Well it was definitely cold overnight so we rugged up warm and actually had a great nights sleep with very little traffic using the road that was some 50m from us. With the morning came somewhat improved weather with the sun breaking through and warming things considerably once we were back on the road. First stop was Ravensthorpe – just a small rural services town in the midst of wheat country. About 63km west of Esperance we went south down 9km of dirt road to our camp for the night at Quagi Beach. Obviously there had been a significant amount of rain as there were large areas underwater in some of the farmland we passed and we were concerned the road to the beach might have been impassable. Especially as we seen a couple of similar roads with closed due to flood damage signs across them.
It turned out the road to the coastal reserve was fine and we only dirtied the front of the van a smidgen. As for the camp area – it was really nice set in amongst the low bush and scrub that clings to the coastal dunes. One can imagine the place being rather miserable if southerly wind and rain were blasting in but we were fortunate as the weather was clear and quite warm. The beach and coastal area were quite pretty and quite a large number of shore birds in the area including terns and oyster catchers.
One excellent attribute of the camp was the cost – a huge $2 per adult per night. This is because it is a reserve managed by the local shire as opposed to being part of a National Park. The site we chose was close to a typical Aussie windmill which serves its purpose pumping bore water up to a large holding tank that supplies the camp area.
