Author: Mr A
From: Hamelin Station
To: Denham
Distance driven: 105 km
Distance cycled: 5.5 km
Distance hiked: 5.5 km
A little dusty this morning after celebrating our anniversary a little enthusiastically with our new “on the road” buddies Nick and Laura. A Mr A special of bacon and eggs soon had us raring to go (in our minds at least), so we pulled up sticks and headed off.
Coming down the hill into Denham we saw this perfect white sand beach, framed by yachts bobbing around on an azure sea…and wondered ‘Did we just get teleported to the French Rivieria?‘
After getting set up in the caravan park we cycled round town, eager to find those lovely little French cafes which the chic looking crowd ambling the markets ….however…the first (and only) cafe-come-bakery in town was staffed by a woman dressed as if she had recently lost a fight with a bag of flour, who,when asked ‘Could madam please make a soy hot chocolate?’, walked away and mumbled something incoherent. After a couple of promts she managed to grunt ‘Nah’, still without making eye contact. Ah well…we are definitely in small town WA where the only caravan park is chock full and every business in town seems to just open its doors and say ‘Take it or leave it, these’s a queue behind you if you don’t like it’.
On the positive side it is a lovely backdrop to the town…
A popular spot to moor up for the yachties, the water is just crystal clear, and apparently the fishing is good. And in a nutshell that’s the difference between the French Riviera and here. Miles and miles of pristine beaches stretch away into the distance, hardly a human footprint in sight, but those of kangaroos, birds, lizards…..queuing up to be photographed by Mrs A.
We had booked dinner at the one and only restaurant in town (The Old Pearler Restaurant), in a building made completely of shell bricks from the quarry we visited yesterday. As this was a special night, given we ate in on our anniversary, we ordered the seafood platter. Now $115 got us a big plate of seafood each, but no salad, no chips, nothing – just a plate of seafood. Interesting…And they were booked out of course. If you want to eat out in Denham, other than the grotty pub with the pokies clanging away, you have no choice but to come here, whatever the price.
Now for those of you who are wondering ‘Where the heck is Denham? I must cross it off my gastronomy tour‘ here’s our current location. Very close to Monkey Mia, famous for the dolphins. It is as far west in Australia as you can ride a horse…and amazingly beautiful.
