This is it. Our last day of vacation. Boooo!
I got up pretty early and despite not wanting this day to happen, got my shit together and started packing my stuff for the last leg of the journey, the drive back to Perth. We wanted to make it to the farmers markets so made sure we were out of our unit by 8.30am as I know many markets are frequented by early birds and to get the good stuff you need to be there to beat the rush.
We bid farewell to the Big 4 Sunset Beach Caravan park which really was a great little budget accommodation, so clean, friendly, helpful, and perfectly located right on the beach. Out the front of their office is a fresh produce stand and an honesty box so we bought some little bags of tomatoes and capsicum which all looked very tasty as they are ripened off the vine on a farm rather than all the artificial things they do in the supermarkets. It was really sad watching our little ocean front villa disappear out of view in the rear vision mirror along with the crashing waves of the Sunset Beach and all that powdery sand that managed to find its way into every nook and cranny of our villa, our car, and all our gear, lols! We had to go through the car wash to get all the sand out of Hobbits car as it had caked onto everything and blown into every crevice there was.
How excited was I to get to the Farmers Market? Like for days!
Got there. Wondered where it was. There was two 3x3 gazebos and one food truck. Oh well, lets check out what they've got. The two gazebos belonged to one lady, who by the way was extremely lovely and oh so chatty. So in order to make it worth her day out and ours, we decided to buy some fresh raw honey and a couple of fig and port jams (which she assured me were the perfect accompaniment to a cheese platter). She told us bout how wonderful the war memorial was and so we decided to pay it a visit on our way out. Glad we did, it was actually a spectacular monument. The big dome made out of birds, the statue of the waiting woman, and the fountain with its cascading stairs of water and maps, I really take my hat off to old Gerro for doing a spectacular job of all their town icons. Absolutely brilliant! We took a load of photos here, the views of the whole town really were worth the visit.
After a short drive we stopped in Dongara to stock up on Pies from the BP cafe and cakes at the Bakery. Hobbit happened to notice out the corner of his eye that in the park down the road there was a hive of activity. We went there and to my delight it was a Farmers Market! YAY! and this one had WAY more than two gazebos hahaha. The first stall we came across was a happy familiar face, the lovely Phil from Drummon Cove Olive Farm.
He greeted us with his friendly genuine country folk welcome and we had a chat. Seeing that he had a range of soaps we didn't see back at the house we bought some of them and bid farewell. Looking at the other stalls there were so many lovely home made preserves, honey, arts, crafts, second hand goods, meals, cakes, and loads of pickles and fruit and veg. If you ever end up that way, these markets are definitely worth a visit.
Back on the road, we decided that we were making good time and it was still early so instead of going via the Brand all the way home we detoured off just after Dongara and took the old Indian Ocean Drive to Jurien Bay road where we then turned inwards and took Munbinea road and Bibby road (down past all the wind farms and solar farms) which then turns out to Brand (just the other side of Badgingarra Roadhouse).
This was a beautiful drive which we had not explored before due to most of our drives being ones of long hours from Exmouth way and us trying to get home before dusk so we don't get caught out with roos on the road. Today having the best part of the day up our sleeve we stopped at all the tracks that looked like they had sedan access. We saw some really nice little camp grounds, most were just a stretch of beach with a few clearings in the bush for either tents or vans, and some had toilets while others didn't. Now, the beaches were nice n all, but when you have just returned from the north, especially above the 26th Parallel, you have a very high standard of comparison, so when I say they were just 'nice' they probably are quite fantastic to most people but im more 'meh' about it. But if you just want to go someplace not too far out of Perth to get out of the city and go bush for a weekender these stops are definitely perfect.
We found the most beautiful part of this entire drive to be the road between Leeman (a boring little boating town) and GreenHead (a retirees and beach house place, likely a bit like Florida lols). There we thankfully took the turnoff to Point Louise which really was quite a spectacular little stretch of coast. There are limestone reefs that poke just above the waterline causing wonderful little rock pools and beautiful holes of clean clear turquoise ocean, like little pools and spas. We spent a lot of time here photographing the coastline and watching the water, what a perfect place to stretch the legs on a road trip. This is definitely a really inviting place to snorkel, fossick, and swim, so we noted it as a definite to return to and hopefully next trip in the 4WD we will be able to spend some time really soaking up the environment of this spot.
After this I was done with the sightseeing and it was now getting later in the day, so after one last stop at Cataby to get a roll and drink, we drove home with no more stops.
I knew Hobbit was trying to make the trip last longer because even in Swan Valley, 10 minutes out of home, he was still saying "should we stop here?" bless! But by then I was just focused on getting home and seeing the cats. I wondered what reception they would give us? Usually they are all out of sorts for a couple of days and ignore us, but I knew they would be starving hungry having missed breakfast so at least they would greet us at the door.
Pulled into the driveway and the first thing we both did was look out the car window at our veggie garden, oh my gosh! The corn was sky high! We jumped out and had a good look and although the caterpillars had turned my kale and caulies into lacework, the rest was thriving. Five cats greeted us at the door, not for cuddles, but with meows of 'FEED ME!' pretty much what I expected. So we fed them all and I stole some pats and cuddles when they were running about but they still were very out of sorts.
The extremely depressing and strenuous task of unloading the car for the last time began and I realised I had way too much to do the next day. Gardening, cleaning, loads of laundry, fixing the neglected garden, visiting the folks to thank them for tending to the cats, and getting ready for work on Monday. I did what I could, then sat on the lounge and very very quickly drifted off in to a very deep sleep.
In reflection, this is definitely one of the most action packed holidays we have ever had. I really have enjoyed it so much. I have to pay my top respects to Hobbit who is the most fantastic holiday partner, and life partner, he definitely makes every moment really awesome. I truly am so lucky to have someone who not only enjoys this type of holiday, but also who knows how to push me to get more adventurous without actually pushing me at all. He has always been the perfect blend of everything I need, want, am and am not, so not only am I matched, I am always egged on to evolve and grow. I can't thank him enough for making this holiday so memorable.
Thanks to our wonderful Ford Mondeo which has safely seen us across thousands of Western Australian coastline over the past decade. What a bloody fantastic car, so spacious, comfortable, zippy, and economical. If we weren't getting a 4WD next, I would definitely get another one of those. That car never misses a beat and has always ensured our safety and reliability.
It looks like next year is going to be a trip to Melbourne, so our next northern adventure will be in 2021. Till then, I have many beautiful photos, many wonderful memories, and a little piece of my heart that always belongs to the North.
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