It’s a beautiful drive leaving Margaret River. We made our left hand turn and headed east. That means we’re homebound. But there’s still heaps to do in the  next few weeks – just wait and see.

The nearby Blackwood River has a number of good white water paddling sections. I left the boys to experience some of the river at the put in at Sue’s Bridge and waited at the get out, about 17km downstream. All the rain over the past week has washed out many of the rapids, but they still had a great time. It took them less than two hours. The place I picked them up is usually a quite drivable river ford. But as you can see in the photo below, you’d be a nutter to try it today.

Blackwood River, Great North Road ford

It was all green grass, fat black cows, full dams and tall, tall trees. This area in the south west is the home of the beautiful karri trees. The Boranup Forest we drove through just south of Margaret River was just a teaser. We had even better to come.

Like where we camped, right next to the Warren River in the Warren National Park. The trees towered over us, and the wind had dropped off – for now.

John suggested a fire tonight, especially as they supplied the wood. He had a wee bit of trouble getting it started.

Determined. Tenacious. Built for endurance.

There’s no Queen’s Scout who will let a pile of wet wood get in the way of a good fire. After an hour and a half, lots of swearing, and a few restarts, there was success. We all got to sit around a rip roaring fire which John said was giving out a fair bit of warmth. In fact he said this four times – just in case we hadn’t noticed. Nice fire John.

Meanwhile, the water in the river was rising. I took this photo when we had just arrived to set up camp – about 5.30pm.

And in the morning, it looked like this.

But there was more rain to come!

We like finding our way through a maze. We’ve done a few in Victoria and one the other day up at Yallingup. With a clear sky (can you believe it?) we went to the Margaret River Maze. This is a hedge maze – the largest in Australia.

This time Harry and I won the race to the centre tower, and Fergus and John won the race out again. But not by much.

They have a few other maze and puzzle type things around the huge gardens, and a great range of native plants, so yes, I did add a number of new plants to my collection of photos.

We woke up with a puddle on our floor, and a few leaks, but given the awful night we’d had, this wasn’t so bad. Unfortunately the forecast was for more of the same. I started to wonder if this was really happening to us. We battened down the hatches (or we thought we had) and went out to see what Margaret River had to offer on a rainy day.

First we checked in at the beach at the end of the track.

Wild, wild weather

You can’t see far out to sea because…you can’t see far out to sea. And the state of the white water was like washing machine suds. Nippers would cancel training today, I’m sure of it.

The boys dragged me to a surfing photo gallery, so I fed them pies and then dragged them to one café, one art gallery, one jewellery exhibition, one silk worm farm, one fine furniture gallery and one winery. Only one of each. It’s nothing compared to how many times they’ve been surfing. We also went to Cowaramup which has made a name for itself by having these “cows” all around the town.

The Cowaramup Cows

We found ourselves right back at Dunsborough and Geographe Bay, so we went to Bunker Bay to check the surf.

Bunker Bay

I love Bunker Bay, and while John took Ferg to tackle some bigger waves, Harry and I enjoyed the lovely café on the edge of the sand.

We headed south again after this, and ended up back at Gracetown watching the surf and the weather. Again.

Gracetown’s waves being blown away

The rain kept coming and as we crossed the Gracetown Creek, John was pretty sure it was good for a paddle on the rapids. As darkness approached and the rain continued, we retreated to the pub for dinner. Hey Presto: the footy was on tv! It was warm and dry inside, and I didn’t have to cook or wash up. The boys even talked to me between quarters!

With a rain radar map like this, you have to wonder if the weather gods are targeting us. It was nothing short of appalling outside the car. We made our way south towards the tourist mecca of Margaret River. This whole area is a picture postcard (albeit soaked with torrential rain) of vineyards, galleries, cafes, restaurants, hippies, and of course very, very good surf. Except for right now, when the surf is very, very bad. I can hear Anthony sniggering from here! Comes around, goes around.

We stopped at Gracetown where it was so wet and wild, we just stayed in the car. Then it was Prevally. Same. It was so yucky, I never even considered taking a photo. The rainfall recorded will be well below the real amount, as it was so significantly horizontal that it would not have fallen in a rain gauge.

Despite the rain, it was a scenic drive. There are huge patches of arum lilies, which look quite beautiful against the green pastures. Unfortunately, they are a weed and are rather out of control in some areas.

Further south we drove through the Boranup Forest. This is a spectacular karri forest, and a lesser known feature of the region. This led us on to Hamelin Bay, a picturesque beach with a big history. It used to be the export point for harvested timber from the region. The remnants of the jetty, once a bustling port, are one of the most recognisable photos from the region. I look forward to comparing this to the state of the jetty in 1987, when I was last here.

Hamelin Bay

The rain had stopped, but the wind sure kept on coming. It even ruffles the feathers of this seagull who dared to face away from the wind.

We settled on a campsite near Conto’s Beach. It’s a National Park, with many campsites dotted through the scrub. It would have been much nicer if it hadn’t rained so much. And hadn’t blown so hard.

Harry and John went to see Calgardup Cave on their bikes. The region has a number of caves with the usual offer of stalactites and stalagmites. They were looking forward to a bit of exploring, but it turned out to be more of a “stay on the boardwalk” kind of cave. The heavens opened again just as they started to ride back to camp, and the rain set in for the night.

Given that the main attraction here is surfing (for the majority of people in our car, including the one in control of the steering wheel) and the surf at Supertubes Yallingup was trashed out, we went seeking a wave somewhere else – and found it at Point Picquet at Meelup Bay. I call this the Old Dudes Wave because I’ve never seen so many longboards and grey hair in one place. They say bad things about the bike riding MAMILS (middle aged men in lycra), but I think middle aged men in wetsuits might just take top billing (my husband excluded).

Anyway, all my boys – the young ones with blonde hair and the old one who denies he has grey hair – went in for a surf at this neat little point break. It was small, punchy and a perfectly shaped left hander.

Fergus on a wave

Here’s Ferg – learning how to drop in. Who taught him that, I wonder.

And Harry – almost catching wave of the day

From the surf, we made it to the end of the Cape – not far. This is where you find the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. It’s a recent one – only built in 1903. We also learnt that the mercury they used to use to float the heavy clockwork mechanism sent the lighthouse keepers crazy. And they thought it was the isolation all this time. Crazy!

The Lighthouse still uses the original crystal glass prism from 1903

Next up – we conquered the Yallingup Maze. It’s a bit like the one we have near us on the Bellarine Peninsula. If you happen to go there – they have two secret doors. It would have been nice to know this before we started, so just giving you the heads up.

Harry and Dad beat Ferg and Mum through the Maze.

We meandered back to the Four Star Accommodation stopping at Canal Rocks where Mother Nature was unleashing herself on the coastline.

Canal Rocks

They say the diving is good amongst these rocks. Guessing that’s when Mother Nature isn’t so angry.

Today’s wildflower is from the tracks around the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. The book I use to find the names is in the car and it’s pouring, so I’m leaving this unnamed for now.