Wednesday 19th May - Cape Naturaliste to Margaret River

We slept well and awoke to the sound of crashing waves.  The sun peeked over the cape and warmed us as we ate breakfast, with a surfer driving past as we were packing up to check out the waves.  Apparently they were not to his liking as he turned around and headed back up the track.  Four dolphins passed by beyond the surf as we were leaving, so all in all it wasn’t a bad place to camp (there were even long drop toilets nearby).

We headed back to Caves Road which led us to Ngilgi Cave, where a semi guided tour introduces you to the cave and then you are left to explore.

12m steps lead you down, with one chamber off to the left before you continue to the right, descending to a maximum depth of 39m.  Limited ventilation keeps the temperature at about 20oC all year and increases CO2 levels and humidity, but the cave system is remarkably dry, and the two main chambers are packed with stalactites, shawls, stalagmites and some flow stones.

Re-emerging back into daylight we drove the short distance to Yallingup and walked along Smith’s Beach.  Three surfers were bobbing about waiting for the perfect wave, but by the time we’d changed to go for a swim it was possible for Anne to fulfil one of her aims of the trip by swimming on a deserted beach.  I suppose it’s cold for the locals, but over a mile of brilliant white sand, turquoise blue sea, clear skies and sun would have such a beach packed back in the UK.  Still, we’re not complaining.

We checked into a caravan park for a few nights as we’re booked to do the Bushtucker Tours’ cave and canoe trip tomorrow and their wine tour the next day. SPOT We weren’t the only ones to come in after bush camping as next to us were Andi and Tom, two hard core bikers who had been following dirt tracks along the south coast for the last five days.

Based in Melbourne, they’d spent the last 20 years exploring Australia, trying to keep off the bitumen as much as possible and having a particular fondness for sand dunes.  They pointed out a few top spots for us to visit and again we were impressed at how bikers can fit in all their kit.  We’ve been invited to stay in Melbourne and do a load of washing - they understand the needs of overlanders.