PERTH 5 - HILLARYS BOAT HARBOUR (JANUARY 2014)

Before we begin our somewhat extensive tour of Hillarys Boat Harbour and all that is on offer there, let me stem the howls of outrage from all the pedants....there is no apostrophe in 'Hillarys'.  It has taken me a while to resist including one when I write the name, but it stands alone as a plural sounding word.

Now that I have put that to rest, what can we find at HBH. The short answer is plenty, but let's begin, as we have done in other areas, with a walk along the coastal track which extends north from one of the HBH car parks (there are several of these) through some quite impressive sand hills as we shall see shortly. 

Here a number of well manicured parks, some with playgrounds 

and some without, rub shoulders with tracts of virgin scrub 

before this section of the track comes to an end at a large, shady car park. The initial appeal of this area as one in which to leave a vehicle whilst enjoying a day at the beach was somewhat tempered by a plethora of signs warning of the need to take all valuables and securely lock all unattended vehicles.  What a shame.

But of course we were on foot and unaffected by the need to make life hard for local villains. We had spotted what appeared to be a lookout hut at the top of a sand hill and eventually found the track by which we cold access it and, more importantly, the views on offer.  Not that this was the proverbial 'walk in the park'.

Sections of the track were pretty steep as we made our way through the thick coastal bush but the effort was well worth it.









From here we could see across some of the parklands past which we had walked and, over these areas, 

the stretching arms of the Hillarys breakwater, the marina entrance and some of the marina itself.

Zooming in and panning a little to the left, we could see many of the buildings on the northern side of the harbour which house maritime activities of all types including a yacht club and slipway, Department of Marine offices, a large diving school, a fishing and bait store (which to our utter amazement does not open on Sunday) and other salty odds and sods.

   

Panning further to the right the Indian Ocean comes into full view, and here another of the ubiquitous inshore reefs rears its head. Unlike many, this one is actually exposed and is but a short distance from the breakwater entrance. Those going to sea in this area need to maintain a very good local knowledge, particularly at night...none of these treacherous outcrops are marked or lit. (For Cookie and Sibo....a whole series of Emmes Reef!)

With another shift of the lens to the right, the scrub reserve and parks to the north of HBH could be seen. Our climb to this vantage point had really been worth the effort. Whilst it is a touch difficult to make out, if you look closely at the top of the vegetation line at the far right of the shot you will just make out a strip of light colour....this is the distant roof of a lookout similar to that in which we were standing.

What goes up must come down....and so it was for us. Back to level ground and a wander around all that is on offer at HBH. 









Our first stop was still on the northern side of the harbour to check out Hillarys beach. Impressive. A gentle bank at the water's edge (I know I bang on a bit about this...many of Perth's metro beaches are quite steeply shelved with the result that the surf can dump with uncomfortable vigour on occasions and any long swim requires those involved to venture out well beyond the break....something rarely done in the current shark alarm climate) 

It was a beautiful sunny morning and many were already taking advantage of the holiday period to cast a line...from what I saw, more in hope than anything else...but hey, how often is actually catching a fish just a bonus on days like this?

From the vantage point of a fishing platform out on the northern breakwater wall we could see back to the beach. This platform itself was something special....it is specifically designed to provide access for those in wheelchairs who wish to plunder the local waters with rod and line. As with the beach access matting and so on at Quinns beach, this was another example of how the good burghers of the West cater for the less fortunate in the community...good stuff indeed.

From this same platform I we could see out to the marina entrance where the extended length of the southern wall left no doubt as to the direction of the heaviest seas. The large, departing 'stinkie' was just one of a myriad of craft we saw making their way to sea on this particular morning (more of this later).

HBH is a large complex. This portion of the mooring fingers on the northern side is but a small part of it.  The channel into the 'inner harbour' can be seen at the right of the shot.

Boats of all sizes and shapes were on the move. Mind you, with the combination of perfect offshore weather and the Xmas holidays in full swing, this was not surprising. One thing which did surprise me however, is the popularity of 'RIBS' (rigid inflatable boats for the non-boaties amongst you) here in Perth. This departing craft is but one example (lucky buggers...I suffered a serious envy attack whilst toddling around HBH) and by the look of the array of rods across the stern some serious fishing was being contemplated.

Cafes, restaurants and retail shops form a huge part of the HBH complex, the vast majority of which are located on the southern side. But even here on the northern wall we came across this quaint little cafe perched 'south-east Asian style' over the water. We are planning 'sunset drinks' here at some point in the future.

And now for a small diversion from our contemplation of the local infrastructure to take in some of the local wildlife. As we walked out along the breakwater wall I spotted movement atop one of the light poles. Could it possibly be????

Yes indeed it could.....a local osprey was surveying all below with that imperious air common to all raptors, and I suspect, from the amount of droppings trails on the light itself, this was not its first visit. 

What a delight to see one of these relatively uncommon and usually very shy birds of prey in such an unexpected location.

A few metres further on Liz made another most unusual discovery. Her frenzied waving brought me to her side at speed. "What's all the fuss?" Well, I mean, one does not expect to find a cat in every breakwater. Needless to say this little moggie, with fur colour which blended in very well with its surrounds, was not the most sociable feline we have ever come across, but a small bowl of water next to it did give us cause to suspect that it had some local friends.

And before we leave the natural world let me share another encounter as we made our way past some of the business buildings towards the boat ramps and the southern side of the marina. Crows! We have never in our lives come across so many of these black, raucous scavengers in a metropolitan area as we have here in Perth. They are absolutely everywhere, squabbling and cawing as they scrounge for scraps.  

This was but a small murder of these noisy wretches (I have harboured a venomous dislike of crows ever since watching them pick the eyes out of a disabled new born lamb on my uncle's farm as a youngster) which we have come across everywhere here in Perth.

But let's move on. Past the enormous boat trailer parking lot (this shot does not really do it justice....we estimate this lot can accommodate at least 200 vehicles and attached trailers) we came to the boat ramps themselves.

Here things were busy indeed at all of the six launch and retrieve ramps. 

As well as those on the ramps, others were queueing to wait for an opening.

And the queues didn't end there....it was 'line astern' out of the harbour for as long as we watched.

HBH, for me, provided a wonderful find...a good swimming hole. The boat launching area is separated from this swimming pond by the causeway leading from the northern car parks to the retail and cafe precincts which line the western and southern sides of the swimming area.

As we made our way across the causeway towards the retail precinct, we noticed a row of power boats moored alongside the walkway near the Breakwater Hotel. The immediate question was, given they were actually floating in the swimming hole, how do they make it out to sea. In front of us was the answer...the white framework of a tilt bridge which can be raised to allow the passage of these craft out into the main section of the marina. And, of course, the other obvious question....what the hell are they all doing tied up here near the shopping area?  Well, they are part of the shopping area....they all for sale and here they are on show to all walking past. Smart move.



Our causeway crossing also gave us to opportunity to look across the swimming area to the beach and water park on the eastern shore.

On a hot weekend day, this beach is absolutely packed. Swimmers of all ages make good use of the pontoon in the centre of the pond on which there are two slippery dips, whilst others can be found jumping off the short jetty which extends northwards from the southern bank (the end of which can be seen right mid shot). The whole area is patrolled throughout the summer months by paid lifeguards from the nearby Sorrento SLSC.  

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It is a marvellous facility and widely used. Looking north from the southern end of the swimming pond we could see groups of 'Vacswim' youngsters splashing their way about like shoals of bait fish, parents wading with toddlers, some serious swimmers powering their way from one end to the other and a few on kayaks meandering to and fro.



And your correspondent has been quick to join this group. I have worked out that two laps there and back across the pond is a distance of about one kilometre. Just the shot to counter too many afternoon beers in this hot weather.  A morning swim at Hillarys has become an almost daily ritual.

Mind you, with no real markers or lane ropes, navigation can be tricky. A number of 'heads up' direction checks are certainly a requirement of the initial part of the splash,

but then, once on track, it is into it with gusto. "Get your breathing right Marshie". The trusty 'hydro paddles' make hard work of each stroke, but that's the idea.










And, despite any bravado, at the end of the allotted two laps the wade ashore has often been something less than a picture of athletic grace, particularly after a solid previous evening. It's very hard to look even halfway dignified and athletic when blowing like a wounded whale! But it's amazing what a wonderfully positive effect a good workout has on a guilty conscience.








Enough of this physical stuff...let's get back to our tour. The causeway ends at a walkway which takes one past the impressive structure of the Breakwater Hotel (with its equally impressive prices) and the moored maritime offerings (here pictured from the southern shore looking along the jetty...you can see the white tower of the tilt bridge on the causeway itself).





into the first of a maze of arcades, where, for the newcomer, becoming directionally embarrassed is not uncommon.

It is totally impossible to present any sort of overview, so I have resorted to a few indicative shots of this retail mecca,

where shops offering goods of all varieties (but oddly enough, with a real emphasis on casual 'beachy' clothing) rub shoulders with a plethora of up market cafes, hamburger bars, and,

as with 'Bellas' at the southern end of the marina, some fine dining establishments of real quality. A few years ago, Liz and I had the pleasure of shouting Linda and Mike a meal at Bellas as a 'thank you' for their hospitality (we stayed with them in their Mullaloo home for Stu's graduation week). It was a great night out.

The HBH arcades present a veritable 'United Nations' of food outlets, bars and coffee houses, most of which allow their customers to snack away while also enjoying water views.









And we suspect, from what we saw and overheard during our wanderings, that many have regular customers who sortie out from their marina apartments located on the southern end of the boat basin, to sip on a latte or two whilst pretending to be absorbed by their newspapers, but in reality keeping an eye on the sartorial competition. A bit snippy I admit, but you know what I think of yuppies and the 'faux rich'!


But the odd snob or two aside, we love HBH.....well, during the week that is. As you might well imagine, on most weekends this place becomes a surging mass of humanity, all competing for space and the chance to be heard above the collective din. We stay well clear on Saturdays and Sundays, but have become regulars during the week when Liz tours the shops whilst I thrash back and forth across the pond.






Apart from everything else, HBH has also presented a couple of boating sights which took my attention, including this oddest of small fishing craft








and something I have certainly never seen before....surf skis being carried on a motor cruiser. And as I am sure you will have guessed, I had to make enquiries. It turns out these are members of the Mandurah ocean paddling club, about to travel to Rottnest Island from where they intended to launch their craft for the paddle back south to Mandurah. That's different!



Sadly, I have to end our HBH adventures with a tale of woe. We are always careful where we park, particularly when parking spots are tight and crowded. We acknowledge that we are big and our mirrors do protrude. And so it has been at Hillarys, but, to my great chagrin, unsuccessfully in terms of preventing damage to Cruiser. We returned to the truck a couple of days ago to find that some useless mongrel had backed out of the row in front of us and punched a hole in our front left bumper assembly with his or her tow ball...well that's what all the evidence suggests.

Needless to say, there was no note in our windscreen nor were others in the parking lot lining up to provide us with witness statements. I'll leave you to imagine my reactions. To its credit our insurance company has been right on the ball. I submitted an on-line claim immediately and we are now awaiting the arrival of the requisite parts at a nearby crash repairers. And because this was clearly a 'no fault' prang, our no claim bonus, which at 65% is substantial, will remain intact, but we will have to the pay the $300 excess because we have no idea who was responsible. As I commented wryly to a neighbour once the smoke had stopped exiting both ears, I am actually pleased we did not come across the offending idiot in the act of departing the scene. I rather suspect he would now be in hospital and I'll be looking for someone to post bail for me!

As I have said before, in my best philosophical tone (it took two days to feel even slightly philosophical about this incident) "such is life on the road".

And speaking of the road, in our next episode we travel even further south to the beaches of Scarborough, City of Perth and Cottesloe.