South West Life

There's always a reluctance to share the location of a secret "beauty spot", where the swimming is great, or the fishing, or the views, or the serenity. But this one you really have to know about.

On a March long weekend, my family and I went camping at Augusta with a few other families. I was told that Augusta was usually cold and windy around that time of year, but it turned out to be quite hot during the days and nice and cool in the evenings.

Spending a few days with friends, laying back and enjoying the sun, food and wine, strolling to the shops, kids playing everywhere - this alone was great. But what made the weekend extra special for us was when we found two little places called Cosy Corner and Foul Bay.

Look at the photos we took. This is the kind of thing that "Paradise Island" stories are written about - white sand, aqua blue water, calm seas, fish, hot sun, little or no wind - it couldn't get any better.

We had friends with us who are originally from South Africa, and who have travelled a bit and have now lived in Australia for the last couple of years. They were spellbound when they first saw Cosy Corner, and a number of times they said that we (meaning Australians) have no idea how lucky we are, and that people around the world pay thousands of dollars to visit places like this. Yet here we are, able to pop down the road and go to places like this so easily.

I liked it when they reminded me that we were lucky, because I had forgotten. I had forgotten that there are other places in the world that don't have these natural wonders, or the freedom to enjoy them.

So on to Foul Bay, and there is certainly nothing foul about it. The "usual" features of white sand, flat blue water, and calm surroundings made it a very relaxing place to spend an afternoon.

The water was a little cold though. After my body adjusted to the initial shock, my friends and I went snorkelling in water that looked like a swimming pool - crystal clear. And then came the fish - BIG fish. I don't know what they were, but they were big, close, and all around me. Then came a school of smaller fish that surrounded me. I could hardly see a few metres in any direction there were so many of them.

Naturally, after seeing such big fish, I thought "I'm gonna catch me one of those..." and we threw in our lines. No luck though, but the kids had a good time chasing crabs. Later, one of the locals would tell us that you don't go fishing at Foul Bay because you don't catch anything. Now we know for next time.

But Cosy Corner was my favourite. I think it's the towering sand dunes and rock hills behind you that complete the picture as you're sitting on the beach. Again, great snorkelling and swimming, and such a picturesque paradise.

Both Cosy Corner and Foul Bay can be found by turning on to Cosy Corner Road, which is about 11km from the southern end of Caves Road, just outside Augusta. They are but one of the magical places all along our south west coastline.

If you have any "secret spots" that you don't mind sharing with the world, let us know and we can run stories on them in the future. Happy adventuring.