Tue 6th Jul '21 - Day 25

Karda to Yanchep

 

Going to bed so early does mean being woken up by the birds at 6:15am is far less painful than it should be after 10 hours sleep. After a failed attempt to feed the birds – they reject Sienna and Seb’s bread throwing – we decide to not put the van through the dirt track road again for the sake of a walk and head back to the min road to continue South, instead opting to stop again at the Pinnacles for a walk through the stone statues.

Much fewer photos second time around especially when it starts to rain, and only Sienna has a coat so we run back the second half of the 1.4km loop to the van to get dry. From there its barely a hop, skip and a jump 90 minutes to Yanchep and Henry White Oval, the venue for our first night on this road trip. Its also an opportunity to get a final fix of kangaroos and koalas (even if the latter aren’t native to WA). Sure enough the kangaroos are out in force lounging on the grass.

As its not raining I take Sienna & Seb to look for the koalas – 5 found – most perching in the V of tree branches, a couple feeding down low. Sienna wants to visit the Information Centre where she’s previously discussed tiger snakes, then I realise that because were now in the Perth Region all adults have to wear facemasks indoors, so Seb and I wait outside whilst Sienna mooches around indoors. Kate joins us in time for the rain to descent upon us. We wait under the porch for it to get a little lighter before powerwalking back to the van and campsite.

After an hour or two of hot chocolates and den building with cushions, and kangaroo watching we opt to get out of the van and walk to the Yanchep Inn, just 10 minutes away. We get as far as the awning of the van before the clouds spot us and unleash heavy rain, so we drive the 3 minutes to the Inn car park. The sprawling Inn has Christmas in July underway so attached to the ceilings are tinsel and fairy lights and baubles galore. Kate and I even get a roast dinner to fit in to the theme. 

It’s still pouring when we leave and we’re grateful we don’t have to walk back. There’s time for a few games of Uno and the wind, rain and thunder is occasionally even swinging the van. At least we’re not in a tent.