We are on holiday!

Monday 12th September 2022

I woke feeling really well rested! Not so Richie, who was apparently settling Otis part of the night. I guess I was too tired to realise! 😁 Our motel stay included breakfast – particularly exciting for the kids! They both had coco-pops (Bonnie tried the fruit loops and didn’t like them, so Otis wouldn’t even try!), juice and toast. And Milo, which they also didn’t like, so I enjoyed two Milos for breakfast! 😆

We headed into town and Richie bought some supplies while I took the kids to the playground. We made a stop in Streaky Bay, where we found a patch of quondong trees and filled a small bucket. Then on to Speeds Point, south of Streaky Bay.

Speeds Point is a place I have fond memories of camping when I was young, and really wanted to revisit. We also used to camp at Perlubie Beach, which at the time was a beach surrounded by farmland. Dad had warned me it had changed significantly, and we didn’t even need to drive in to see the farm had been subdivided and become a village – we drove straight on past! There was something really comforting to see that Speeds Point hadn’t changed and was how I remembered it. It was also great to see with different eyes what an amazing spot it is – a sheltered bay surrounded by wild ocean! We were the only ones there for the moment and chose a sheltered site with a view of the ocean. It was tempting to take the cliffside spot but it did feel a bit too exposed – we just had to hope a van wouldn’t plonk itself there and block our view!

We set up, had some lunch and rang dad on the sat phone for fishing advice and a weather update (no change). Richie headed off fishing, and I dragged the kids away from their game in the dunes to check out the little sheltered beach I used to like going to as a kid. The beach was as I remembered it – actually it looks like a great snorkeling spot but I’m not sure I can brave the water for that long, it feels pretty cold! After a some play, we headed back up the cliff, hoping to walk out onto Speeds Point itself- which I guess is what protects the bay since it is absolutely wild on one side, and beautifully calm on the other! We didn’t get far though, the wind on the clifftop bothered Otis and we decided to go back to camp.

Back at camp we ended up with three more vehicles neighbouring us – including a caravan on the cliff but very considerately parked to the side so we still had views! 😁 Richie returned with three tommys he had caught from the point – he had apparently lost many many more but was fishing with a big lure that they kept dropping off! I ducked off to scavenge some firewood, then we went for a walk along the nearest beach for sunset.

We cooked the fish in the fire, got the kids to sleep then had a whisky by the fire – Soph kindly snuck the bottle of larks in when we left Perth! Given the weather forecast this is looking to be our last camping location, which is hard to believe!