Cycling Australia | Luke Yates Guide to Western Australia Part 2

Luke Yates is cycling Australia. In his last post, Luke travelled the 150km between Perth and the beautiful Yalgorup National Park. Now, Luke cycles the south-west corner of Australia from Bunbury to Albany, including the beautiful Margaret River wine region.

Bunbury and the Breakfast Show
Bunbury is the first significant town south of Yalgorup and is the commercial heart of the region south of Perth. Between Yalgorup and Bunbury there isn’t too much of note other than a very busy highway but it did turn out to be the site of my first media appearance regarding the trip!

Given only 2 hours’ notice, I had to inform ABC Breakfast news that I would be unable to make it to the studios in Bunbury, some 65km away at the time. So I found a quiet, sheltered spot away from the road and did a live radio interview over the phone. After some initial confusion due to a slight delay, I actually think it went quite well.

Bunbury itself is a large, bustling town. There is a series of lovely beaches and just outside the centre is a bay where dolphins swim right up to the shore. The town centre itself is much like any other but it is serviced by an excellent selection of shops, including a very good bike shop. It was also in Bunbury that I met up with Jasmine from WA tourism and her help and contacts over the coming days would turn out to be very valuable. I’m extremely grateful for her time and help.

Camping for free on the Tuart Highway
Continuing south from Bunbury, I took the Tuart Highway and it was here that I first came across the increasing Australian phenomenon of free camping. I was expecting to have to find secluded spots away from the road to sleep on the nights that I couldn’t make it into any towns but there are in fact hundreds of rest bays dotted across the state that permit overnight stopping.

As I made my way along, and with the sun already setting, I came across a nice quiet spot with space to pitch a tent away from the road. There were already a few vans there and when I enquired if it was ok to stop for the night in places like this they looked at me like I was mad for asking. As I would find, some people on caravans travel for months and hardly ever pay for parking.

The Tuart Highway itself is quite a quiet tourist route and was a very enjoyable start to the next day as I continued on towards Margaret River.

Margaret River
To save a little time, I decided to take the main road to Margaret River, rather than the long route around the coast. I am reliably informed however that the coastline is stunning. With hindsight and a bit more experience under my belt I would have probably gone the long way round!

Margaret River, or “Mark-up River” as it is often referred is clearly a town in the middle of good times. It sits at the heart of a very prosperous wine region with over 200 separate vineyards. The main street in town is lined with coffee shops, restaurants and boutique shops and is the hub for many of the holidaymakers looking to enjoy the scenery and wine. I very much enjoyed passing through Margaret River. It is a beautiful spot and in the future I would love to return and take some time to visit the vineyards, head to the beaches and explore some of the local caves.

I spent the night about 30km further south at the Alexandra Bridge campground. This is an absolutely glorious spot on the river’s edge with decent facilities and firepits with ready chopped wood. I was delighted to be able to end the day with a swim in the river and a huge fire!

Western Australia bites back
I don’t think it is an overstatement to say that the next stage of my trip did not go well! The remoteness you experience when travelling Western Australia was brought home to me as I set off the next day with 100 km between me and the nearest town. I vastly overestimated my capabilities and fitness. The first 60km were fantastic with some lovely scenery but as I entered the very hilly Beedelup National Park all strength drained from my legs.

It was a harshly-learnt lesson as I realised that I needed far more than a bit of chocolate to fuel myself and that 100 km was never going to be a relaxed morning’s ride! The area is pretty stunning and the Beedelup Falls themselves are just beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t see this for myself as I was far too exhausted to travel the 10km off road to view them.

Visit Pemberton!
I finally made the lovely town of Pemberton in mid-afternoon, shattered and dispirited. Thankfully, there always seems to be a never-ending stream of people willing to pick you up when you’re struggling on a trip like this and Pemberton proved this in full force.

The town is a gateway to three National Parks and has some very good facilities for a relatively small place. I was already feeling better having grabbed some food at the excellent town bakery and spoken to my mum using the cheap, fast WiFi at the library. Then I received a text from Toni at the Pemberton Discovery Tours. She had been given my number by Jasmine and had organised a free camping pitch and roast dinner for me. The generosity was just wonderful.

Pemberton Discovery Tours run 4WD excursions out to the nearby D’Entrecasteaux and Warren National Parks but unfortunately they were fully booked so I couldn’t join in. I did however climb the 51m tall Gloucester Tree, a fire lookout, for some stunning views before heading off the next day. I think it is fair to say that I would recommend Pemberton as a place to visit!

Shannon National Park, Walpole and the Valley of the Giants
The following night I stayed at a great campground in Shannon National Park with hot showers, a camp kitchen and two warm, dry (and slightly terrifying) cabins to sleep in. I used one of these and it was a real treat to keep all my gear dry and not have to pitch my tent.

From Shannon I headed to Walpole, a town that I was a little disappointed in to be honest. I was only there briefly, so this may be an unfair reflection, but there really didn’t feel like there was much to it. The main purpose of the town seemed to be to cater to coach trips. Luckily however, 17km to the east lies the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk and I was fortunate enough to have been contacted by them offering me free entry.

I happily headed off the main highway, although the extreme hill that I had to climb to get there did leave me somewhat out of breath on arrival. After a moment to cool down and compose myself, I took a wander along the suspended walkways, hanging from the huge and ancient Karri trees. The views were wonderful but the trees themselves really stole the show. You can even walk through one of them! I have to say thanks to the Valley of the Giants team for taking an interest in my trip. They even gave me a T-shirt.

Camping at Parry Beach
That night brought another wonderful camping spot at Parry Beach. Just 6km from the main road, you feel as though you have entered a different world. The beach itself is fantastic and on the evening I arrived it was perfectly complemented by a moody sky of greys and blues.

The campground only charged me $5 which I would happily pay for a pitch and warm shower any day of the week.

Denmark to Albany
I woke the next day to heavy rain but a tail-wind, and the fact that it was my 25th birthday meant that I headed in to Denmark in excellent spirits. Denmark is a nice town with good bakeries and coffee shops and proved a great spot to stop for a birthday breakfast. I would happily have stayed there longer but I’d booked a bed in a hostel in Albany, 50 km further east.

Albany was by far the biggest town I had come to since leaving Margaret River and it gets a very favourable review from me. The 1849 Backpackers Hostel was clean, comfy and included unlimited pancakes for breakfast so I can happily recommend that. The town centre feels a little tired but is in the process of being done up and the shore front area looks wonderful. In the evening, there were several decent pubs and a completely terrible nightclub in which to celebrate a pretty good birthday.

I was lucky enough to have met a local family who had offered to put me up for the next night and show me the surrounding area. They lived in the lovely suburb of Lower King and their house was in a glorious location on the water’s edge.

As we drove around, I was able to see the various inlets and bays that give Albany a very unique geography with some beautiful, sheltered beaches. The ANZAC memorial has recently been refurbished ahead of the upcoming commemorations of WWI and Albany has a particular significance as the point of departure for many of the troops heading to Gallipoli. It is fair to say that they have done a good job. The site looks fantastic and the views are brilliant.

We also headed up to the local wind farm which stretches for miles along the coast and has some great cliff top views and walks.

So there it is! The whistle-stop Luke Yates tour of the south western part of Western Australia. I have of course missed hundreds of sights and attractions that I didn’t have time to see or experience. I am determined to return to this region one day with a 4WD and a mountain bike to be able to fully experience what this beautiful, natural region has to offer.

But when you’re cycling Australia it’s always about where you’re going, not where you’ve been, and next up was the journey from Albany to Esperance, Norseman and then out onto the bleak and remote Nullarbor Crossing.

You can follow my progress here, on my website and on twitter @lhyates89 and @GlobalGrapevine so please don’t hesitate to check out my adventures and get in touch. I would love to hear from you!

Read the third part of Luke’s Australian travels here