Roadtrip Day 1

Day 1 - Perth, Busselton Jetty, Ngligi Caves, Canal Rocks, Margaret River

Total km - 340.2km

The big day has arrived for us to make the long drive to Melbourne. Honestly, though we were quite excited, there was a slight apprehension given that the total distance driven would cover a Singapore to Bangkok return trip + a healthy amount of change. With oil prices at its all time high a few months ago, this trip will not be cheap.

The day was so chosen as our short term lease at Osborne Park had run out. And so the night before, we packed, threw out, squeezed our belongings into Abby. We had lowered the back seat to form a much larger boot. All our stuff just about fit into the entire space behind the front seats. We even bought a blue tarp from kmart to put over all our stuff to ensure that people looking in (enroute) would not know we have brought just about all our possessions in Australia along with us. Coupled with the John Deere cap that my boss at the strawberry farm gave me just before I left, I'd like to think anyone looking into Abby would have the impression that this belongs to a working-class Australian and that the stuff under the tarp could easily have been construction materials.

2 months in Perth and we hadnt been to the Blue Boat House. So it was on the last day in Perth that we decided to do a quick photo stop. The plan had been to go there on our last few days in Perth but we keep forgetting in the midst of running some last minute errands. With our less than professional camera gear, we could only make the trip in the morning as the sun was at the correct angle to get a good photo without the sun backlighting it. And so everything worked out well I guess; we got our photo that marked our presence in Perth and got down to commencing the road trip. Yea ok, I know the picture is not exactly straight. Just tilt your head.

The driving started gingerly. I had no idea how Abby was going to take the additional weight of our luggage and other stuff. Yes, acceleration seemed slightly sluggier, braking distance slightly longer but 30min into the journey, I can say I have somewhat gotten used to it. 

One of Perth's major issue is that the selection of songs on its radio station is terrible. I think I should rephrase that. The songs are not bad, it is just that the selection is terribly limited. I know this because I take a 30min drive to work every morning + 30min drive back in the evening. I'm not sure what is going on but it seems like they play a grand total of 10 different songs before repeating themselves. I listen to Harry Style's "As it was" literally EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Spotify is therefore a massive live-saver here.

2 hours later, we arrive at Busselton - home of probably the longest wooden jetty in the world - at a grand total of 1.6km long. The place is as exciting as the descriptor I have written about it. There is a 'train' that takes you to the end of the jetty where there is a underwater observatory. For a price of $37, you could go take a look at what lies 9m under the (end of the) jetty. We thought that it was too steep a price to take a look at an aquarium of sorts and so all we did at Busselton was to sit by the beach and eat our lunch, enjoying the music from a couple of random young dudes who were there on a Thursday afternoon jamming.

We hit Ngligi Caves next and that was quite something. The entire Yallingyup region has caves dotted around it so much so that they named this major road connecting to Margaret River there Caves Road. 

While I have been to other caves around the world before, caves are still fascinating to me - to think about how insignificant our time on earth is, relative to what it has been through (stalagmites/ stalactites take 100 years to grow 1cm). To also think about what places still exist out there (if there even are) that has been there for hundreds and thousands and millions of years and not been discovered by the prying hands of humans. While many stalagmites and stalactites might look like a dime a dozen after some time, some of the pieces are truly stunning - like this piece that looks like a translucent fin.

10 minutes south of the caves, Canal Rocks was quite striking as well. Huge waves crashing onto the rocks, locals sitting around the rocks doing what is known as rock fishing, a few instagrammable spots for the tourists like us. And then a mad rush down to Margaret River before sunset. One of the biggest reason to make it into town/city before sunset is because the Australian wildlife comes very alive after dark - and it is not a good time to be driving on the rural roads after sunset since hitting one of those animals resulting in roadkills is a very likely possibility. A car without a nudge bar or a bull bar could get its engine totalled if it happens to hit an adult kangeroo head on with speed.