We had about 10 days to get Tamika to the airport in Albany with only 350klms to get there. So, with even more time than we usually allow ourselves, we began to actively look for little side trips and expeditions to fill in time. We’d heard so much about how beautiful the south-west coast is and we took the less traveled coastal roads to make the most of it.
Cape D’Enrtrecasteaux
We made our way down the Vasse Highway, through quaint country villages with names like Peerbeelup, Beedelup and Yeagarup. Clearly, whoever named these towns was on a roll. Around 2pm we arrive at Northcliffe and our first opportunity to indulge in a bit of whimsy. We COULD just park outside the Visitor Center for the night (which was allowed), OR we could head for a dot on the map called Windy Harbour and the D”Entrecasteaux National Park. Windy Harbour, I mean it begs the question “How windy?” It was a twenty minute run and we arrived at the local caravan park, that turned out to be a free range, self-serve, park now-pay later affair. The booking office was only open for 90 minutes in the morning and night, so we parked ourselves in a corner and set off to explore the national park.
Windy Harbour is a shanty town for fisherman. There is no electricity here. Although the caravan park offered powered sites, it was a solar and battery supply at only 6amps – not ideal and subject to periodic outages according to the locals. The national park is literally just up the road and we got our first look at the towering cliffs and coastline. There were walks and lookouts and it was good to see Aboriginal history detailed along the way. Considering where we’d been for the last two years it was quite a novelty peering over a cliff with a 150 metre drop.
Crystal Springs
When we got back, I struck up a conversation with a couple who were heading in the same direction and planning to stay at this ‘amazing’ placed called Crystal Springs. Now call me naive, but that name does invoke certain images and along with those images, certain expectations. They sounded so enthusiastic, well, let’s go THERE. Mmmmm….. NO crystal springs, in fact no water of any kind. Five acres of hilly, heavily wooded parkland less than 100 metres off the highway. Luckily the one spot you could actually park a large van was empty and, after the RV equivalent of a directions hearing, we squeezed through a gap between the trees and set up for a couple of nights. The rain arrived a few hours later and funnily enough turned our little ‘wild wood’ into an enchanted forest, mist and low cloud swirling through the trees.
As it turned out, our first choice, Mandalay Beach was just a few clicks away, so when the rain eased off, I took a run down to take a look. It was clear even at this stage, that the south- west coast is dominated by islands and dangerous reefs. That ameliorates the “you’ve seen one beach, you’ve seen ’em all” problem. Mandalay is a famous shipwreck and rescue beach, named after the unfortunate ship blown onto the beach by treacherous winds The survivors waited four days on the beach before one of them set off for help. Incredibly after a couple of days, they stumbled across an isolated farmer returning from a supply run, and rescue ensured.
Peaceful Bay
Now, here’s a destination that can’t be accused of overacting. Peaceful Bay is another diversion off the now South Coast Highway, and is as it says. We had pre-booked into the local caravan park, another al-fresco, with no formal sites, just lush lawns, a scattering of trees and the best seafood takeaway for miles and miles.
Peaceful Bay is protected by a large off shore reef, and we enjoyed a long walk along the beach. Most of the weekend was spent watching the footy and we ended up staying an extra night. Fishing was on offer, but somehow, we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to abandon Kayo. It was a very relaxing few days. but sadly we had to continue on and arrived in Albany with a day to spare.
