Lot 601 Forrest Hwy, West Pinjarra

Midway Southbound & Northbound, West Pinjarra

Travelling for a holiday in WA’s South West Region recently, we found a convenient place to stop and break up our drive. Midway Southbound is about 80 kilometres south between Perth and Bunbury. For the return journey, there’s a sister stop, Midway Northbound, on the opposite side of the highway. Both stops feature a petrol station so you can fuel up if needed, along with food vendors, a fenced dog park and a small kids playground.

Initially, we were on the hunt for Miami Bakehouse. On a trip to Bunbury 3-4 years ago, we’d stumbled upon a roadside stall just off the highway selling their delicious baked goods. It was a perfect stop with a small child on-board who was in need of a feed and a nappy change. So my husband was set on finding this again. Imagine our delight to find the stall has been upgraded to a full service centre with a playground. Miss 5 who needs frequent stops (bladder the size of an acorn!) was over the moon!

Miami Bakehouse offers a range of hot foods such as pies and sausage rolls and quiche. This is in addition to a range of sandwiches, wraps, cookies, muffins and hot sweet potato chips also on offer. They also sell cold drinks, coffee and family sized hots and quiche you can heat up later. Possibly a good idea for dinner after a long drive. 😉

Other food vendors available include Caltex’s The Foodary, Sarba’s To Go (sandwiches and Italian-style hot food), Spice Paradise Express (Indian curries) and Chook Bros. KFC is due to also open late-July 2019 at each site, replacing Burger Edge.

The seating is comfortable. Tables and chairs of various sizes dominate the seating. Additionally, there are pod style seats with coffee tables grouped together for those snacking or just grabbing a coffee. There are TV screens mounted at either end as well.

Those who choose pre-pack their meals and snacks are covered too, with a comfortable picnic area available outside the playground and dog park. There is a water fountain available here for humans and canine visitors. Public toilets are available within the service centre. We found these to be clean and fitted with baby change facilities.

Miss 5 was excited to stretch her legs in the playground. The Midway Southbound playground features a small slide, a climbing wall and a platform style ladder. There’s a tunnel and a steering wheel on a platform for imaginative play.

Midway Northbound’s playground also features a slide and a slightly different climbing wall. There is also a pommel ladder and a rope ladder to climb up. Plenty to stretch little muscles.

Both play areas are covered by shade sails and surrounded by rubbery soft fall to save little knees from tumbles. Likewise, both are fenced and mag-lock gated to keep kids away from the busy driveway.

Similarly, the exercise area for dogs is also fenced and gated. So your furry friends can freely stretch their legs and relieve themselves too. Doggy bags and a bin are located close by to clean up any messes in the grass or garden. I would advise that smaller dogs such as terriers or toy breeds like chihuahuas will need to be watched. We saw one little dog manage to wiggle through the fence and take off looking for his family.

Overall, Midway was an enjoyable spot for the family to stop travelling both ways. It broke up the journey and gave Miss 5 something to look forward to. Subsequently, we avoided screen time and incorporated a little more exercise into our day. Whether you choose to buy food or a cuppa here is entirely up to you. We splurged and bought something to warm up. But you honestly don’t have to to enjoy your break here.