From Two Rocks and Yanchep we travelled south to the much more established coastal areas of Quinns Rocks and Mindarie. It was a little odd to be visiting a coastal area with the same name as a tiny country town on the Tailem Bend to Loxton road in the South Australian mallee country. The two 'Mindaries' could not be more different!
Quinns Rocks is an established northern beach suburb, the last before the northern development areas. We popped in for a quick look at the beach before heading further south, and, as you would expect by now, I had to check out the local Surf Club which we found immediately next to a most inviting looking seafront hotel and restaurant.
Quinns Rocks beach was equally inviting looking. The sand here is fine and white, typical of this coastline and at Quinns, unlike many of the more southern beaches, the surf rolls onto a gently shelving shore. So what? No dumping waves, the bane of those of us who love to body surf. And if you look closely at the left side of this shot, you can just make out a breakwater and two large buildings to the south of Quinns Rocks....Mindarie, our next destination
One thing which struck us at Quinns Rocks is the manner in which the disabled are catered for. A sloping cement pathway leads down to the beach, where, as you can see, access to the sand is provided to those in wheelchairs via a strip of permanent blue matting. What a great idea.
If there is one thing which the good citizens of Perth have embraced, it is power boating. You may recall the shot I took of one of the many marinas on the Swan River during our UN reunion luncheon cruise. The metropolitan coast, from Fremantle to Two Rocks, has spawned many more to provide permanent safe moorings for large craft and good launching facilities for those with trailer craft.
At Mindarie we found a fine example where a well established marine facility is also home
to a wide ranging collection of eating spots and bars
built along a semicircular dock complex.
From here we had a great a view of the channel connecting the harbour to the open sea, and, looking the other way
the view along one of the several internal channels, where, in a fashion typical of these developments, some pretty decent houses have been built.
Mindarie is not the sort of place in which one finds many 'first home owners', unless that is, they have inherited very well! Apart from what we saw in this area we came across a real estate advertisement offering modest blocks of land in Mindarie at a starting price of $500,000! One thing which did particularly interest us in our toddle around the marina was the variety of housing, ranging from, for example, these 'chalet' style apartments
to individual homes of much grander proportions of which this is but one example.
And people are still building here. These are the two constructions which appeared in the distance in the previous shot looking to the south at Quinns Rocks. Heaven only knows how much the owners of these domestic lumps will shell out to take up residence.
One aspect of the Perth beaches with which I am still coming to grips is the proximity and length of the offshore reef system. Here, for example, not too far beyond the marina, we can see the Indian Ocean rollers thumping over one section of this vast rocky ledge which parallels the beach front for many kilometres. This is a common view.
Our wander around the streets of the Mindarie marina eventually took us to the northern side where we came across this interesting little statue, standing in odd isolation near the pathway down to the rocky cove on the northern side of the marina area. Strange too was the fact that there was no informative plaque on this artistic offering. We remain somewhat in the dark as to its purpose. Our best bet is that it represents an Osprey, a live example of which we later saw at Hillarys.
Apart from the long stretches of pristine sandy beach to be found along the Perth metropolitan coastline, there are also many areas where limestone reef and rocks lie directly along the foreshore. Here to the immediate north of Mindarie is a classic example, where between this rocky headland.
and the next to its north, there is but a tiny patch of sand to be found between them with flat, low inshore reef ledges making swimming impossible. But whilst there is no swimming beach here at Mindarie, if you look closely at this photo you can see the sweep of the Quinns Rocks beach beyond the small headland mid shot. A decent swim is never far away in these areas.
Let us take our leave of the Mindarie marina with a look at yet another example of the houses which are typical of this area where large is the order of the day. This coastal castle is perched on the hill directly overlooking the Osprey statue. Apart from its size and the obvious sea views on offer from many of its numerous rooms, we couldn't help but speculate on just how much the retaining walls would have added to the cost of this project.
On our continuing journey south along the Perth coastline we next visit the northern beach of Mullaloo with which your correspondent has a very personal connection and then we take in the jewel in the marinas crown, Hillarys Boat Harbour.
Our wander around the streets of the Mindarie marina eventually took us to the northern side where we came across this interesting little statue, standing in odd isolation near the pathway down to the rocky cove on the northern side of the marina area. Strange too was the fact that there was no informative plaque on this artistic offering. We remain somewhat in the dark as to its purpose. Our best bet is that it represents an Osprey, a live example of which we later saw at Hillarys.
Apart from the long stretches of pristine sandy beach to be found along the Perth metropolitan coastline, there are also many areas where limestone reef and rocks lie directly along the foreshore. Here to the immediate north of Mindarie is a classic example, where between this rocky headland.
and the next to its north, there is but a tiny patch of sand to be found between them with flat, low inshore reef ledges making swimming impossible. But whilst there is no swimming beach here at Mindarie, if you look closely at this photo you can see the sweep of the Quinns Rocks beach beyond the small headland mid shot. A decent swim is never far away in these areas.
Let us take our leave of the Mindarie marina with a look at yet another example of the houses which are typical of this area where large is the order of the day. This coastal castle is perched on the hill directly overlooking the Osprey statue. Apart from its size and the obvious sea views on offer from many of its numerous rooms, we couldn't help but speculate on just how much the retaining walls would have added to the cost of this project.
On our continuing journey south along the Perth coastline we next visit the northern beach of Mullaloo with which your correspondent has a very personal connection and then we take in the jewel in the marinas crown, Hillarys Boat Harbour.
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