We landed in Perth early, early on a Saturday morning and as is the way this summer, left on Monday for another part of Australia. Danny's good friend has an amazing house in Southern Australia, about two hours drive south of Perth. So on Monday morning we hopped in the car and met a couple of his friends down in Smith's Beach. I'm not sure what I expected Australia to look like or be like, but the natural beauty of this part of the world is breathtaking. We weaved our way through a small town and drove along a dirt road until we came upon the house.
I know I've said it a million times since I left in May, but I keep having these experiences that I am so lucky to have. I took about a gazillion photos, some of which I posted on Facebook and some which I'll post here - I won't bore you with the rest. I couldn't stop snapping pictures in every direction - every time a bird flew by or a ship moved in the distance. I was like the paparazzi of Smith's Beach, except for my target was natural beauty and my audience is you guys. We put our stuff down and headed back down the hill to see the beach. The town is filled with surfers who work when there's no swell. It was FREEZING down there, but they didn't care and neither did I because they just contributed to my picture taking addiction. We got out of the car and walked down the stairs to the water.
Pretty amazing, huh? It was so quiet and serene as there weren't many tourists because of the cold. The area is not very developed at all because the few residents that are already there have fought hard against any new development. They want this part of Australia to remain preserved so it can be enjoyed for years to come. I found that to be a refreshing notion, that despite the profit that could be had from a more developed town, the residents choose the sanctity of the natural beauty.
We left the beach and went on a drive through the rolling hills, which were very green and lush as it had just rained the days before, in search of kangaroos. When I think Australia I think Crocodile Dundee, Hugh Jackman, koalas and kangaroos. Since three out of those four are not really in my reach, or Danny's (what kind of Australian is he anyway??) I had to settle for kangaroos. According to my tour guide (AKA Danny) the best time to see kangaroos is at dawn or dusk. We were driving around at dusk and I had my eyes wide open. Finally we drove up on a field and there was not one kangaroo, but about 30! Again, with the luck.
I'm not sure if you can see them all laying there, but they're there, I promise. Each step we took they stood up taller and then slowly hopped off. I couldn't get close enough to get a good picture (but don't worry photos are to come of my petting a kangaroo. That's right, I am officially an Aussie).
We got back in the car and continued to drive around because it was so beautiful out. Because of the rain, there was a perfect rainbow in the sky. I've never been to Ireland, but it felt like that's where I was. I half expected to drive into a leprechaun with a pot of gold.
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| It's as close to a pot of gold as I could get... |
Right before sunset, we drove back to the house and while Danny and his friend chopped some wood, I continued to take pictures (surprise, surprise). But if you had the view I had, you would've too.
That evening I made spaghetti sauce from scratch (that's right), garlic bread (ala Bud Brownell) and a salad. Then we all watched a movie. The next morning we all went down to another beach and the guys were debating whether or not to surf. I was happy to sit in my five layers and take pictures, but they all decided it was maybe a bit too cold.
Danny's friends headed back to Perth and we decided to go get a coffee in Margaret River which is a small town not far from Smith's Beach. There's not much there but a few shops and cafes so we only spent an hour or so before we decided to do the cape to cape hike. We walked down to Smith's Beach from his friend's house and had the most beautiful hike. It starts at the beach and goes through a bunch of huge boulders and then down through a trail through the bush and then out to a rocky cape. Hopefully the pictures captured the beauty enough so that you can experience a little of what we were able to experience.
After we walked through the beach part of the trail, we then began climbing through the rocky part of the trail. It was really beautiful as we were above the water.
I convinced Danny of my rock climbing expertise based on the class I took in college and off I went to the top of the highest boulder.
As we came out of that part, we walked down into the bush part of the trail. It was really shady, like walking through a mini forest.
As we walked through the bush we came out to the other cape and it looked a little something like this...
After getting to the second cape, we walked all the way to back to the cabin for dinner, wine and to get warm by the fire.
The next morning we woke up and headed back to Perth. On our way out we went took about four turns off the main road and ended up at a little shack with an oven. There was a pot left on the table with a bunch of loaves of bread around it. We were to leave money for the loaves that were just baked inside. We decided on a wheat and a sourdough, both phenomenal choices.
I was sad to leave the serenity and beauty of Smith's Beach but was glad to be going back to explore Perth more!
Jessie xo
