Lucky Bay...ho ho ho Merry Chrisstmas

Since we left Albany on the 6th December we have had the best time!!! We stopped and had a look around Bremer Bay but we got pelted with the biggest rain drops so it was a sightseeing visit from inside the car, a free camp for the night with more rain that finally stopped by 11pm.  Next morning we were onto Hopetoun. A lovely beach side town but our arrival was met by the cold, wind and wet so it was just a coffee stop for 'my driver'. The South Coast Rd out of Hopetoun took us to a couple of campsites by the beach but now the holidays and the silly season is starting we were not getting our hopes up for a nice camping spot. The road turns to gravel after a few km and we come to Mason Bay, busy so we move on to a couple more spots until we come to Starvation Boat Harbour that is busy also but we notice from a high spot a toilet block in the bush so we found a track down the road through the bushes that came out onto a huge grass area that we had all to ourselves for 3 whole days. We had our fill of solitude and headed to Esperence and decided to go straight to Lucky Bay, we new the campground will start filling for the holidays.  We met up with Milly who we met at Cape Range NP, she was hosting the campground for the month of December, and we were so excited to see each other. I’m glad she remembered us, we have that affect on people, hahaha.  The host we met at Cape Range, Graeme and Lyn, were also hosting in another campground later in the month in Cape Le Grande National Park and we will catch up with them soon. 

It is just gorgeous here and we have decided to stay till Christmas. We have roos with joeys jumping through the campsites, bucks as well, wanting to do the wild thing.

The water is crystal clear and the sand is the whitest I have ever seen!
Milly has dinner with us the first night...she supplied us with chicken, sausages and fresh squid and we cooked it while she did her running around keeping the campsite in order.  Milly has her work cut out for her with the holidays fast approaching.
Steve and I walked around the other side of the beach (6km return) and had a look at the Mathew Flinders plaques (He named Lucky Bay when he sheltered from a storm in the bay).

We met some beautiful people that were camped around us, Liz and Phil, Maz and Alan, Syd and Helen, Terrie and Judy, Grant and Jules (we met at Shelley Beach), Katie, Bernie and family (we met at Geralton CP), Elsie and Rod, Jess and Adam. We spent every afternoon together at happy hour and even during the days we got together for a swim or a walk.

Milly loves to fish and she and I went down on the rocks to squid.

One night Judy and I went with Milly to fish for squid and Milly pulled in a beauty and Judy and I got to see our first live squid and Milly showed us how to clean it

...mmmmm that will be nice on the BBQ.
We climbed Frenchman’s Peak and got fantastic views at the top,  it was over 200m high but it was a steep climb in parts up a huge granite rock and not for the faint hearted, but it was worth it.  Took us about 1 and a half hours to climb up and down.

going up

going down

views from the top

We went fishing in the arvo with Milly and invited some of the kids to join us, Tess and Lulu; I caught a couple of little fish (parrot and green wrasse) and Lulu was quite happy to see I let them go.  Happy hour again and Katie and Bernie (both music teachers) did a small part of their musical act that they were performing at schools around the country while they were travelling and their two daughters Tess and Lulu sang and played instruments for us.

Our days are warm and we spend out time socializing with other campers, we have a great bunch of people on our level.  Steve and I laugh all day long with them and Milly, she tells us such funny stories.  We are parked next to Milly and none of us get anything done.  Just banter back and forth and laugh and laugh and laugh...you wouldn't think we only met 4 months ago and spent only 5 days together.  We had the best time, Milly showed me how to fish for squid and even though I didn’t land one I did catch one that got away but Steve caught a couple and we had a few meals of squid on the BBQ together. We did a little fishing, but didn't catch any keepers except for the night Milly caught a 48cm flathead with her squid jig (the silly fish swallowed it).
Milly organized for us to have a ‘How to Host a Murder’ Dinner, we bought props from the $2 shop in Esperence, Steve was a Banker and I was his wife, heiress to my parents fortune, such fun with everyone dressing up. We all contributed something for dinner and we ate out at our happy hour place.

We had to finish by 9pm, that was quiet time and we had a really fun night.  Everyone heads off to their homes on wheels...but not me...Milly and I go squidding again and Milly takes an Italian couple with us, Simona and Elana, but we had no luck.
Tuesday 17 December:  a hot day, the mercury rose to 45, we sat in the shade most of the day with a bucket of water to splash ourselves and have some of us go and brave the freezing cold water to cool down. We got through the day with a sea breeze in the arvo gave us some relief.  The next 3 days were windy and 14, 15 and 16 degrees and back in the woollies and ugg boots.  Milly and I still go and squid with no luck again.  We were all a bit tired after another late dinner these late nights are catching up to us, squidding everynight for a week now.
We drove over to Le Grande campground when we heard Lyn and Graeme had arrived and it was lovely to see them again.  Both campgrounds are filling up fast for the Christmas holidays, there are some families here with some kids that come up to us for show and tell...the first time was a container with red back spiders and big ants and Kiki shows us her trick with a beetle she found...no fear these kids.

We did do some touring in the area...into Esperence, not good weather but did the Coast Road drive out to the Pink Lake (not pink on a cloudy day) and spent about 2hours in the museum and got back to camp just in time for happy hour.
We joined Liz, Phil, Maz and Alan for a drive to Condingup Tavern for lunch and a drive around to Duke of Orleans Bay and Wharton Beach...beautiful beaches...picture postcard stuff.

Another night squidding and we met another guy, Clint, and while we quietly fish something causes a wave to wash up the rock and come out of the water and take a breath right in front of Clint...freaked us abit and we figure it was a seal...no use sqidding any longer with a seal in the water. Glad it wasn't in front of me I think I would have poo pooed my pants.
Final day of shopping before Christmas, everyone goes around to check if anyone wants anything in town before we go and we take the shopping lists with us.
Christmas Eve and it is hot but we have a cool change this arvo for the Lucky Bay Choir to sing Christmas Carols...that would be some of the adults and the kids, then we had a fellow fill in time playing his piano accordion and then (our friend Graeme from Le Grande camp)  Santa arrived on the fire truck for the kids.  The kids were so excited and Santa gave out lollies and we took lots of pics, a very fun afternoon.

The Lucky Bay choir



we even had an audience but it wasn't for us...

Milly, Lyn, Santa (Graeme), Steve and I

HO HO HO!!!
Christmas Day was brekky cooked at Milly's  bacon, eggs, tomatoes and toasted Turkish bread for 11 of us and then we had ‘krappy kringle’ (wrapped gifts from our vans that we didn’t want any more).

It was quite warm again and Steve and I were walking around the camp with umbrella hats on...we were getting the funniest looks, I don't know why!  We had 7 of us for lunch

and as usual we all ate too much and the food came out again at dinner.  9pm the gennys go off and Steve and I went to bed.
Boxing Day  a group of us walked to Thistle Cove and had a swim (1hr one way), we needed to walk off some of the Christmas cheer.  More beautiful views and lots of photos taken.

We get through another day and Milly, Steve and I go to squid again but it is pretty warm tonight... there was a group of young people from Perth/Sweden sitting at our happy hour table smoking apple flavoured tobacco through a 'hooker' so I had a taste and so did Milly... I hope it was only apple flavoured???
Milly used one of our rods and we didn't have any luck and Milly broke the rod she was using, I would have liked to say it was from a big squid but it wasn't.
Friday we squeased Milly in the back of our car (no back seat), behind the cargo barrier (it was like she was locked in a cage...and we went to see Graeme and Lyn before we left.  We chatted together, had some yummy scones and sausages rolls that Lyn made and headed back after a couple of hours and Milly had me in tears on the way home as she was barking out the window at the passing cars...I guess you had to be there.  It was hilarious, trust me.
We had morning tea with everyone before we left.

We had the best 2 and a half weeks at Lucky Bay!!! Thanks for the good times everyone and thanks Milly for all the laughs and the clean toilets and showers hahaha, we will not forget our stay in Lucky Bay.