Blonde on a Road Trip

We all know the saying ‘the best laid plans go astray’, and today was one of those days where we had to quickly think on our feet and come up with a plan B.

In fact, maybe it was lack of a substantiated plan that landed us in the quandary.

Our initial rough plan was to leave Margaret River (much to our chagrin) and drive up to Fremantle to explore Rottnest Island, but as we set off bright and early for the 3-hr drive, my quick online search revealed that there are very limited ferry crossings to Rottnest Island, and we would miss the morning ferry and only be able to spend about an hour on the island, which is definitely not enough! So, we thought on our feet and decided that we wouldn’t do Rottnest today, and instead we’d return to Busselton, because it’s a lovely seaside town with an amazing, relaxed atmosphere. Several breweries sit just behind the beach and there are many cafes and restaurants offering sea views.

The weather was definitely on our side today, with blue skies and warm air, so we walked up the mile-long jetty where you can dive, snorkel or visit the underwater aquarium. However, by the time we reached the end of the jetty, the woman at the aquarium front desk informed us that the next aquarium “tour” wasn’t for another 45 minutes or so, so we decided to just wander around the end of the jetty for a bit and watch on as divers explored the murky (or actually pretty clear) depths below.

On our walk down the jetty we spotted some birds perching, including a welcome swallow and a pied cormorant. The swallows here don’t really migrate. I mean, why would they? Who would leave paradise???

Unfortunately, Michael has been suffering from chest pains for the last few days since overdoing it at the gym and also dealing with a lot of stressful life admin, so he decided to take himself to the local hospital, where healthcare is free at point of arrival. A bit like the NHS, but anything further is dealt with by health plans and supplemented by BUPA, etc.

Anyway, while he got a full health MOT, I plonked myself on the beach and went for a little swim. I’m still very cautious because there are shark alarms around a lot of the beaches on this coastline and I didn’t want to be a Great White’s lunch, so just a shallow snorkel for me and then I quickly dried off back on the beach.

While Michael awaited results and a final checking over at the hospital (cannula in arm), I wandered into town to see what else Busselton had to offer other than stunning beaches. I spent some time in what might be my new favourite shop (Ghanda) and then headed back to the beach, because duh! With local breweries dotted around, it seemed rude not to indulge in the local produce, so I walked up to Shelter Brewing Co. where we’d had lunch before our whale watching trip, and treated myself to a beer and promptly plonked myself 150m down the beach.

Not long had I sat down before Michael called to tell me he’d been given the all-clear. And so he headed back to the beach via Shelter Brewing Co. too, scooping up a pale ale for his troubles. Time to chill out in the sun with a cold one!

By this point we were quite hungry, so once our beer cans were empty, we made our way back from the beach towards another brewery Michael had passed on his travels back from the local hospital.

A few tacos and cold drink later, we were ready to hit the road again for Fremantle. It’s roughly a 2.5-hr drive north from Busselton to Fremantle Prison, which has been transformed into a YHA youth hostel. Setting off from Busselton at around 3:45pm, we were cutting it fine for a west coast sunset (6:50pm), given that we’d first have to check in at the hostel and then find a beach to admire the sunset from. As luck would have it, just in the nick of time we were able to quickly check in at the hostel and get the admin done, before racing up the coast in the car to the first beach we could find, as sunset was already in full swing! We had our sights set on Cottesloe Beach, but if we’d driven that far, we would’ve missed the whole thing, so we pulled into Port Beach instead and watched as the sun sank behind the horizon.

Once the sun had fully sunk, we got back in the car and headed up to Cottesloe Beach to see what was up there as it seemed to have dining options. However, by the time we got there, and it wasn’t a long drive, I was feeling absolutely shattered, with no appetite. Little did I know, I was coming down with a horrendous flu, which would hold me in its grip for several days.

The post-sunset glow, however, was incredible. The colours were almost out of this world and kept changing a bit every few minutes, revealing new, rich hues. Once Michael had eaten and the sun had fully given way to darkness, we got back on the car, both exhausted, and headed back to prison. Guests of YHA, not HM.

Time to attempt some much needed shut-eye behind bars.