Perth – Cervantes by push bike

I was always undecided what to think about the cyclists riding around Australia or even through the red centre. Some days I was amazed by the determination, other days I questioned their sanity. I decided I had to give it a go myself to be allowed to judge.

Since I wasn’t planning to circumnavigate the whole country, I purchased a cheap pushbike on facebook marketplace.

I didn’t want to invest in saddlebags either, as I wouldn’t use them afterwards, so it all had to fit into my backpack. It ended up being as heavy as the one I packed for the 8-day hike in Kokoda (more about that another day) – around 14kg!

Finally ready, I and made my way through the city, picking the longer but nicer way through some parks. One of them was Lake Monger where I experienced the first Magpie ‘attack’. When they have a nest with young, they swoop anyone and anything that comes to close to that particular tree. Swooping means, they fly straight at you, and it feels and looks like they are going to attack, but they usually fly back into the tree after just missing your head. It’s quite scary until you get used to it. Lots of cyclists have either big eye-stickers on the helmet or lots of cable ties poking out to avoid these encounters.

In Karrinyup I reached the coast and from there to Burns Beach it was all along the ocean. Burns Beach is still in Perth, but I didn’t dare cycling further that day as I needed good reception for a video job interview.

Yanchep National Park was fully booked, and I had to change my plan and cycle all the way to Lancelin instead. I called in at the Yanchep Inn for lunch anyway. The hills of the highway got quite exhausting after a while. It’s fascinating how much more you see at a slower speed though.

I reached the turn off to Lancelin by sunset. Fortunately, the last 6km were downhill. I rugged up for that, as it gets quite cold after sunset this time of the year. At the caravan park I set up camp, enjoyed a shower and went to the pub (Endeavour Tavern) for dinner. I well and truly deserved a beer after my 100km today!

I was so glad I booked in for two nights, it was a big ride yesterday and the weight of the backpack was taking its toll on my bum. On a hike the weight is absorbed by your leg muscles, on a bike, well…

After a lazy morning enjoying breakfast at the coffeeshop across the road I went for a walk through town to the Dunes and watched the sand boarders. On the way back I climbed up to the lookout before wandering back to camp along the beach.

Up at crack of dawn I packed up and went for a big breakfast at the coffee shop before heading off towards Cervantes. According to google maps there was a nice shortcut through the Dunes, taking you onto a decent road back to the highway. I’m sure most of you will have had that some experience with google maps, when cycling it’s even worse. I don’t know why I still trust it, haha.

I cycled through town and even a stretch through the dunes, as the sand was pressed from the cars. After 2km that changed, and the sand got so soft it was a workout pushing the bike through. In hindsight it would have been quicker and less painful to turn around, but I kept going to the promised road, which turned out to be a 4WD track and only partially rideable.

Not far into that track I got to a fence with signs saying “Live firing. Military Property”. Well, this put me off the idea to cross and use the smooth road on the military property. Instead, I stuck to this side of the fence and pushed / rode the bike up and down the hills through soft sand and over spikey rocks. Along the way I startled an Emu who took off at high speed into the bush. A bit later I encountered a snake chilling in the shade of a bush. Holding the bike on the saddle I pushed it past the snake to see if she is aggressive. Unfortunately, the front wheel turned right towards the snake who then started moving at snail speed across the track.

It took me 3.5hrs to get to the highway – that much about google maps’ short cut. From there I still had 75km left to get to Cervantes. The highway was less hilly than the other day and I made it before sunset, but I was knackered by the time I got there. The dunes and 4WD track were a bit much.

I ended up booking a second night in because I could barely walk let alone sit on a saddle. What do you do with a spare day in Cervantes? If you don’t want to relax at the beach all day, the Pinnacles are not far.

Despite riding past them on the way to Cervantes I misjudged the distance, I ended up cycling 40km that day just to and back. It’s a great place and every Pinnacle looks different. The Cockatoos like them too and you can see them sitting atop the odd one.

To be honest, riding back wasn’t as motivating – its like hiking, a loop is better than a one-way hike. After consulting the maps and the timeframe I had, I decided to ride back to Lancelin and then take a different route inland from there.

By the time I got to Lancelin I had noticed the change in the weather. The forecast for the next day was thunderstorms and lots of rain. I booked in for one night, deciding to check the forecast again in the morning as I didn’t want to ride in a thunderstorm.

Still undecided what to do I went for a walk at the beach; it was very windy. On the way back the wind got that fierce that you literally got sandblasted. I got a room at the Lancelin Lodge and soon after the storm came in and belted the windows and broke branches off the tree outside (I actually expected the whole tree to crack at the force of the wind).

The next day I headed to Willowbrook Farm Caravan Park, only 60km, but the wind was still strong and it was raining, which didn’t help. I got swooped by Magpies twice and finally made it. The farm is famous for animal encounters for the kids in the evening and its free scones in the morning. Unfortunately, the scones happen between 9 and 9.30am – too late for me, or so I thought.

I slept almost 11hrs that night! After packing up and booking a hotel in Perth it was already 9am. Well, I got a scone (actually two) after all. With cream and jam, they were so yummy! After this treat I got on my way to Yanchep and the 30km went quite well. The campground was still full so I stayed at the Yanchep Inn for just $60. I went for a walk – the Ghosthouse trail is only 12km – and then had dinner at the Inn.

Yaberoo Budjara Heritage Trail is a shared 28km track for hikers and cyclists from Yanchep NP to Joondalup. It was absolutely amazing cycling through this picturesque landscape seeing heaps of Bluetongue Lizards and Forest-Red Tailed-Black Cockatoos. In Joondalup the trail finishes at the start of a trail which takes you along Lake Joondalup. Only the last 5km were along the road today, beautiful!

I set up camp at Kingsway Tourist Park in the North of Perth. The next day I moved into town to a hotel to meet my partner who was back from work that day. Plan being to do the Cape to Cape track down south near Margaret River.

All in all I am very glad I did this cycling trip. I do now understand what these people go through when they circumnavigate the country. If you want to stay in a safe place like a caravan park, the distances are decent. You obviously have the option to camp wherever, but a shower and safety is welcome.

It is incredibly rewarding when you get to a place as you’ve achieved another long stretch.

It amazed me how wherever you go people are impressed to see someone on a pushbike! They show genuine interest and respect and that’s balm for the soul. The generosity, help etc you get, is overwhelming. I got a discount for the room in Lancelin to sit out the storm, just because I travelled by bike. In Cervantes my neighbour offered me a cold beer even before I finished setting up my tent. At a petrol station someone offered me to stay at their home.

I do not think I would want to cycle around Australia, but I have a lot of respect for the people that do.

Explored in Oct 2019, written June 2025