Monday, 22 June 2026
We were packed up and ready to head out of Port Denison by 9.30am. Possibly not as early as we might have planned, but we were underway on our final push south. We drove out on Kailis Drive and past the cement works before rejoining the Brand Highway. Around 30 Ks down the highway, we turned right to take the coast road, the Indian Ocean Drive.
We travelled through Leeman to Green Head, where we pulled in to investigate the intriguingly named Milligan Island, Billy Goat Bay and Point Louise. When we neared the ocean, Window Rock was added to the road sign. Another day, another natural arch/window created by the wind and the sea. We stopped to take photos of the ‘window’ then drove around past several small bays to Point Louise which sits across the bay from Green Head.
From Point Louise we made our way into the small town of Green Head. where we took a short walk on the 3 Bays Walkway. There is a lovely, wide concrete path that meanders over the headland and overlooks, well, three bays, we presume if you complete the 2.5 kilometre walk, but we concentrated our efforts on the walkway overlooking Dynamite Bay and Shipwreck Bay. We were hampered somewhat by the 3 Bays Lookout being closed for repairs. It is thought that the name Dynamite Bay comes from the practice of using dynamite to stun fish in the bay rather than catching them with a hook and line. With it not too windy today, Bernie put the drone up for some coastal photography.
Our next stop was at Grigson Lookout on our way to Jurien Bay. The interpretative board here told us that we were standing at the northernmost end of the coastal plain that extends 400 kilometres south to Busselton. The coastal plain consists of three distinct dune systems which run parallel to the coast and represent ancient shorelines. The lime-rich sands of the newest dunes right on the coast are the target of mining interests leading to an inevitable clash between the mining companies and conservationists. The Grigson Family has run stock in this area for four generations and they called this lookout Landmark Hill before it was renamed. Tcht, we couldn’t walk right to the highest point of the hill here either because it was closed for repairs!
It was lunchtime when we arrived in Jurien Bay so we made our way straight to The Bay Bakery Café which had been highly recommended by Sharon. Bernie enjoyed a curry pie and a sausage roll while I opted for a salad roll. After eating, we took a short walk along the short jetty before walking back to the truck to continue our journey.
Mid-way between Jurien Bay and Cervantes, we pulled in at the Molah Hill Lookout. There were builders here too, but not working on the lookout this time. The builder’s dog greeted us in the car park and escorted us along the path to the lookout. We wondered if this was the dog’s self-appointed task, to escort tourists up and down the path all day while her Dad was working on framing up a building adjacent to the car park?? On our way down she was distracted by something rustling in the scrub and she went into full on hunting mode. I couldn’t coax her away from whatever had caught her attention so, hopefully, she didn’t kill a blue tongue lizard or get bitten by a snake. A bit worrying that her Dad was not keeping a closer eye on her.
Our next stop was in Cervantes, named after the American whaling barque that came ashore during a strong gale on the 29th of June 1844. The captain and some of the crew survived and walked to Fremantle, arriving 11 days later after walking 160 kilometres. The wreck remained undiscovered until 1969. On our way out of Cervantes, we called in at Lake Thetis to walk out on the boardwalk that looks over the living microbial communities known as stromatolites. These are one of the earliest forms of life on the planet and they produced oxygen for subsequent life forms. They thrive in the high salinity environment of the lake and have been growing there for about 3,500 years.
From weird microbial communities to weird limestone pillars at The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. Thousands of limestone pillars rise mysteriously from the dune sands creating an eerie contrast with the surrounding heathland scrub. Some are jagged, sharp-edged columns rising to a point while others resemble tombstones. The brochure we were given asked – What exactly are the pinnacles? What natural processes created these odd and spectacular structures?
Frustratingly, the brochure didn’t answer those questions, instead it invited us to visit the Pinnacles Gallery (and Gift Shop!) to find out more. Unfortunately, with the afternoon galloping away from us we didn’t have time to find out the answers, but resolved to look it up on the internet. At the time of writing, that still hasn’t happened.
Our next stop was at a lay-by that sits near a sand dune, just sort of erupting out of the surrounding heath. The heath is dark green and this mass of pristine white sand rises above it a little bit like a snow drift. Another lookout, this time overlooking Wedge Island. This is another piece of the coast under threat as we have been seeing ‘Save Wedge’ stickers around for a couple of days.
A little further down the coast we started to see more grass trees than we have ever seen before. There was one valley that was absolutely choked with xanthorrhoeas. We eventually found the opportunity to view some close up when we stopped in at the Nilgen Lookout and Nature Reserve.
It really was getting late in the day now, but we had to call in at Lancelin to look at the giant sand dunes. We took the turn off for Lancelin and found the town easily. We could see the sand dunes looming over the town BUT how to access them for a better view was the question? Especially when we were racing against the clock and just wanted to take a couple of quick photos. A SatNav enquiry guided us to the access point for four wheel driving or sand boarding on the dunes. A few photos snapped and we were on our way again.
Now driving in the twilight, we made our way past Seabird, Two Rocks, Yanchep and Wanneroo before reaching the outskirts of Perth. Syri took us onto the freeway for a short distance before guiding us to Ross and Sharon’s doorstep. We had taken so long with out sightseeing this afternoon that we were late for dinner! Or, maybe dinner was early, to cater for their young granddaughter? Anyway, everyone got fed, so that’s the main thing.
We played a couple of games of Blobs tonight, with Sharon the victor in the first game and Bernie winning the second game.
Steps: 12,568 (8.17kms)
