The Pattos – Tagalong Tours

Yeagerup Dunes

Yeagerup Dunes

images from heartbreak trail

Heartbreak trail

 This lead to some lengthy discussions on my driving prowess and detracted somewhat from the otherwise pleasant experience. Lost a few brownie point I did, however, I took the critique on board and the return journey was acceptable. We captured a fair bit on the Gopro and I must say the footage provides a better perspective even if its upside down. (I forgot to invert the camera image – more lost brownie points). From there it was on to the Warren National Park and we followed Heartbreak trail through the park. This is a very picturesque track and was a fitting end to the day. Tomorrow its on the road again.

The weather has moderated a little today and our real goal today was the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. The lighthouse is still fully functional although totally automated these days but the grounds are open to the public and there are guided tours of the lighthouse. The grounds tour includes and audio device for each person which relates the key feature of each of the exhibits and provided a wealth of anecdotes and history, some being recounted by one of the last lighthouse keepers. 

Where’s Dougal????

Yep is that bloody cold

Cape Leeuwin Light house

Water wheel originally used to pump waster to the lighthouse

Three of us went on the guided tour of the lighthouse. It was 138 steep steps but well worth the trip. My knee and back didn’t give me too much grief (managed to get some anti inflammatories to help). The point at Cape Leeuwin is the meeting of two oceans – the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean – with the lighthouse slap bang in the middle. Today they both seemed to be fighting for superiority. Once we ascended the steps and stepped out on to the platform around the light the wind hit us and it was ferocious but what an outlook. Well worth the money. The lighthouse is the highest in Australia and is still used as a navigation aid today. We had noticed, not for the first time, that the lights revolve during the daylight hours which seemed strange. The reasons, we have discovered, for this is that the light actually sits on a bed of mercury and so requires very little in the way of effort to keep it rotating and that if the prisms stop they can concentrate the rays of the sun on a spot and start a grass/bush fire. After the tour and walk around the grounds it was off to the coffee shop for coffee and scones – Coffee very good scones good.

After lunch with the weather looking ok Gaz, Laura and I went fishing (I guess you could call it that) of the beach near the van park. Lots of bites, lots of lost bait, 4 small bream safely returned to the briny sea. Very pleasant afternoon. Tomorrow we move on to Pemberton.

You know sometimes you shouldn’t let your guard down. The weather has been less than friendly over the last week with gale force winds, rain, more rain and more wind. I thought last night (for a fleeting moment) that it had passed. It hadn’t, over night rain belted down and the wind blew. In between the wind and the rain we managed to pack albeit the tents were still saturated. We pulled out about 10ish with our first stop Gabrielle’s Chocolates. This was only about 20 km’s down the road so not a long first leg. We only had about 90kms to do today anyway so it was never going to be a long day. The wild weather has created a bit of a mess with lots of debris, branches etc all over the roads. We slowed our pace a bit due to the winds and the uncertainty of what might be around the corner. The debris on the road wasn’t so much dangerous more a nuisance with the possibility it would damage something. I made the comment to Di about this after we went over a particularly large branch and it bounced around under the car which concerned Di. The omen was to come true but more on that later. The choc master at Gabriel’s was very knowledgeable on chocolate which you would expect him to be. It was interesting how the flavours change subtly with the different beans even when making the same product.  Gabriel’s under our belt (cause you can never have too much chocolate) we continued south to the Lake Cave. 

There are a multitude of caves in these parts so we picked one. It’s well serviced and has a great information/reception area and the deck overlooking the cave entrance is quite spectacular. I have elected not to do the cave as there are over 300 steps and the way my back and knee have been going I would have put a sizable bet on me not making the first landing. Di and the rest of our intrepid travellers, however, did go down. The summary of accounts would indicate it was spectacular and thanks to Laura for acting as my photographer. From there it was straight into Augusta and the Flinders Bay Caravan Park. This park is a council run park and is closed 3 months of the year. It had only been open a week when we arrived. It’s a nice surprise and appears to be well run, clean and has some great hedging around some sites. This has given us some reprieve from the winds and rain. After we had set up we just dagged around for the remainder of the day. As for the omen as we set up the new water pump in the van was going flat out but no water. We traced the problem to a broken drain tap on the water tank, some debris had obliviously bounced up and clobbered the drain tap and emptied our water tank. We fixed the problem in about 15 minutes between showers of rain. Thanks to Gaz for crawling under the van.

Well the weather is still unkind, with close to gale force winds, rain and heavy squalls it’s the one thing we can’t change (the weather) and probably for good reason. Today’s plan involved again mainly indoor activities so we piled into Gaz’s Prado and set forth towards Busselton. Our intention was to have a look at the pier which extended 1.8km’s out, however as we pulled up next to a market that became the priority. So into the market we plunged for a look see. 

 The old Cheddar Cheese company sounded interesting and for cheese lovers it is. Very pleasant and helpful staff, good tasting and VERY reasonable prices and with the added bonus of a little café. We came away a bit lighter in our wallets but satisfied (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Old-Cheddar-Cheese-Company/157136067668451). Next stop was the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and a walk out to the point from the lighthouse. It was about 1km each way and pretty easy but for the squalls. We all got a little wet but the views from below the lighthouse were spectacular – especially with the heavy seas. There were also lots of wildflowers out which made the walk all that much better. Last stop on the journey home was Eagle Bay olives. Again very friendly people and very nice produce. The owner has even given me some tips on processing my own olives and has shared her recipe. Then it was back to the van. Tomorrow we head for Augusta for a couple of nights and hopefully a break in the weather.

Overnight the weather deteriorated significantly with some pretty wild weather forecast. It has been raining heavily and wild squalls. Planning meeting this morning concluded we would head to Margaret River as most of the things down there are indoors. So we visited Margaret River Chocolate as we had been told there was no other place for chocolate. 

Laura and friend Yallingup van park

Di and I our new look

SES recruitment drive

Wild seas

They certainly have it down pat and the variety of goods, including chocolate, walking out the door in peoples clutches was incredible. We purchase a modest quantity and road tested many others. Next was nougat and wine at Margaret River Nougat (I pass on the nougat) and we had the opportunity to watch it being made. It was then into Margaret River for a stroll (between down pours) and a variety of craft shops.  Craft shops and lunch over we headed out to the berry farm. Again a sumptuous array of jams, chutney’s etc and a few more items added to the larder. Coffee and muffins in the small provedore attached to the berry farm (rated at very good). By now it was getting on home time so the short (but windy and wet) trip back to Yallingup to end another successful day. Took a few photos along the beach on the way back of a very angry sea. Could be a rough night tonight for us but rougher for Wendy and Laura in the tents.

Shaz made an observation the other day in relation to the number of towns ending in “up” around these parts. I never took much notice until today but would have to say it seems to be an “upsession” with list of said towns very extensive indeed as well as streets. Morning tea was at Mandurah and rated very good with coffee and churos with chocolate dip. We happened on a little town called Capel as we looked for a lunch spot and we were very surprised when we found this little café with great food. Rated very good by all. We arrived a Yallingup about 4pm and will be here for the next 3 days. Tried for a few shots of the beach this evening with the sun setting.

Today, as said previously, we decided on a three island tour which left from Rockingham. The trip was only about an hour all up so nothing to huge but it was through a class A nature marine park. We meandered slowly down to Rockingham with plenty of time to spare. Gaz, Laura, Wendy and myself had elected to go with Di and Shaz sitting this one out. Three of the four intrepid explorers duely consumed travel calm each as we prepared. Laura really wanted to do a swim with the dolphins but it was a bit expensive and this would have been the first one of the season so we hoped a dolphin would appear during our trip. Our craft was about 30ft and had an able crew of two.

 The young girl doing the commentary was pretty good. The seas were calm with about a metre swell running as we headed out. The trip takes in Penguin Island, Shag rock and Seal Island and the crystal clear water was a magnificent back drop. We were not permitted to land on any of the islands due to the classification, although you can go on Penguin Island during certain times of the year. This was not one of those times, apparently it was “romancing time” on the island. Shag Island is also the home of an Osprey which has nested there for many years. We managed a glimpse of its head but it was keeping a low profile. Shag Rock also has the remnants of a petrified forest clearly visible above the water line. Seal rock is the home of 3 large male fur seals, apparently this is their summer pad where they prepare themselves for the rigours of the mating season. They appeared to be successful in their attempts from my vantage point. After the cruise we meandered back to Freo, stopping for a chip and potato cake lunch by the bay. Lunch was good, coffee in the morning was average.  As night fell we decided to head into Kings Park to try some night shots of the city – with varying degrees of success.

We wandered the streets of Freo for a few hours to day and of course coffee (rated at good to very good) at an Italian bar. There is a high Italian influence around here and suspect its from the early fishing industry days. The day was pretty informal and topped off with a visit to the Maritime museum, complete with full size submarine, which you can take a guided tour of. There are many full size exhibits including Australia II. 

There is a lot of history here including many vessels that would have been around over the last century. “Dougal” had a ball and got into a bit of mischief. Included in the exhibits is a preserved “Mega mouth” shark, which are quite rare and was washed up on the beach here in the 70’s. It’s a fair size and the mouth would frighten shit out of you if you saw it coming at you. Not to worry though, their main diet is plankton, followed by humans (sorry just joking).

Next day was a quiet one, Gaz’z car was in for a service and we took Laura into Freo for some girl time with Di and Wendy. As much as I tried to get in touch with my feminine side I only ended up being the driver – but the girls had fun. Today’s coffee was Laura and Wendy’s choice (boutique Chocolate shop a bit like Coco blacks) – Rating very good plus (chocs were nice touch). After Gaz picked up his car his crew plus Wendy went north to Woolly Latte (craft shop) and the northern beaches. Di and I chilled, did a bit of maintenance and not much else. We have booked a cruise for Thursday which will take us out to the Dolphin’s, Sea lions and a few other things. Had to go in today to buy a bulk supply of sea sickness pills and we are also considering a night tour of the jail.

We left Kalgoorlie about 8ish and decided that we would go straight to Perth. We had originally planned to head south from Southern Cross on a dirt road to Hyden and wave rock. It would have been around 200km of dirt, which, if we had our trailers instead of vans would have been ok but the rain had turned the roads to a bit like mush and our vans are not made for that sort of trip. So Perth here we come which meant about 650 kms trip for today. 

There is not much to report and the miles slipped by. The rain has helped bring the wildflowers out and we stopped many times to take photos. We stopped in at Southern Cross for lunch which was a quaint old place and the tea rooms a bit of a surprise. A few pies, sausage rolls and cakes later we were off again. The cakes cost around $2.00 and presented in little card trays, which probably cost more than the cost of the cake. Anyway we arrived in “Freo” (Western Australian for Fremantle).