic tables. They are fantastic birds - bigger than the Canadian Kingfishers and they have a very funny bird call - they sound like monkeys. We felt very blessed to be in their presence. The park has a great 11 km hiking loop (Warren River Loop Walk) that goes right by the campsite but ,alas, it is too long of a trek for Silka. We will have to happy with the thought of doing it. Before getting on the highway and driving on to our next destination, we stopped in to see the Dave Evan's Bicentennial Tree - one of the  trees used to build a series of fire lookouts during the 1930's and 40's. Rein and I climbed to the first look out level and Tom, despite his fear of heights, attempted to go to the highest lookout level but his leg cramped up. The highest lookout is about 68 meters up the tree. After we were all on the ground safely again, we drove to Augusta where we had some lunch. 

Werf Garden at Voyager Winery

wine casks at Leeuwin Winery

We arrived at Contos Campground after 3 p.m. There were lots of campsites to choose from. Another great place to camp - the sites were nestled in the bush with great facilities including barbecues and an undercover eating area. It also wasn't far from the beach and Margaret River. We stayed there for two nights. Tom and the kids went to the beach while there was some daylight left and I set up camp. While I was cleaning out the firepit, I discovered a little scorpion - according to the park ranger, they will give you a nasty sting but no trip to the hospital is required. Other wildlife that visited while we were there were kangaroos, and possums after dark.

Howard Park/Madfish Winery

Laurance Winery Art Gallery

Tom tasting wine at Laurance Winery

We woke up on Monday morning and went to Margaret River to enjoy breakfast at the Margaret River Bakery (one of our favourite places) and to meet up with the Professor (Stephen Satchell) who took us on a a very entertaining tour of some of the highlights of what Margaret River has to offer.We hit some of his favourite wineries for their fantastic wine, some for their opulence and artist flair, and some for just an unusual experience they provide.

Rein go-carting at Brown's Hill Winery

flippered Rein running into the surf, Smith's Beach

We visited ones such as the Leeuwin Winery (had a art collection in their basement and put on a revered concert annually - Stephen walked us through some of the entertainers that have graced their stage), Voyager Winery (had an impressive Cape Dutch ‘werf’ garden), Laurance Winery (had the 'Chick on a Stick' statue, a dedication to the late Steve Irwin, great art, and funky bathrooms) Brookland Winery (has the boy with the flute statue and an a sommelier that loves Neil Young and Bob Dylan), Howard Park/Madfish Winery (Feng Shui design and great art), Brown Hill Winery (great wines and great dog). We also popped into the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Simo's Ice Creamery and took a peek at Stephen's Mother's B & B, Rose Brook Stone Bed & Breakfast. It was lovely. His sister and brother-in-law built it themselves. Rein and Silka loved the chooks in the chook house in the back.

go, Rein, go!

We headed home on Tuesday with a stop at Smith's Beach for a swim and surf and then Eagle Bay Brewery in Dunsborough for lunch - Yum! We were thankful for a day at home to do laundry, get clean and rested before school began again on Wednesday. A fantastic trip!

Tommy surfing, Smith's Beach