Coodamurrup / Fish Creek

Attendees:
David and Cindy -Toyota Landcruiser 120; Gary, Claire, Dianne and the 2 kids – Toyota Landcruiser 80; Ivo – Toyota Landcruiser 76; Sean and Deb – Mitsubishi Triton MQ; Shane – Mitsubishi Triton MN; Simon and Jacob – Mitsubishi Triton MN; Matt – Mitsubishi (not a Triton), Pajero

I’m starting my trip report with Shane. In John 2:1-11, Jesus changes water into wine, and although not short of wine and other drinks for our trip, we were a bit short on firewood. Shane turned ice and a 6 pack into a car full of wood.

With the official meeting point being the Pemberton Visitors Centre, no one made it there besides Sean and Deb.  Everyone else met at the BP servo just off the freeway at Baldavis.  Sean and Deb started their trip from Bunbury, and the head start on the rest of us was a great advantage. Camp sites in the area we were exploring are first in best dressed.  A waypoint for Coodamurrup Hut was sent to Sean and Deb, which they found, and held an awesome camp spot for us. We had a perfect grass camp site covered by trees.  With 8 sites available around where we found Sean and Deb’ parked, we claimed them all, and placed 2 wood stoves in the centre which provided heat and cooking arrangements.  Perfect for our Nutella pastries and cakes.

Now, back to Shane. As already noted, we were a bit short on wood. Whilst at the BP servo, another traveller handed Shane a bag of ice as they had bought too many.  While on the drive south, we stopped for a pee pee break.  Near where we stopped, local council workers were in the process of chopping down a tree.  Shane rocks up, hands them a six pack and a bag of ice, then filled his car full of wood. Not quite up there with John 2:1-11, however an excellent conversion!

On the track to the camp site,  a small diversion was in order, we found the Gardner River Crossing.  A nice river crossing with a hard bottom.  Depth marker said  0.7m.  Awesome!!  Lets Go.

With the water crossing successfully completed and no one washed away, it was time to find Sean and Deb. With a big hello to our fellow campers, we all found our spots and set up camp.

As Coodamurrup beach was a mere 2ks away, it was within easy reach.  Shane and Simon grabbed fishing rods, Jacob grabbed his swim clothes, and the rest of us set to explore the beach.  After we reached a point where there was no more beach to safely traverse, we opted to back track and check up on the fishermen. We wanted fish for dinner, Shane provided us with 1 whiting.

After breakfast the next morning, we headed east, looking for Fish Creek Hut.  This hut was located right next to the coast, the views were spectacular.

With the next beach not far, Shane was very eager for another fish.  Meanwhile, Gary pulls out a rubbish bag and started a beach cleanup.  With everyone’s help, a full bag was collected. Was a big surprise… It appeared to be a relatively clean beach to start with.

We proceeded down more tracks with more great views, but not really leading to anywhere in particular, and a turn back to camp was made.  I tried to climb a soft sand hill and got stuck. This required winching to recover me. 

Once back at camp it was time to get the camp ovens on. Round one was Nutella in puff pastry, round 2 was a chocolate cake, butter cake and a mixture of both together with a marble effect. We sat and chatted, enjoyed  each other’s company as the setting sun turned the sky into night.  Dave F.