June Long Weekend: Foundation Day in W.A.

Tom cooking dinner

Using the 70's massage machine

Quince Cottage

Rein, Liam and Meghan touching the sky

Hiking the Cape to Cape Trail

Looking through to Canal Rocks

Well, we took great advantage the long weekend made up of Foundation Day, a public holiday in Western Australia. On June 1, 1829, Western Australia's coast was first sighted from the merchant ship Barque Parmelia. This led to the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the first permanent British colony in Western Australia. Foundation Day is officially celebrated on June 1, but the public holiday is observed on the first Monday in June. We celebrated in Gracetown, a quaint little beach-side village just a few minutes from Margaret River. We rented a wonderful cottage (Quince Cottage) that reminded us of the comfort of the Spennato cottage in Gatineau, Quebec - roaring fires, lots of books and magazines to read, funky art, and big cosy beds to snuggle up in.
We arrived in the dark on Friday night and it took us a little while to locate the place - we felt like we had driven right into a rabbit warren because our headlights illuminated many a furry hide hopping off the roads into the bush. We finally have witnessed the out of control rabbit population that the locals talk about. If I knew how to snare them, I would have loved a rabbit stew - the kids, howver, would probably have been appalled to see me start skinning a couple of those 'cute bunnies'...

Looking towards Injidup Point

Injidup Beach

Kids burying themselves on Injidup Beach

On Saturday morning we got up with the sun and slowly got out of our beds. We drove to Margaret River to our favourite bakery to have breakfast and meet Diana, Mike, Meghan and Liam (another Canadian exchange family). We were going to hike a part of the Cape to Cape trail along the coast. When we finished breakfast, we drove to the north end of Smith's Beach and walked south to Injidup Point. We dropped a car at Injidup Point so that we could walk further in one direction and not have to backtrack. It was a sunny, gorgeous day - the perfect temperature for a hike. It took us about 3 hours to get to Injidup Point and we had a picnic lunch and went for a swim before we

headed back to Gracetown. Diana, Mike and the kids came over for dinner as well. We had a great day and we were so impressed with the kids.  They didn't grumble once on the hike.
The next morning I went for a run along the Cape to Cape Trail out of Gracetown and came upon a memorial. In 1996 a terrible tragedy occurred on the local beach close to town - five adults and four children were killed while watching a surfing carnival. The victims were sheltering underneath a rock overhang at the base of the limestone cliff during a rain storm when the cliff collapsed without warning.

Rainbow backdrop at Quince Cottage

Redgate Beach

A rehabilitation project was commenced on the cliff tops overlooking the site where the tragedy occurred, following funding by the state government, in 1997. Stairways, a lookout shelter and fencing were built and vegetation replanted to stabilise the cliffs over Cowaramup Bay. It was a very emotional run - I felt overwhelmed that such beauty could be responsible for such a tragedy. I ran further and was struck by the awesomeness of the ocean -that it keeps rolling and raging changing the coast continually - it shows no mercy. I stopped and watched a group of experienced surfers take on waves I wouldn't imagine trying to ride. They were fantastic to watch. If I were a little younger I would be out there doing what I could to learn from them. I turned and ran back to my family.

Silka dancing on the trail

Hike from Redgate Beach

Looking down from the trail

Picnic stop at the bottom of our loop

We drove to Margaret River where I dropped Tom off at the Rivermouth to surf and then drove into town to get a few groceries with the kids. We then headed to the Duckstein Brewery to meet Judy & Tony and their kids for lunch. Another family that it turns out were also staying at the same place they were also joined us. We were supposed to go over to there place at Smith's Beach later for dinner but when we got back we were all pooped and Silka wouldn't last. We called and cancelled.

on our way back

Monday morning we packed up and enjoyed a big bacon and eggs breakfast and then headed to Red Gate beach for another hike on the Cape to Cape Trail. It was another beautiful section (I would guess that every part of it is) and it took us about 3 and a half hours to do a loop. When we got back to Redgate Beach, we swam and did a bit of surfing before we headed for home. We stopped for a bite to eat in Busselton and got home around 9 p.m. We had a terrific weekend.

look at that little pebble holding up that big rock...

who's that peeking out?

climbing amongst the boulders

a very peculiar rock

Redgate Beach at the end of our hike

surfing in the silver light

And then the rains came...

We were told it would come, that it would come in torrents and create the streets to flood. Well, it happened.

For the last week it has rained in a torrential down-pour throughout the nights and then rained on and off throughout each day. It has been a welcoming relief from the heat and dryness. There has been much discussion over the local radio air waves that even if it gets a record setting amount of rain this winter, Perth will still run out of water by the end of the summer. It's hard to imagine right now as we watch everything become green and lush again.

Tom has gotten caught a few times on his bike to and from school - his shoes have developed a chronic squelch. He travels with an extra set of work clothes now.