Porongurups & Two People’s Bay
We’d originally planned to camp at Porongurup National Park but being only a 45 minute drive from Norman’s, we decided instead to do a day trip. Set our sites on Granite Skywalk & Castle Rock and arrived before the crowds around 9ish. It was the most wooded walk we’d done to date with Marri, Karri Jarrah and Yate trees towering over us. It was a straightforward and popular out and back walk with the real excitement all happening in the last 100m. There, the walk scrambled over giant granite boulders then up a 6m ladder onto a lookout bolted into the granite boulder face with views over the farmland and coast below. It was the fear factor that made it most exciting and Hugh and Claire were clearly thrilled.
After recovery fruitcake and lunch we still had three hours of the afternoon ahead of us so we pushed for a second big walk (4.5km return being big by 3 year old standards). Hugh surprisingly didn't need any cajoling, rather it was me who needed a gee-up. The Wansbrough Walk was an easy path through the forest on a fire track and Hugh's imagination kept him entertained the whole 1.7km out. Matthias and I then took it in turns to climb the 700m spur up Devil's Slide for awesome views atop Marmabup Rock. It was a big day for our family of budding young mountaineers but well worth the exertion.
The next day we returned to East Bay Campground to see if we’d missed out on anything by not camping there. It was good for a snorkel and play on the beach, but more importantly the short stop meant Claire was ready to nap in the car en route to our true destination, Two People’s Bay Nature Reserve.
We wreaked havoc on the touch and feel nature table at the very informative visitor centre then had a spot of lunch at Two People’s Bay. The rest of the afternoon was then whiled away in what can only be described as a paradise. Tucked into the granite northern point of the Reserve are Little Beach and the neighbouring but hidden Waterfall Beach. Little Beach itself was a stunner but we clambered over the sandy rise leaving the handful of other bathers behind to find the smaller Waterfall Beach entirely empty. We took it in turns to snorkel while the kids played in the fresh water stream that fell over the boulders and into the sand, giving the beach its name.
