Posts Tagged With: WA

Rottnest Island!

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Mel

Peak period on Wadjemup (Rottnest island) is Dec – Feb so we initially had no chance at accomodation…but by going on a Thursday night, the day after school started I snagged a unit for 1 night at Geordie Bay.

We caught the 8am Rottnest express ferry from Northport (the best departure point if you have a car) and also added our own bikes on for $20 each. I wore a scopolamine patch and had no nausea at all

The trip is 30 mins direct but took a bit longer for us as we went via the B sheds for another pick up. It all works very smoothly with BYO bike and they load/unload it for you. As my bike is an ebike the battery mist be removable and carried as hand luggage…and the bike mist weigh under 22kgs.

When we arrived we started off on our 26km ride around the entire island. We saw some beautiful beaches.

We also saw one of the NZ fur seals waving at everyone in the water! After a brief lunch break we rode back to the settlement and collected our unit keys. We stayed at Geordie Bay with a beautiful ocean view.

For dinner we walked 1.5kms from Geordie Bay to Pinky’s. The food was very underwhelming (especially for the bonkers pricing) but there were lots of quokkas around…even baby ones.

We walked back and watched the sunset from our balcony with some cheese and snacks from the IGA near our unit.

Checkout is 9am on the island so we were up fairly early. We returned the keys then rode up to the Oliver Hill Gunnery.

We declined the paid tour and instead decided to go back down the hill for a swim at The Basin. Just as we were about to get in the chopper started hovering over and the shark siren went off…apparently there was a 3.5m Tiger shark just offshore. After awhile we were allowed in again. I stayed close to sure because it got very deep, very fast. It was quite rough in the water…I do miss the calm ocean bays in Thailand.

We saw soooo many cute quokkas! It was Joey season as well…babies!

Having not been to Rottnest for a long time (25+ years) I think staying overnight was worth it. No rush back to the ferry and it meant we were there for dusk when lots of quokkas come out to play. One night would definitely be sufficient if you make sure your days are longer on either side.

Categories: Australian Getaways, western australia | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamelin Bay Jan 2024 visit: Days 1-2 Ranger Redz Zoo and Cosy Corner Beach

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Mel

This is our second year visiting Hamelin Bay over the new year period! Once we got the first booking in a 6 sleeper ocean cabin we have been able to adjust it for the year following and are hoping to adjust again for next year…. now that we are one of the in crowd with a repeated booking! The first year we got 2 nights mid January through the public ballot, this year we got 6 nights early January and next year I’m hoping to stay over new years.

We drove down on Day 1 via Ranger Redz Zoo in Pinjarra. I had bought the kiddos animal experiences for Christmas as they were moving house so didn’t need yet more crap to stockpile and we had booked the “treetastic tour” with sugar gliders, squirrel gliders and possums! The zoo were also very nice and let us sneak a 5th person in so B didn’t have to miss out like he usually does for stuff with the kids haha. The experiences was AWESOME and although the zoo is small it’s worth a visit. Note there is no food on site but the Pinjarra Bakery is only a 2 min drive away.

We arrived in Hamelin bay around 4pm and then proceeded to go on a scavenger hunt left by friends who had stayed in the same cabin 2 weeks before! The kids enjoyed finding the clues although did brute force the cypher…finding things is more exciting than solving them apparently.

We then visited the famous sting rays, watched a movie and had an early night after a long day.

Day 2 started with a sleep in and then a trip to Cosy Corner beach. The wind and climb down are a bit nuts here…poor me trying to climb back up an insanely steep sand dune! The beach scenery is spectacular though.

It was very windy with rough conditions not suitable for the kids to swim so we did some exploring and then headed back to the car. Last year we had lunch at Hamelin Bay Winery and it was very quiet so we thought to do the same this year…to discover they were completely booked out! We stopped for a drink instead and made a note to book next year before having lunch at the Karridale Tavern instead. Wifi was enjoyed by all.

The afternoon saw us head back to no wifi/phone reception at the cabin and attempt the first use of our cool cabana on the windy beach. Overall opinion: It lives up to the hype. Hamelin Bay is a very windy area and the cabana coped well and did not fly away….although it is definitely not a one person set up in wind. It also packed away easily.

Dinner was sausages and kebabs on the BBQ (with wine for adults) and some Cards Against Humanity family edition as well as taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza. Both were winners but the youngest in our group was definitely a fan of all the butt references in CAH haha.

Categories: Australian Getaways, western australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 1 +2: Perth to Cervantes + Nambung National Park, WA

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Mel

Cervantes is about a 2.5hr drive north of Perth along the Indian Ocean Highway. It’s quite an easy drive although a very twisty road with lots of black spots so patience is key.

Approx 17kms before you hit Cervantes is the turn off for Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles Tourist Drive! It costs $15 for a day pass into the park, viewing all the limestone pillars is worth it though. Amazing.

Nambung National Park – The Pinnacles
Nambung National Park – The Pinnacles
Nambung National Park – The Pinnacles
Nambung National Park – The Pinnacles

We then kept driving another 10 mins and arrived in Cervantes. We are staying at an air bnb for two nights here which is next to the RAC holiday park so has all the walkable conveniences (beach, park, lobster shack, food) with less of the screaming children. This is opposite our accomodation and less than a 60 second walk away.

Cervantes Beach

Day 2 started with birthday presents for B!!! Yay!! We started the day early and walked across the road to Seashells Cafe to grab a breakfast bacon roll. The weather was shocking (grey, raining, cold) so we drove to Lobster Shack where our sea lion tour was scheduled to depart at 9am. It was cold and pouring rain but we arrived for our early check in anyway figuring if it was cancelled we would just go back to bed.

We still ended up going and getting in the water! It was a bit chilly but we swam with big papa, mum sea lions and babies! B even duck dived with them and played chasey in the sea weed. Very cool to interact that closely with wild animals. I have minimal photos as I only took my phone and it rained most of the time.

The boat stops just off the sea lion colonies home and the seals are encouraged to come and play….no food bribes though as they are protected

For lunch we had the seafood basked at Seashells Cafe and it was….average. I’ve had better, but the convenience of it being across the road was pretty good. B then had a birthday nap while I watched the sky be all moody and grey for the afternoon. Around 4:30pm we drove 4 mins to Lake Thetis. We did the full 1.5km walk loop but there is also a 300m paved boardwalk section for accessibility.

Last nights dinner was at the country club (local bar and lawn bowls club) which was quite tasty and about a 7 min walking distance from our air bnb. Tonight we were going to try out the Bar + Bistro but it’s closed. Then we thought we would try the motel restaurant which serves pizza….but also closed. So, back to the country club it is!

Tomorrow: off to Kalbarri for 2 nights!

Categories: Australian Getaways, coral coast | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

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