The Road Trip - West Coast Austrialia

We finally made the move to leave Cam and Alex for a week and head down the South West coast to explore. We hired a car and set off towards Margaret River, a 3-4 hour drive that took us 2 ½ days to get there. The weather was once again gorgeous and we opted to get off the highway and find a coastal road to lead us down. We decided the first order of business should be a fish and chips lunch. They say that in north America we have large portion sizes and overeat, well we ordered one order of fish and chips between us and could barely finish it - we were stuffed. We shared a table with a Aussie couple who gave us advice for what to see and do. The genuine friendliness and interest in our trip and our safety oozed from them and was just the first of many unforgettable friendly Aussie’s we met on the way. We headed back to Penguin Island after lunch, we had driven by earlier in the day and realized that people were walking from the mainland over to the island on some type of sandbar. Our friendly couple had told us all about it during lunch and we quickly set off to get there and back before high tide. We waded waist deep through the turquoise waters for a kilometer to the island. Large pelicans floated serenely on the ocean, bobbing up and down. Once on the island we took the coastline all around the island and our first sighting of a little blue penguin was of him hiding under the stairs. The birdlife on the island in amazing. It is a nesting area to many species including the penguins and the pelicans.

Back on the road we drove through forested highways and caught sight of a group of kangaroos, grazing in the woods before we pulled up to Billingup beach and sat back to enjoy an incredible west coast sunset. As we watched the sky explode in shades or red and oranges, we noticed a couple down at the beach, the guy tried to go for a swim and only made it waist deep before retreating from the chilly waters. As they passed by we commented on his “dip” and once again were blown away by the outright welcoming nature of the Aussie’s. The next thing we knew, Mark and Nat, had run home to get us beers, a map book of the area and we had 3 pages of sights to see written down in our notebooks. They left us with their numbers and emails in case we had any problems at all while travelling around. We decided to camp at the beach, folded down the back seat of the car and stretched into the trunk, although we had a tent this ended up being a great comfy option and was how we spent most nights on our road trip.

The next day we headed to the gorgeous beaches recommended to us. We picnicked at the beach and then the heat drove us into the ocean. 20 minutes later we both emerged with Jellyfish stings and welts rising. We drove through cute little villages, picnicked at beaches, saw the longest jetty, the lighthouse and then worked our way down to the wine country, stopping at cheese factories, ice cream factories, chocolate factories and the works. The weather began to change as we headed south west, with the nights becoming chillier and the days overcast with some sunny breaks, ans we had to pull out the long sleeves. We headed out to the panoramic views of the west, the wind had picked up and the day dawned overcast, however as we drove up to the coastline, we found a huge windsurfing surf competition. The competitors beared down as huge waves crashed around them on their windsurfing boards as they tried to navigate the waves and score points with incredible displays of agility and surfing.

From the vineyards of Margaret River we headed south to the rocky headland of Cape Leeuwin. As we drove through the huge forests of Eucalytis and Karri, we saw ancient trees that were as wide as tracker trailer. The trees towered into the sky to such heights it was unbelievable. We once again met incredible people along the way, with suggestions and advice of things to see and do. With this in mind, we turned off towards the Green pools, and we are so happy we did or we might have missed this gem on the south coast. As we drove along the windswept shoreline, shurbs grew at precarious angles, the turquoise waters of the ocean shone back at us and as we crested the hill, the ocean and shoreline unfolded before us in a breathtaking scene. The multitude of shades of blue from the ocean and sky blurred on the horizon as the bright white clouds offered a brillant contrast and created a stunning view.

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The Green pools turned out to be deceiving. Once again breathtaking views met us as we descended the wooden stairs to the beach. The green pools are turquoise waters in pools surrounded by black rocks and a white sand beach. The huge rocks shelter the pools from the waves of the ocean and they sit serenely disguising the underwater world teeming with life below. We put on our snorkels and masks and headed into the waters and stopped in our tracks by the deceiving frigid waters. Finally we braved the cold and at first there wasn’t much to see, but as we were about to pack it in, we headed into a group of rocks and the underwater world opened up before us. Tropical fish of every shape and colour nibbled at the coral. Some curiously following us or looking into our masks and others fleeing for cover in the crevaces of the coral. We could have spent hours and hours exploring but the cold finally drove us out. We found a great lookout to camp at up the road that faced back over the green pools and the coast line. As the first streaks of pink entered the sky, we realized that across the road in the field the kangaroos had started to come out to graze. As we watched, we realized that they were not just grazing but that a “boxing” match had begun and we watched on for 30 minutes before they finally tired out. At this point the sky was lit up by incredible glowing reds and oranges, with the bright sky blue fringing the edges of another incredible sunset.

The black cockatoos amazed us, the brillant white cockatoos and various green parakeets, laurakeets and kookabura’s just added to our incredible adventure. We stood for hours watching the kangaroos roam and the birds soar. The west coast won our hearts with the breathtaking scenery, multitude of wildlife and diverse foliage.

Our 1st week in Aus

Arriving in Perth was Fantastic!  We met up with our friends Alex and Cam that we met in Vietnam, they picked us up in the airport, put us up for a week and fed us!!!  They had a steak dinner waiting, clean bed and hot shower.  Believe me when you have been on the road this long, these are the things that are long craved and much needed - we couldn't remember the last time we had had a hot shower. 

The next day was Australia day and Cam had arranged for him and Greg to golf a nice links course - Port Kennedy.  As Greg walked the greens in 40 degree heat - dry, dry heat - he saw his first Kangaroo - a big male and then another one, a female with a baby(joey) in her pouch.  Alex and I headed to the lake for a family breakfast bbq, an annual event with champagne and orange juice, loads of food and a great cool lake to swim in!  The weather was perfect, hot,  but not an ounce of humidity, and clear blue skies with not a cloud in sight.  At midday Alex and I headed for a walk with her mom's puppy and we walked along the red earth road, surrounded by birds of every size and call.  It is the heart of summer now and the grasses are a golden yellow.  We ended the day with a picnic in the park just down the road, beside the river and a fantastic fireworks display.  Not bad for our first day in OZ.

The week flew by, we had planned on spending a day or two with Cam and Alex but we ended up staying a week, they had loads of fun plans in store for us.  We started our 2nd day out with a visit to Scarborough beach. The first thing that comes to mind is paradise. The view was breathtaking, like that out of a brochure for a travel company, white sand beaches and turquoise waters with big waves lapping at the beach. The sky was a brilliant deep blue and met the varying shades of turquoise and blue as the ocean stretched out to meet it. As we walked towards the water in the 40 degree heat of the day, we were shocked to find that the turquoise waters were crystal clear. The clearest water we have ever seen, it was like looking through a pane of glass to the bottom. Unbelievable! Not a bad way to start the day, and right there and then we fell in love with the west coast of Australia and it just kept getting better.

From the beach we headed to the Swan Valley. When one imagines a day spent wine tasting, images of tranquility, endless fields of grape vines, soft tranquil music in the background fill the imagination. The swan valley not only delivered, but also added a twist. In Australia, wine tasting involves sitting at the counter with a super friendly staff on the other side, pouring copious amounts of alcohol into your glass. The question “Which wine would you like to try?” never even leaves their mouth as the assumption is made before you even walk in – Try them all. This being said, we only managed to see a couple vineyards, so of course we had to go back for a second day a couple of days later. We sat out in the 40 degree dry heat to enjoy an incredible ploughmans feast with amazing views stretching before us. The enjoyment of this day was magnified ten fold as this was our first taste of wine, cheese, olives, fresh bread and meat in months! Yummy!

Next on our wine tasting adventure we ended up at Lamonts Winery. We didn’t notice the closed sign as we entered and it is a good thing we didn’t or we would have missed out on one of the most entertaining afternoons known to wine tasting. As we drove up a big aussie bloke flagged us down, Cam inquired about tastings and his response was “How much money do you have?” and so it began. He decided to open shop for us and took us inside cursing the heat the whole way. We had imagined he was a worker and quickly came to realize that he was the regular sommelier. The tasting that ensued was not typical in the least, it was full of cursing and inappropriate jokes, and absolutely delicious wines. Each wine was incredible in its own way – it is not very often that every wine is outstanding at a vineyard. He then broke out some special vintages for us to try. He chugged back half glasses as the afternoon progressed, but his knowledge of wine was incredible. To say the least he took any pretension out of the afternoon, had us in stitches the whole time, jaws dropping in disbelief at moments – “did he really just say that?” and creating an unforgettable experience.

The days that followed flew by filled with golf, fishing, swimming and sunshine. Greg and Cam went fishing, they were eager to bait their hooks and their friend Mark was dying to catch a fish. The fish was caught but by Greg and they swore it was beginners luck, and in the days that followed there were many fishing excursions and we dined on Greg’s catches of flathead, whiting and . On his first evening out fishing, as the sun lowered behind the skyline, lighting up the skies with the spectacular reds and oranges of the west coast, a dolphin road the waves right into the shoreline, feet from where Greg was standing, catching fish and ending up stuck in the sand before squirming free. A spectacular sight that left the boys more excited about the dolphin than the fish.

The fish was not the only seafood we sampled and we had our first experience with the blue crab, literally it is a purply blue and Cam cooked up a feast that had our mouths watering! We spent a fantastic afternoon “golfing”. By golfing I mean that the boys golfed and Alex and I decided that we should go and see the boys in action so we got a cart, chilled a bottle of white wine and followed the boys as they played along the river course with the city of Perth peeking at us in the backdrop. On a bitter-sweet note our week had to end and we said our goodbyes and got ready to embark on the next adventure - the South West Coast.

Willy Wag Tail