FriendlyBrooks

Wharf a magnificent  corner of our county

Lance Brooks loving WA, March  2026

Whilst we were sitting in mass in Esperance we were delivered a message that would set our plans back a little.  We were told that the Orca trip planned for the next day would be cancelled and the next booking couldn’t be until Wednesday. We had to move a few things around but this was a bucket list tour so we were determined to make it work. As so often happens the changes worked out for the better.

8e decided to head towards Fitzgerald River National Park. This park had been severely affected by bush fire in January and as a result most of the roads and some of the campgrounds were closed. We first tried to get into the national park campground but it was booked out but we were able to get a spot at Hammersley Inlet. The drive in was fantastic and we arrived in fading light to a campground overlooking the inlet. Whilst we were setting up we met a lovely couple of bird watchers who had basically been travelling the same route as us, albeit more slowly.

We awoke to our first grey day of the trip. The weather was cool and blustery but it added to the charm of the place. We took the beautiful 2km forest walk to the beach which was wild and quite a different landscape to the one we had just been in. Very beautiful as is all this part of the world. We loved this place so much we decided to stay a second night. That evening we had another lovely chat with the “lady twitchers” as well as some parents of 3 very young children who had been on the road for a year. We also saw another Ultimate set up in our campground, which was a first.

The next morning was drizzling but we packed up anyway and headed into Hopetoun for a weekday Mass that Lance was keen to attend. There were only about 10 people there but we stayed for a cuppa again. I have to say its not a bad way to meet the locals!

I was on a promise of a golf game before we left for Bremer Bay which was 3 hours away. But first we had to wash the car and van, fill the tanks and talk to Michelle. We finally started the game at 12.30. Hopetoun golf course was the first real course we had played at for a while. We played 9 holes which took quite a while due to the multiple shots required by me to complete each hole.

As it was Tuesday Lance had to attend his course which he did in the car whilst I drove. It was an easy drive but as it got to dusk the roos came out in force and a very big one ran right in front of me across the road. It scared me a little so I slowed down a lot, consequently we drove into the Bremer Bay Tourist Park in the dark. As it was quite crowded it was a little tricky backing into our allocated spot but Lance has vastly improved his skills so we got in, had a quick set up and ate dinner inside the van. We went to bed early so we would be ready to get up and get to the wharf at 7.30am for our revised Orca trip.

Orca Day dawned bright and sunny, We checked in on time and set off on the boat which took 75 guests just after 8am. In the safety briefing the crew mentioned that it would be quite rocky, especially while we were traveling out to the Bremer Canyon which took about an hour and a half. They also talked about sea sickness and what to do if it struck. I don’t usually get sea sick but it certainly hit me this time. It probably had something to do with the 2 cups of coffee on an empty stomach and not taking the tablets. Anyway when we got to the edge of the canyon everything got better. Within seconds we saw our first orcas and it only got better from there. We had over 4 hours out on the canyon and would have seen over 100 orcas. Most came right up to the boat and swam around and under often showing off. We saw a baby orca which was about a metre long and apparently would have been just 10 days old. We also saw a bunch of birds including a couple of albatross and the smallest sea bird in existence. We got a few decent photos but the boat also had a professional photographer and we were given access to her photos also.  At the end of the day when it was time to go back it was like the orcas put on a farewell. Lance and I were right at the back of the boat at water level and 2 of them came right up to us, practically licking our toes. It was an incredible day. Even the journey back was amazing where we saw an island of sea lions.

After the boat trip we drove around Bremer Bay which is a pretty little town with more beautiful beaches and then went to dinner at a surprisingly trendy and popular brewery.

From Bremer Bay we wanted to visit both Albany and Denmark so we found Camp Kennedy, a Baptist holiday camp in between the two. On our way in we stopped in Albany and visited the War Museum. Albany was the launching place for the ships to carry the Anzacs to Egypt for the first world war. There were 2 convoys.  The museum was cleverly laid out with personal stories from the soldiers, generals and medical staff told from both sides. It also had an incredible view across the bay. As always we didn’t have quite enough time there and we left right on closing time.

As usual it was nearly dark when we checked into Camp Kennedy.

The next day we decided to visit Denmark, which is a very beautiful and artsy town. We first had breakfast and walked along the river bank parkland. We wanted to do the tourist drive taking in all the sites but first we had to get a stat dec signed as I had received a speeding fine in Tasmania for traveling 78kph in a 70 zone. The police liaison officer in Denmark was lovely and took a lot of time to help us with the stat dec and also give some tourist advice. She would be named quirky Denmark resident number 1.

We then set off on the tourist drive through the beautiful countryside. After not too long a car was close on our tail. Lance tried to pull out off in a side street but they followed so we kept going and the car kept following. Eventually we decided to pull into an art gallery and guess what, the car followed us in. It turned out he was the artist. So we looked at his work and bought a pottery piece from quirky resident number 2.

Next stop on the tourist drive was a winery. There are many on the route but we stopped at just one Rockcliffe. Another beautiful setting and nice wine hosted by quirky resident number 3, the owner and sommelier. He was an English geologist who had come to the area 40 years ago. For tasting we could just select any wine he had, and there was no real limit to the amount. Seeing it was still morning we didn’t over indulge. We bought a few bottles.

We completed the tourist drive with a visit to the famous Green Pool and Elephant Rocks. We swam here, of course, and also walked along the trails for a while.

The police liaison officer had mentioned visiting Ocean Beach which was at the mouth of the river. It was very beautiful and worth the stop.

Having spent much longer in Denmark than anticipated we hurried back to Albany to visit the Whaling Station before it closed. Apparently most people spend between 2 and 4 hours here and we only had a little over 1 hour. We managed to get around most of it but we missed a couple of the video experiences.

After the Whaling Station we stopped at all the lookouts (8 in total) in Torndirrup National Park. This is yet another spectacular part of the WA coast.

Albany was 200 years old and had a light show to celebrate. We went into the town centre to watch it but quickly got distracted by a very nice French bistro. We decided to splurge and have 3 courses plus wine. This was our first special nice restaurant meal for quite a while and so worth it.

The effects of Cyclone Narelle were felt right down on the South West Coast so the next morning we woke up to torrential rain. As we didn’t have long to get to Perth for our flight back to Sydney in April and still much to see we decided to try packing up in the rain anyway. Let’s just say we made a lot of rooky errors, including me running into the towbar and getting a dead leg and as we would find out later, a soaked camper trailer.

Wet pack up done, we drove through the Karri forests in Walpole. We stopped at the beautiful tree top walk and enjoyed a very pleasant couple of hours in the forest. The tree top walk is an engineering feat of suspension bridges joining the trees so you get to walk amongst the top branches.

After the  tree top walk we took a tourist drive up a spectacular narrow dirt road, thar advised no caravans. The forest was even more beautiful and we stopped to admire views and a giant tree 

After Walpole we drove along Highway 1 through Pemberton to our campsite in Conto campground near Margaret River. This campground is in a national park halfway between Augusta and Margaret River and right near some of the caves, so perfectly positioned. We drove in at sunset and inspected the water damage.  It wasn’t too bad but some of our bedding was damp. I used my hairdryer to get the worst of it but we had a damp night sleep.

It was Palm Sunday so our first stop was the Catholic Church in Margaret River but not before we laid everything out in the sun to dry and prayed for no rain.  After Mass we went to the laundromat and washed and dried just about everything we owned. We then drove to the surfing beach but the surf was windblown ans so no one was in the water (not even Lance). I was keen to visit the lighthouse at Cape Leewin which is right at the crossing between 2 oceans – Indian and Southern. Cape Leewin is also the start or end of the 6 day Cape to Cape hike. Augusta is a pretty little seaside town with lots of holiday homes. Not far from Augusta is Hamelin Bay,  home to stingrays swimming on the beach. We watched the sunset and the rays before going back to camp.

Margaret River area has many beautiful caves and one of the more spectacular ones us the Lake Cave which was conveniently close to our campground. We did an excellent tour there, admiring the limestone features and the underground lake.

After the cave tour we visited the Raptor Centre for a bird show and a tour of their birds which were rescue birds.

Next it was time for a winery visit. We chose Leewin Estate as it’s a beautiful setting with excellent wines a superb art collection and a fabulous restaurant. We managed to enjoy everything except the restaurant which was booked out. The tasting was great and the wines were delicious. We were  recommended a restaurant which we went to in Witchcliffe at McHenry Hohnen wine bar,  The lunch was delicious, as were the wines on offer.

After that we headed back to the surf beach so Lance could have a surf but it was still blown out. Instead we walked along the river mouth and drove to Gnarabup for sunset.

The next day was our last day in WA for a while and we were feeling a little sad. We were looking forward to going back to Sydney for Easter to see family and friends but sad to be leaving our life on the road. Added to this Michelle called with the news that Ross’s passport has expired and there was a possibility that they wouldn’t get to Sydney. We decided to trust that it would all work out and hope that we would get better news by the end of the day.

We went for a last swim at Gnarabup (for Lance) and breakfast (for both of us) before heading for Perth. We visited Cape Natualiste first so we could complete our Cape to Cape.

We had booked our camper trailer in for a service with the lovely Josh at Bluewater Campers in Perth. He was going to service the camper while we were away and it meant we could leave it with him for the next 3 weeks. Our flight was not until 11pm so we went to Cottesloe Beach for dinner before going to the airport.

We then caught the overnight flight to Sydney. When we arrived we received the good news that Ross had gotten a new passport and he, Michelle and the kids would arrive in a couple of days. We were looking forward to seeing them and even more to the arrival of a new baby for David and Andi. Jack and Cassie were also joining us and so we would have the whole family together for the first time in a year.