Cervantes to Jurien Bay

In the most serendipitous fashion, fate seemed to have a way with testing our reserve, then rewarding us with experiences that we had neither planned nor fathomed. As we began the journey towards Perth, we reflected on the wonderful time had at Margaret River and surrounds. What could possibly top that? If only we knew what was coming...

The putrid stench of the foul reality that COVID-19 has not gone and cannot be forgotten hit us like the proverbial tonne of bricks when Western Australian Premier, Mark McGowan announced a snap, three-day lockdown in the regions of Perth and Peel, beginning at midnight that night. We had literally just arrived at Perth! Below are the questions that I believe we simultaneously were trying to answer.

  What about the Perth Mint visit?

What about Rottnest Island and the quokkas?

What about catching up with our friends in Perth?

What should we do?

Should we go? But where?

In a flurry, Sarah and I made the snap decision to continue north. If I am totally honest, the next 20 minutes or so were not the finest moments for any of us. Charlotte and Ebony were both visibly upset, I was frustrated and snappy, and Sarah had just slammed the caravan door and broken its hinges, also in frustration.

Hold on, team. Time to take heed.

Are we all safe? Yes

Do we have each other? Yes

Can we do Perth another time? Yes

Is the situation as bad as we are currently catastrophising it to be? No.

It’s moments like this, in fact the greater COVID situation globally, that bring out the absolute best and worst in the human race. We’ve all lived and breathed it over the last 12 months. We realised as we were driving out of Perth, just how much we had to be thankful for, and just how lucky we are. The reality is, that you have the power to choose how you react to adversity. It’s not the adversity, but your reaction to the adversity, which will determine the greater long term outcome. So, with that in mind, we headed north; expecting a flurry of cars attempting to escape the city only to be pleasantly surprised by how few there actually were. Word had it that the majority of Perth residents had ventured south.

We meandered north for a couple of hours until we reached a freecamp just out of Cervantes, called Banksia Reserve, just after 6:30pm. The decision was made the next morning to spend the day checking out some of the local attractions around Cervantes and then spend one more night at the freecamp. Fortuitously, we managed to book in to Jurien Bay for four nights at the Caravan Park. Sarah was also able to negotiate a refund from Perth Central Caravan Park, which was unexpected!

The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park have been widely publicised. These unique, limestone protrusions make for some interesting viewing and even better for a couple of games of hide and seek. Apparently, The Pinnacles are still way too young to be considered anything of geological or historical significance in academic circles. The two main theories for the development of these pillars are interesting. Both reference the importance of trees. One describes ancient tree roots holding limestone sand and eventually filling up with quartz sand, which is not affected by leaching. The other describes the pinnacles as the calcified remains of tree trunks from an ancient forest, formed over millennia due to intense storms and a mixture of acids and calcrete. Interesting - I wonder whether either are accurate, or whether it is something else entirely.

The following day we packed up and moved to Jurien Bay, a place not on our itinerary and one we knew very little about. It turned out to be the most amazing place, filled with rich experiences and one that was very hard to leave. After shopping and checking in we ventured to the beach to witness our first real sunset over the western horizon. The sky turned from bright, vibrant yellows, to scarlet reds as the sun descended into its daily slumber. Wow, what a sight. The kids played obliviously in the water whilst Sarah and I went from staring in awe at nature’s entertainment, to madly trying to capture the moment on her phone. We knew we had come to a special place.

Sandy Cape was chosen as our place of exploration the following day. We began by lowering the tyre pressures and negotiating a rocky track towards some World War 2 bunkers. There was no signage on the track, so we continued arbitrarily in the direction that we thought was correct. Luckily, we were right in our assumptions and arrived at the bunkers mid morning. Sadly, the bunkers had been subject to years of scandalous graffiti by those who have as much intelligence as they have respect for our wartime history.

A quick bite for lunch and we returned to Sandy Cape to hire some sand boards for the girls. After a few tries, the girls became more confident and enjoyed sliding and boarding down the slopes. We ended the day by engaging low range and traversing the northern area of Sandy Cape in search of the perfect, secluded bay to cook dinner and enjoy a swim. The four wheel driving required to get to our spot was not for the faint hearted and, whilst I didn’t admit it to the girls at the time, I was quietly questioning my current life decisions. The maxtrax were required for the final part as the limestone and granite rocks would have easily dented the undercarriage of the prado. With Sarah at the wheel and me out from directing, we made it down onto the beach and spent the next couple of hours enjoying our time together. What a fantastic place! Tacos for dinner and the most amazing sunset views made for a special evening.

What could possibly top the night before? Well, the next day proved to be one of our most memorable experiences to date. We had booked in for a swim with the Australian Sea Lions; a tour operating daily out of Jurien Bay. Due to the COVID situation in Perth, we almost didn’t get to go, but luck was on our side this time around. We boarded ‘Mojo’ at approximately 9:30am with a dozen other passengers. We eagerly donned the provided wetsuits and enjoyed the 30 minute cruise out to Fisherman Island; a breeding ground for the sea lions. After a short safety briefing we were able to jump in the water and swim. The next hour and a half can only be described as momentous and magical. Swimming with these beautiful, inquisitive creatures was nothing short of breathtaking. Charlotte struggled with the enormity of the occasion, but still managed to see the sea lions up close. Ebony loved every minute of it, as did Sarah and I. For about 90 minutes, we frolicked, played, laughed and just enjoyed the time with these special endangered species. We simply couldn’t believe how lucky we were to be experience this.

Our final day in Jurien Bay was spent back at Sandy Cape. We drove onto the beach, parked up, swam, explored, had lunch, raced down sand dunes, swam some more and just marvelled at the beauty of the place. Ebony and I took a chance to explore some of the rocky outcrops near the bay and stumbled across a small cave, where we ventured into and reflected on our time in Jurien Bay.

So far this trip, Jurien Bay has been our favourite place. Some real adventures were had here and I am so thankful for this experience. Again, if it weren’t for the misfortune (or fortune?) of Perth’s lockdown, we would never have experienced this magical place, nor would we have swam with the sea lions. Onward to Geraldton.

Margaret River and Surrounds 

 A still, calm morning greeted us. With the promise of excellent weather, we left the sleepy township of Walpole and headed further west, toward Margaret River. With a plethora of campsites to choose from, we opted for the Conto Campground in Leewin Naturaliste National Park; another DPAW site. Fortuitously, the Quenda Loop had only one other camper, who kept to themselves.

As the drive was only a short one, we quickly set up and decided to check out Hamelin Bay, and boy, was it worth it! We had seen some videos and heard grand stories about the friendly species of stingrays who frequent the area, searching for food. They are so accustomed to humans, that they seemed oblivious to our presence, that was, until one or two of them decided to give in to curiosity and swam close to Sarah. What a magical experience, nothing like we had done before. Initially, the girls were incredibly hesitant to go anywhere near the stingrays; fearing, perhaps that they may be stung. After some coercion and encouragement they finally got closer and joined in the excitement. Well done girls! I am so glad you got to experience this with us. Sarah and I agreed on the walk out that Hamelin Bay was our new favourite beach of the trip so far; trumping that of Hellfire Bay in Cape Le Grand. Big call, but one that felt right.

From  there, we returned to camp and enjoyed a night by the fire. As you can imagine, the girls have both developed their own logical and mathematical equation when it comes to fires. Camping + Fires = toasting marshmallows. No ifs, buts, maybes or grey areas. This is simply, on their terms, a perfect and true equation. Who were we to argue?

The following morning, we awoke and made for the bustling township of Busselton. Boasting the southern hemisphere’s longest timber jetty, Busselton is a trendy place, with beautiful beaches, coffee shops and a fantastic foreshore area. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a walk along the 1.86 kilometre jetty at a cost of about $20 dollars. We politely declined a look at the underwater marine sanctuary at the end of the jetty, as it was a cost of about $60 for a measly 15 minutes.

Eagle Bay was our next destination. More turquoise waters welcomed us along with a lot of unwelcomed seaweed, making it difficult to swim here. A quick lunch and drive later, we arrived at the Injidup Natural Spa; a peculiar rock formation which, due to the funnel effect of the rocks, creates a water pool somewhat reminiscent of a spa bath. How cool! We spent about an hour here enjoying the water and the surprising abundance of marine life before Charlotte’s lips turned blue.

The final stop for the day – Simmo’s Ice Creamery. Oh, mah lord! Boasting over 60 flavours of artisan goodness, we were in indulgent heaven. Words cannot describe how incredibly delectable they were. The choices:

Ebony – Double blackberry swirl

Charlotte – Bubblegum

Sarah – Caramel Malteaser and Benoffee Pie

Ryan – Pistachio and Caramel Pecan Crunch.

Exhausted from the day’s adventures, yet elated at being able to experience it all, we returned to our mobile home and had an early night.

The following day was our final one in Margaret River, so we opted to explore one of the many caves. Sadly, it cost us $68 as a family to visit one cave, so we simply could not afford to visit them all. Mammoth Cave was our choice, as it was a self-guided option. We arrived and were greeted by a friendly tour operator who explained the process to us and handed us each a set of headphones and a remote containing a number of pre-recorded messages. Each of these corresponded with numbers along the tour. We had to simply punch in the numbers into our remote and our ears would be inundated with some educational message. It was most enjoyable and the girls loved it!

Following the adventures at Mammoth Cave, we took a short, 20 minute walk from the campsite to Lake Cave. Politely declining the almost $70 entry fee, we were able to check out the viewing platform and the informative information centre, which gave a good description of the history of the area, along with information about local flora and fauna species.

Finally, a trip to the Margaret River Chocolate Company was, without a doubt, an absolute necessity for us. I had the girls convinced that we were going to a winery to sample some special wines derived from the cacao plant. Safe to say the look of surprise, elation and excitement on the girls’ faces were great! We enjoyed a ‘real hot chocolate’ together and reflected on our fantastic time at Margaret River.

Our time in the Southwest had come to an end. What an amazing place. The incredible turquoise waters, quirky townships, plethora of wineries, breweries and speciality foods at every turn, along with enough tourist sites to necessitate weeks upon weeks of travel and exploration, make for a near perfect place. Shame we only had four full days here, but we certainly made the most of it.  

Onward to the thriving metropolis of Perth!