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Time to head out for dinner

Last time we spoke we had just arrived at the hotel in Phuket. A long travel day, and a long drive south from the airport, was almost made worse by my paying for the Grab drive twice. Have a read if you haven’t had chance.

After the happy hour beers we headed to our room to shower and freshen up. It was time to start exploring. And we followed our noses. No, it wasn’t the dreadful drainage that drew us in, it was the distinct aromas of Thai food. And it didn’t take us long to locate the origin.

Kata Walking Street

Navigating the busy streets, the constant scooters zipping in and out of traffic, and the constant shouts of “massaaaaaaage”, we were soon at Kata night markets. Cleverly branded as “Kata Walking Street”, there was every food you could want. And lots I wouldn’t. On our travels through Thailand we became familiar with each town having a “walking street”. Essentially, they were night markets to entice the tourists. And they work. Always busy, serving piping hot, fresh, delicious Thai food and cold beer.

Dinner was very enjoyable. And very cheap. We shared a dinner of vegetable spring rolls, a roti pancake with Nutella, and my all time favourite, mango sticky rice. My oh my. How does mango sticky rice taste so damn good. It wasn’t to be the last I had on this holiday.

Saturday in Phuket

Saturday morning started with sunshine and a fresh coffee. It long ago became a habit that I always travel, everywhere in the world, with freshly ground coffee and filters, allowing me to start each day with a life affirming cup of coffee. Sat on the chair on the deck, the sun reflecting off the swimming pool, and watching the local birdlife as they glided on thermals up high in the sky.

Saturday night reminded me of how what we take for granted in some cultures, is much less well known in others. In the restaurant that night we witnessed what I will call the “Birthday cake disaster”. There was a large table of holiday makers sat near us and one gentleman appeared to be the organiser. Surreptitiously heading to the counter and speaking to the staff in whispered tones, before taking his place, expectantly, at the dinner table.

Happy Birthday, to who?

A waitress appeared with a birthday cake. So far, so good. So far, what you would expect when someone in your dining party is celebrating a birthday. This is where it got weird.

The waitress just stood by the counter, nowhere near the birthday boy, and looked very happy whilst the whole restaurant started singing happy birthday. She looked slightly abashed. Did she think they were singing to her? She seemed to be enjoying the song, whilst being rooted to the ground with the birthday cake. By some crazy coincidence was it her birthday too?

The organiser looked perturbed. Wondering when the birthday cake was going to make it over to the table. It didn’t. When the restaurant had stopped singing, and collectively realised that the birthday boy was going to go cake less, the waitress promptly blew out all the candles on the cake, looked very happy with herself, and returned the cake to the kitchen. 

Cue lots of confused faces from the table. What was happening?

However, just hang on. Wait a moment. Here comes the birthday music again. Oh, and we have the cake again. With new candles. Deja vu. Between giggles, we all tried to join in again with a new rendition of “Happy Birthday”. This time the birthday boy did get to blow his own candles out. 

This was the best part of the evening. Dinner was a let down. Which is something I don’t often say in Thailand. Maybe the size of the restaurant, and the sheer number of tourists should have been a give away. The food was bland and rather insipid. A green curry that will linger long in the memory, for all the wrong reasons/

Thoughts of dinner, banished

Morning two dawned brightly and it wasn’t long before we banished thoughts of our insipid dinner. What I had for breakfast sounds like dinner and it was a lot tastier. Hotels in South East Asia serve breakfast in a buffet style. And I get to try many things that wouldn’t normally replace my Weetbix at breakfast time. This morning I got to enjoy beef massaman, fried rice, and pork noodles. And this was only my first course. Served with the usual terrible hotel coffee. Thank goodness for my travel coffee filter.

For me, breakfasts in Asian hotels are a real highlight. And with the dishes rotating each day, I made sure to try everything whilst we were there. With this, there are always a day or two, when travelling, that you crave some different food. A new cuisine. Dinner provided the perfect opportunity and so it was that we found ourselves at El Greco in Kata.

Going Greek in Phuket

If you find yourself in Kata, Phuket, and want a change from green curries and pad Thai, hunt down this Greek gem. We have visited a few Greek restaurants around the world, and some are definitely better than others. El Greco is one of the better ones. Calling in for dinner, we were please to see that both mousakka and pastitcio were on the menu. And both were excellent. Sadly, the beers weren’t Mythos, but they were ice cold. You could almost be in a small taverna on Mykonos island were it not for the choice of music. A live singer blaring out Creep by Radiohead. Definitely not Zorba the Greek. 

The night ended as many have done on our travels around Thailand. With some cheap cocktails. This time at a very cute converted combi van. And unlike the cocktails around the hotel pool, these ones actually tasted of something. And I am sure it wasn’t the dreaded methanol, so often found in cheap, illegal liquor in South East Asia.

Karon Beach

Afternoons in this part of the world see quite a bit of rain. As one of the storms passed, we strolled over the hill into Karon beach. Even with the rain gone, we were a little uninspired by Karon. It all looked a little unloved even by Thai standards.  Walking back we were glad we opted to base ourselves in Kata.

Phuket Town on two wheels

On our last visit to Phuket, as part of the world trip, we hired a scooter and visited Phuket town. So impressed were we that we decided to do the same from Kata. The morning started with bright blue skies and after a hearty breakfast of green curry, chicken noodles, and roast pork we headed to reception to hire a scooter. 200 baht (about $8) for the whole day.

With a visit to the Big Buddha on the way, we got into Phuket town in around 40 minutes. Parking up the scooter we went off to hunt for the wall murals that are so reminiscent of Georgetown in Penang, Malaysia. Phuket town has a very different feel to much of Thailand. With lots of old Chinese shop houses and boutique coffee shops, it is easy to see why so many tourists congregate here.

Time to lose some weight?

In one of the shops we were browsing in, if anyone had caught the end of one of our conversations they may have been horrified. Especially if they only caught the part where I was shouting across to Victoria that “she needed to lose some weight”. Good grief, what kind of husband is he?

The full conversation centred around any space she may have had in her luggage for souvenirs. As I had booked us a return flight home on a cheap airline, (that’s another story), we literally only had 10kgs of checked baggage. And we were at 10kgs. So, if Mrs C wanted to take some souvenirs home, in her bag, she would have to “lose some weight” from the bag. Context is everything. Stop judging me.

Phuket Police

Leaving Phuket town we headed to the beach at Rawai, following Google Maps. Emerging from a tunnel, we suddenly had someone riding at the side of us. It was a traffic cop on a motorbike.

“Follow me”, were the only words he said, before crossing traffic on his bike and motioning for us to follow. As he did, a couple on a motorbike rode right in front of him. Without helmets. They too got the “follow me” instruction. Thinking the policeman now had too much to think about, Victoria suggested we just “drive off”.

Yes, just drive off. Did she hear herself? We were on a 125c scooter, with all the power of a small hairdryer. And Victoria wanted us to zoom off and escape from him. She has been watching too many movies. Were we suddenly Bonnie and Clyde? I had visions of us being chased through Phuket, granted, a short chase, by the Thai police. I did not drive off. I followed him.

All the way to the police hut at the junction of a busy roundabout.

“International driver’s licence” he demanded. 

Shit. I don’t have one, I thought. The one I had expired a few months ago and is in a drawer in Perth.

“It’s back at the hotel”, I heard myself saying out loud. 

The traffic cop was using Google Translate to tell me I broken the law riding through the tunnel and the “fine” was 1000 baht. No prizes for guessing where that money is going. In no mood to argue about the tunnel violation, I accepted the fine. Perhaps he had forgotten that he had also asked me for my international drivers licence. A legal requirement for a tourist to drive in Thailand. I reluctantly walked to the nearest ATM whilst Victoria stayed with the bike.

Returning, I paid the fine to the policeman. A fine that went straight into his back pocket. And he quickly told me to go. And go we did, avoiding the tunnel. Perhaps we got off lightly. For the price of a chicken parmi and a pint back home we had probably put food on the policeman’s table for a week. Life is all about perspective.

No mud, no lotus

An overseas holiday often means a trip to the tattooist. And this was no different. On the last day of the holiday I turned up for my 3pm appointment whilst Victoria went for a bit of pamper time. She had herself booked in for a one hour Thai massage. Imagine my surprise when she came hobbling into the hotel reception to meet me afterwards.

Frowning through the pain she told me that she had just had the most painful massage of her life. The massuese had contorted and stretched her body to its limits. Of the two of us she thinks I got off lightly in terms of pain. My short visit to Tattoo 1% resulted in a small lotus tattoo, as a reminder that life is both sunshine and rain. I have friends who have suffered big losses recently. Part of life and very painful.

Final reflections

In the last few years we have now had a great opportunity to visit a lot of Phuket Island. And have enjoyed it. Now it is time to explore new parts of the world. Isn’t the best part of returning from one holiday the booking of the next?

Saturday – Day 1 – Perth to Cervantes (211kms)

Excited, we woke early and after a light breakfast we got an Uber out towards the airport. No, we weren’t flying today. We were headed to Apollo campervan rentals, on the outskirts of the airport. Being confined to the state of West Australia for the whole year, it was obvious many locals, known as sandgropers in these parts, had the same idea as us, and we all patiently waited our turn to get out and hit the wide open spaces.

On previous road trips we had always booked the “hi top” campervan. Small, but with enough room for two people. When I saw the van we booked this time I thought “good lord”. It looked much bigger than I imagined. Much bigger. It turns out we had booked a motorhome. 

The first day was one of our shortest in terms of driving distance, yet we managed to break it up as we eased into the holiday. Cruising up the Indian Ocean Road we had a stop in Lancelin for lunch. Apparently, Lancelin is “addictive” if the local tourism board is to be believed. I’m not sure I’d agree. After lunch at the Lobbster cafe (spelling intended) of a lobster wrap each which cost as much as a small deposit on a house, we were back on the road, headed to the fabled Pinnacles.

It wouldn’t take us many more days to understand that every National Park we entered would cost us $15. It was no different at the Namburg National Park, home of the Pinnacles. And it was worth every cent. A must visit on any road trip from Perth to Exmouth.

What a sight the Pinnacles are. Reaching up, out of the ground, like soldiers erect in the face of the blazing sun. Opting for the walk amongst them, we were able to get up and close to these limestone wonders that have been here for over 25000 years.

The town of Cervantes (population 527) is named after a ship that came to grief off the coast. The ship itself is said to have been named after the legendary Spanish author, which cleared up my confusion upon being greeted by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on arrival. There are nods to Spain all across this small town with streets named after cities and rivers from the Iberian peninsular.

We stayed the night at the RAC Cervantes camp site. With a perfect beach front location, we ended our first day with a cold beer, sat on the beach as the sun slowly set on a great first day of the long road trip ahead.

Sunday – Day 2 – Cervantes to Kalbarri (378kms)

After a simple breakfast of Weetbix and a strong coffee, we were back on the road. A short time later we pulled into Jurien Bay (population 1761). Another little town that hugs the coast. We had a walk along the new jetty, completed in 2011 to replace the old jetty that was destroyed in the storms of 2003.

Leaving Jurien Bay, en route to Kalbarri, we drove past Pink Lake in Port Gregory. We had been hoodwinked into visiting a “pink” lake previously, in Esperance. That particular lake had not been pink for a long time, if at all. This was very different. Spotting the bright pink water through the bush we pulled over, following the lead of some other travellers and took a few pictures.

Some four hours after leaving Cervantes I was spotting as Victoria backed up the motorhome on the Murchison River Camp Site. A site that sits right on the Murchison river, with views across to the ocean. After plugging the van into the power, the first order of business was to get a cold pint and our thirst was slaked at the Kalbarri Hotel. A pub typical of small Australian towns. A front bar with a great choice of cold beers and a back “bistro” selling everything from “gourmet pizza”, to steak, seafood, and even a selection of Asian cuisine. These small towns must have a disproportionately high number of quality chefs. 

Dinner for us was at Finlay’s Fish restaurant. Thankfully, Victoria had the foresight to book ahead as we were greeted with a hand drawn sign at the door telling new arrivals that they were “fully booked” for the evening. Rustic and down to earth, Finlay’s is a fully outdoor restaurant. I use the term restaurant lightly as country pub is more the vibe. Live music rocking you through the Sunday Session and an “order yourself at the bar” kind of service.

And what would you eat being this close to the ocean? The fish and chips were quite possibly the largest I have ever seen. I had the fish basket which included some of the same battered fish, but also some giant prawns and calamari. With a bottle of Larrikin Chenin Blanc from Margaret River, we had a very good evening.

Monday – Day 3 – Kalbarri

A good sleep, breakfast, and coffee, and we were soon on the 30 minute drive to the new Kalbarri Skywalk, opened in 2020. The park entry fee is $15 (what did I tell you?) and on paying I was advised to drink lots of water as “it is expected to get up to 50 degrees out there today.” What we weren’t warned about, but soon learned, was how many flies there would be, and how insistent they would be that they set up home in your ears and nostrils. The cheap fly nets we had purchased some weeks earlier were a god send.

The new Skywalk comprises of two platforms that jut out imperiously across the gorge. Looking down upon what has taken millions of years to create is quite a humbling experience. Reminding us how short our visit on this earth is. No road trip from Perth to Exmouth would be complete without a visit here.

For those walkers amongst you there is “The Loop”. A walk that you must start before 7am due to the heat, and you have to carry at least 4 litres of water each. People have sadly perished on this hike so it is to be taken very seriously.

A  5 minute drive from the Skywalk car park is the entry point for “Nature’s Window”. Walking the 800 or so metres, down a fairly precarious path, I can only imagine the line of “instagrammers” had we been living in a COVID free world. This is the kind of sight I have seen people queue a long time for, just for their chance to get the perfect shot for the ‘gram. Today, we were able to walk down and plonk ourselves right in the window for the perfect shot. 

Back at the campsite, sitting under the awning of the van, we had a simple lunch of pasta and wine. With the warm breeze, the sounds of birds all around, and the ocean lapping the shore not far from here, life couldn’t get much better.

Tuesday – Day 4 – Kalbarri to Carnarvon (448kms)

Tuesday started with the pelican feeding on the Kalbarri foreshore. The pelicans have been coming to this spot since the 1970s when a local fisherman used to throw his leftover catch to the waiting birds. As if they all synchronised their watches, the pelicans waddle over at bang on 8.45am each day.

Following a short, very interesting talk about the pelicans by one of the volunteers, who knew they had hollow bones and could fly for 24 hours, they were rewarded with small fish, thrown by an eager line of children.

Our destination today was Carnarvon. A very long drive, on very long straight roads, was broken up with a stop at the famed Billabong roadhouse, taking advantage of some of the cheapest diesel we had seen, $1.17 per litre. Also, I must confess that I have a thing for roadhouses. Maybe gleaned from my very first backpacking trip when I traversed the country on the long distance Greyhound buses that pulled into roadhouses at some ungodly hour. Whatever time of the morning it was I always found myself hungry and hankering after a meat pie. Not much has changed, but it was a bacon and egg roll this time. 

My love of roadhouses is not shared by Victoria, so once both the van and I were refuelled, we were back on the road to Carnarvon. 

Sometimes, you just need the simple things in life. Woolworths, a bottle shop, and a big banana. Thankfully, Carnarvon had each of these, as it didn’t have much else. Described as the fruit bowl of Australia, it is a sadly uninspiring town.

Using the town simply as a place to break up two long travel days, we stayed at the Winter Sun Caravan Park. A large site but relatively empty, we pitched and spent a relaxing day reading and sharing a cold bottle of wine.

Wednesday – Day 5 – Carnarvon to Exmouth (365kms)

The best way to start the day on a road trip? A homemade bacon, sausage and egg butty. Delicious. A couple of coffees and we were on our way. A fairly short drive today, just 3 and a half hours. Refuelling in Carnarvon, at $1.27 a litre, we drove to Exmouth in one shot, apart from switching drivers.

When I travel and finally arrive somewhere, places never look how I imagined them. First impressions are a big thing, and sometimes, like Kalbarri, I am immediately charmed. More often, I feel like I felt on arrival in Exmouth. An undercurrent of disappointment after looking forward to being here for so long. 

I envisioned a small, bustling town. Somewhere nestled amongst would be the RAC Exmouth campground. Exmouth is on a peninsular with the town side on the east. This does protect the town from the worst of the wind that rattles towns up and down the west coast. The camp site had been impressively upgraded in recent times. A brand new, large camp kitchen and a lagoon style swimming pool. I can imagine that it will be even better in a few years when the newly planted trees have grown large enough to provide some shade from the unrelenting Exmouth sun.

In the absence of trees we decided our best option for shade would be the Froth Brewery. A great choice as it turns out. A short 10 minute walk from the campsite, albeit in intense tropical heat, we were soon sat with one of the many craft beers brewed onsite, swiftly followed by a tasting paddle each. Lunch at Froth was Spanish mackerel and chips. Mine beer battered, Victoria’s grilled. Both delicious. 

The afternoon heat saw us taking a swim in the new pool on the campsite. This was going well, until someone’s mother turned up, complaining that someone had deposited a turd in the pool. With thoughts of the water that had gone into my mouth as I had been swimming, we beat a hasty retreat.

Pushing thoughts of turd infested swimming pools aside, in the evening we headed to Adrift Cafe. Such is the power of Instagram, despite being over 13 hours drive from home, I already felt I had been to Adrift. I had been following their posts for a while and was looking forward to trying it out for ourselves.

Sharing a few entrees, we had the tempura battered prawns, the calamari with a nam jim sauce, and a bruschetta. A bottle of Pinot Grigio and lemon meringue for dessert completed a great evening.

Thursday – Day 6 – Exmouth (124kms)

After breakfast in the van we drove the 45 minutes to Turquoise Bay, paying $15 to enter the National Park (sound familiar?). As you would expect on Ningaloo Reef, the snorkelling was excellent but despite spying a turtles head popping up for air we were unable to locate her in the water.

Lunch was on the beach, Victoria popping back to the van to make us a picnic of a ham and cheese sandwich. Simple pleasures. Simple life. Very enjoyable.

In the evening we called at Whalebone Brewery, a short walk from the RAC Exmouth camp site. On the way there Victoria made me smile by saying, “I hope they have aircon”. When we got there she discovered it was just a large converted shed with nothing but outdoor seating areas, some of which were thankfully in the shade. 

A very rustic place, but again so very enjoyable. We each had a couple of very cold beers. I tried an excellent NEIPA and a pale ale. Victoria quaffed a couple of the Lighthouse Lagers.

A short walk from Whalebone and we were at Whalers for my much anticipated birthday dinner. And what a success it was. A lovely outdoor restaurant, part of a resort, serving great food. Chilli mussels were followed by an excellent seafood spaghetti. Delicious. 

Victoria had scallops to start and “reef and beef” for main, enjoying them both. Having started the meal with a glass of bubbles we soon moved onto a bottle of Riesling. 

An amazing evening was put to bed with the last of the whisky I had brought from Perth in my hip flask. I drifted off to sleep wondering how Santa would get into the van in the night, and what he might leave for us.

Friday – Day 7 – Exmouth (Xmas Day)

Celebrating my birthday somewhere new has almost become a tradition. And with it comes the happy ritual of Victoria cooking up an excellent bacon, egg, and mushroom butty for breakfast. Who knew good black pudding would be so hard to come by in Australia?

Following happy video calls with family, and after opening a couple of birthday presents, we had another ritual to complete. The “beer on the beach” picture we always take on Xmas day.

For this we drove to Bundegi beach, a long stretch of sparsely populated sand. Hats on, Emu Export at the ready, and smile! Emus are obviously a thing in Exmouth and they became a common sight for us around town. There was even a family that casually strolled through the camp site each day.

Knowing all would be closed on Xmas day we had stocked up and had plenty of food and drink for us to while away a pleasant day. Grazing on food. Drinking cold beers. And cooling down with dips in the, newly cleaned, pool.

After a dinner of steak and halloumi cooked on the camp BBQ, I had my new birthday whisky to enjoy. A customary nightcap preceded an early night, ending a perfect birthday.

Saturday – Day 8 – Exmouth to Coral Bay (153kms)

An early start, and a quick refuel of the van and we were back on the road for the one and half hour drive to Coral Bay. Sadly, we were now on the return journey, heading back south.

On arrival, I was immediately charmed. Coral Bay is the kind of place you dream about. The kind of place that lots of places were like before becoming “discovered”. A single road in and out, passing the one pub as you slowly make your way into a coastal settlement with a population of 207. Yes, 207. I must have met most of them through daily visits to the bottle shop, bakery and small supermarket that make up the “town”.

Coral Bay is what I expected Exmouth to be, but wasn’t. Despite hearing from people how great Exmouth was, Coral Bay is the place we would definitely return to.

A wide, pristine beach slowly meets the sea that has colours that have to be seen to be believed. Even more impressive than Turquoise Bay. We spent the afternoon snorkelling. Walking in from the beach, side stepping the sting rays lazily resting in the shallow waters, we were immediately immersed in a living aquarium. As the sandbank falls away, and pockets of both cold and warm water wash over you, you are immediately snorkelling over the nearby coral, with an abundance of marine life. 

Sunday – Day 9 – Coral Bay

After a simple breakfast of Weetbix and coffee at the van, we had another day in the water. Choosing to snorkel in a different location on the beach we found more coral, and even more fish. The GoPro performs very well in the water but a lot of the photos do not capture the majesty, and colour of everything you see under the water.

Being by the seaside means fish for lunch. At Fin’s cafe I had an excellent battered snapper burger and Victoria had battered snapper and chips. As Fin’s is BYO we took a couple of cold beers from the van. Simple and heavenly.

With an early start on the road in the morning we enjoyed another glorious sunset, had a BBQ on the camp for dinner, complemented with a few glasses of Riesling. Over my whisky nightcap, Limeburners Peated Cask, I contemplated what a great couple of days we had in a paradise called Coral Bay.

Monday – Day 10 – Coral Bay to Shark Bay (Denham) (556kms)

Up and off for 7.15am, refuelling and getting the 6 hour plus drive underway. Victoria started the day as skipper as I finished my second coffee of the morning. After a couple of hours we switched drivers, refuelling at the BP service station in Carnarvon, not far from the camp site we stayed on not too many days earlier.

A final switch of driver just 90kms from our home for the night, saw Victoria driving us into Denham, population 754. A small, cute, seaside town, right on the seafront. The campsite was in a great location, as was our pitch, even if the van seemed a little too big for where they put us. It could be fun driving in and out, amongst all the tents and utes parked around us.

With our tummies telling us we needed lunch, we took ourselves off to the Waterfront Hotel, securing a couple of well needed cold beers. We would need to make alternative arrangements for lunch as we had missed the kitchen by 6 minutes, getting there at 2.36pm. A packet of Nobby’s nuts and a ham and beetroot wrap (minus ham) from the service station next door had to suffice.

The evening saw us with cold beer, a takeaway pizza and a prime spot on the beach for the sunset. We sadly contemplated how close we were to the end of a great trip, but talked about things that we were grateful for. We have a daily gratitude practice and even reflecting on things that may seem insignificant helps with our overall well being. 

Tuesday – Day 11 – Denham (50kms)

If you have heard of Shark Bay, you will have heard of Monkey Mia. We woke early with a sense of anticipation, driving the 25 minutes to Monkey Mia National Park, ($15 EACH this time), for the dolphin experience. Along with over 200 others we were there for the first feeding at 7.45am.

There we were, quietly hoping for a morning of oohing and ahhing over lots of frisky dolphins. Then, we waited. And waited. And waited some more. At 10.30am, with no dolphins in sight we called it a day and headed back into Denham.

Whilst at Monkey Mia we discovered that the dolphins had been rather elusive recently, with only one turning up the day before, and a run of 3 days without any being spotted.

I am not sure how they calculate the 99% success rate of dolphin “attendance”.

The evening made up for the disappointment, with a fabulous dinner at The Old Pearler restaurant. Of the places you eat on your road trip from Perth to Exmouth, this is a must visit. The only restaurant in the world made from coquina shell, it also has an interesting booking policy. No website. No booking app. Just Wayne’s phone number that you have to call and see if he has room for you. We even saw a lot of people speculatively walk in and ask for a booking on future nights. 

“Call Wayne”, was the stock response for everyone.

Thankfully, Victoria had called Wayne the day before and we had a great evening of seafood and BYO cold wine from the bottle shop conveniently located just across the street.

As Wayne came out to help clear some of the tables in the small restaurant he was asked, “do you make everything yourself, Wayne?”

“I do,” he proudly replied.

“Do you?”, said the daughter. “I thought you bought the cheesecake.”

Wednesday – Day 12 – Denham to Geraldton (420kms)

Our penultimate day of holiday, and one that we knew wouldn’t hit the heights of the ones that had gone before. Nothing against Geraldton, I am sure it has a lot to offer, but we were just using it as a stop over to break the long journey back to Perth up.

Heading out of Denham we made a very short detour to Hamelin Bay, home of the stromatolites. The oldest fossils in the world, dating back some 3.5 billion years, Hamelin Bay is one of only two places in the world to see these living marine fossils. I would recommend a visit as you are in the area.

We were soon back on the road and when we finally got to Geraldton, it wasn’t just the van that needed refuelling. Walking through the heart of Geraldton we came across Cafe Fleur, and had a fabulous lunch.

Our home for the night was the Double Beach camp site, slightly out of town, in Cape Burney.

Thursday – Day 13 – Geraldton to Perth (420kms)

After a breakfast of a muffin, hash brown and a strong coffee we were on the road for the final time. 

Our drive was just over 4 and half hours, and by lunchtime we were back at Apollo Motorhomes near Perth airport. It certainly was strange being back amongst city traffic. For long stretches of time over the last 2 weeks there was no one ahead of us, or behind us on long, dusty stretches of road. On the wide, often empty stretches of road up north, you often forget how big the motorhome is.

With a tinge of melancholy we bid farewell to Bessie and promised we would be back in the future to take her on another long road trip.

I take a sip of my steaming coffee, the strong smell of caffeine mingling with the aromas of the eucalyptus and rose gum trees I am surrounded by. Curious kangaroos have come out to graze, and every so often take a sneaky upwards glance at me, assessing whether I am a threat. Perhaps sensing my peace, they nonchalantly disregard me, and continue grazing. The only noise to compete with their munching of the leaves is the twitter of birds high in the canopy above me. A kookaburra’s laugh sounding as though he is mocking me. A poor human who has to come away from his “real life” to enjoy this side of nature. A human who has come to spend a weekend in Busselton.

We are spending the weekend at Tree Chalets in Busselton. Staying in one of two eco chalets nestled amongst hundreds of trees and with enough space between them to have you thinking you are all alone. Marketed as “simple luxury”, each chalet is well appointed, with a quality of fit out you don’t see in many high end hotels. On the back deck there is one of the most impressive baths I have seen, but more on that later. There is also a Tesla charger, and judging by the amount of Teslas we see driving around Perth on a daily basis, I suspect these chargers will be popular.

Exploring Busselton

Busselton is situated some 2 and half hours drive south of Perth, and is somewhere we have called in at on many occasions, with its proximity to the beautiful Margaret River region. In recent years the foreshore has been tastefully developed with the latest addition, Shelter Brewery, providing a haven for craft beer lovers and pizza aficionados alike. I see that a Hilton hotel is currently in development and I hope they keep the build to a low level, as at present the skyline is not marred by anything higher than the local pine trees.

On our first day we ventured a couple of streets back from the foreshore and had lunch at Rocky Ridge taphouse. The original farm and brewery is located at Jindong, with the traditional custodians of the land being the Wadandi people. The tap house in Busselton is possibly amongst the most picturesque breweries I have been to. Built in a converted cottage, with a large garden at the back and plenty of shaded seats at the front, we spent a leisurely afternoon sampling a paddle of beers, of which there were over 20 to choose from, and had a cheeseburger, which are made by the legends of Margaret River Burger Company.

Looking Back on The Start

Back at the Tree Chalets, with my newly purchased growler from Rocky Ridge, I was able to have a cold beer on the deck, looking out to the trees, contemplating how much I had needed this break. I started 2022 with some clear intentions. Complete the work required to apply to be an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation, and finish my university studies. I have now done all I can for both and am awaiting the results. With this hard work behind me I am able to have a weekend with nothing on my mind. And it feels liberating. Sipping my drink, it hits me that I don’t have to be anywhere, or do anything, other than sit, relax and be.

And talking of relaxing, there is that bath. A huge, pristine enamel bath on the back deck of the chalet. A bath that fits two. With our chilled champagne, a self catered dinner of meats and cheeses, and a full bath, we spent the afternoon chatting through our last two years. The challenges everyone has faced, and what the next two years might bring. The world seems to be finally getting a grip on omicron. We are both now triple vaccinated. And borders are starting to open up. This is the most “certainty”, which I still say loosely, that we have had in a very long time. Dare we start to make plans?

As the sun slowly set, and the night sky appeared, it is easy to see why “dark skies tourism” is destined to be the next big thing in West Australia. With the majority of the population living in and around Perth, the regional areas have large masses of space with very little artifical lighting. The views of the milky way are quite astounding. Sit still long enough you are guaranteed to see at least one shooting star, and several satellites making their way across the galaxy.

Supporting Local Businesses

Back on earth, our immediate plan for Saturday was to explore the area around Busselton, and with that we found ourselves being greeted by Polly the kelpie dog, up at Whicher Ridge Wines. Cathy took us through a tasting of 5 wines each, a good mix of sauvignon blanc, viognier, shiraz, and cabernet sauvignon. We had agreed not to buy anymore wine on our travels across the state, simply because there is no way we will get through the stockpile we have at home. However, the wines were so good that we selected three to take away. 

Chatting with Cathy we got a feel for how tough the hospitality industry has had it, especially with the Western Australia hard border for the last two years. We have been described in various quarters as a hermit kingdom. It is hard to disagree. We have cut ourselves off from the rest of Australia, and the world, and businesses have suffered greatly as a result.

If you are going to have a weekend in Busselton, please get out and continue to support local businesses. In keeping with this, we headed down the road to have lunch at Hippo Lakes cafe. Another family run business, we were delighted to hear that they were BYO and promptly went to collect a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from the car. Hippo Lakes is in the process of obtaining a liquor licence and will eventually sell the very same wine, from Whicher Ridge. Businesses supporting businesses. 

The Busselton Jetty Swim

Our final day had us up early and heading towards the iconic Busselton Jetty. Today was the annual Busselton Jetty Swim, a 3.6km open swim around the jetty. Andrew at Tree Chalets had told us about how they start races “in the country”, which is with a shotgun. And he wasn’t kidding. We were there in good time to see a member of the local police force fire off his shotgun, prompting the 8am start to the race.

Some 38 minutes after that 8am start, the winner was leaving the water and crossing the finish line. A 19 year old local kid broke his own record. He has now won the race for the last 3 years, and apparently his preferred distance is 10k. Almost superhuman. I also had a personal connection to the race as my friend was participating. Not a swimmer, at least not until recently, Alistair had bravely entered the race knowing it would be far from easy.

Easy it certainly wasn’t, but I was proud to see him complete the race, achieving a massive personal milestone. He said that with his shoulder being in great pain, he swam the last third of the race with one arm. The lifeguards were doing their best to help and support Ali, perhaps even offering him an easy way out, but with a mental strength I am in awe of, he persevered, and he can now add this race to his impressive life CV.

Final reflections on a weekend in Busselton

My CV includes a long list of breweries I have visited in my life, and to mark the end of a great weekend away in Busselton we called back into the beautiful Rocky Ridge for a final coldie. Sat in the shade, we shared what we were both grateful for in life, and raised our glasses, toasting another great experience and planning for the next one.