Day 1 - Wednesday 4 July - Heading north

Day 1

Wednesday

4 July 2018

Perth – Jurien Bay – Cliff Head

Started book number 1 – The Fall  by Tristan Bancks. I am looking forward to reading this second novel as I enjoyed his first Two Wolves.Like his first, it is a novel for young adults and I am reading it to judge its suitability to read in class. 

It is a kind of surreal feeling being back on the road. I have missed being in the van, just the tow of us, exploring this magnificent country. Our 12 month stint last year was unbelievable, but we had to return to reality, much of it with a thud. Now 6 months on, we are able to return to the road and complete our BIG LAP, this time concentrating on our own backyard. 

For Paul it will be a journey or rediscovery, returning to parts he hasn’t seen for 30 years. For me it is a chance to see all that he has talked about and make it further north than Kalbarri. 

We had spent the last few weeks readying than van and ourselves for our departure, so come this morning it was just a matter of throwing in the last minute food stocks and we could be on our way. Dodging the rain and with one last look over the house and van, we were trundling down our street, happy to be leaving the weather behind us. Well so we thought. 

We pointed the van north and began our journey up Wanneroo Road. Yippee, 3 months of freedom, fun and frivolity awaiting. 

With a quick stop at the fuel station, to pump air into the trailer tyres, we sat back for the remainder of the 250km, not needing to deviate off the road, as Wanneroo Road morphed into Indian Ocean Drive. Rain wipers set to on, we watched fat rain droplets pelt the window and slide off to join the puddles forming on the side of the road. 

The drive was not particularly eventful. Plenty of road works followed signage “Making our roads safer.” There were plenty of slow patches, trucks and other RV’s, but nothing was too bothersome. 

By midday, we had made it to Jurien Bay. The blue sky was pushing its way through, so we took the opportunity to stop, stretch our legs and find a bakery for a warming snack. Seems like most of the tourists and locals had the same idea. It was worth it, with the baked goods warming our bellies and our hands. 

We walked to the waterfront to check out the churning sea. Plenty of rain had been through, with puddles big enough to swallow you taking up residence on the footpath. We managed to make it back to the van relatively unscathed and continued our journey, finding the rain once again. 

It was only a short one hour journey on to Cliff Head. We turned off the main road, onto the white limestone track, followed it through the bush, dodged the pot holes and then descended down to the beach side free camp. Home for the night. 

The place wasn’t busy, so we had a choice of sites. We opted to park up along the cliff face, hoping to be spared from the buffeting winds. No such luck. We set about making our selves at home, then locked ourselves inside as the rain and wind came lashing in. Wouldn’t be getting our steps up today. 

Just as we started to play cards, a golden sunlight came beaming through and we abandoned the cards, taking to the outdoors. The rain was gone, but the wind was still howling. We wandered past the private fisherman’s shack and onto the sand, finding a washed up juvenile hammerhead shark. 

We completed a loop, conscious the rain was going to return, making it back just in time. Paul decided to turn the van around, so we were pointing into the wind. What a difference it made. Positioned a little further into the protection of the cliff, we had the perfect wind break. 

We returned to our game of cards, which didn’t last long. Paul ventured outside again, only to call that I needed my camera. Two beautiful sea-eagles were perched on a tree at the top of the cliff face. I watched them for ages, one taking off to scour for a feed and return empty handed. 

I also spied a bee hive attached to the underside of part of the cliff. The sheets of honeycomb like stalagmites growing inside a cave. The little worker bees going about their important business.  

We took advantage of the fine weather again, exploring more of the surroundings. I would have liked to have walked to the southern campground, but the tide was in, not leaving a sandy path to wander along. 

Once back at the van, we were in for the night. I went through the photos I had taken, before finally thinking about dinner. Paul was tired, after a couple of restless nights, so he was happy to crawl into bed early. I stayed up, reading for a while, before finally joining him.