Day 15 | Point Road campsite: deep in the heart of Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park
31 km | zzOz total: 710 km
It’s rather cruel but many would put Margaret River at the limits of civilisation.
There’s something about this trendy little holiday playground which is a short trip away from both some of the country’s classic surfing beaches, if however patrolled by some rather enormous, and fearsome, Great white sharks, and those wineries.
The river might be a dank lagoon but they’ve done something right by refraining from lopping the big trees in proximity to the town, it feels nestled into the forest and hills, the single main street lined with, well, a shopper’s paradise, surfboards, high fashion, juice bars, and other than being on a grand slope, could be any polite suburban shopping strip in any upmarket city. With winter in full swing the gals have their high heeled boots and tasteful black wraps, and the blokes, well I guess I wasn’t looking at them.
With that question of the last outpost of civilisation on my mind I plug in.
I had noted the $13 Big Breakfast on my slow treadle up the hill and once I’d stashed the bike, I retreated for that calorie quest, and tap out some blogs. No disappointment, I lucked into both spare power outlets and a massively delicious brekky, 2 organic, free range eggs on impossibly yummy sourdough bread, 2 tomatoes, 2 big local mushrooms, half the side of a pig, not just the best value, just the totally best brekky, since, umm, Jabiru, except even better.
It was something worth jumping on a plane and making your way post haste for the Margaret River bakery, if you’re not exactly in WA at the moment.
I’m not so sure how those attractive 20 somethings staff stay so slim, maybe they fire them after a couple of months. As for myself, I must appear like some Norwegian sailor, all crusty beard, damp clothes, BO, and despite my daily flannel scratchings smelling all too much like tinned fish.
Brekky beats dinner hands down, plus you’ve got all that optimism about the remainder of the day. Well, certainly if you are single.
After futile attempts to find new mudguards/fenders in Busselton, it’s a messy business travelling over wet rail trails, dirt roads etc, I happened across MR Cycles & Repairs and found 3 people working vigourously, ain’t it mid-winter, and yes, a new shipment had just dropped, today, just out on the shelf, and would fit up to a 2.3” tyre. I secured the front one for now, deciding to chuck the 3 inch remnant, still have those hose clamps to fit it to the suspension forks.
I guess the caked mud will wash off in time. Oh, and on the bike too.