Tumbledown Bay

This time of year is very difficult for the Wangs in the Wild. With my late wife’s birthday and today being Mothers Day, we are a bit fragile. We cannot ‘celebrate’ today but in good ‘Wangs in the Wild fashion’ we will not let this deter our sense of adventure. We have decided that these occasions we will ‘commemorate’ the day. What better way to enjoy the memories than go to a special spot that is not too far away and still within the Level 3 guidelines. The plan was hatched with our bubble buddies that we would go for some ‘wild sausages’ and find some water. Mutti and Guppy (my lovely in-laws and bubble buddies) came and grabbed us and we crammed in the inflatable unicorn (yes, it’s necessary), towels, cookers, spades, spare clothes and wetsuits and headed to the hills. Destination… Tumbledown Bay!

A short drive later we turned off just before Little River and headed up the hill to follow the sign to the Southern Bays. Over the years we’ve explored every bay on the Peninsula and this one is a favourite. This would be my fifth trip and over the previous four visits we have only bumped into one other group. As we descended into the bay we noticed the carpark was quiet full, there were seven vehicles! It was busy! We headed down to the beach and set ourselves up and I got the cookers going to cook up the sausages and onions. Even with the ‘crowds’ we felt very secluded.

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As per usual, the spades were out, the togs on, and the construction had begun. The last time we were here we didn’t have Toby! The girls didn’t remember this spot either. So, in essence we’re visiting for the first time. That was actually really nice for the children as it was a ‘fresh’ place that they didn’t have any connection and memories with their Mum. We love small mercies. Within moments lunch was served and the piping hot sausages with sauteed onions were devoured with relish! Not a bad way to spend this lovely day to be honest. While the sausages were cooking Josie was inflating the unicorn and was doing a splendid job. So, with bellies full, wetsuits on the children headed for the sea!

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Yes, the water was freezing. I had my cup of tea in hand and I was wading in the water ‘just in case’ the unicorn took flight. The wonderful beach is very shallow and it is perfect for frolicking in the water and great for the children. We weren’t the only ones in the water, there were lots of seal pups also frolicking and surfing in the waves! That was a little bit special. I was on watch and someone over my shoulder spoke up “Hey Tim, why aren’t you in the water?”, what? I can’t get away anywhere without bumping into someone I know. It was great to catch up with some of Josie’s old school friend’s parents. They were out and about today too.

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I could not believe how long the children stayed in the water! It was nearly an hour. The wetsuits were gold. As the frozen children came out of the icy depths we spotted some seal pups playing by the rocks and we headed over to investigate. Lo and behold we must have just smelt right or something. The two pups came and checked us out. I had to keep checking to see if mum was about but there were no other seals in the water! The two pups came up to us and investigated the strange two legged creatures. It was amazing. We really felt it was a gift from God for us today and it cheered us up immensely. It really was special.

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As you can imagine it was hard to try and get the children dried and dressed when they wanted to stay and enjoy this beautiful spot. Well, we got there in the end with bribes of ice creams and hot chocolates back at Little River. Before we did leave we watched 5 or 6 pups playing in the surf. The sun was getting low and the temperatures were starting to follow suit we made it back to the carpark and vowed to be back with the surf and paddle boards! We said our reluctant ‘good byes’ and drove off in search of ice cream and hot chocolates. Well, we just made it to the the service station to grab a few ice creams before they closed. The rest of the town was shut up tight. Great timing. I have to admit I may have fell asleep on the drive home. We have done today well and have decided that this will be the new family ‘subdivision’ (tradition, Toby called it a subdivision and it’s stuck) for Mothers Day.