I left Ravensthorpe to the melodic tunes from the frog pond and headed south. Today’s riding was on mostly quiet roads with evidence of the summer grain harvest in full swing.
I pedalled towards Hopetoun before turning off the aptly named Hopetoun Ravensthorpe Rd and heading NEE through Jerdacuttup where I stopped for lunch at their local hall. It was eerie being the only person within cooee and I imagined the many CWA meetings and B&S Balls that must surely have happened here in bygone times.
Jerdacuttup man by the Triffids
Then back to highway one for a short stint before turning down Coxall road towards our camp for the night at Munglinup Beach Holiday Park. Coxall Rd was dirt,
however not the compacted dirt that is ok to ride a road bike on, it was pitted with very loose and deep sand sections which made riding particularly treacherous. After about 10km of nervous cycling and numerous slips and slides, I called it quits and waited for the cavalry to arrive to take me and my bike the remaining twenty km’s to Munglinup Beach. I stopped by a beautiful coffee coloured stream and was mesmerised by the lovely swirling patterns in the stream and the numerous small fish going about their business.
The Munglinup Beach Resort was like an oasis, so remote, yet so comfortable. Really beautiful location, the best camp kitchen so far, and the owner/managers so very supportive of our Cure Brain Cancer fundraising efforts. They did not charge us anything for camping the night and when we departed the next day left a generous cash donation as well. So if you want a great holiday off the beaten track, this is the place – beautiful, friendly and great facilities for getting away from it all, we will be back.
As well as a great variety of flora, there were flocks of white-tailed black cockatoos (otherwise known as Carnaby’s) and some very pretty Western Rosellas (we are beginning to wish we had a copy of ‘What bird is that?’) to add to the ambiance of this beautiful spot.
In the afternoon we drove the 3km to Munglinup Beach and had a very pleasant walk on the rocky headland while Miranda produced a drawing of the view to the south west.
We spent the evening cooking a lovely pasta meal and chatting with the owners, and various other guests including Phil, who worked for the WA quarantine department and entertained us with stories of trapping starlings and other vermin and warning us about the 40km/hr winds awaiting us on the Nullarbor as well as the four trailer road trains that scare cyclists for sport (in the far north regions of the state – so we have a while to prepare).
Steve & Miranda 