After our wildly exciting visit to Bremer Bay to see Orcas, we headed west along the southern coast of Western Australia. Our next stop was Cheynes Beach, a small coastal settlement surrounded by Waychinicup National Park. We had read that Cheynes Beach is a great place to search for Honey Possums. These tiny marsupials feed exclusively on nectar and require a year-round supply. At Cheynes Beach different species of Banksia boom at different times of the year providing a constant amount of nectar. This time of year, the Bird’s Nest Banksia were in bloom and we spent the day scouting likely places to look for Honey Possum tonight.
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| Cheynes Beach |
As dusk approached, the Western Grey Kangaroos emerged to graze on the lawns around our cabin. One female had a very large joey in her pouch. He didn’t look very comfortable, time to strike out on your own!
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| Western Grey Kangaroo and Joey |
After dark, we donned our headlamps and went off to search for Honey Possums. We had found two large groves of Banksia that looked particularly promising, but we scanned each bloom to no avail.
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| Bird's Nest Banksia in Bloom |
The next morning we were up early to do a bit of birding. Cheynes Beach is a good spot for the extremely rare Noisy Scrub-bird. We didn’t find the Noisy Scrub-bird, but we did see some Rock Parrots.
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| Rock Parrot |
Sadly we only had one night here and continued west toward Emu Point. We made a stop at Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, it was an idyllic spot with an isolated white sand beach.
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| Little Beach |
We arrived at Emu Cottage and settled in. Built around 60 years ago, it is one of the only original beach cottages in the area.
That evening we drove back to Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve to look for nocturnal animals. We had read that the picnic area near the visitors center was a good place to find Quenda and Quokka. We arrived before dusk to stake out the territory in our car. Sure enough around 7:15 a Quokka emerged from the bushes. But when we got out of our vehicle to get a closer view it bounded off. We’d have to rethink our stakeout strategy. We walked to the visitors center spotting a Western Ringtail Possum and Motorbike Frogs on the road. When we got back to the picnic area, we found not one but three Quokkas! They appeared to be a female with two joeys, but Quokka give birth to only one young at a time. The youngsters scurried back into the bush, but mom remained long enough for Marc to get a photo.
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| Quokka |
We drove up to Little Beach. As we were entering the parking lot, Marc said there was a Quenda on his side of the car. I couldn’t see it but told Marc to get a photo. Unfortunately, the flash scared it off, and I never saw the animal. Not expecting to see an animal in the parking lot, Marc had the wrong setting on his camera, and the photo was overexposed. When we returned to Emu Cottage, Marc put the image on his laptop. We couldn’t make out what the animal was, but it wasn’t a Quenda. Two Peoples Bay is home to Australia's most threatened mammal and one of the rarest animals in the world, the Gilbert’s Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii). This potoroo was thought to be extinct until the population at Two Peoples Bay was discovered in 1994. It is estimated that there are fewer than 40 individuals left in the wild. Could this mystery animal be a Gilbert’s Potoroo?!! Marc tried several software techniques to improve the quality of the photo. We’re leaning toward Quokka. What do you think?
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| Gilbert's Potoroo? |
The following evening we returned to Two Peoples Bay to look for the Quokkas again. This time we conducted the stakeout from a bench in the picnic area. The Quokkas appeared very close by but behind us so Marc couldn’t swing around for a photo without frightening them off. Foiled again. We went for a walk and when we returned the Quokkas had re-emerged, and Marc was able to get a great photo of mom with her joey.
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| Quokkas |
As we were returning to our vehicle, Marc spotted two Western Ringtail Possums in a tree next to the carpark. These critically endangered marsupials posed in the open for a terrific photo.
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| Western Ringtail Possums |
We drove back to Little Beach hoping to get another view of the mystery animal, but the parking lot was empty.
The next day we explored nearby Torndirrup National Park. The draw here is the coastal scenery and some unusual rock formations. First, we went to the Natural Bridge Viewpoint. The bridge was formed over millions of years by the penetration of groundwater into the joints of the gneiss. The joints widened to eventually form blocks which fell into the sea completing the formation of The Natural Bridge.
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| Natural Bridge |
We moved on to The Gap. A viewing platform had been built 40m above the Gap. A grated floor allowed you to look at the pounding surf below which gradually eroded away the granite in this location.
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| The Gap |
We drove to the end of the road to the site of Albany’s Historic Whaling Station. The Cheynes Beach Whaling Company was the last whaling company to cease operations in Australia, closing in 1978. It’s a morbid place with the whale chasing ship, the Cheynes IV complete with its harpoon mounted on the front and the big oil tanks and boilers. A staggering total of 1136 Humpback Whales and 14,695 Sperm Whales were caught from the station between 1952 and 1978! Sadly, a few countries still conduct this barbaric practice.
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| Whaling Ship |
I was more interested in seeing the 22 m (72-foot) Pygmy Blue Whale skeleton on display. The whale presumably died of natural causes in Princess Royal Harbour in 1973. The station was still operating so the whale was towed to the whaling station, flensed and buried with the intention that it be displayed in the future. It’s the only way to get a feel for how massive Pygmy Blue Whales are!
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| Pygmy Blue Whale Skeleton |
That evening we decided to drive the hour back to Cheynes Beach to give the Honey Possums one more go. Scanning Banksia blossoms at night with a headlamp looking for a mouse-sized animal that disappears at the slightest disturbance may seem like a fruitless task, but we were willing to give it one last try. We arrived near dusk and waited for it to get dark before embarking on mission impossible. We scanned every Banksia bloom in the vicinity for eyeshine or the slightest movement but sadly come up empty-handed. We had to admit defeat and continue our journey to the west tomorrow.
We hope all is well with everyone.
Peggy and Marc
Our route map:
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