THE BIG DASH: End in sight

Someone from home said to me the other day “see you in six weeks”.

That kinda set me back a bit. Six weeks? Well, it’s probably a week or two more than that before we get back to our home in Somers, but either way it sounds like a pretty short time frame.

It’s crazy how quickly time has rolled under our wheels on this trip, but also how long ago it feels since that first day’s drive to Halls Gap.

My feelings are mixed about the prospect of home. It will be great to see family and friends and have enough room to swing a cat (poor cat, won’t be looking forward to that!), but we’ve seen and done so much on this trip.

At the same time we’ve realised there is so much more to do and just how good for the soul, mind and body travelling and visiting new places can be.

Like this week in the Margaret River region, which has been a great experience, made all the better because we got to share it with our friends Don and Kirsty who flew in from Melbourne.

It’s kinda like the Barossa, the Mornington Peninsula, and Mudgee all thrown in together. Yes there’s wine, but there’s also great food, beautiful scenery, high-quality mountain biking, forest walks and a stunning coastline with white-sand beaches.

It’s yet another string to Western Australia’s bow. We’ve learned it’s got many of them!

Worse for wear

While we’ve been having a great week, Tas the Kia Tasman X-Pro has been suffering.

First off, a bus trying to do an impossibly tight three-point turn in the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse carpark reversed into him.

Thankfully, damage was limited to a few scrapes on the tow bar tongue and a split in the red cap covering the DO35 hitch.

Judging by the shrapnel left on the ground the bus came off worse. The most annoying thing was the bus driver trying to gaslight Jane by telling her she hadn’t parked deep enough in her bay. Just bullshit, as this photo proves.

Then on the Vasse Highway heading south from Augusta to Pemberton a few days later we copped another rock in the windscreen.

The last one, courtesy of a road train a couple of weeks ago, wasn’t too bad and we’d agreed with Kia to stick to our travel plans unless it got worse. It hasn’t.

But this one, as you can see from the pic, is an absolute belter. It was all very innocuous. Just a motorhome heading the other way at moderate speed and next thing ‘BANG!’. It’s an ugly hit.

Looks like I’m going to have to head back to Perth in the next week or two for a replacement screen. It’s just going to take a while to find one and ship it over.

Otherwise, Tas has been doing well this week, transporting us around the Margaret River area in his usual comfortable and capable fashion.

The reduced fuel consumption rate has been an enjoyable benefit.

But he’s also had to slip into work mode for short tows from Busselton to Margaret River and then on to Augusta a few days later.

So to this week’s fuel numbers:

Litres consumed: 132.68
KM travelled: 976
Consumption average: 13.6L/100km
$ paid: $333.53 (best price paid: $2.379per litre)
KM per $: 2.93km (was 2.45km per $ last time)

Culinary delights

The Margaret River area has an overwhelming choice when it comes to eateries, wineries, breweries and distilleries.

They’re often in spectacular settings that make the experience all that more special. Some of the places are globally famous, like Vasse Felix and Leeuwin Estate, but we also enjoyed the road less travelled.

Father’s Day celebrated at a winery called Rustico was a highlight, as was Hamelin Bay Wines tucked away in a small, green valley in the countryside near Karridale.

It was a sunny afternoon, the wine was good, the company was great. There are few better ways to while away an hour...

Gracetown has a sad history of fatal rock falls and shark attacks, but it doesn’t stop the surfers coming here in their hundreds on a good day.

Across the bay on the day we visited there were at least three breaks working, including some huge waves out the back. Bit too much for my limited bodysurfing skills, but the walk around the cliff tops was worth it.

Hamelin Bay is a calmer, more serene prospect. White sands and shimmering blue waters arc together for kilometres into the distance.

More mountain biking

Yep, Don and I have kept exploring this week. We hit the popular trails of Margaret River township for some cruising amongst the tall trees.

A more challenging experience was the steeps of Nannup. In 19km of ups and downs we climbed 660m! The downward journey was worth it, all very groomed, fast and flowing through the pines.

Wandering Hamelin Bay beach we came across this LandCruiser 70 Series. Appears things had gone wrong while trying to reverse down the boat ramp.

I didn’t so much enjoy this bloke’s predicament as just feel glad it wasn’t me. I dunno quite how it all happened and when Don bravely tried to have a chat he got shut down pretty quickly.

Triple treat

We’ve rapid-fired our way through three van parks in a week: RAC at Busselton, the Margaret River Tourist Park and the Turner Caravan Park in Augusta.

Busselton was typical RAC – big sites, modern amenities and all very well organised. Margaret River is part of the Summerstar network and while not at the standard of Busso, its great advantage is its location close to the heart of town.

We also got a drive-through site there, which we both loved, as reversing continues to be a work in progress.

But the Augusta caravan park turned out to be the true highlight. Council-owned, it sat right on the edge of the Blackwood River, just minutes from the Southern Ocean.

At night we drifted off to the sounds of the breakers roaring in the distance.

Just up the road was the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse where the Southern and Indian Ocean currents meet. It’s a wild, untamed place. You can get wind, rain and more wind and rain here.

We got lucky, with a couple of beautiful, blue-sky days for our explorations. That included an ‘Out of the Shadows’ walk Jane had signed up for in aid of suicide prevention. The beautiful 9km course she chose ran along the coast from the lighthouse. Eddie, Lulu and I went along in support.

Augusta isn’t the culinary centre Margaret River is, but it’s only a craft brewery and a good pizza maker away from being pretty special.

The locals lament most tourists don’t make the trip further south than Margaret River. We get where they are coming from, but the serenity of Augusta certainly is one of its assets.

It still feels absolutely authentic, whereas Margaret River is disappearing under its tourist traffic.

Lack of courtesy

Not sure what some people think when they are in the close confines of a caravan park.

At Augusta we were a couple of sites back from the river, but still had a great view if we dragged our chairs out the front.

Then a couple turned up with their van and settled into pole position right on the water’s edge. Fine, no drama with that.

But for some reason they did not reverse their LandCruiser back out of the way. Instead they left it sitting out the front partially blocking the view.

There was plenty of room to tuck their vehicle away, but nope, it sat there for two days never moving.

So at this point do I go and ask them to move? No, I just knew I’d later regret that act no matter how much I would have enjoyed the moment.

You just have to move on from these things.

And we have done so. This week we’re headed for the tall trees right down south...