Cape Arid, Western Australia

From Melbourne to Esperance – three days.  Onward to Cape Arid on day four;  on arrival it was a brilliant sunny day.  The tent was set up, solar panels out, and then off to be overwhelmed by the view!  We sometimes return to a place and are a bit disappointed.  Cape Arid, however, is more spectacular as in any memory or photo.  Being there, you are presented with a view of a magnificent large bay with waves rolling onto the white sandy beach  giving it a dynamic that I cannot capture with a camera.  The movement, the sound, the smell;  you have to be there to fully appreciate this treasure!  Thus ending my concern, “Would the trip be worthwhile?” with a happy “Oh YES!”.

Setting up camp was a bit more involved than rolling up & popping the top up on the van.  My things were packed more to fit than in a proper order.  Thus, my rattle gun was in one place while my box of security bits was somewhere else; this proved to be the rule rather than the exception.  The rattle gun (cordless impact driver) proved essential to drive long screws used as tent pegs into firmly packed gravel with extreme ease!  The tent, table, chair, camp bed, mattress and sleeping bag were then set up and made a comfortable camp indeed.  The camp kitchen was next door, proving convenient for a qwik coffee and cooking a meal: It also proved handy for folding up tent & mattress in the wet when I left.

Rain fell through the night with showers continuing in the early morning.  While a bit damp from the high humidity the tent didn’t leak, or get blown away in one of the many wind gusts – further endorsement of the rattle gun & screws!   Packing up was done between showers, using the cover of the camp kitchen as previously mentioned.  On my way back west, I stopped by Wharton Bay, another beautiful spot, but photos were a bit gloomy as it was overcast.  Continuing west toward Shannon NP, I made it as far as Albany where I will spend the night.