Margaret River to Steep Point

Tree tops lit up in Dwellingup

28 March 2019 - 

When we last spoke we were leaving the Margaret River Region after five nights and heading somewhere north. Well that place somewhere north was Dwellingup - place of dwellings. State Forest Parks operate a wonderful campground with huge sites in a bush setting. Yellow lighting at night shines upwards into the treetops. When we arrived on the Thursday we were only one of two campsites occupied. When we left on Saturday the place was almost full. We were camped amongst an informal caravan club made up of people who lived in the Perth region who had become friends over the years as they holidayed at Coral Bay. They were a great bunch and we sat and chatted to some of them for several hours over the couple of days.

Our campsite views at Dwellingup

Our friends, Gael-force and Ray-n, from Canungra were also in the area for a family gathering of Gael's around Perth.  True to their namesakes they had strong winds and drought breaking rains most of the way over from Queensland. They caught up with us at Dwellingup on the Friday and we showed them what blue skies and light winds looked like. Before they arrived in the afternoon we set off for an explore of Lane Poole National Park just south of us, a pretty park with lots of campgrounds but not many sites suitable for caravans. Central to the park is the WA version of the Murray River.

Lane Poole NP and the Murray River

Returning home from Lane Poole NP for lunch I predicted Ray and Gael would arrive around 1:30pm and, true to my word, in they rocked at that exact time. As usual we had a very enjoyable time catching up with them. They had a site beside us and the rest of the day was spent contrasting our sunny, becalmed journey to their windblown, wet travels across Australia. Our time together was great fun and far too short.

Catching up with Ray and Gael at Dwellingup

Next day Ray and Gael left in next morning for Gael's family gathering while we left as late as allowed and headed towards South Dandalup Dam north of Dwellingup to chew up a bit of time before we headed to Manjimup south of Perth.


Manjimup is only 45 minutes from Dwellingup and check in time was from 2pm so we had to kill some time.  South Dandalup Dam was a lovely way to do that before the short journey to Manjimup.

Our reason for heading to Manjimup was to catch up with some good friends we made when cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest in 2012. We met up with Ken and Joan in 2013 when we went around Australia and just had to take the opportunity to meet up again this trip. A wonderful day was spent with them in their beautiful home at Waikiki Beach south of Perth. Lunch overlooking the beautiful bay from their home provided a perfect backdrop for our time together.

Catching up with Ken and Joan (and Bella the Maltese puppy)

Next it was off to Yanchep NP just north of Perth for a three night stay. Kevin and Marilyn (Amy's in-laws) had arrived the day before and it was from here we planned to travel north together for a while. 

Yanchep NP is located on the northern outskirts of Perth and is a little oasis so close to the big city. Campsites are large and well spaced and there are flush toilets and hot showers. 

Our campsite at Yanchep NP

Yanchep Gorge walk

A camp host manages the campground and allocates sites. There are several walks of varying lengths and we did the gorge walk, complete with its own beehives, caves and well formed trails.

Wild bee hive

Also in the park is a koala enclosure which we were free to walk through, a coffee shop, BBQ's, hundreds of kangaroos, a lake, a pub, a golf course, caves used for weddings and other events as well as a closed down resort.  All of these were explored over the two days we were here.

Flocking White-tailed Black Cockatoos

Yanchep NP walk

Function cave

SS Minnow (Captain Ken and First Mate Jeff)

Flocking koalas

Flocking kangaroos

Boxing kangaroos

Kevin had trouble with his batteries in his campervan so in between exploring the park we explored the inner workings of his batteries, solar panel and 240v battery charger and all the wires connected to them. After many discussions that led to many more theories we decided to start up our generator and at least get the batteries through the night while Kev sourced an auto-electrician the next day, that being Monday. On Monday we explored the park some more, visited nearby Yanchep Lagoon and Two Rocks while waiting for the sparky to call to say he was ready. 

Kev and his brother

Marilyn, Kevin & Jeff at Yanchep Beach

One of two rocks at Two Rocks

One of many passing morning storms on the morning we left Yanchep NP

The call came at 2:30pm so Kev and Marilyn headed off. The problem: a disconnected wire to the batteries missed by the Battery World auto-electrician when the new batteries were installed. The lead was under one of the batteries so we missed it too.

With batteries now sorted and Yanchep NP and the local region fully explored the four of us headed north along the coast stopping at some of the numerous fishing villages along the way. 

Ledge Point

Morning tea at Ledge Point 

The Pinnacles just south of Cervantes came into view around 11am so we parked up our car and van in the carpark and jumped into Kev and Marilyn's campervan to do the drive through these beautiful formations once again. 

The Pinnacles

 

Kev and Marilyn's campervan at the Pinnacles

After the Pinnacles we headed to Thirsty Point in Cervantes for some lunch. With some clever positioning of the caravan and campervan we were able to create both a windbreak and shade for lunch in a quiet seaside carpark. Our run of sunny weather continued and our lunch stop beside the beach was lovely. 

Julie, Kevin & Marilyn - morning tea at Thirsty Point, Cervantes

On the way out of Cervantes we called into Lake Thetis to visit the stromatolites which hadn't grown much in the six years since we last said hello.

Flocking stromatolites

Evolution of Man

3 April - Camp for the night was at a quiet, basic van park at Green Head. A walk over the sand dunes led us to beautiful headlands joined by smiling golden sandy beaches. On the water's edge Kev and I spotted a lobster crawling over the sand so away we went, thongs flying off our feet, down to the beach and to the waters edge only to find it was a piece of seaweed. Anyway a little later we did watch a baby manta ray swimming where the "lobster' had been. 

Green Head

We found out that the tiny van park is fully booked for the upcoming school holidays and Easter with 300 people expected to descend upon it. This was a wake up call for us to start planning our trip to get away from the coast before Easter and the school holidays in a couple of weeks.

Next day we all headed off to Kalbarri for three nights. On the way we checked out Greenough's leaning tree, a fully mature Eileen Gum and the Port Gregory Convict Hiring Station that dated back to the 1850's. Next, it was onto the very pink Pink Lake for a photo. 

Eileen Gum near Greenough

Port Gregory Convict Hiring Station

Port Gregory Convict Hiring Station - convict punishment cells

Artistic photo 

At Kalbarri, Julie was able to negotiate two great sites overlooking the water and there we set up for three nights to enjoy clear skies, warm days and cool nights (13 degrees).

Sunset from camp - Kalbarri

Kalbarri is a lovely place to visit - south are numerous ocean lookouts and cliffs constantly pounded by huge waves and strong winds 

Kevin at Mushroom Rock

Kalbarri bar

Strong winds

Island Rock

Two different ways of dealing with flies

- east is Nature's Window and Z Bend in the national park and out front is the lovely Murchison River bar. All of these were visited over the two days we were here. The cliffs were spectacular however, Nature's Window was totally fly blown. I had read about the flies so we were all armed with our trusty fly nets thank goodness. We could have sold them a hundred times over on the walk.

Natures Window

Z Bend

The local bakery in Kalbarri was very good. Two people in our touring party could not resist trying their pies:

7 April - Moving Day. Today we all headed north to base ourselves at Hamelin Pool to be used as the jump off point to visit Steep Point, Australia's most westerly point on the mainland. The drive north was unremarkable except for the effect it had on the car's temperature gauge. It peaked at 37 degrees but it was to get hotter. We set up in the very basic Hamelin Pool van park which included, free of charge, 4 trillion flies for each person.

Hamelin Pool - with flies

Hamelin Pool - without flies

Stromatolites

Mid-afternoon we gained some temporary respite in the van park's air conditioned shop and justified our presence by taking it in turns to buy ice creams. Eventually the shop ran out of ice creams so we had to head back to camp. Julie headed inside to enjoy the balmy 38 degree heat. Kevin and I sat outside in the shade developing BBQ recipes that included large quantities of flies. The temperature and flies kept us around camp until 4:30pm where upon we all ventured out to do a walk to visit some more stromatolites and the old beach quarry that once produced building blocks made from the compressed cockle shells that cover the beaches in the area.

Cockle shell brick quarry

At exactly 6:38pm the flies disappeared and everyone emerged from their various caravans, camper vans etc to enjoy the falling temperatures, a cool drink and to cook dinner. The evening star show at night is magnificent as there is zero light pollution. After dinner we just sat back and spotted satellites and the occasional meteor. The overnight temperature did fall quickly and far enough to warrant a light blanket by the morning. However, as soon as the sun came up the next day up went the temperature and out came the flies.




8 April - Steep Point. Today is the day - Steep Point, a mere 162 klm west of us. Up early, we transferred all unnecessary items from the car into the van and included all necessary items including Kevin and Marilyn in the back as we headed off at 7:30am.

Initially the road is bitumen but after about 50 klm it turns into a dirt road that is fairly well maintained.

The road in to Steep Point

Letting the tyres down at entrance to National Park

At the entrance to the Edel Land National Park (proposed) all drivers are required to drop tyre pressures to 20psi. An often poorly maintained 4WD track then begins and it winds itself for 40 klm towards Steep Point.  

One of the sand climbs

A long sand climb soon stops any non-4WD from going any further. Deeply carved out and bouncy that part of the track requires a high clearance and capable 4WD vehicle. Once over the top the corrugations guide you further into the park. Julie was well past her "I need morning tea and I need it now!" feelings when we pulled up for smoko at 10:30 am - a mere three hours driving and we were still 50 minutes or so from Steep Point.

Smoko

The road wound its way around and over steep sand dunes and past pristine bays to take us to the Rangers Station. We had our Parks Pass so all was good and away we went. At 11:20 am, after nearly four hours driving, we arrived at Steep Point and we were the only ones there for the whole time.

After getting the obligatory photos with the sign, just like Cape York last year, we turned our attention to the views to Dirk Hartog Island, the steep crumbling cliffs and the wild seas pounding them.

After nearly an hour we headed off to do the 22 klm 4WD track along the cliffs towards Thunder Bay and its blowholes. After 8 klm of following the really bad rocky track we visited Nor 6 lookout - a place where the trawler Nor 6 came to grief losing several of its crew.

Cliffs at Nor 6 Lookout

A swallow feeding of insects disturbed by car.

Nor 6 memorial

At this point we aborted getting to Thunder Bay along the cliffs due to the track conditions and headed high up and over the peninsula towards the Ranger Station. 

At the top of the high sand dune heading back to Ranger Station

Lunch was held at the water's edge on a very wide white beach that is part of the track to Steep Point.

Lunch spot at Shark Bay with Dirk Hartog Island in distance

Heading back along the track we came in on we soon took a turnoff along a track that took us to Thunder Bay Blowholes. The track was still pretty tough with long, steep, soft sand patches that on one occasion crossed a huge sand dune.

Track to the Blowholes

After 8 klm we arrived at the Thunder Bay Blowholes, parked up and followed the warning signs along the 50 metre high cliffs. 

The cliffs at the blowholes

To describe this place as amazing is an understatement. We were all just blown away by the blowholes. Up to 3 metre wide holes dot the cliff top. The main blowhole spewed water and seaweed over 20 metres into the air. Each eruption was preceded by an incredible rush of air all around us. Depending on the wave size one or up to six blowholes spewed huge amounts of spray into the air only to be taken away by the strong winds.

Inside a blowhole

That black dot in the sky is seaweed.

We could not get enough of them but knowing we had three hours of driving ahead of us, some of it over some pretty difficult terrain, we headed off. The blowholes were the icing on the cake on a wonderful day for all of us. For Julie and I it was the final piece of the puzzle to visit the most northerly, southerly, easterly and now westerly points on the Australian mainland as well as the most southern point in Tasmania, the highest point in Australia, Mt Kosciuszko, and the lowest, Lake Eyre. 

Bottom temperature is inside

The day out was a comfortable temperature and fly free and our trip home was uneventful and we pulled in at 5:30pm. It was really hot when we arrived back at Hamelin Pool but, on checking the caravan thermometer, I discovered it had reached 45.2 degrees inside. The water in the tanks was too hot to drink and every surface and inside every cupboard was very hot. The fridge coped just fine, which was a relief.  

Again at exactly 6:38pm the flies disappeared and we all sat back to reflect on a great day. Sadly it was also our last night with Kevin and Marilyn as they continue to head north on their trip around Australia and we head back south to spend two nights at Geraldton before we cross the Outback Way on our way home. 

This seems a good time to end this post. 

The car and caravan both continue to go well and so do we.

Bye for now,

JeffnJulie
   .... the Grey Gonads