Day 45
Monday 20th April 2015
Nambung Station to Dongara
The shower was refreshing, I reach for a nice warm towel and as I dry myself I realise that ants have nested in it overnight and now I’m being bitten from head to toe. Ouch.
Nambung owner Brian rolls up in his ute and apologises for the 30 knot winds. It turns out that he had wanted to surprise us with a flight over his property in his plane. What a nice guy he is. We get away at 10:30 and already it is 25 degrees.
We have lunch at Point Louise at Green Head. It is a spacious sheltered campsite on a small white sand cove.
The Indian Ocean Drive hugs the coast just behind the dunes. There are occasional glimpses of the sparkling ocean. At Knobby Head we can see the ocean and there are many flat roofed tin shacks at one with the dunes. I get the feeling that the owners would do little more than lay pots, eat crays and drink beer.
The twin towns of Port Denison and Dongara straddle the Irwin River. There is a large commercial marina filled with fishing boats, this town is all about fishing, especially crays. Even the Dongara roundabout is decorated with crayfish and small boats. The town is substantial and the main street of Dongara is shaded by spreading Moreton Bay Figs. Up on the Irwin River lookout we stare at the ti trees on the opposite bank and wonder why they are white. Oh yes, it’s a cormorant rookery!
Shirley Temple and I have a swim at Granny’s Beach, ok the irony doesn’t escape us. It is warm and at last we’ve reached good weather again. When we checked in at the Big4 caravan park on the beach the receptionist told us that the sunsets have been good and that we should grab an empty box and watch the sunset with a glass of wine. To explain that: a box is a cabin and WA law prevents you from drinking in an outdoor public place. Naturally, we take her advice. Now what will we do in the morning, a swim or a walk along the foreshore?
Accom: Dongara Denison Beach Big 4 $36
Travelling Kms: 181Kms
itchingforhitching 
It’s a hard life…
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And as they say…someone’s got to do it.😊
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Absolutely!
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Bloody ants in vans. I think we have been responsible for broadening the gene pool of ant colonies all over the nation via our own delivery system.
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I reckon we just move the same family around. Though I could’ve done without the green ants that nested in the annexe once, little devils would come out and bite every time I’d sit down to have a read.
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Beautiful sunset and silhouette. I hadn’t thought of ants getting in to vans though we did have some once in our camper.
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Lovely story and pics again Lindsey. You probably already know, but there used to be hundreds of shack communities along this section of coastline once. Built by enterprising holidayers on Crown Land, without permission, but used every year for annual holidays. Over the years, the local councils and Nat Parls have gradually dismantled them, claiming poor sanitation, unsound structures etc. They were probably right, but a Perth institution of “going up the coast to the shack” has all but disappeared. The Sandy Cape recreation area, for example, was one such community and it was closed and the land cleared and turned into a lovely low cost camping area, right on the beach. The last remaining significant shack community is at Wedge Island with over 350 shacks built on Crown Land. The community survivies, with strict controls, and plenty of free legal advise from Perth solicitors to keet the government at bay!
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Yes, Wedge was a hot topic in 2015. Did you know there’s a tiny bunch of shacks at a place called Campbell’s Cove down near Werribee. Some of the shacks are quite something and very close to the water. With great city views too.
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I’ve heard of “thinking outside the box” but never before “drinking outside the box”!
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Dongara was a favourite place for week-end camps when we lived in a Perth I ove the Moreton Bay figs that line the Main Street. They must have been having a blitz on drinking in public places when you were there as most times that’s only enforced for bad behavior,or at big family events. We often take a drink down to the beach here in Busselton at the days end.
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