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Published: April 22nd 2012
Lancelin
safe anchorage behind the reef for the Lobster boats, a scenario we were to see went right up this coast.Cervantes
19
th and 20
th April
Leaving Perth we headed north on the Wanneroo Rd towards Lancelin, our first ‘scheduled’ stop (coffee!). A small seaside town, that is made up of holiday homes and a small fleet of local WA Rock Lobster fisherman. The community is serviced by a few basic shops including a bakery (of course) but coffee shops were not to be seen. A vanilla slice and a milkshake had to suffice this morning and after a walk on the beach and jetty and with morning tea partaken we set off again for Cervantes along the newly constructed section of the Indian Ocean Drive.
The drive itself was uneventful and despite its grand name, the road did not allow us continued views of the ocean, rather we saw countless hectares of sand dune country go by covered in low scrubland dominated by banksia bushes/trees. The mid-west coast is called the Turquoise Coast and stretches from Lancelin in the south to Green Head in the north. The occasional views of the water we got along the road only emphasised the coasts name, the turquoise blue water and white fine sand beaches looked great.
Cervantes is a thriving
little fishing town that was only established in 1962 as a result of the growing cray fishing (WA Rock Lobster) industry. It was named after the American whaling ship Miguel de Cervantes which sank off the coast in 1844. With a population of 500 the town only survives because of Rock Lobsters to quote a local lass in the IGA supermarket. And survive some of them do, quite well, with massive new two story homes along the waterfront! Cervantes now is a popular tourist destination with one of the major attractions being the Lobster Shack. Indian Ocean Rock Lobster, a large family owned lobster processing facility, they have opened up The Lobster Shack to tourists and now up to 700 people visit each week. We saw 20 tonnes of lobster in holding tanks being processed for live export and enjoyed a lobster burger for lunch, amazing business and all started from a tin shack in 1968. “Last season, WA’s rock lobster fishery generated $220million in landed catch value for commercial fishers and, each season it provides thousands of hours of pleasure and pastime to recreational fishers” (quote WA Fisheries web site).
Another must see here is the Pinnacles Desert
Cervantes
There is money in WA Rock Lobsters! in the Nambung National Park. Thousands of limestone pillars rise out of the sand landscape reaching over 3mtrs in places. They are eroded remnants of a bed of limestone, created from seashells breaking down into lime rich sands. (a lot of Ag-Lime comes from this area). We did the loop drive that takes you around a 3klm trip throughout these fields of limestone pinnacles which are absolutely amazing to see. Sculptured by nature, winds and rain, each pinnacle is unique and every turn in the track presented another ‘Oh Wow’.
Just out of Cervantes we also visited Lake Thetis, a small saline lake which is estimated to have become isolated from the sea about 4800 years ago when sea levels dropped and coastal dunes formed the lake. This lake is only one of a few places in the world with living marine stromatolites, or ‘living fossils’. The bacteria that builds these stromatolites or ‘mounds’ as I would call them, are similar to those found in 3500 million year old rocks, which are the earliest records of life on earth. I guess we just do not appreciate this type of thing, as to us they just look like mud mounds
in the water but when you understand what made them it does cast a different light on what you are looking at.
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Matty
non-member comment
Pinnacles and lobsters
I bet you got some stunning photos of the Pinnacles, the ones on the blog are fantastic. Of all the people who stumble into lobster territory and a 'lobster shack' it is you two! We all know how you hate lobsters! The photos look great and it is good to be reading more updates on the blog again other than your social exploits in the Kookaburra Caravan Park! But it looks like you are back into the swing of things and enjoying yourselves!