Harvey to Bunbury, day 2, Tuesday 28 November 1978.   I tried to get away reasonably early. I had a nice breakfast in the dining room and set off on the familiar road to Bunbury. When I reached Brunswick Junction, just for a change I decided to take the road to Australind and come into Bunbury from there. The distance is about the same but it made a different route.

I turned left at Australind and headed down the Old Coast Road for the last few kilometres into the city. This was the first time I had ridden on the Old Coast Road, the first of many. I crossed the bridge over the estuary and arrived in the city centre in the early afternoon.  ... Read more

Bunbury to Busselton, day 3, Wednesday 29 November 1978.   The breakfast wasn’t as good as it had been in the Rose in 1977, but it filled the spot. The weather stayed mild and breezy, with the wind in my face as I started towards Busselton, this time taking the correct way to find the main road.

There was no rain this year and I didn’t feel the need to stop so often. I stopped for a drink and a rest at Stratham, then continued to Capel. About a kilometre before Capel there was, on the other side of the road from the first isolated house, a sign saying Bunbury 27 km, when it should have been only 25. This sign is still there and it is still wrong.  ... Read more

Busselton to Margaret River, day 4, Thursday 30 November 1978.  I got my breakfast delivered to the door on a tray again ($2.75) and enjoyed that. I don’t think I took an early swim before setting off. I don’t do that any more if I am facing a challenging day, as this was, setting off for the unknown. I wait until the challenge has been overcome before relaxing with a swim. Sea bathing can suck out a lot of calories.

After showering I got ready, paid (I hadn’t got into the way of paying the night before, and hotels didn’t demand it in those days) and set off down the Bussell Highway as though going to Dunsborough, but with the intention of turning left about 7 km out and heading down the unknown (to me) part of the Bussell Highway.  ... Read more

Margaret River to Busselton, day 5, Friday 1 December 1978.   The day was cloudy and windy with westerly winds and showers. I felt a bit depressed – I didn’t see any spooks or anything, but that old hotel had a bad feeling about it, or so it seemed at the time. I had a full breakfast in the old dining room, got packed up and paid. I queried the cost of breakfast, for which they charged you for each bite, almost. The hotel was run by the Auto Motels chain in those days.

I got going at mid-morning. I was intending to go back to Busselton eventually but in the blithe unworried way I still had in those days I thought it would be fun to take a detour through Yallingup and see the Yallingup cave (now called the Ngilgi cave), perhaps swim at the famous beach.  ... Read more

Busselton to Cottesloe, day 6, Saturday 2 December 1978.  I slept well and enjoyed breakfast delivered to my room. I can’t remember whether I had another quick morning swim – I might have done. The day was sunny and cool and there was a moderate south-westerly wind blowing, which promised an easy run to Bunbury. I had decided already to take the train at Bunbury, as I had the previous year.

I headed down Queen Street, over the river, down the Causeway and was cruising along the Bussell Highway, 3 km out, when just opposite a garage, there was a snap and a dragging sound, the pedals swung freely but with no push. I looked down and saw that the chain was broken.  ... Read more

Ngilgi Cave, previously known as Yallingup Cave, is a Karst cave to the north east of Yallingup, in the south west of Western Australia. It was discovered by Edward Dawson in 1899 when searching for stray horses. It was originally named Yallingup Cave for the nearby town of Yallingup but later renamed to acknowledge the cave’s part in Australian Aboriginal mythology. Ngilgi (pronounced Neelgee) was a good spirit who triumphed in battle against an evil spirit Wolgine.

Cowaramup is a town in the South West of Western Australia, 12 kilometres north of Margaret River in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River. The name is believed to be derived from Aboriginal word “Cowara”, meaning Purple-crowned Lorikeet. Locals from the region often refer to the town as ‘Cowtown’, a reference to the use of ‘cow’ in the town’s name and its history of dairy farming. Cowaramup is roughly central to the Margaret River Wine Region.

Ledge Point is a small coastal township 105 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It was established to service the local fishing and crayfishing industries. The area is well known as a windsurfing venue, and in January each year the prestigious Ledge Point to Lancelin Windsurfing Classic draws competitors from around the world.

Whicher Range is a range in the South West region of Western Australia. The range has an average elevation of 170 metres (558 ft) above sea level. Bounded by the Swan Coastal Plain to the West and the South, the Darling Scarp to the North and the Blackwood Plateau to the East, the range is located approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) South of Busselton. The range has the form of a crescent shaped scarp.

Waterloo is a small town in the South West region of Western Australia, located on the South Western Highway between Bunbury and Brunswick Junction, in the shire of Dardanup.