Friday 17 March 2017

Western Australia (26 November 2016 - 5 December 2016), Day 7 - Margaret River to Augusta

Finally, we finished our cape to cape ride. One boy is not smiling as he just had nose bleed!
Leaving Margaret River, near the major roundabout
Leaving Margaret River, near the major roundabout
Enjoying ice creams and pull pork pie at Karridale
Enroute to Augusta
Enroute to Augusta
Enroute to Augusta
Enroute to Augusta, land for sale
Enroute to Augusta, boutique
Enroute to Augusta
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Cape Leeuwin, here we come!
Augusta streetview
Transwa bus leaving for Perth; only 2 service per day!
Down the slope to Victoria Parade
Never hire this driver!



Day 7 : Margaret River to Augusta

It was a stock clearance morning! Clear the fridge and cook everything!!! We had clearly over purchased the sausages and had to pack them for the trip. A new stick of butter and leftover bread came along as well.

We didn't throw away any food. More importantly, the road ahead looked deserted and it is always good to have some backup plan in case hunger sets in.

Today marks the final leg of our Cape to Cape tour. The distance from Margaret Forest to Augusta is about 40km, with lots of flats. The climbs only commenced on the last 5 km into Augusta.


Bales of hay

Cows


Sheep
Horses

This route passed through many farms and forests. Along the way we saw cows, sheep and horses. A female farmer, driving her tractor across the road stopped to wave before pushing the heavy farm gates open. Spotting bales of hay on the fields thrilled us but when the pollen were airborned, it left us worried of hay fever!

We only passed through 2 towns. As Witchcliffe was only 10 km away from Margaret River, we had to forget about their famous pies.







Karridale was midway and equally small. The only businesses visible on the Bussell Highway were 2 petrol kiosks, on opposite sides of the road. One was housed together with a general store while the bigger concern, Gull with a deli offering snacks, pies and even fries was across the road. Next to Gull was a tavern which wasn't opened when we were there.

The reception at Augusta's Georgiana Molloy Motel was deserted when we arrived. Seeking out the staff from the property behind, the owner was nice to allow us an early check in of 1 pm. Meanwhile, we had to while away an hour in a town that was flanked by only 2 rows of shops.



Riding on the street, we double checked on the TransWa bus stop for tomorrow's return. We were surprised it was nothing more than a roof, a few hundred meters away from our Motel. A public drinking water dispenser next to it served us well during our stay.



There were only about 20 shops operating on the street, all swatting flies. IGA was a small store that sells mostly general supplies and a very small selection of fresh groceries. Australia Post, a wall filled with red letter boxes, squats on the same premise as Augusta's Newsagency.

Blue Ocean, a fish and chips joint was totally void of customers. Ragged Robin was a strange shop that sold furniture but doubled as a coffee place. Afraid we may soil the furniture for sale, we decided best to check out the other shops.


Blast from the past...movie world

Stepping out from Leeuwin's Diner, a lady with a turbaned towel and a coffee in one hand noticed our indecisiveness. She looked as if she was halfway through a hairdo. Her words of, "Great food, great coffee!" made us return to the shop. We had greasy burgers and fishy fish and chips that tasted like it was fried in animal fat! Since it was paid for, we ate it all up!

When lunch was done, we headed back to our motel. The beds were done, the toilets were clean but the windows had an inch of dust! This time though, our first instincts were to test out the stove. It worked but the oven had seen its days. The dishwashing detergent was watered down thin and emptied out while we were pre-washing the utensils for a later use so the owner handed us a bottle from his own kitchen when we requested for more!!!

The Motel suited our overnight needs. It looked weary but one can understand the upkeep required of a place that sees only a handful of tourists a year!

Our boys were reluctant to ride further but we wanted them to finish the Cape to Cape ride. Since yesterday, we were debating on how to get them to finish the quest as they had not gone beyond 40 km in a day. Arriving so early at Augusta on a relatively good speed because of a flat terrain, we had more reasons to convince them.

VT's Samsung handphone with Google Maps application graphically depicts the climb to Cape Leeuwin. It looked surprisingly flat! This convinced the boys to come along. Moreover, VT had taken an hour's nap after lunch and during that hour, they had had an hour to dive into their gadgets.

Leaving our Motel, the road took a steep dive just after the shops. 500 meters later, the climbs began. 1 km later, our boys threatened to turn back!!!





The coastal line ups and vegetation along the way reminded us very much of Cape Town. Half the time, Claudine expected to see an ostrich in the bushes!

Flies taking a free ride on Ryan's back!




After passing Flinders Bay and Augusta Boat Harbour, we saw the signage for Dead Finish, so named because the adjacent water was known as Dead Finish Anchorage. It was the last place to get a safe anchorage when on-shore winds made Flinders Bay unsafe for ships. The beach is now a fishing platform with easy road access and wheelchair friendly.


First sighting...Cape Leeuwin lighthouse
When we first spotted the lighthouse, we were thrilled! Slowly it grew taller and bigger as we approached. It grew and grew and grew....but it wasn't growing fast enough for us!!!

Western Australia's tallest lighthouse stood at the edge of the cape, hypnotizing us. We fought the final hill to get to it. 50 meters to contact, we found out there was an entrance fee to the grounds. It was after all another lighthouse thus we left without actually accomplishing what we had set out to do.









Back at the Motel, we left the kids to check out the old town jetty at Victoria Parade. It was very quiet on a Friday evening. Thereafter, our dinner dilemma began. The bread selection at IGA was minimal, the oven looked like it had not been roasting for a long time and there was no delicatessen! There was a limited choice of canned soup and our favourite chocolate milk was not available.

Finally, we settled on Mie Sedaap, an instant mee goreng from Indonesia, a surprise find in Australia. Of course, the sausages made it to the table again that night!!!

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Georgiana Molloy Motel