DAY 112 – GEOGRAPHE BAY AND ALL THE BEACHES…..

A big day of exploring today as we head out to explore a lot of the beaches in Geographe Bay and also visit the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse.

We had talked to some of the other campers  who had been out the previous day and they suggested we visit Castle Rock and then Meelup Beach and make our way around the coast until we got to the Lighthouse, so that became our plan of attach for the day.

We seem to be well situated where we are staying on the Holy Mile, being about equal distance from both Busselton and Dunsborough.   

Today our car was the mode of transport and we took off a little after 9am heading  to Dunsborough and then onto Castle Bay.  What a very pretty area this turned out to be.  

Castle Rock

Castle Rock

 Castle Bay is framed by the striking formations of Sail Rock to the west and Castle Rock to the east, making it a very picturesque spot for a beach picnic on the white sand and a refreshing swim in the clear turquoise waters, although for us Queenslanders, the water was way to cold for us to indulge in the swim.

The other thing about Castle Bay was the abundance of wildflowers here.  Unfortunately, photos do not do justice what your naked eye can see, and although we tried to capture some of it, most of it will just be a very pleasant memory for us of a great day out. 

We went for a lovely walk up around the headland where we were able to get some stunning photos of rock formations and the wild flowers. 

Meelup Beach

Our next stop was Meelup Beach.  We were told not to miss this one.  Beautiful white sand, clear crystal turquoise water and shady grassed areas makes up this beach, and it would make the perfect spot for a family beach day and picnic.  With plenty of shade  in the form of  beautiful native trees The waters here are very sheltered and protected inside Geographe Bay.

Gannet Rock

This was such a lovely spot with lots of little walks that you can do from this beach.  Steve, Ian and Kathy did the walk to Garnet Rock which I enjoyed sitting in the sun back at Meelup Beach.  You could honestly spend all day at beaches like this.  

We were going to have a cuppa here but decided that we really wanted to check out a couple of more beaches before we got to the Cape Naturaliste Lighhouse, so it was off to Eagle Bay, but on the way we stopped off at Point Picquet to check out the coastline.  Everything part of the coast line is stunning around here.  Eagle Bay beach is a long expense of white sand interspersed with the odd natural rock groyne. 

 When we arrived there were a group of woman all coming back up from having a swim.  I guess living in Queensland, we get spoilt with lovely hot weather when we go swimming.  Nothing would entice me in the water today, it was cool, overcast and a little windy.  They did assure us that the water was very fresh,  that it was a good way to make sure you were woken up and ready to start the day. 

By the time we got around to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and enquired about doing the Lighthouse tour, it was lunch time.  As the first available tour we could do didn’t start till 1pm,  we decided to stop here and have our cuppa and a quite bit to eat in the way of a nut bar and a couple of biscuits before embarking on the tour. 

Cape Naturaliste Lighhouse WA

When we purchased our ticket, we ended up getting a ticket that not only allowed us to do the Lighthouse tour but also a tour of Ngilgi Caves which is situated close to Yallingup.  It was much cheaper to do it this way, as the tour of the lighthouse was $12.50 and a further $22.50 for the cave tour, but combining them, it only cost us $27 each.  The other good thing about it was that we didn’t have to do the Cave tour on the same day, so we are leaving that for earlier in the new week. 

The tour of the Lighthouse was really good, and in hindsight, definitely worth the money… It is easier than most lighthouses to climb, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Geographe Bay region.    It was built from limestone quarried from nearby Bunker Bay, and  although it is only 20m tall, at it’s highest point the lighthouse is 123 metres above sea level.  This lighthouse still uses it’s original first order Fresnel lens which were made by the Chance Brothers.  These lens are now priceless as they are no longer made and can’t be replaces.  The lighthouse was built in 1903 and was started operating on 21^st April 1904 with 3 lighthouse keepers who worked around the clock.

The damage caused by the lightning strike in 1904.

The lighthouse was struck by lightning in 1904 and some damage which is still visible today occurred.  When it was first built, it had nothing earthing it so was a prime target for the electrical storms that struck the coast. 

We got to tour the inside of the lighthouse, climbing up through the different levels, hearing about the daily grind of a lighthouse keeper.  There way of life was hard,  very isolated, quite dangerous but they got paid well.  Something like 17 pound a week.   Our guide likened it to the fly in fly out miners of today.  It was not a job you could do long term.

Looking towards Sugarloaf Rock

Looking down towards the Lighthouse Keepers cottages

The top balcony of the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse rewarded  us with breathtaking panoramic views of the Indian Ocean, Cape Naturaliste, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and the beautiful Geographe Bay coastline.

Standing outside the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse WA

By the time we finished out tour and left it was going on to 3pm.  We had intended initially to do the Cave tour this afternoon also, but after realizing that it was still quite a drive away decided to leave it until another day, as we still wanted to explore Bunker Beach, and Sugerloaf Rock, which was situated on the other side of the point. 

Bunker Bay

We didn’t really stop at Bunker Bay,  it looked lovely, but we had a long walk down some stairs and over a sand dune or two to get to the beach, so decided instead to drive around to Sugarloaf Rock.

 

Lookout at Sugarloaf Rock

Lots of wildflowers even here

View out over the Bay

Wow Wow Wow, how stunning was this.  As you approach Sugarloaf Rock you will instantly see why this towering, sea-sculptured rock that emerges from the Indian Ocean is one of the most photographed coastal land forms in the region.

Sugarloaf Rock

It is a gigantic towering granite rock that emerges from the Indian Ocean extremely close to the mainland. The rock is situated within a designated nature reserve in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park just off Cape Naturaliste near Dunsborough.

Its ocean side is battered by treacherous seas and the rock is separated from the coast by just a narrow channel of wild water. This has created a unique environment which is home much wildlife.

We found the  best place to view the rock and the crashing seas was from the elevated lookout. It is easy to get to the top with only 20 steps (approximately).  

Sugarloaf Rock is also a bird watchers and nature lover’s paradise. As a nature reserve it is a haven for nesting sea birds and is home to the geographically restricted and graceful red-tailed tropic bird which nests here from September to February each year.

It’s not the only the wildlife you may see. Playful bottlenose dolphins can often be seen leaping through the surf break close by, sometimes together with the surfers. Humpback and southern right whales are often seen wallowing, breeching or just cruising by on their migration, especially at this time of year.

This was possibly one of my favourite spots today.  Just breathtaking scenery, and the photos definitely do not do it justice.  They can never take in all that your natural eye can see… 

By now the afternoon was getting on, so we headed back into Dunsborough where we had to stock up on a couple of groceries.  As Steve had unpacked the Weber, we decided to get a roast chicken to cook for dinner.  How blessed were we that they had one reduced down by 50%, so that went straight into our shopping trolley, along with a few other treats and staples.

Dunsborough Beach

Once we arrived home, Steve was keen to go for a fish down the front, so we quickly got the roast into the Weber, and we could sit and chill out.  Our neighbours Phil and Julie invited us over for a wine and chat.  That is the thing I love about staying around here, everyone is so friendly.

As we had the Weber out today, we decided to do a little baking as well, with Kathy making a batch of fresh blueberry scones for desert tonight and I ended up making a sultana loaf so that we could have it tomorrow.

 

Steve invited Phil and Julie over to share our scones with us after dinner and we had another lovely long chat realizing that both Phil and Steve have a lot of interests in common.  Loving life on the road…. Going to be hard to go back home and settle back into some sort of routine again.