Happy Birthday To Me.

Wednesday 30th March 2022.  It's my birthday today and a few weeks ago I decided that I was old enough to go camping by myself.      This has been a few years coming though, I have wanted to but have always sooked out and not done it.  So this year I was definitely going to.  And I did.  

I wanted to see the stingrays, go into Augusta, climb the lighthouse, see where the two oceans meet.

The stingrays were there in Hamlin Bay, 3 big ones coming right up to the shoreline.  I didn't get pictures this time, didn't even go in the water near them this time, but I saw them.

Up in time to go watch the sunrise.  I took a coffee down to the beach but I need a better insulated mug as the one I had here didn't keep the coffee anywhere near hot enough and it was only a half hour or so since it was made!

After breakfast I drove into Augusta, drove through to Cape Leeuwin where the lighthouse is only to be greeted with this big sign.  I didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.  It took a bit of talking to myself to decide to climb it, but I am fat and unfit and there would have been a lot of steps going up...  

There is a cost to enter this area, on this day it cost me $5.  There are buildings and information on how things were back in the day when the lighthouse keepers lived here, lots about how they lived and buildings where they lived.  I found it all very interesting.  

House where a Lightkeeper lived.  It has lots of interesting information inside.  

That's the lighthouse, surrounded by scaffolding so if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't know it was there.

It's not looking like a lighthouse but next time I come down here it will be finished and able to be seen in all it's renovated glory. 

Will I climb it then, hmm, we'll see.

This is the Old waterwheel  just down the road before the lighthouse area.   There were so many cars and people in the area when I was there it was hard to get a picture with no-one in it.  Well worth a visit and a paddle on a hot day. 

After stopping here and having a walk around I drove back into Augusta with the intention of having fish and chips near the water.  That didn't happen though, I need to remember not to have breakfast if I want lunch out somewhere.  Instead I went to IGA to buy a cake, it was my birthday after all.

Instead of cake I bought this cheesecake, and had that instead.  

Cheesecake and orange juice for lunch and tea.  Had some of the melted leftovers for breakfast!  Too much cheesecake for one person but will get one again to share with people as it was so nice.

A walk down to the beach to watch the sunset before calling an end to a nice relaxing day.  

It really was a Happy Birthday To Me.

Hamlin Bay Holiday Park

When I first started to think about going somewhere by myself I knew it had to be too far for me to just come home if I was sooked out, it needed to be somewhere that I knew how to get to, somewhere that I felt was reasonably safe, somewhere that I liked and somewhere that was close to other places.  I chose Hamlin Bay as we have been here a few times and I like the stingrays and the walk up to the lookout.  

Hamlin Bay Holiday Park   We've stayed here a few times now and the office people are always helpful and friendly and they have a selection of books and DVD's that you can borrow.  There is a kiosk on site if you need to buy anything.  There is a playground for kids and a decent camp kitchen, we have never used it but it looks pretty good.  The toilets block that is close to the area I stayed is not the most modern but does the job and was always reasonably clean, there is another one closer to the central area of the park.  

I was pretty sure that I would get a site seeing as I was going to stay mid-week and not school holidays and I seemed to have a choice so picked the one that husband and I stayed in in February.  So even leaving the booking to the day I was leaving home it still worked out.  I asked for site 65, the booking lady booked me in.  I get there and it's not the site I thought but right next door so that was fine.  Still a nice shady area with enough room for me to do my 27 point turns if I needed to to get parked up.

The sites in this area are powered but there are unpowered sites further up the track.  And lots of different sites in a different area to this.  I was expecting to pay $45 a night for this powered site as that is what husband and I payed in February but when they knew I was solo it only cost me $33ish.  There was a tap near by though the water is not potable.  There is a site map and photos of each site on the Hamlin Bay Holiday Park website.

I like this area as it is quite close to the beach and seems more secluded with not as many people though I daresay it would be quite crowded if all the sites were in use.

There were a few other people in the area when I got there at around 1 but 2 left Tuesday evening and 1 Wednesday morning so I more or less had the place to myself.  The sites are big so even if they had of stayed we would not have been on top of each other.

This was coming back from the beach Wednesday morning, no-one else anywhere to be seen.

This is looking toward the track where there are steps down to the toilet/shower block.  There are campsites on both sides of this dirt road and a long way back along that track.

The tap is just next to that tree, it has 3 tap outlets. 

Power box in the bottom front of picture, not seen from here.

First thing I did after parking up was to get the table and kettle out, it was coffee time.  That trailer in the background left Tuesday evening.  

I was lucky with the weather, after being worried about rain the days were sunny and warm.

Set-up done, coffee done, time for a walk to see if the rays are there and then up the hill to the lookout.

And down a hill to the beach.

I then had to walk up the sandhill so I could walk down the hill to the beach and back to the van.  So much walking, but not really.  I REALLY need to get fitter!

Good roads, fast car, no time to sleep.

I was worried about driving 3 hours as I get tired and can fall asleep if I shut my eyes so I had a few places noted as stops for a stretch

First stop was Boyanup, an hour from home, there are clean toilets here so I made use of them, walked around a bit, had a drink then on my way again.

I had my route all mapped out in my head so turned off at Boyanup and drove down through to Bussell Highway.  Well some of that road is so straight and smooth I either got a flash with a speeding fine or the cop was just being friendly and flashed to say hello please slow down.  I was slowing down, trying to get to the 100 speed limit from 130 the car was going seconds beforehand!   Such a long straight smooth road...

Turned onto Bussell Highway where they are still doing roadworks, hohum, so many places where I needed to be going slower than I was.  If they had speed cameras set up every few kilometres I'd have gotten 127 speeding fines!  So then I am on Sues Road and wow, what a long straight smooth road that is!  So oops again!  And again.  No friendly cops or cameras anywhere so lucky with that. 

And Brockman Highway, another long, straight, smooth road... 

It didn't take long to get onto Bushby then Caves Road and as the speed here is only 80 and the roads are windy and are covered in shadows from all the trees it was hard to get up to speeding speed, 

It was a good drive and as I was so intent on keeping an eye on the speedo I didn't get time to fall asleep. 

I blame the car I was driving, it gets faster much quicker than my old Rav.  Husband says I shouldn't blame the car for getting up to 120, he is right of course, it's the long straight smooth roads at fault, nothing to do with me being a leadfoot.  I do wonder how many speeding fines will come through the post though...

Stop Sooking And Just Do It.

So I really wanted to go away for my birthday.  By myself if I had to.  And as husband was going to be away working then I had to.  So I decided that I would.  I'd go down to Hamlin Bay to see the stingrays.  My birthday was a few weeks away so I had to decide where to go, where to stay, how long to go for, what to do while there, get the van packed...  

Then I sooked out and wasn't going to go, so I sooked because I'm such a sook I can't do things I want to.  

Talked to people, read blogs and Facebook groups where people are doing it all the time and decided I'd go anyway, even if I was scared of boogymens.  So I was gunna go.  And then there were storm warnings.  Was going to be big storms. So I sooked about that, cause there was no point going as I wasn't going to drive anywhere in a storm and if I couldn't do anything while there what was the point.  

Two days beforehand the storm warnings dropped, might be a bit of weather but should be OK so maybe I could go... 

My birthday was the Wednesday and if I was going to go I'd drive down Tuesday, car camp Tuesday and Wednesday night and come home Thursday.  

Sunday night and I still hadn't definitely decided.  I worked Monday, had the grandkids after that and was so whacked I didn't get time to get the car ready so hummed and hahhed about going.  Woke up Tuesday morning knowing I was going to go so rang and booked a site.  Then had to rush around getting everything ready.  Clean out the car, get food and drinks, get the portloo set up, get lights, kinda tidy the house before I left, rushrushrush and then I was ready.  I was going.  Now, could I drive 3 hours without falling asleep.