Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 76 - Perth to Yallingup (Margaret River)

The joys of Perth and Fremantle behind us, it’s time to head on .If the time here showed us anything, its that we should spend more time in each place, and even here we didn’t do it justice. We didn’t get to the Kings Gardens, we saw nothing south of the Swan, and really only spent a drive through the Swan Valley and had lunch.

Silver Leader and Forbsy need to got go early to get Silver Leaders Jeep from the mechanic and Forbsy needs to hit a JB Hifi for a replacement bit, this will mean getting everything ready to be out of the park by 10.00am a squeeze for all but us. We allow ourselves a marginal sleep in and leisurely breakfast. My finger, still smarting from the effects of the slicing I tried on it last night, is covered in Band Aids. With the skin covered my phone will not respond to my index finger, which if I want to send messages, I will need to use y rude finger, making the experience even harder for this technophobe.

At 9.30am we are ready to hook up, but given the lack of space and the highway traffic of vans leaving the park past our van, the later we hook up the better. Forbsy, being just one, is also ready, but Silver Leader is nothing like ready. 9.45 and Forbsy and I hook up, stopping the traffic for now. They will just have to wait as in front of us is an immovable object – a relocatable home. As soon as we are hooked up both Forbsy and I head to the boom gate and let ourselves out and wait for Silver Leader to take the lead.

10.05 and Silver Leader is in the queue at the boom gate. A group in front of them, cars only, are trying to get out and what a schmozzle, a passenger has gotten out of the second car, along with one from the car on the boom, and obviously input their number. Because the passenger has left the door open, the front car can’t move and the boom gate closes. The second car passenger comes and inputs again, success. Now for the second car, will the boom work with the same number twice, luckily it does.

Silver Leader gets through and then tells us to go because Rosalie is in the toilet, and on her return, he will need to do the same. Forbsy reluctantly takes the lead. Not having driven at any time in Perth he is unsure of the path his GPS is taking, I quickly assure him we are on the right track.

Quickly onto the Motorway, the GPS tells him it ends shortly, I again reassure him, there are many names to this road according to the GPS and it will take us all the way through Perth and beyond. Not far over the Swan River we notice the traffic on the other side of the Motorway is banked up considerably. This is the effect of a nasty incident earlier, which saw a utility catch on fire on one of the off ramps.

Heading along steadily now, the arid waste of the north which morphed into the wheat belt has given way now to greenery, even swamp looking land. Everything is green and lush, like you would want the entire country to look like. Crops here are still green and a long way from harvest. On the radio we hear talk of the season still not being brilliant in terms of production, but they are still happy.

Silver Leader finally catches up, although we have been sitting on the speed limit all the way, meaning he must have been a little over it. There are speed monitoring cameras all along this stretch, we trust we won’t get a nasty surprise in the mail on his return. Having said that, Forbsy suggests that although we have been sitting on 100kph on the speedometer, the GPS tracker has suggested we have been doing around 95kph.

Forbsy being in the lead, gets to pick the lunch spot. Today we will eat from our vans, so he finds a parking bay and we rest and repatriate. This park has been created as part of a Rotary project and I take pictures of the signage. I have been talking with our Secretary back at Belrose Rotary Club and we might take a night on our return to talk about the trip, sunsets and all.

We are only 80 kilometres from our destination now, and the road will be moving from a divided road to a “normal” one lane job shortly. Silver Leader resumes his place at the head of the convoy, and we head further south. A number of times along this last section my GPS wants us to turn off the main road and head towards the coast, whilst Silver Leader keeps us screaming due south. Again there either must be something wrong with the settings on my GPS or it is such an old version it cannot deduce the better roads.

Finally we turn off the main road and head towards the caravan park, along the beach. Although there are lots of trees blocking the way, now and again there are drains, breaking the blockage, and we can see the water, mirror flat, not enamouring Silver Leader on the surfing potential, while we are here.

At the park we settle in, as it starts to rain. Only a little shower, but enough to be annoying. Because our van is a little longer than the others we are ushered to a different spot, not far from the others but far enough, to mean a short walk to the Silver Leader Beer Garden.

Its cold, compared to what we are used to. The temperature has not risen above 18 degrees all the way from Perth, and my hands and my back are telling me so. The pharmacist has given me a spray for my hands to help alleviate the pain in them. I lay down for a while. The van park is pretty, with lots of green grass, maybe the Silver Leader naked jaunt might occur here again. From the van it sounds like the wind is howling, its actually the surf from the beach across the road that is giving us most of the sound. Yes there is surf.

At the normal “beer o’clock” we gather at the Silver Leader Beer Garden, where he informs us, a good friend of his from school, who does winery tours of the area, is about to join us. Just before he does, his next-door neighbour comes over and tells us to turn the music down, tongue in cheek, really what he wants to say is he has found a glasses case, and was it one of ours – it is not. He leaves saying if we turn our down then he will turn his up, in a giggle.

Wayne, Silver Leader’s mate from school waltzes in. He is a jovial chap, I suspect his wine tours may be filled with lots of mirth and anecdotes. Robyn and he talk about Caves House and the ghost track and the legend she has heard about the name, Wayne knows nothing about it, but I am sure there will be an added anecdote to the next tour.

Wayne, much to Silver Leader’s surprise, talks of 2 metre waves “all the time” here, and they plan a trip early in the morning, just not too early. As for a tour of the sights, we are now six, which will mean 2 cars, and if we hit wineries, two will need to miss out as designated drivers. Robyn suggests, that if she is designated driver, or driver of any description, then she has the wheel and we will be doing things in her order – chocolate factory, chocolate factory, chocolate factory, chocolate factory (yes there are four in the area) and then the ice cream emporium.

This actually sounds fair to me, as there is a tour which leaves the van park the day after which does up to 20 wineries in a very long day, and as the brochure suggests, they assist you and your purchases back to your starting place at the end of the day. Silver Leader has cooked dinner, Forbsy is now wearing a Driza-bone, because of the cold, and both Rosalie and I are into our Ugg Boots.

I need to sleep, so I excuse myself and head off.