I’d driven along the road dozens of times before and ignored the intersection. The signpost was easy to miss and would not likely have piqued my interest for any reason other than it was blue – the colour that denotes a sight of interest on Australian roads. In the past we’d driven on towards Denmark and Elephant rocks, or skipped the south coast sights in favour of Albany and Esperance.

Today however, some unbidden curiosity drove us off the beaten path and down to the ocean. We were showing guests – Linh’s Brother and Parents – around our patch and we took them on the usual south-coast route past Margaret River, Augusta and on to Albany. Having squeezed into the Pajero, I felt it only just to do a bit of beach driving as that is rarely a feature of life in Europe. We found a patch of sand and played around for a little while before exploring a little more.

At the end of the road we abandoned the car at a small car park and followed the well-tended path towards the beach. A couple of hundred metres from the car park the path split and a track climbed the bluff to what would surely be a vantage point. With no idea what we’d find, we split from the others – who walked on to the beach where the southern ocean lapped the coast – and pressed on to investigate.

Five minutes of climbing brought us to the top of the hill and the hidden cove spread out before us. It wasn’t that the bay was any more spectacular than the dozens of others along the south coast – although it looks marvellous – or that it was deserted, it was the fact that the spot was unlooked for and we hadn’t planned to find it.

You can drive along a road any number of times, but there will always be something you’ve missed. Want to know where you can find this spot? Just get to Perth and head south – I’m sure you’ll find something to write home about!