Walpole and Surrounds It was a sombre, early morning as we left Lucky Bay to another beautiful sunrise. The next half an hour spent in silence as we all processed the mixture of lament and excitement. We had a big day of driving ahead of us – a total of 644 kilometres.

After filling up the prado in Esperance and convincing the girls to wait just a little longer before breakfast, we shifted our direction westward. The countryside was slightly undulated, yet beautiful in its own way. The granite cliffs we had become accustomed to in Cape Le Grand gave way to rolling, green hills much like the ones found in the Yarra Valley, back in Victoria. We stopped at Albany for some much needed groceries and reflected that it would have been great to stop there. Next time! Following Albany, we made the 119km trek to Walpole; our stop for the next three nights. Excitedly, Sarah and I began planning our itinerary for the next couple of days. There were so many possibilities, so shortlisting became arduous. We decided that, due to the weather forecast showing the most perfect conditions, that we simply must try snorkelling at William Bay National Park’s Green Pool in the afternoon. This would be preceded by a visit to the Denmark Maze and a meander through the Valley of the Giants. The final item on the agenda for the day was a visit to Bartholomew’s Meadery.

So, with excitement and trepidation, we set out the next morning to check out the aforementioned maze. For a gold coin donation, one could meander through this slightly underwhelming location. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves, which is the main thing. Following the maze with no loss of children or human life, we proceeded to the Valley of the Giants; a rather imposing name, befitting this monstrous and magnificent tingle trees. We politely declined the $52.50 cost for a 600 metre tree top walk and opted for the free, Ancient Empire walk at the base of the tingle trees. The trees were magnificent and magical and we thoroughly enjoyed learning about the biology and history of these giants.

The Epitomy of Irony John Rates, a biologist, spent years attempting to prove that there were three separate species of tingle tree. Prior to this, there were only two recognised species; the red and the yellow. He was successful, only to find his eventual demise at the hands of a falling tingle bough… The final species of tingle tree, was serendipitously named the Rates Tingle Tree. After a very speedy lunch on the road, we keenly headed for William Bay National Park and straight down to Green Pool. The girls both tried out their Ninja Shark Snorkels, which boasted a much more technologically advanced and user friendly snorkel compared to those I had used as a kid. Ebony especially loved the freedom it gave her to explore this natural aquarium and I absolutely loved the time shared swimming together. Much more of this to come. Charlotte also channelled her inner growth mindset by swimming out to a rock in the centre of the pool. This was big for her and she was able to accomplish this due to Sarah’s tireless encouragement.

Sarah enjoyed some time snorkelling whilst I sat with the girls. The granite boulders and crystal clear waters made for another stunning sight. We also checked out Elephant Rock/Cove. (There were signs stating both, so we were unsure of the correct nomenclature for the place) It was equal in its beauty to Green Pool, with much larger granite boulders to marvel at. Finally, we stopped in at Bartholomew’s Meadery to treat the girls to an ice cream. Sarah and I sampled the various meads available, and were quite impressed with what we tasted. So much so, that we simply had to purchase the liqueur.

The following day, we drove a short way to the Giant Tingle Tree and, yes…it was exactly as described in the title. The tingle trees ultimate survival ability was that they can be hollowed at the trunk and burnt by fire, but as long as a section of the body of the tree touches the ground, it will continue to grow. The trees also have incredibly shallow root systems. Fascinating! Rain was forecast for the rest of the day, so it was back at camp.

Another McGyver opportunity arose. The previous day, our diesel heater failed to fire. After many attempts, it still didn’t work and it got the better of me. A few YouTube videos later and armed with my assortment of tools, I removed the heater, disassembled it, removed and inspected the glow plug, cleaned the combustion chamber, drained and refilled the tank and put it all back together again. And wouldn’t you know it, it fired up!! Oh my lordy, testosterone overload! I found some water in the combustion chamber, so my thinking was that I had somehow managed to get water in the tank, it had separated and, because oil floats on water, it had been pumped into the unit. Either way, it has worked since, so I am happy to take the credit for it.

We said a sad farewell to Walpole and lamented on not being able to see more of the area. Next time!

Cape Le Grand National Park

Dear Mother Nature, On behalf of those fortunate enough to have traversed this vast land to reach the paradisiacal place that is Cape Le Grand National Park, I just wanted to express my most sincere gratitude and appreciation for your exceptional architecture.

Sand as white as ochre, water so pristine and turquoise that you are made to believe that there is some form of magic at place, harsh granite boulders adding to the immense richness of the surrounding terrain. What a magic place!

After a rainy night we awoke, made the final preparations, hitched up and drove a measly 53 kilometres to Lucky Bay Campground in Cape Le Grand National Park; a welcome change of distance compared to previous days. I felt an uneasiness mixed with frustration as the weather forecast had indicated more rain and high winds were on the way. Cyclone Seroja’s after effects would continue to haunt us and hinder our plans, so it seemed. Fortuitously, the inclement weather was only ephemeral and we managed four solid days of exploring this amazing place. Apparently, the entire south west of Western Australia had sold out of tent pegs, just the particular implements that I needed. Perhaps, I wasn’t the only one who left theirs in their shed at home. Looking online, I couldn’t find stock of any at the larger retail stores and ebay was not an option for us. I decided to construct my own version of the ‘drill in’ type of peg with the use of some 150mm coach screws, some mud flap washers, a hammer and a 16mm socket. Not being a very handy person, when things do go right, I envision myself as being something like McGyver! This was one of those times, as my plan worked perfectly! Not only had I fabricated myself a new set of screw pegs, they were absolutely not going to budge from the ground, no matter the strength of the wind. After strutting round the campsite on my newly acquired testosterone high, I joined the girls in a short walk to ‘The Monument’ and subsequent granite outcrop. This was a great teaser for things to come, as the afternoon sun beautifully engulfed the granite in a scarlet red colour as it set onto the horizon.

The next day the wind was up, but we braved the conditions to complete the first of three major walks: Lucky Bay to Thistle Cove. The girls donned their hand-me-down hiking shoes, which were an absolute godsend. Traversing the terrain like mountain goats, both Ebony and Charlotte experienced little trouble in making the 4km return trip to the beautiful Thistle Cove. We stopped for a quick snack and enjoyed watching the waves pounding into granite boulders in the ocean.

Sarah and I enjoyed a drink together that afternoon as the sun was setting. A delicious dinner and early bed that night for all of us. I am still waking up at five and am in bed by nine most days! The following morning arrived with almost no wind, which was a welcome change for us. We took the opportunity to ascend Frenchman Peak; arguably the most famous walk/climb in Cape Le Grand. We had heard stories of the gradient of this track and both had hesitations about the girls’ ability to reach the summit without injury. To our most pleasant surprise, they both exceeded our expectations. No complaints, tantrums or protests. They simply loved it.

It was at the summit; however, that we all learned a very valuable lesson. As we enjoyed a snack and celebrated our reaching the summit, we chose a section of rock to sit. It was on the edge of a section of granite outcrop where if one were to plummet, the chance of survival would be low. As Ebony stood to walk she went to skip, tripped on her own feet, stumbled, but managed to steady herself. This all occurred mere feet from the aforementioned edge. Sarah’s face spoke a thousand words and my heart skipped ten thousand beats. In a moment of panic I scolded Ebony, as did Sarah. Then hugs and tears flowed. We were lucky…and thankful. Ebony is such a level headed, trustworthy kid, but parental supervision and vigilance is an absolute necessity where there is danger. A moment of reflection…we were lucky.

We descended to the carpark where there was a stream of cars extending almost to the turnoff. Obviously, the tourist train was working hard that day. We had started the hike early, so there were only two other cars parked there when we first arrived. The girls had a quick dip in Lucky Bay that afternoon whilst Sarah and I opted for just a walk. The following day we had planned to trek from Thistle Cove to Hellfire Bay; a class 4 walk of 4.7km. One thing I have come to know about Cape Le Grand is that, for the majority of the time you are walking, there is some breathtaking view to indulge in. This walk epitomised that fact; it was simply and stunning mix of shiny granite, beautiful turquoise and pearly white. This, coupled with the teaming wildlife and just the right amount of challenge for us all, made for a near perfect expedition. The reward of Hellfire Bay at the conclusion was the icing on the cake; what an amazing and stunning bay. Named by Matthew Flinders after the electrical blue flame like phenomenon that occurred on ship masts in stormy weather, this became our favourite beach in Cape Le Grand. Neither of us can remember ever seeing such vibrant colours. Neither still photos nor the highest resolution video will ever do the place justice.

The stubborn, stupid me had decided to walk back to Thistle Cove solo, in order to collect the car and then pick up the girls from Hellfire. I managed this is just over an hour; quite proud if I do say so myself! The final day in Cape Le Grand was a token ‘lazy day’. We drove along Cape Le Grand Beach to get some drone footage, had lunch at Hellfire Bay, walked along Lucky Bay, spotted some of the famous beach kangaroos and packed up ready for an early departure to Walpole in the morning. The girls were both a bit tired and ratty, so they were entertained with a movie whilst Sarah and I packed the van and/or edited videos/photos. Cape Le Grand really is an exceptional place. Its stunning natural beauty is simply breathtaking. Sarah and I both lamented that another week would have been wonderful. Alas, we must depart and make our way west onto the next leg of our journey.

Esperance

After four nights and five days across the vast latitudinal expanse of Australia, all four of us were well and truly ready for some time outside of the car.

The beautiful seaside town of Esperance welcomed us with mildly warm weather and a slight sea breeze. We checked into the RAC Holiday Park and, to our surprise, we ended up with an ocean view site. Score! Sarah had experienced another revolution around our sun on the same day, so a dinner befitting such an occasion was called for. Sarah had chosen the Pier Hotel as the location and we managed to reserve a table at 5:30 that evening. After a scrumptious and rather oversized meal, we retired to bed early. The next day was a well-needed low key day, with shopping for a week’s groceries and some downtime on the agenda. I was yet to fully acclimatise to the Western Australian time zone, so found myself wide awake at 5:00am the next morning. Conversely, the girls were all ‘catching flies’, so I decided to take a walk along the esplanade. Fortunately, there is a coffee van that opens every morning at 5:30am just outside the caravan park – how serendipitous!

After a great morning stroll and some breakfast we decided to venture to Esperance’s version of Stonehenge. Sarah and I gave a unified groan as we realised the attraction was going to come at a cost of $25 dollars (plus $8.50 for the absolutely necessary stubby holder…) To our surprise it was a most enjoyable time spent there. Not because of the impressive engineering, but for the fact that the location provided us with the absolute best space for epic games of hide and seek with the kids. They (and we) loved it!

From there, it was time to finally get the prado tyres onto some sand. This was a first for me, but I felt confident enough with a tyre deflator and a set of maxtrax on the roof. What could possibly go wrong? Luckily, we managed to venture along the beach without getting bogged and thoroughly enjoyed the time there. Poor weather hindered our opportunities to swim, but we figure that there will be ample time for that on this trip.

A bite of lunch and we took the girls to the Animal and Bird Park, just out of town. The girls just loved interacting with all the different animals; both indigenous and not to Australia. We happened to spy a lonely tiger snake curiously venturing through one of the enclosures. Luckily, it was too cool for it to be too active. A curious sheep dodged a potentially devastating outcome as it investigated the snake. Ebony and Charlotte were able to hold guinea pigs, bunnies and pat a variety of farm animals also. Fresh flake for dinner that night and another early one.

The following day was our last full day in Esperance, so we ventured to the local Sunday market for a look. Whilst there were a few stalls of various knick-knacks and local produce, which were interesting, we were finished in about forty five minutes. It was then that we moved onto the Great Ocean Drive, which, in my opinion, rivals the much longer Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Big call, I know. Living in Esperance must be tough and I mean that will all possible sarcasm. They are incredibly spoilt for choice when it comes to pristine coastline. Ebony marvelled at some local surfers whilst Charlotte was happy rock hopping and exploring with me. Each of the many stops along this drive seemed to become more and more breathtaking; my favourite being Twilight Beach. I would love to visit when there is no cloud, but the weather has not been on our side this week, sadly.

It was then back to the van for our final afternoon before we head out to Cape Le Grand. Cyclone Seroja’s after effects should be felt here tomorrow and into Tuesday, so we won’t be venturing out much. Hopefully, we can get some sunshine and explore! Esperance was our first major stop for this trip, so the benchmark has been set pretty high. Sarah and I agreed that this would be a fantastic place to live! I wonder if the local school and hospital are looking for staff…