I haven't been able to report one of the 'coincidental meetings' on the road for some time now, but that all changed as we manoeuvred onto our site here in Cervantes.
We had been placed on one of two sites which are reserved for large rigs....and who should be right next to us in their whopper of a van, but a couple who had been our neighbours in Rockingham a month or so ago. Fortunately we got on extremely well!
So what is on offer here at the Pinnacles Caravan Park? Just about everything. This is a big park, a large proportion of which is taken up by semi-permanent vans and annexes. We estimate there are at least fifty of them, and as is normal, they come in a range of sizes and decor. This was our favourite. The effort these owners had made to tart up their shack with all things nautical and very witty signs was impressive.
This is a very well set out park with very good facilities. Three amenities blocks mean that one is never too far away. In our case, it was a short walk across the road.
And across the road at the rear of our site, was one of two spots where free, efficient and well cleaned BBQ's were available for our use. Beyond that was another amenities block
and a second BBQ area
which served the needs of those in residence in the camping area of the park.
Immediately beyond this is the path through the coastal reserve to the beach, a mere 100 metres distant. Utopia!
At the head of the beach pathway is raised lawn area, complete with sheltered tables. This area has been designed for the specific purpose of catering for park residents who fancy watching the sun set over the sea whilst enjoying a glass or two (which is a real novelty for all those visiting from the Eastern states...the sunset over the sea, not the drinks!)
Toss in the fish cleaning station, the office cafe and shop, the excellent grassy sites, and the mass of shade trees, and result is a very well appointed park indeed.
The grass, which has been recently relaid, is something of which the owners are particularly proud. Never before have we come across a park lawn mower which also includes a vacuum attachment to ensure that every single leave and cut blade is whisked off the surface. We were particularly peeved that our size prevented us from enjoying the ambiance of such a site!
All this and the beach but 100 metres away, a beach well suited for long distance swimming in the warmth of the Leeuwin current, a current which also nurtures very large herring amongst other finny creatures (more of that later).
The Cervantes town beach front curves away to the south to Thirsty Point
and to the north where, in the sheltered waters of Ronsard Bay, the vast majority of the Cervantes lobster fleet moors.
Cervantes is not a big town by any means. Its population of about 500 souls is primarily engaged in cray fishing and/or the tourist industry. With the draw cards of the nearby Pinnacles, excellent fishing from both beach and boat, and, of course, the attraction of being able to tuck into the freshest of crayfish, tourists flock to this town in their droves throughout most of the year.
Some of you may have noted in our arrival blog the street names 'Seville' and 'Aragon'...names which are obviously Spanish. In keeping with the name of the town itself, most of the streets are named after towns or landmarks in Spain. Iberia, Pamplona, Barcelona, Cordoba, and Valencia are but a sample of the street signs of Cervantes. To my huge amusement, I did find one small pocket of local suburbia where the streets bore the names, Watson, Drummond and York....there had obviously been a mini revolution in the relevant government office at some point in the town's development...I did wonder what had prompted this spot of apparent bureaucratic insurrection!
God bless the Internet...here is a shot of Cervantes from the air showing the township itself, the front beach from the main jetty to Thirsty Point and around to what is known locally as the 'Back Beach'. The caravan park is located at the end of the straight strip of roadway which runs from the bottom of the photo parallel with the shoreline.
So how on earth did all this Spanish stuff eventuate? Not quite how you may imagine. The literary minded amongst you will recognise the name Cervantes.....Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was the author of that classic of European literature 'Don Quixote'. But no, the town does not bear his name directly, but rather by virtue of the fact that a ship was named in his honour.
Another twist....not a Spanish ship, but an American whaling barque, which sailed out of Bedford, New England under the command of Captain Sylvanus Gibson in 1844 on a voyage of plunder along the migratory route of the great whales off the coast of WA. In late June of that year, the crew of the Cervantes were fishing off an island in the Jurien Bay area when a sudden gale drove the ship onto a sandbank from which she could not be re-floated. The majority of the crew eventually made their way on foot to Fremantle (no small hike I am sure you would agree). Here, Captain Gibson, a part owner of the vessel, decided that its salvage in the remote area in which it had foundered was impractical. He offered the ship for sale by tender when it fetched 153 pounds. The purchaser stripped the hull which was left to decay where it was and remained undiscovered until 1969.But the story does not quite end there....three islands which lie just to the south of Cervantes were named after the wrecked ship and the burgeoning township took their name. So, from writer to ship to island to town. What a convoluted yarn!
So after all that, let's take a quick town tour. We have already seen the oval, country club, motel and service station in the previous blog. The small commercial centre of Cervantes is not far from the caravan park. In fact nothing in Cervantes is too far from anything else, one of the town's charms. The largish general store shares one side of Cadiz Street with a cafe and take-away shop,
and the local 'post office' which also doubles as a haberdashery, tourist information centre, bait and tackle shop and newsagent.
And for those running short of refreshment of another kind, Lynne is just the girl you need.
I was tickled by the fact that her fine establishment, where, to my astonishment the prices were more than reasonable, is also known (quite logically) as...
Opposite the shopping area is a small park in which BBQs and other facilities are provided in a fine lawn setting, whilst, just beyond that
the rather plain looking Cervantes Tavern sits astride a small rise. We did not test the fare or refreshment on offer here during this visit...dalliance at the Country Club and Motel on two separate occasions had more than depleted our 'night out' allowance.
Near the shopping centre, large holiday apartment blocks
Near the shopping centre, large holiday apartment blocks
rub shoulders with much less pretentious but equally inviting holiday homes.
Open, undeveloped land areas stretch between the shopping precinct and the beach front. Many would find this a little dreary I suspect...for me it gave the town a real rustic feel....this remains a fishing village as opposed to an up-market seaside resort (such as we later found at Jurien Bay!)
Before we toddle back to the seafront, the importance of tourism to Cervantes and the attitude of the locals was, for me, summed up in this sign on the entrance door to the General Store. All we met during our stay lived up to the welcoming tone of this notice.
From the 'CBD' we strolled back past the Memorial Park (which backs onto the eastern end of the caravan park)
and its quaint rows of small memorial headstones
to yet another of Cervantes' parks, this time on the Esplanade at the entrance to the Caravan park.
North along Catalonia Street we proceeded....we were on a mission.
'The Lobster Shack' is another Cervantes story, where the Thompson family have combined the two major town industries into one. From humble beginnings as purely cray fishermen, this enterprising tribe have 'valued added' in a large way. Not only do they own and operate a sizable number of the local fleet, they have built a lobster processing plant to which is attached
a shop which is very well stocked with both cray fish products of all types and souvenirs of every description
and a seafood restaurant where the results of their efforts at sea are presented to the constant lunchtime crowds in a variety of ways....fresh lobsters adorn tables side by side with lobster mornay, lobster thermidor and other delectable seafood combinations.
And this is not the whole extent of the Lobster Shack enterprise. For $15 one can tour their processing plant where crays are prepared for both live and frozen export...I cheated and downloaded this shot from the net.
The more adventurous can fork out $70, board the Lobster Shack bus and head to the town jetty where they board the 'Shack Attack' cray boat for a morning at sea pulling the cray pots. Those inclined may then choose a lobster from the catch and have it prepared for their lunch back at the Shack....'at market price!!'
This is a very slick enterprise indeed. They have every angle covered. But for those who are hoping for a cheap crayfish treat, think again......as I have grumbled about earlier, the prices crays fetch on the Asian market means that local prices have to match....there is no 'home Australian' discount on offer in this business.
At least The Lobster Shack provides a novel but highly effective way of giving its customers some idea of lobster sizes before they order, although to be frank, the "A" Grade cray is so small it really looks as though it should not have been parted from its mother.
But I have to say that the meals looked absolutely delicious, and there could be no doubt whatsoever as to the freshness of the crustaceans on offer. However we knew that we had a date with the chef at the Motel later that week....we were dining onlookers only, although my departure to continue our tour of the foreshore was reluctant indeed!
The town's working jetty is not long, but plays a vital role in the fishing operation.
It is here that the cray boats load supplies, unload their catch and refuel.
Things were relatively quiet on the day we visited, but I can assure you this can become a very busy spot indeed. It is not too difficult to tell when a boat is about to make its way back through the reef line to the harbour....small refrigerated trucks rolling down the jetty is a dead give away. The skippers radio ahead to ensure that their catch can be loaded immediately they arrive. And no, quite unlike the prawn industry, there are no cheapies to be had for those who are on hand at the time of unloading.
One can almost understand this when taking in the sign which details the charges for using this facility.
I could cope with the annual business fee of just over $4,000, but $112.50 for a single tie up? This is not the place into which seafarers would want to have to put for an emergency repair.
This is perhaps an appropriate time to make a few remarks about the size and value of the Western Rock lobster fishery. I am relying on 2011 figures, and suspect that things may have expanded since then, but at that time WA cray fishermen numbered nearly 800, operating out of 280 boats. During the year in question they took 5,500 tonnes of crays from the reefs between Shark Bay and Cape Leeuwin which brought in a total return of $194 million. These are staggering figures, and, from my perspective would be alarming if it were not for the fact that this fishery has been certified as being ecologically sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. An extraordinary amount of continuing scientific study is focused on the industry, and with the value it brings to the State, that is of little wonder.
Enough of crayfish....let's get back to the beaches.
Beyond the main jetty is the northern Cervantes beach, and like most in this area, it is open to four wheel drive traffic. Many of these beaches look a tad messy with seaweed, but the water beyond the shoreline is sparkling clear and as warm as toast. The weed 'wrack' plays a valuable role in supporting smaller creatures of the local marine eco chain. No effort is made to clear it.
Although there are some quite grand houses along the Cervantes foreshore roads, the town's more humble beginnings are also on display. This to me is the real Cervantes deal!
We have already visited the main 'town beach'. The immediate Cervantes district has much more to offer on the 'beach front'.
To the south, beyond the headland of Thirsty Point, the expanse of Hansen Bay provides another long beach, know locally as I have previously mentioned as the 'back beach'. We climbed a lookout for this shot of the view north over the coastal heath to Thirsty Point and the township beyond.
To the south, not only can the long sweep of the Hansen Bay beach be seen, but, right at the
top of the centre of this shot is a glimpse of the sands of the area in which The Pinnacles are located.
This close up hopefully gives a better idea and whilst I am disappointed with the end result, if you peer intently at the two strips of sand, you will see that the foremost is white, and that behind it is more yellow.....the hallmark of The Pinnacles sand. And, obviously, it is not far away...a mere 15 kms from Cervantes. We visit them later.
Finally, on the subject of nearby beaches, we come to Hangover Bay. Hangover Bay and Thirsty Point....someone with official naming clout obviously had a real sense of humour...or is this a reflection of the times of the 'young' Cervantes?).
Again I have relied on a shot from the Internet (a Surf Lifesaving site actually as the ghost mark indicates) to give an overview of Hangover Bay which also includes a view of the huge white rolling sand hill on the other side of the Indian Ocean Highway. I drove the 10 kms or so from Cervantes to follow a tip I had been given....the sand whiting were on the bite on the weed line.
Please let it be so...I was seriously keen to catch fish! It was. Within 30 seconds of my first cast, a fine, if somewhat smallish, specimen of these very tasty fish was in the bucket. And within the next three quarters of an hour, it was joined by one and a half dozen of its mates. I only stopped then because the curse of whiting fishermen along this coast had struck. 'Blowfish', or 'puffers' as we know them at home, had gotten a sniff of the bait and descended in plague like numbers on my casting area. One whiting between ten or so blowfish is not considered to be either good fun or productive. At least I cleared the ocean of many of these pests before I finally gave in and left.
Now I did mention that these are not big fish. In SA we know them as 'silver whiting'. But all whiting are fine table fare....these were no exception (a couple of ring in herring had made their way into the bucket also).
This was not the last encounter I had with herring (I know...I still think of them as 'tommy ruff' but I am trying desperately to adapt). Another tip I received from my mate Bruce of the park staff was that they were on the chew at dusk and dawn off the beach directly in front of the park. At 0630 hours the next morning I was off, with my trusty WA herring rig firmly attached to my rod, the burly tub full, and me....equally full of high expectations.
There is nothing, and I mean nothing, which gladdens the heart of a fisherman more than to have been given a good tip. Bruce, you were spot on. In the next hour I had managed to land a dozen or so plump silver herring, some of which were the biggest I have ever seen (and I have caught thousands of them on Kangaroo Island and elsewhere). In fact some were so large that they were able to flick off the hook in the shallows. I lost quite a few before adopting a better technique.
But of course, again there is no such thing as a free lunch. Scaling and filleting is required. And here at the Cervantes Pinnacles Park the fish cleaning station is just the place for the job.
The resulting plate of crumbed whiting and herring fillets did look a touch too much for two, and indeed this was so, but I knew that whiting fillets make for very tasty cold morsels.
And so it was on with the head lamp (I hadn't bothered to rig our LED lights under the awning) and my revered 'happy pants', and into the frying pan with the lot of them.
We did have a fine fish feast that night, and no, there were no bones, despite the look on Liz's face.
This is what I had come to do at Cervantes, amongst other things. And I had equal success the following morning when I made myself very popular with our neighbours who don't fish themselves but just love fresh herring. We have been invited to stay with them in the Wheatbelt town of Beverly (just south of York) whenever we are travelling through!
We were really having a great time here. The Pinnacles, the Lake Thetis stromatolites and a visit to Jurien Bay and Green Head to the north are still to come.
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