Up the west coast of Australia

It's been five days or so since I rode out of Fremantle, heading north, at first along the coastal cycle path and then later on, along the Indian Ocean drive. I had delayed my departure again and again thanks to big thunder storms that kept rolling in across the city. I was prepared and all packed to get out on the road but the dark skies kept me from venturing out. Once I was on the move the weather would have to be accepted, but, while I had the choice to stay dry, I took it and hoped the weather would improve. Saturday was looking better on the forecast and, sure enough, the sun was shining when I looked out in the morning. Not being in a great rush to start, I went for coffee with Marion, Jade and Win at the Merchant coffee house where Johannes was working. After staying so long it was more than difficult to say goodbye, but around half past one I set off through Fremantle in the direction of Cottesloe. So thanks, guys, for having me to stay! Much appreciated!

Perth CBD

View of Perth from Kings Park

I wanted to make it out of the city before the sun dropped too far and find somewhere to make camp for the night. It seemed around 60 or 70 km would see me past the suburbs, but having not been on the bike for a while it was a good distance to cover in the remaining few hours of the day. Following the cycle route along the coast, I passed through Cottesloe, City Beach, Scarborough and Hillarys. All expensive looking suburbs right on the coast with access to the white sandy beach. Plenty of spots were available for surfing and sea kayaking and almost all parking places were full of locals and tourists enjoying the sun and the beach. Glad not to be on the road to begin with, I enjoyed the ride, soaking up the sights along the coast until the path ran out at Burns Beach, which seemed to be an half finished suburb. A bit of a double back got me going on the main road towards the suburb of Waneroo where I refilled my water at a petrol station. The rather confused looking Indian attendant enquired whether I wanted just 'normal' water. Outside was a tap where I collected my 'normal' water before pushing on past endless stretches of newly built houses. I suppose the guy behind the counter was used to people buying bottled water and found it hard to grasp that I was happy with the free stuff.

Swan River complete with Black Swans

Some kilometres after Waneroo the suburbs suddenly ended and the bush began. It was a clear cut line that seemed to be advancing north all the time as new plots are cleared and built upon. For me it was perfect as the sun was starting to sink below the horizon and the pain had started to build in my legs. Not far after the last buildings I ducked off into the Grass trees and Banksia bushes and found a suitable spot big enough to pitch my tent. It was a good feeling to be out camping again, self sufficent and without tight deadlines to aim for. I was, however, out of practice and would need a few days to get back into the routine of being on the road. Luckily, having done it before, I was pretty prepared and knew what to expect. That camping was the easy bit, the hard bit was waiting for my body adjust to the vigours of being in the saddle all day. I knew, though, that after a week or two my stamina would start to build and cycling all day wouldn't be a problem.

Swan River, Perth

Farewell in Freo, from left, Jade, Marion, Johannes, me and Win

Within the first ten minutes of setting up camp the joys of the bush emerged in the form of a troop of ticks that seemed intent on a free meal and then, later, a few determined mosquitos came to see what was on offer. In the night, Kangaroos hopped about outside my tent trying to see who was sleeping in their patch. It took me a while to work out what the noises were - having not experienced any kangaroos in the wild before - and, for some reason, I thought they wouldn't be so close to a town. Thoughts of drunk people from the suburb stumbling through the bush crossed my mind before I realised it was just harmless marsupials out for a night time meal.

Pure white sand dunes in the distance..

On the new Indian Ocean Drive - it has only been open for the last year

It was a cold long night. With not much to do after cooking I fell asleep by eight o'clock and was woken by a couple of the local Magpies. They were intent on parading about in the bushes around my tent while singing their fascinating tunes. Stiff from the previous day's riding and the cold night, it was a while before I was ready to start cycling again. Luckily, the morning sun helped me get going in the direction of Yanchep and then continue further on towards Two Rocks, Guilderton and Sea Bird. All the towns were off the main road, so I carried on, deciding to stop later at Ledge Point. A chance for some fishing might be possible, but, reaching the campsite, I was shocked to find that they wanted 38 dollars to pitch my tent. A swift fill of water and then a campsite in the bush suited me better, although it meant no fishing, which was probably a good thing as I was pretty exhausted.

Shingle back lizard comes in for attack!

Now I have reached Dongara where I'm staying in a great little backpackers. For only ten dollars, I can pitch my tent and have use of all the facilities. For 25 dollars you get to stay in an old, converted railway carriage, complete with kitchen and bathroom. The last few days I've passed along the coast road, stopping in at the towns of Lancelin, Cervantes, Jurien bay, Green head and Leeman. Nothing has persuaded me to stay in any of the places I have seen, so its usually been a quick look around, pick up of supplies and then back on the road.

Landscape of grass trees

Compared to my last trip, it's a bit of a novelty being able to continue cycling for a long time and not ever having to think about a border crossing and visas, or similar things. So at the moment, having started to feel a little more fit, I can see myself making a few stops, but heading north fairly fast to make the most of the cooler weather. Its apparently been a strange year here regarding the climate and so it seems as I head up the coast - the outback is green as opposed to red as I was expecting! It surely won't take too long for things to heat up and from what I've heard the North in the hot season is one sticky place to be. To get up there and explore while I can before the rains come seems to make sense.

Plenty of kangaroos but the only Emu I have seen was smeared down the centre of the road!

On the way from Perth I made a small side trip to the Pinnacles national park which has been one of the highlights of the trip so far. A few km from the main road a patch of desert opens up in the middle of the seemingly continuous green bush. There have been pure white sand dunes poking above the vegetation from time to time, but at this place the sand is rusty coloured and through it emerge huge numbers of sandstone pinnacles ranging from a few feet to twenty feet high. It's not a huge area, perhaps a hundred acres or so, and through the middle winds a dirt track. Luckily for me, I was early and had the whole place to myself apart from a few Galahs that were catching the early morning sun from the top of some of the stone pinnacles. Riding around the loop I wished it could have carried on for hundreds of kilometres.

Pinnacles desert

Along the coast I have passed through a number of 'Shires' and all seem to have pretty strict ideas about people camping in their bushlands. Any likely spot seems to have a sign warning likely campers that fines apply if the patrolling ranger catches you in the act. I imagine it has got a lot to do with people leaving litter and starting bush fires and the fact that tourist dollars to the campsites are important for the local economy. For me, though, travelling on the bicycle there is no way to stick to designated camping areas, plus I prefer the solitude of being out in the bush alone.



A few nights ago I stumbled across a superb spot where, of course, it is illegal to camp. It was situated on top of a hill, an old trig station that was used in the first land survey of the coast from Perth to Geraldton. Now the point, complete with stone cairn, is a purpose-built wooden lookout in a perfect place for a cycle tourer to sleep. At the car park a few hundred yards from the main road, a path winds up the hill through the low kwongan scrub to the peak where one is met with a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. To the west I could see the setting sun over the Indian ocean and, to the east, salt lakes separated me from pastures and, further towards the horizon, was Mount Leseur. To the north, possibly around 30 km as the crow flies, a huge black mushroom cloud with a flattened top rose high into the sky. Later, as it grew dark and the stars began to shine, the flames of the fire becames visible in the distance. Not long after, they grew dim and vanished as, presumably, crews were there trying to stop the damage that was being caused.

Galahs sunbathing

Lookout sunset

As the sun sank over the horizon the broken clouds transformed into a million colours and it seemed I had the best seat in the house. Eventually drawing myself away from the fantastic sunset when darkness began to set in, it wasn't long until a steak was sizzling in the frying pan, while I waited in anticipation for the next spectacular natural display. Again, I don't think a more perfect position could be found to admire the full glory of the night sky. As the last shards of sunlight dwindled into the approaching night the sky was transformed into a diamond encrusted tapestry broken down the centre by the Milky Way. It was one of those moments that I feel very privileged to travel in the way that I do. The downside, though, was that my tent had to be brought out to keep the hordes of mosquitoes at bay, otherwise I could have slept open under that sky. Later, I was glad of the shelter as a cold wind started blowing over the hill in the early hours of the morning ruffling the tent as it passed by.

Where I was expecting a nice white beach to camp on..I got tons of rotting seaweed instead!

As I followed the road north, I came across a couple of touring cyclists heading in the opposite direction. John and Frances from Edinburgh were nearing the end of their circumnavigation of Australia that had begun six months earlier in Perth. I wouln't like to guess how old they are, but if when I reach a similar age I can still ride a bike around Australia I will be very pleased. To top it all, a little more than a year ago John had a hip replacement, which obviously hasn't slowed him down too much. After chatting for a while, it emerged that not far behind them was another guy travelling by bike, this time from Essex. And it so happened later in the day I ran across Colin, who was camped on the beach that John and Frances had recommended to me. A few km before, I had taken a very steep track down from the road to what I expected would be a pleasant white sand beach. Instead, vast amounts of rotting sea weed stretched for kilometres down the coast. Not an ideal spot to camp. So, I hauled the bike back up to the road and carried on for a few more km until I found the 'free' camp spot where Colin was parked up, along with four or five couples travelling with caravans.

Camping by the beach with Colin

Colin had been touring all over Australia for more or less the last year and in that time had covered a good amount of ground. He was a mine of information about the route ahead of me and dispelled some myths I had been told by the locals. It seems to be a bit of a national past-time here in Australia to tell travellers about the dangers of the country, but as usual most of the stories don't hold too much weight, or at least I hope they don't! It seems the main issue is to make sure I have enough water to cover some of the long distances between roadhouses as I get a little further north. The longest stretches without water will hopefully take no more than three days to cover, which shouldn't be too hard as long as the headwinds aren't too strong.

Colin packed up and ready to move south

At last, I get to play on the sand dunes!