A WA state of mind
In these days of cheap airfares and budget-priced package deals, it is all too tempting to jump on a plane and head off to a foreign destination, but as the world grows a more unpredictable and unstable place to explore, the allure of packing up the car and heading a few hours from home is becoming more appealing.
This is exactly what my husband and I did last month. We dusted off the four-man tent, cleaned up the camping gear and booked into the Yallingup Beach Caravan Park for a long weekend in the South West with our two young children.
The drive down south was full of music, and games of eye-spy, with a traditional lunch stop at Maccas in Bunbury. Half a bag of chocolate éclairs and Minties later, we were driving over the crest of a hill to the joyful cries of ‘I can see the sea.’ It was a heartfelt reminder of my own childhood holidays in destinations like Mandurah and Madora Bay, long before they became ordinary suburbs of Perth.
Arriving at the campsite around 2pm, we found our allocated patch of grass on a powered campsite and began the ‘back to basics’ weekend we’d planned. The Yallingup Beach holiday park is beautifully maintained with lush grass, shady trees, clean ablution blocks and facilities such as a camp kitchen and gas barbecues for guests to use.
Leaving behind the iPads and electronic devices that our kids seem so attached to these days, they found new delights in hammering in tent pegs and watching the nylon casing of our temporary shelter take shape.
Once the tent and the airbeds were up, we wandered the short distance across the road from basecamp to discover an exciting playground full of families, fresh from a swim. The adventure playground was far more interesting than the ones you find in suburban parks. A few steps away, the pristine white sands of Yallingup beach provide safe, shallow waters for kids while the surfers sit out back waiting for the perfect wave.
After a day of travelling and setting up we headed to the Dunsborough Tavern for a pub meal. Be warned Friday nights are busy but if you arrive early enough you’ll secure a table and the meals come out fairly fast. They have an enclosed children’s playground, which makes it easy for Mums and Dads to enjoy a beverage while not having to entertain the kids in that all too restless gap between ordering food and waiting for it to be served.
That night we slept like babies on Phenergan, full of fresh air and that seaside feeling. Cue – Yawn!
The following morning we indulged in pancakes cooked on the camp stove before heading out to some local wineries. Whenever we venture down south we tend to boomerang back to our favourite places to stock up on a few bottles of tried and tested blends and then select a couple of new wineries to try.
House of Cards Wines is one of our favorites, so we made it the first stop of the day. Not only do they have a superb range of wines, their eclectic gift shop has some groovy local artisan pieces to purchase and ‘hallelujah’ an activities table for the purpose of distracting the kids long enough for parents to enjoy the tastings.
Willespie Wines, located next door to Hay Shed Hill was one of the newbies on the itinerary and the young sales guy was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable of the area. The wines were good too and they’ve also tapped into the kid’s activity table idea.
With a few more bottles in the booty we headed down the long driveway to Xanadu Winery and I challenge anyone who grew up in the 80s not to bust out a bit of Olivia Newton John on the way down. It is possible only people who connect with the 80s will get that reference…ho hum…am I really that old? Moving on…
It had been our intention to have lunch there, but the menu is quite fancy, with a price tag to match, so we grabbed a couple of bottles from the cellar door for our efforts and headed off to Settlers Tavern in Margaret River for a counter meal. Don’t get me wrong the Xanadu menu looked exquisite but not kid-friendly, so maybe if hubby and I venture south again, sans kids, we’ll make this our treat and consider ourselves a bit exuberant for a day!
This lead us into the afternoon, where we stopped by Coles in Dunsborough to stock up on provisions for dinner.
In the sublime sun of the afternoon, hubby took the kids to the beach and I indulged in some reading, which turned quickly into a ‘nanna nap’.
We cooked up some steak and sausages that night on the communal barbeques provided at the campsite and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the great outdoors.
One of the best memories of the trip was teaching our children (Master 5 and Miss 4) how to play the card game, Uno. Is there anything better than cramming into the tent around a fold-out table by gaslight to share these fleeting moments? No, there is not! My son now loves the game so much, he’s taken to playing it with his best friend Ducky, who apparently is quite a whiz at it, for a stuffed toy!
On Sunday, we made it all about the kids, beach in the morning, then Yallingup Maze in the afternoon. Lunch at The Maze was reasonably priced, with lots of healthy options and delicious freshly squeezed juice combinations. Try the apple, celery, carrot and ginger one… it’s a sensation.
Running around the wooden fort-like maze was as much fun for the kids as it was for the grown ups. They provide water guns and filling stations throughout the maze to top up your H2O ammunition. A great little value-add to extend the enjoyment of the activity. What made it even more fun, was the other maze-participants got into the spirit of it, waging a water war and proving that strangers are only strange until you’ve shot them with a water gun! After that, smiles happen and a mini-friendship develops, even if it is just in that maze moment.
We spent a good few hours there, and I even stocked up on a few early Christmas presents for the kids in the gift shop. It’s full of rare puzzles, board games and knickknacks, and is certainly worth a browse.
Caves House was a short walk from the caravan park, so we strolled to the Sunday session that evening for a bite to eat and listened to the solo guitarist playing some of his original tunes among well-known covers.
As you can imagine the pub was heaving with locals and holidaymakers, providing that typical ‘down-south’ vibe that draws people back year after year.
The following morning, with some reluctance, we packed up all the camping gear again and headed back up the freeway to our home in the hills.
It was four days of wonderful, and a time we will always treasure in the family memory archives. Our wine rack is full again and the kids are nagging us nightly to play Uno.
And while we will inevitably travel overseas again, it was refreshing to spend a few days feeling utterly safe and so incredibly lucky that we live in a country of such diversity and beauty, which is only a few clicks away on the speedometer.
It’s also a timely reminder that spending time reconnecting with your loved ones, in these busy times, is so important and will create those all-important memories for your own children. One day Yallingup might be their Mandurah.
We’re heading north for New Years to stay in a rental house in Greenhead. Stay tuned for our next ‘not so far from home’ adventures.
Until next time… happy travelling.
Tabetha