71: Beautiful weather and a birthday in Bunbury

4 October 2024

From Perth, Nicole and I headed to Bunbury. While we had visited Bunbury briefly back on 23 August, that was only a quick stop on the way to Margaret River, and the weather was terrible. What a difference a month makes, because this time around the weather was truly magnificent! Blue skies, chilly mornings and glorious sunny days.

We stayed at the Bunbury Foreshore Caravan Park because of its great location just across the road from the beach and an easy walk to the CBD.

Sightseeing on foot

We did quite a bit of walking (to try to make up for how much we had enjoyed our food and drink in Perth), and both really liked the area. The CBD is especially nice, with lots of interesting shops, restaurants and bars.

MotoX time

When we booked, we were told that the park would be jam-packed at this time because a) it is the first week of WA School Holidays, and b) the Australian Junior MotoX Championships would be held in Bunbury at this time and a lot of competitors’ teams were staying there. There was only one site left, so we jumped at it as we were just happy to be able to stay there at that time.

When we arrived, we found our site was on the small side (in their defence we had said we could fit on a small site with just a motorhome) and that we were hemmed in on all sides by MotoX Championship competitors. Most of the caravans seemed to be the Jayco Basestation model, which are described on Jayco’s website as “perfect for thrill-seekers, motorbike enthusiasts, and action-oriented individuals, ensuring ample cargo space for gear-intensive ventures“. How true! The photo below was a very accurate representation of what we were seeing all around us, except for the desert bit.

While the people all seemed nice, we had all sorts of activities occurring around us such as high-pressure cleaning MotoX bikes (not really permitted in caravan parks), kicking said bikes over to tune them (clearly 2 strokes from the noise), and many, many jerseys and other muddy clothing and equipment being washed in the laundry and hanging on the lines. That said, they did all get to bed quite early and were very quiet once the sun went down.

Bunbury birthday

On my birthday 2 years ago, we were away for a long weekend with Katelyn when Nicole was called at 5:00am in the morning to tell her that her Mum had been taken into ICU (and passed away just over a week later). On my birthday last year, my own Mum passed away.

So, I was determined to have a good birthday this year. And Nicole was even more determined! I had an absolutely wonderful day, and I have Nicole to thank. She looked after me so well and really went out of her way to make sure I had a great day. Thanks so much Nicole! My day included …

A lovely breakfast in the CBD, where I was also given a special birthday sticker to wear the whole day!
Biscuits with yummy cheese we had bought the day before at the Harvey Cheese Factory, for lunch.
Calls from family and friends.
Buying a Brisbane Lions scarf for me to wear for the upcoming AFL Grand Final (more to come there in a future post).
A beer paddle at Froth Craft Brewery — great beers and great place.
Dinner and drinks at The Bayview Bar — great beer, pizza, margarita, view and company.