Cervantes.

In the Merry Old Land of OZ
Western Australia, Day 3
Saturday, August 30

For the weekend, Uncle Jerry had planned to take us all on a mini holiday. Hannah was quite amused at this idea, because I was already on holiday. Meaning it would be a holiday within a holiday. What she didn’t know was that it was actually a holiday within and holiday within a holiday, since being in NZ is a gigantic holiday in and of itself.

Having planned to make a 10 a.m. start, naturally we didn’t actually make it out the door until after 11. That’s the beauty of travelling with small children. We made a stop at the chemist (pharmacy) to pick up some Panadol (something similar to Advil) for Hannah, and then had to run back to the house for Lindy’s purse. So much for that early start.

We were headed to Cervantes and The Pinnacles, roughly 250 kilometers north of Perth on the coast. It took us about three and a half hours to get there, with a brief stop on the way for lunch at a petrol station that had various colorful birds in an enclosure outside. Luckily, Aedan slept for most of the trip, though Lindy sat in the backseat with him and Hannah just in case. I sort of felt bad, but she (along with Hannah) insisted.

The drive, overall, was enjoyable. The sun came in and out as we headed north, and the land became increasingly less populated. Western Australia is, for the most part, very flat. Driving across it made me think of the long drives through Ohio farmland to get up to ONU. Except the landscape in Australia is quite different. There aren’t many tall trees. Instead, the land is covered in mostly short, prickly-looking bushes and yellow wildflowers. The blacktop road (which, I was informed, would turn to dirt if we drove east or further north for about an hour) was flanked on each side by a swath of rusty-colored dirt stretching off into the distance.

We got to Cervantes in the late afternoon and checked into the Best Western. I think it was one of the few businesses in the small town, aside from a general store, a post office and a tavern. We got settled in our room (a family unit), and then decided to go for a walk.

We walked in the direction of the beach, Aedan in and out of the pram as we went, playing in the dirt and gravel driveways. Along with stairs and sand, he also really like stones. I was struck by the smallness of Cervantes as we walked. It felt very secluded; someplace people from outside would want to get away to, and people from inside would want to get away from.

The beach was deserted when we got there. The sand was white, and the water of the Indian was an unreal shade of baby blue, nearly completely clear and colorless where it lapped up on the shore. Aedan and Hannah ran around in the sand, Hannah building a castle and Aedan picking up large fistfuls just to feel the fine grains trickle between his fingers.

Climbing up to a lookout before heading back into “town,” I took a family photo of them, and Aedan spent some more time climbing stairs. I suppose it’s a treat for him, as Jerry’s current house doesn’t have any.

We decided to walk along the shore on the way back, simply for a change of scenery. Hannah splashed along in the surf, and Uncle Jerry pushed the pram through the wet sand, joking around that he wouldn’t have to exercise now for months. From Lindy’s response, however, I got the impression that it was likely the only exercise he’d done in a long time.

Since we got back into town before the Best Western was set to serve its dinner buffet, we stopped in at the tavern for about an hour. It was labeled, very conspicuously, by large, bold letters spelling out “TAVERN” on the roof. You know, for all those low-flying planes in search of a beer and some chips.

The tavern was actually quite nice inside, though. We sat outside on a porch dotted with picnic benches and large umbrellas. Hannah and Aedan amused themselves with race car driving video games, and Jerry, Lindy and I had a chat about a lot of things, which was nice. I’m sad that I’ll be missing their wedding in November.


We went back to the hotel for a buffet dinner that Lindy and Jerry labeled “old people food.” Apparently the hotel’s usual dinner menu is stellar, and their expectations weren’t quite met by the buffet. I, however, used to a diet of Easy Mac and Subway, thought it was pretty good.

Bedtime preparation that night consisted of Aedan taking his very first shower with Hannah. He seemed to enjoy it, and celebrated the occasion by then peeing on the bathroom floor. Oh, little kids.