January 20, 2016

A toast to the turquoise coast

Tabetha Rogers Beggs TRAVEL, WESTERN AUSTRALIA Green Head, Tabetha Beggs Rogers, Travel, WA, Wander, West Coast, Western Australia 0 Comments

I’ll be honest, a holiday that involves sand, sunburn and the possibility of a shark sighting is not at the top of my ‘must see’ list, but sometimes when it’s school holidays and your hubby loves the beach, you have to compromise, channel your inner Kylie and Robbie and say (or sing) ‘I don’t mind doin’ for the kids.’

Our latest WA coastal adventure took us north to the quiet seaside town of Green Head, located about 255 kilometres from Perth. It is nestled between the larger towns of Jurien Bay and Leeman, and is quite the little treasure trove that mother earth buried in our state.

We chose Green Head because a few of our friends had booked in at the caravan park over the Christmas / New Year break, and since it was somewhere we had not been before, we thought, why not join them?

Admittedly, November was probably a bit late to make my booking enquiry at the caravan park. I’m sure I detected a stifled laugh in the manager’s voice when I asked if they had any sites available over that Christmas break.

Being the only caravan park in Green Head they’ve pretty much cornered the camping and caravanning market and are booked out year after year with annual regulars.

There are allocated camping areas along the beach if you’re happy to go without power and a shower for a night or two, with a good old long drop toilet available for nature’s necessities.

Alternatively there is a backpacker type hostel with a café and pub if you are more inclined to want your creature comforts.

Or of course, you can do what we did and book a rental house on Stayz. There are a few listed in Green Head and I imagine all within coo-ey of the waters edge. Ours was situated in the newer part of the town, closer to the main road but still only a short walk to the beach and other conveniences.

The 3 x 1 house was modern and well equipped with all the basics. The air-conditioner worked well, the beds were comfy and the bbq had a full bottle of gas for our cooking purposes. All we needed to bring along was our linen, towels and food supplies.

The garden wasn’t anything to write home about but in the dry conditions and in the name of water conservation, we happily overlooked that, as most of our time was spent either at the beach or staying cool indoors anyway.

Quite often when staying somewhere new, the urge to explore every nook and cranny of the place can be an exciting concept (or maybe that’s just a habit of my husband?).

I never felt that way on this five day trip. I genuinely felt relaxed and under no pressure to do anything at high speed. I didn’t feel guilty sleeping in or lazing on the couch under the air conditioner reading my book, because let’s face it, when do I have time for those luxuries in my every day life?

My husband would cringe over this, but the best part of this trip was getting to the end of the two books that I’d been trying to finish since August. Beach, smeach… give me a couch and a good book anytime!

Now before you go thinking I never left the house and selfishly ignored my family, I wasn’t completely idol and we did get out and discover why people love this coastal gem.

Green Head offers many pristine beach coves and bays, all of which are conveniently signposted. The sand is wedding dress white and as fine as caster sugar. The envy of many beaches around the world, I’m sure.

There are a lot of rocks and reefs in the area that create a landscape as rugged and dangerous as it is beautiful and interesting.

Green Head is a haven for 4-wheel drive owners. Most beaches allow vehicle access as they don’t have car parks located close to the water.

We were told about the Stockyard Gully caves and Little Three Springs watering hole, a short drive inland from town. We thought this would be an interesting drive out and something cool to show the kids, but unfortunately we were met with disappointment when we realised that the tracks to the sites could only be accessed by four-wheel drive. The road is gravel to a certain point then turns into quite soft sand the closer you get to the destination.

We may have made it in our all-wheel drive but with three kids in the car on a hot day, we didn’t want to risk it. Our other friends did go out there on a different day and said it is definitely worth a look. So keep that in mind if you’re heading that way.

If you are a keen fisherman, Green Head is the place to be. Even though we took our fishing rods along for the trip we never actually found time to cast a line but everywhere you looked people were fishing off the beach or utilising the jetty on the main waterfront. Apparently you can catch a good tailor from the tailor hole!

If you have a boat, there are a couple of ramps to launch at; one at the main jetty and another a little further around Ocean View Drive.

Green Head is a great place for a family holiday. Everything is close by, with shallow beaches, white sand, and shells and rock pools to explore. It’s the sort of place that oozes the charm of yesteryear, when a beach holiday was a beach holiday with just the basics to get you by. The sort of holiday, any Perthite over 35 will remember from their childhood. Old beach shacks, sand dunes and beach tracks.

But even Green Head has not escaped the 20th century need for progress with a new land release development seeing a scattering of modern houses being built in the newer part of town.

One of the coolest natural attractions in the area is the random pearly white sand hills that seem to appear out of nowhere in the middle of the scrub.

They are certainly worth stopping by and trekking across. It’s the snow hills of the desert. Great for sand boarding, although you’ll need specialised equipment for this. We took a boogie board but it didn’t slide very well. I recommend something with a very smooth surface!

Plus these pure white mounds are an awesome landscape for photographers.

While I’m sure there is some scientific explanation as to why they are there, when you first see the white caps emerging over the horizon it’s truly surprising and phenomenal. It’s just another of our state’s natural wonders.

Well folks, that wraps up my little sojourn in Green Heads. It is a super little spot and well worth a visit for anyone who loves swimming, snorkelling, fishing, exploring and generally, chillaxing.

Oh and I forgot to mention, it is the home of lobster fishing, so if you love lobster, this will be heaven for you.

If you plan a trip, my advice is to be as self-sufficient as possible as there are limited stores in the town. There is a general store, liquor store and petrol station rolled into one and a couple of cafes and a pub if you fancy a break from cooking or barbequing. Jurien Bay is not too far away if you need to do a bigger shop.

I currently have no trips planned for the immediate future, so instead I’m going to compile a list of my Top Ten Travel Tips.

So stay tuned for this commonsense guide coming up soon.

Until then… happy travelling.

Tabetha