Bremer Bay

We once again packed up camp, and left Hopetoun bound for Bremer Bay. We were hoping that this place would be more exciting than the last, and it didn't disappoint. This may have been due to the amazingly well maintained caravan park, complete with a pool much to the delight of the kids, or it may have been due to the magnificent weather WA is putting on for us.

Once settled here we hopped on the bikes and headed for the beach. We didn't get very far as it was a constant uphill ride, which didn't really make a whole lot of sense considering we were supposed to be heading to the beach, and as we had no idea where we were we rode back to the park, and Troy drove the kids while I decided to tough it out and ride. On my way I came to a sign to a beach, so I turned and rode all the way down the hill, hoping they were down there as it was a long way down.....and they weren't!!!! So I turned and rode most of the way back up.  Either it was that big a hill that I couldn't make it or in the 12 days it's been since I've been to gym already my fitness is waning!!! I did have to walk some of the way, but then jumped back on in search of another beach. It was a long way down to the next one and luckily they were there!!

The beach was once again stunning and warm enough that the kids had a swim and boogie board. Troy tried surf fishing but had no luck so wandered off to the rocks and tried his luck there, again with no success. 

After deciding to call it a day, we were gathering our things while watching a guy who had just arrived throw his line in and pull out a huge salmon. Well, that was all it took. Troy was over talking to him about bait and hooks and technique. He even went to the local hardware to get the recommended bait, also picking up the bike rack for me so I didn't have to ride back up the great big hill!! When he got back he took up a spot beside his new mate and exchanged a beer for some local insider information on the fishing in the area, although sadly after about 2hrs there was no luck at all, not even a bite!! So once again we had a BBQ for dinner!!! 

Troy's new mate had told him about a place to catch squid, so after dinner Troy and Ronan headed off in search of the local jetty where big flood lights were used for the local fisherman to unload their boats, and also attracting the creatures under the sea!! The water was so clear they saw a sting ray, a school of salmon and some squid, which they caught a few of, much to Ronan's delight!! 

You Never Never Know If You Never Never Go

And now we know that we don't have to go to Hopetoun again!

We left Lucky Bay, most unwillingly, and at the turn off to head out of the camp ground, Joey, the baby kanga the kids would really have liked to pack into the car, was there to say goodbye to us. 

We went back to Esperance where we restocked and refuelled, (yes we are finally getting the hang of refuelling frequently!!) and set our sights on Hopetoun, which is on the outskirts of the Fitzgerald River National Park.  On the way, we saw a pair of emus by the road side, as well as paddock art, some abstract metalwork in farm paddocks which doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose other than to entertain people that pass by.  I would love to have taken a photo of these, but haven't got the hang of getting the camera out quick enough to capture the moment!!

On our way into Hopetoun we found a car and caravan wash, which delighted Troy to no end, and thus the Yeti and Oz got a thorough cleaning!!

Now Hopetoun itself was not that bad, just that we had been to such an amazing place that had left big shoes to fill!! The caravan park was fine, although nothing to write home about, so I'll stop there!! Once unpacked we jumped on our bikes and rode around town, and that took us all of about 5min!! We found a fantastic general store that had just about anything, from fishing gear, to garden supplies, electrical appliances, giftware, glassware any wares really!! They also had food and drinks so we stopped there for a coffee and cake.  

One thing that Hopetoun does have is a jetty, so once again the kids, yes all 3!, set off to catch some fish, while I stayed at the caravan and did some cooking and paid some bills. The fish were biting in Hopetoun, but unfortunately none were big enough to bring home.  The kids caught about 10 between them, and much to Troy's delight they can now cut their own bait, put it on the hook, cast and then take the fish off all by themselves, giving Troy so much more time to fish himself.  He also caught a couple, but again no keepers!! 

Still Lucky!!

After how well our hike went yesterday, I thought it would be great to hike to Rossiter Bay, a 2hour one way hike to the other side of Lucky Bay.

We walked all the way around Lucky Bay, again taken with the insane beauty of this cove and then began to hike to Rossiter Bay.

The sign failed to mention the hike was tough, or that it was on a goat track!!  Usually the time guide is generous, but it took us the full 2hours and once there, the beach was rather disappointing! Thankfully we did get some great views and saw some more wildlife on the way.

 We had a quick bite to eat, then made our way back along the road, as this was much quicker.  

Troy gave Stella a piggyback every fifth white pole to the sixth one, and for a while the fifth to the sixth were about 2 metres apart, so Stella felt rather jibbed! When we got back one of the regulars was telling us about the area, and mentioned that Rossiter Bay was not worth seeing.  Information that would have been so much handier 4 hours earlier!!!!   All up we think we walked about 12km. And it felt like it!!

For the afternoon we explored the rest of the area by car! We drove to Cape Le Grand, and while the beach was much longer, we still preferred Lucky Bay as a camping spot.  

We also went to Hellfire Bay and saw Frenchman Peak, the highest peak in the area, then went back to Thistle Cove for another swim. 

 This time we were prepared, complete with swimsuits and boogie boards.  The kids had a blast catching the waves!  When the kids were all surfed out we ventured back to camp for a nice hot shower. The facilities here are amazing, complete with showers, flushing loos, a camp kitchen for the back packing campers and a very friendly ranger, all for $20 per night. Great value!!  

OMG!!! Lucky Bay!

As we are still on Sth Australian time we were up with the sparrows, or whatever the birds are called here!!  We packed up and with fingers crossed we headed from Esperance into the Cape Le Grand National Park with our sights set on getting a spot at the Lucky Bay Campsite.  It is first come first serve, so we weren't sure we would get a spot, but as we were driving in we saw one van, then another coming out, so we thought we might be in luck.  Thankfully when we got there there was actually plenty of free sites!! We selected site 13 (of 26 sites), and felt like we were home, or at least wishing this was our home as this place is just breathtaking.

Complete with turquoise water, white sand, cliffs and rocks a plenty, and native flora everywhere the eye can see.  Plus the resident kangas!! What more could one want!!

 We set up camp only a stones throw from the water, then decided to hike to nearby Thistle Cove.  The hike was great, we found some rock crevices that of course the kids, yes all 3 of them, wanted to climb into. 

We saw geckos(?) a plenty, and a larger lizard, maybe a baby goanna? 

 The views from the higher peaks were fantastic and we stopped to savour these.

  We reached Thistle Cove to find that this place too was just amazing, a smaller cove than Lucky Bay, but still with the white sand and turquoise water. 

 As there was no one in sight we had a quick dip, sans swimwear as we didn't pack any, and it felt like we were the only people on earth. The water was quite warm and very refreshing! Once we had finished our swim we ventured back to camp, only to find it was totally full.  Lucky we arrived when we did! 

Troy decided he would try out his new spear and attempt to catch us a fish.  He grabbed the snorkel gear and we headed down to the beach. He claims he speared a fish, but he let it go as it was too small once he saw it above the surface!!! Apparently the mulloway were huge, but he couldn't quite get one of those, they were a bit quick!!  Luckily we had some steak in the fridge, so it was a BBQ dinner instead!!

The Last Stretch Of The Nullarbor

We woke early, packed up camp and drove to Balladonia for breakfast. The roadhouse was great, complete with a museum that had information about the area. Balladonia was the main site where the Skylab space station crashed to earth in 1979. Apparently at the time it was swarming with American media, leaving me to wonder if this was where the Americans came what they thought of Australia, because there wasn't much there, and it's 35 years later!! 

We finally bought a golf ball and Troy got to play his first and only hole of the Nullarbor golf course, aptly named the Skylab hole, a par 3. When we asked a guy where the tee was, he pointed it out and told us there were heaps of snakes on the hole. Excellent!!! Not!!! 

Thankfully Troy's first shot was straight, because I was not going to be looking through the scrub for the ball!  Even though his shot was straight, the fairway was also the rough, so his ball landed in a bush. 

As he only had a seven iron, this was also the putter, so he double-bogied the hole!  Or that's the excuse he is giving anyway!! 

Ronan also had a go, and surprisingly didn't lose the ball either!

No snakes were seen, sadly, but at least we came away unscathed!! 

We continued on our journey, reaching Esperance just after lunch.  The caravan park we are staying in is right on the beach, although sadly they are renovating the pier and foreshore area, so much to Stella's disgust, we couldn't go fishing off the pier. Instead we had a kebab for lunch and the kids explored the caravan park and played in the playground for the rest of the day. 

The Nullarbor

We left Fowler's Bay before sunrise and set off bound for WA. We travelled along the unsealed road once more, this time accompanied by some kangas, much to the delight of the kids (and me, love kangas!) and as the sun rose, we hit the main road and travelled across more barren plains! 

While it isn't whale season, we still turned into Head of the Bight for the fabulous view of the cliffs of Australia's southern coast and the Southern ocean. 

Soon after we hit the border of WA and were greeted by a very friendly border security man who confiscated our honey!!

We travelled a little further before stopping for petrol, at 206.9 c/L, and then on we went.  We covered a fair amount of ground, stopping along the way for a quick sandwich and a stretch, and then kept on going.  We stopped to get petrol again in Madurah, only to find the petrol station had no power, and thus we couldn't pump petrol out of the bowser!! The next town was Cocklebiddy, 91 km away and Yeti's range was 95km! After our previous petrol debacle, we didn't really want to risk it again! Troy spoke to some people in the nearby hotel to see if we could siphon some petrol from their car, but the only hose we could find didn't fit. So Troy (yes it was his decision because then he would be walking if we ran out!!) decided we would give it a crack!! He found the most fuel efficient speed and sat on it all the way to Cocklebiddy! We filled up there, (thankfully they had power), and Yeti took 74L in her 73L tank! We assume we were running on fumes!! 

We travelled a little more, covering another 900km today.  We have begun to realise we are part of the Secret Caravan Club, secret because it probably doesn't exist, but everyone we pass with a caravan on the back gives us a wave!  Some just a little one, but others get the spirit fingers happening, and others the passenger waves too! We are getting into the swing of this, anything to keep us amused while crossing the Nullarbor! 

We set up camp in a free stay just shy of Balladonia. Ronan was wrapt as he was able to build a campfire!

Patience...... I Really Need To Get Me Some Of That!!

We packed up our site in Ceduna and made our way just down the road (about 150km) to Fowler's Bay. The lady from the caravan park assured me on the phone that the road condition was good, despite it being unsealed. Well she either hasn't driven it in a long while, or she was desperate for the extra business at the park, 'cause the road was shite!! Troy drove really slowly over the corrigations and we got there eventually, only to find......

Sand dunes, as far as the eye could see and not more than 100m from the caravan park!! If only I had've waited, Yeti (the car) would not have been driven on the dirt road yesterday, twice, and Troy wouldn't have lost his fishing rod!! But anyways!!!

We tried sand boarding once again, only to find that despite these being the perfect dunes for it, the boards just didn't do the job.

Fowler's Bay itself, while small, was ace.  The local dog took to us, following us up into the dunes.  Stella nick-named him Boris.

Troy and the kids attempted to fish off the jetty again.  Ronan almost caught a squid, and will forever blame Troy for letting it get away.  Stella again was the only one to catch a fish, but this one was too little and she had to throw it back.  

Our night in the park was great, with all the guests, about 10 of us, gathering around the camp fire and exchanging travel stories over a drink or two!!