Hopetoun & Fitzgerald NP

26th September – 5th October

We headed east from Lake Grace, (I know, we’re supposed to be heading west) through Lake King, another salt lake, and slightly more pink than Lake Grace, then south to Ravensthorpe. They have the wildflower show here every year, and though we knew we had missed the show, we thought there might be some gardens to enjoy. We were wrong. Apparently, the flowers are brought in, and displayed in the herbarium hall. Not what we expected, so we continued on south.

We were looking for a place to stay for the night and saw the sign to Hopetoun. In an instant decision, the indictor went on and we turned right. Hopetoun is a lovely little town right on the beach, and we enjoyed three nights in the 72 hour RV stay just a short walk to the beach.

Fifteen kilometres from Hopetoun is the Fitzgerald NP. We did a day trip there and were so impressed, that we booked into the Hammersley Inlet Campground for a five night stay. It was a bit hairy getting to the campsite. The last leg was down a 25% decline, which really tested the breaks on both the car and the caravan, and of course the climb back up was a tad worrisome. Still, with a bit of a run-up, and me ready to jump out and push, we made it to the top.

It was lovely, peaceful except for our noisy neighbours.

We had only been there a few hours before we realised we would have to cover up the mirrors, and the tow ball and anything else with a reflective surface. We didn’t mind them messing up the car, but they were going to exhaust themselves in their attempt to chase away their own reflections. Very pretty, but not the smartest bird in the nest.

It was only a short drive to the waters edge for Peter to drop the kayak in and go for a paddle. I still can’t bend my ring finger after the fall at Gawler Ranges, (can’t grip the paddle) so I had to walk to the beach, while Peter cruised. 😊

We had previously walked to the beach together, it’s just over 2kms, but it is quite a challenging, undulating walk over Sand, soil, stones and stairs.

The walk was well worth the effort. Peter beached his kayak at the end of the inlet and walked the short distance to the Indian Ocean. We went to the beach a few times, it was way too cold to go swimming, but very pleasant to tip our toes in. The beach stretched for miles in both directions, the south was all sand and sand dunes, while the north was rocky and really interesting to explore.

On one of our trips to the beach, a particularly windy day, Peter caught us a meal of Australian Salmon. I’d been exploring the rocks, and I came back to find Peter frantically digging in the sand. He had been told that the best way to keep fish fresh without ice, was to clean and gut them then bury them head down in the sand. He had buried them with their tails sticking out, problem was the strong wind had covered them up and he had no idea where there were.

He did eventually find them, and they were delish.

The Fitzgerald National Park is a wonderful place to explore, we saw more wildflowers.

A few birds and bees and bugs.

And a very relaxed Whistling Kite

Not to mention some amazing scenery.

After our stay at Hammersley Inlet, we spent a few more nights back at Hopetoun, before moving on.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!