Waves and Roos

4:30AM seems to be our normal waking time right now.  That's okay though because today we were heading up to Yallingup for a dawn patrol session.  The air temp was crisp at about 13C/56F but the wind had not come up yet.  We got to Yallingup around 5:15AM just as the sun was rising.  We were greeted by offshore winds and 6-8ft surf.

Bernard decided to surf the beach breaks (or beachies as they say here) to avoid the crowds.  In hindsight, the reef was not really that crowded and probably would have been the better choice.

Bernard's impeccable timing ensured that he paddled out right as a set came and got bounced on the sand covered reef a little bit.

Caught on the inside 
(despite the helmet, that is not me)

There were only three other people out (probably for a reason) and the surf was pretty solid but mostly closed out.

This is small?

He did catch a few quick rides while AM was a true surf photog and froze on the beach while taking these pictures.  After seeing a few sets roll through, AM decided the beach was a nice place to be despite the chill.  She was much happier when the sun came up over the ridge.

I'm going left because...why?! (Dave M. syndrome)

Another pic of Bernard.

Pig dog

This is what the Yallingup reefs were doing as we left.  Doh!

Yallingup Reefs

After the surf session, we broke camp, showered and drove back to Dunsborough to eat at Samundra again since it was so good.

Our modest abode

In anticipation of bigger surf to come later in the week Bernard swapped out the 6'0" quad for a beefy 6'6" thruster.

Since we needed to be in Perth on the 30th, we decided to head back North and camp somewhere along the way.  We looked and saw that Yalgorup NP about halfway and figured we would stay there for the night.

The guide book mentioned that Yalgorup had a chain of ten lakes, various wildlife and scenic attractions.  The guide book probably needs updating.  When we got there, it looked like a fire had come through recently because many trees were burned down and the ones still standing were charred.  We saw two dead fish and a few birds at one of the lakes.  The main lake was completely dried up except for a pool in the middle.  The smaller lake we were at (and were going to camp at) was stagnant.

It was a little depressing and we decided to try our luck elsewhere.  Before leaving the park area, we wanted to check out the nearby shire of Preston which was the "tourist town".  Not sure if something gets lost in the translation but apparently "shire" means a 2 block by 2 block group of buildings.  It did have a very nice beach that was 4WD accessible.  There was a warning sign telling visitors of all the preparations that are required such as deflating your tires.  Nah, why bother?!

AM was not very amused when Bernard got the truck stuck in the sand for about 20 minutes and she had to push us out.  No worries.

After that little mini-adventure, we decided that there must be a little more to Preston so we drove around a bit.  We were very happy that we did!  We finally saw our first wild kangaroos (that were not laying on the side of the road)!  Yaaaay! The shire of Preston was not a total loss after all.

Who's your Daddy? 

(AM took about ten of these shots before she knew what she had)

Joey

Mom and Joey

Since camping at Yalgorup was a bust we made the tough decision to drive back to Perth and stay at the Hilton ;-)  Tomorrow we will explore Freemantle before Bernard's sister and her family arrive.