With a bit of sadness we left behind the cuteness and warmness of Dongara. Definitely not warmness of weather (the wind picked up last night and brought with it a real icy chill), more a warmness of community. I slept terribly last night so was glad to get out of bed and start the day early, hopefully tonight I catch up on what I lost.
We enjoyed a really easy drive as the traffic was minimal, a benefit of being child-free is that you can go away in off-peak times and experience lower prices, quieter accommodation, more availability in bookings, and so much less traffic! Another thing we thought was a factor was that we were leaving a lot later this trip, normally we leave early morning as we have a lot further to drive, so perhaps a lot more cars are on the road earlier. A quick stop at the very tasty food stop at the BP servo on Brand Highway saw us stocked up with the best sangers and curries to tide us over for a few days in Denham (which hasn't got any good food outlets for some reason) and on our way.
I got a message the day before from a friend I used to hang out with in school who now lives in Geraldton that she was at work so if we were planning to stop we should drop in and say hello. I thought I would surprise her and do just that. I haven't seen her since the 90's so it was absolutely delightful to see her again and to be honest I wasn't sure how she would react but I was so glad she was equally as excited as I was. I can't wait to pass through Gerro on our way home and stop for a proper catch up at the end of our holiday. She told us of the new art work on the foreshore (a glass sphere that reflects amazing imagery) so we decided to check it out. Oh my gosh, it was so gorgeous. We hung around for ages playing silly buggers around it making our reflections look silly and getting crafty photos of it (check out the photos below). We were so impressed with the genius of the creator and the Geraldton shire for commissioning such a beautiful attraction, and in such a magnificent setting too. I highly recommend anyone passing that way to stop in.
We hit the road again at 11.30ish and enjoyed a long uneventful drive all the way to Billabong roadhouse, which is the exact halfway point between Perth and Exmouth, and was the rest stop for me when I last traveled this way and drove through to Exmouth. It is just a roadhouse but the accommodations, hotel, and roadhouse are all really quirky and lovely. We stopped at the bar for a stretch, a drinky and enjoyed some gorgeous paintings on the walls (Photo Below). The friendly staff were lovely to chat to and it was interesting reading all the messages on the bar wall which were plaques reflecting donations to Royal Flying Doctors, a fabulous incentive which looked really effective.
Shortly after Billabong is the turn off to Denham, just past another great roadhouse stop, Overlander, which is the gateway stopover to Denham, one we normally stop at if we are headed to Exmouth. A few snaps of Shark Bay signs (below) and we made our turn towards Denham where we are staying for 5 nights. A gorgeous 140k drive in, Denham is often missed as most tourists head straight past it to Shark Bay. Having been to Shark Bay, I am a much bigger fan of Denham, it is a lot less 'touristy' and a lot more laid back, country, and serene (not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper). We passed a few turn offs that we marked as places to return to on our day trips over the next few days: Hamelin Pool, Nanga, Whalebone road, The shark aquarium, Shell Beach, and many look out roads. I am really excited to visit all these places, hope the weather is kind to us!
Arrived in Denham at about 5 and had a bit of a negative experience checking in to our accommodations as they had screwed up our payments. I was more angry at myself because when I had phoned them in the first place to ask some questions and book in they seemed unenthusiastic, lacking in any interest to talk to me, and appeared unorganised. My gut instincts told me to book elsewhere and I ignored it. Every time I ignore my gut instincts I kick myself, this time was no different. Anyways, after an unapologetic and dismissive discussion from the manager, I realised they didn't give a shit and there would be no point trying to pull out and go elsewhere because they had my money and there would be no chance of a refund, so we have to make the most of it. The room was quite nice, so there is absolutely no complaints there, it is spaceous, clean, has all the usual hotel room facilities, and a beautiful view of the bay to boot.
We unpacked, went for a walk along the foreshore, and chatted on - as we do. The Denham shire have revamped the waters edge grounds, actually it was opened on 25 October 2016, so almost to the day, and they really did a brilliant job of capturing the roots of Denhams aboriginal past, its colonisation years, and these two cultures entwined creating a fascinating and symbiotic future. There are new sculptures, arts, a brilliantly made and very inviting kiddy playground, ingenious fish cleaning stations i have never seen the likes of before, bbq areas, plaques which explain the historical facts and mention people who helped shape the town into what it is today, and describing facts about the natural area. Who would have thought one small street could be so interesting.
Between me and you, I just can't wait to have a play on the swings, hehehe.
A bit of a stock up on treats from IGA then we retreated to our room to freshen up, get into the comfy pj's, have a bite for dinner, and watch a movie. And for me to record my adventures on this blog. It is now 11.45pm and I can definitely tell I will sleep like the dead tonight, the eyes are getting heavy. Hopefully it is a comfy bed so we both don't get sore backs, a thing us old farts experience when we are on holidays in either cheap or old beds. The you wake up like old mother hubbard and take a few hours to straighten up. Not a good look!
We have our first tour with Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Tours tomorrow night. It is the Didgeridoo Night Dreaming Tour with the very charismatic and loveable character, Capes and his charming wife, Mira. This goes from 7pm to 9pm so we still have all day to do things. We will probably go for a drive somewhere, not sure yet, but we will pack a wee picnic and see where our drive takes us. We have done a tour from this company before, a 4WD and Kayaking adventure, it was the best tour we have ever done which is why we are doing more this time. Not only because it showcases Denham in a way we could never have seen on our own, but also because it teaches you the aboriginal heritage of the area and gives you some really fascinating knowledge about their food, medicine, names of flora and fauna, myths and legends, and an understanding of their traditions. We booked an all day 4WD tour of Francois Peron for Thursday so that will hopefully take us to amazing parts of this area we haven't yet seen. Hobbit is looking forward to some snorkeling as part of that.
Just have to cross fingers that the weather stays lovely so we can really enjoy the area.
Oh, I wanted to mention that I have been getting some lovely messages through the blogging inbox and I want to say thank you so much. Unfortunately I think I need to pay to upgrade my website to reply personally, either that or my tech-challenged ways have made me overlook the way I can reply, either way I have not been able to figure it out. So please do not think I am ignoring you, I am really grateful for all your feedback. Hopefully I will figure it out soon. Cheers :)
