22ND MAY 2013 - EXMOUTH, & CAPE RANGE NATIONAL PARK, NTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Headed to Exmouth early to stock up with the necessities of life & have a quick look around, but enroute we saw 1000’s of large red termite nests about 1mtr round the base & 1mtr high ending in a pointed top which made them look like a city of tents in the red desert & at one point we saw some red sheep, who matched the surroundings well. Also passed the very large RAAF base & ‘civil’ airport situated next to each other. Exmouth is a comparitively new town established in 1967 as a support town for the Naval Communication Station, a joint Australian & USA Government venture. Despite being hard hit by tropical cyclone Vance in March 1999 it soon bounce back better than ever. It is also in the record books for a record wind gust speed for the Australian mainland of 267km p.h. Despite this Exmouth has year round almost perfect weather with no wet season. It’s main attraction is the Ningaloo Marine Park which stretches 260kms along the coastline from Coral Bay to Exmouth. The reef system and surrounding waters are home to 220 recorded species of coral & 500 species of temperate & tropical fish. The might whale shark can be seen from April to June, along with Dugons, Manta Rays, dolphins & humpback whales & turtles.

Exmouth turns out to be much smaller than we had expected but very busy with two caravan parks absolutely ‘chocker’. This coming weekend is their ‘Whale Shark Festival’ as it is a this time that the Whale Sharks start to return to the area. They are the world’s biggest species of fish & can grow up to 12m long & the Ningaloo Reef is one of the only places they regularly appear in large numbers for the mass coral spawning. The chance to snorkel with these gentle giants is a chance in a lifetime but naturally it is expensive & one needs to be a confident swimmer & snorkeller & I don’t feel I am either these days through lack of practice. Humpback whales also appear here from June to November & many of the females give birth in these warmer waters, so we are hopeful of a sighting before we leave the coast. Manta Rays are in the area all year round but in more prolific numbers between May & October & right here on the beaches we will visit in the next few days, turtles have their nesting season around November. As you can tell it is a very special environment & I wish I were richer & younger in order to really experience it. It is a diver’s heaven. Historically Exmouth is quite interesting as there was a secret base here during WWII. It also was the site of the first significant oil flow on the mainland of Australia at Rough Range.

We have just learned that to swim with the whale sharks costs $400 per person!!! We’ll give that a miss I think. The area is also WA’s most prestigious game fishing destination. Naturally the caravan parks here are extremely busy & expensive but we are more interested in staying in the Cape Range National Park which stretches about 80-100 kms along the coast. There are 16 camping spots set up within the coastal section of the park with lovely clean toilets but no water or power, so it is imperative to be self contained. At only $14 per night it is lovely with all sites right behind the sand dunes to the beach. We had booked in for 4 nights but this in itself proved to be difficult as it is only possible to book online & must be done 48 hours in advance. Our problem was that we hadn’t had internet for some days so had to wait till we did. That meant that once we had booked we had to fill in two nights somewhere which was how we ended up in the farmstay, then another night in a caravan park just before the National Park entry. The latter was a real ‘boatie camp’ being situated quite near to the only boat ramp & was really busy. On arrival there as Stu was backing into the site our ‘neighbour to be’ on the site right behind us, leapt out to guide him into the space despite the fact that it was not a difficult one & I was standing there to do so anyway. Well, what a bossy boots! He told Stu in no uncertain terms when to ‘right hand down, left hand down, stand on your head’ etc. Had him going backwards & forwards & poor Stu was red in the face with both embarrassment & annoyance. At the end he stated that HE could have got us straighter. I just laughed it off but we certainly didn’t get into conversation with him. Nevertheless, we had to listen to him ordering others around at the top of his voice. You do meet some ‘interesting’ people - so thank goodness we were only there for one night. Next to his site also backing onto us was this huge brand new looking boat, two huge motors & a fabulous slide-on caravan which went onto a brand new looking truck which matched. The slide-on had custom-made awnings all around it & I would have loved to have seen inside. On the door of the truck was the name ‘WA RV’ & also on the back of the van, so our assumption was that he owned the RV company. The money the whole outfit must have cost??? We were happy to leave the loud & wealthy next morning & head for the quiet simplicity of the National Park.

Mandu mandu Gorge

 

After settling into our site we explored the beach & in the afternoon donned our walking boots to walk the Munda Munda Gorge close by. An enjoyable walk which took about us about an hour despite the sign which said to allow 2 hours. It wanders along the base of the gorge over beautiful coloured smooth rocks, predominantly all shades of pink, and also white, cream & grey. It then ascends to the top of the red rocked gorge, a little more challenging in that it is a climb up & a bit of a scramble down again, but all in all quite a moderate walk. It was made more pleasant by the overcast day which for me at least means it was not too hot. The next day after a windy night, it was a lovely 28deg, so we drove to the end of the camping sites to Yardie Creek, with a beautiful beach & another gorge walk to keep us fit. This one proves to be much prettier & interesting with a river running through it & we were lucky to spot grey, blackfooted rock wallabies clambering along the cliff faces. How they manage it is amazing. These are not very common, only seen in a couple of places throughout Australia I believe. On the way back to camp we poked into the other campsites down this end of the park, mainly looking for our expat kiwi friends we have been meeting up with here & there, the ones with the motorhome. We did find them & spent an hour or so with them.

Yardie Creek

 

 

Black footed rock wallaby at Yardie Creek

Yardie Creek

 

 

Overnight from out of nowhere we had very heavy rain & wind. We didn’t realise until the morning how much rain until we drove down to some of the snorkelling sites & found a couple of roads & campsites closed. Apart from that everything else looked as if there was no rain at all. We spent an hour or so touring the snorkelling sites but the sea was a little too rough & there weren’t people snorkelling, so we didn’t attempt it either.  However, by next morning we struck it right & had a lovely morning of snorkelling at what is called the 'drift loop'.  This means starting up at the top of the beach & letting the current bring you down while watching the lovely marine life as you go.  The current is really strong but we had hired 'flippers' which makes it all so much easier.   It's important to check where you are now & again, but being cautious we ensured we didn't venture out too far & still enjoyed the experience.   It's all within a large lagoon surrounded by the Ningaloo Reef, so we both felt quite secure, though a fisherman told us later that out by the reef itself there are lots of reef sharks???  Apparently they are quite harmless but glad  I didn't know at the time.  After a break for lunch we had a second attempt but it wasn't as nice as the morning due to the change of tide.
 

Native Crested Pidgeon


 

21ST MAY 2013 – CARNARVON & POINT QUOBBA, NORTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Waking once again to a lovely sunny morning & cloudless blue sky which makes one appreciate being alive. Good overnight site which could have taken lots more vans, so we were surprised that it wasn’t crowded. All the better for us. En route there are lots of wandering sheep, goats & cattle, a few already hit by trucks I suspect, together with the usual sad array of dead roos. We had heard trucks tooting before we left so this explained why. Apparently it’s quite normal as there are signs warning traffic of the possibility. Nearing Carnarvon the area becomes prolific with market gardens which seems odd among the flat, arid landscape. Surprisingly this area supplies more than half of WA’s bananas & about 70% of Perth’s winter vegetables. It’s mild climate & pest free status plus the fertile land near the Gasgoyne River results in production of top quality fruit & vegies. We were hoping to purchase some, but didn’t realise we had to go off on another road to the right area to buy direct from the producers as we were heading on to Point Quobba for a couple of nights. We pass over a large riverbed of total sand & totally devoid of moisture. There isn’t a sign of wildlife or anything on the landscape except low brush. We have decided that WA is just one enormous sandpit for people like us to play in with our matchbox- like cars on the long flat roads. It seems even flatter than the Nullabor but with flat topped ‘mesas’ in the distance. Along the way we found a very pink lake, caused by a certain algae. Back at Fowlers Bay we had witnessed the same thing but much paler. Water is extremely limited up here & there are warning signs all over the place to make sure you have water or turn back.

On arrival at Point Quobba we are delighted to find what we believed was the last site as it is apparently very popular, not only because it is only $5.50 per site per night, but is right near the beach. We later discover the sites continue a couple of kms along the dunes. Most of the campsites are protected from the prevailing winds by the sand dunes which is a blessing as there is a souwesterly today. This proves to be a great advantage when we visit the blowholes a short walk from camp as they are really performing well today with spectacular waves coming in from the sea. It is quite exhilarating & I am definitely not alone in taking a profuse number of photos. Next morning we are visited by a couple from Queensland who we became acquainted with way back, then caught a glimpse of them in Perth in the same camp but couldn’t catch up with them. They unfortunately had big problems with their brand new motorhome & had to go into a cabin for 8 days, while we were looking for them in their motorhome.

At Quobba

Blowhole at Quobba

An afternoon was spent driving further along the coast to Cape Cuviere, all dirt road & pretty rough in places. We can only do that sort of thing when the caravan is safely parked somewhere & we do enjoy the freedom of doing so, one of the advantages of caravan versus motorhome. Did lots of beachcombing & fossicking, finding some lovely big shells & a few pretty small ones, lots of coral in large chunks & small, & a few colourful crabs in rock pools over the edges of the cliffs. We are always very careful with the cliffs here as the rocks often look as they could just snap off. A lot of it is very flat, stacked rock but in this particular area it is volcanic & pimply slabs of orange rock. Looks as though it would be extremely hard to walk over but in fact it is OK. On the way back to camp a large Perentie lizard peered at us from the side of the road. Stuart was going too fast to stop so sorry, no photo.

Janice on a cliff edge at Cape Cuvier

Colourful crab in rock pool

 

After two nights we hit the road again, this time heading further north towards Exmouth. The landscape changes a little with quite a few large sand pans which would flood with good rain. Lots of goats with long tails, many colours & patterns. Also a large number of wedgetailed eagles which I so wish I was able to capture with the camera. They are really beautiful large birds though must admit I wouldn’t like to be attacked by one.

There are great road cleaning gangs here who clear away the roadkill. They are most efficient, no leaning on shovels here! Most of them are clad in black & are supervised by a big fierce looking fellow who does the big bits, followed on by the common men who clean up the scrappy bits. They are called Wedgies & Crows! Lots of boats are evident on the road today – we are sure almost every Aussie male must be born with a fishing rod in his hand. With or without a boat they are always fishing, sometimes accompanied by the little wife to carry the bucket or spare rod.

At one of the roadhouses we are very pleased to find some stalls, one of them selling fresh fruit & veg from Carnarvon. I am trying to eat more fruit so it was great to get oranges, apples, bananas & tomatoes. The landscape is very flat again with a 360deg horizon of totally cloudless blue sky. We saw a sign telling us we were crossing the Tropic of Capricorn 22.5deg south of the equator. Stu tells me Paparoa would be about 37deg, which explains why it is so much warmer here most of the year. We reach Coral Bay for lunch & have a refreshing swim in lovely clear water with a white sandy bottom (NO, not mine)! At this particular bay a sad thing happened several days before we arrived – a couple in their 40’s were snorkelling out near the reef & drowned. People saw them floating from the beach (including their two sons 13 & 10), & assumed they were still snorkelling, then the husband disappeared beneath the water & didn’t resurface so it was then obvious that something was not right. At this stage no-one is sure what happened but we were told by a local it could have been one of the jellyfish stingers who are not usually around at this time. We felt really sad as we visited the beach there & it has made me a bit unsure about snorkelling which we were intending to do within the next few days as this is the home of the great Ningaloo Reef. Would be OK if we had ‘stinger suits’ but we haven’t so we will see.

Demara Sheep!
 

Our next night is spent at a station homestead again & this one is really nice & also reasonably priced. The couple who own it are delightful & are 3rd generation. The atmosphere is very relaxed with chooks, horses, dogs & a few pet sheep wandering around. And speaking of sheep, I mentioned earlier about goats with long tails. We have just discovered they were a variety of sheep called Damara (not sure of spelling). They sure look like goats & have coarse hair which is no good for anything but the meat is excellent. I took some photos of the pet ones here at Ballara Station who were so friendly they would invite themselves into your van if you are not careful. One young black & white one was so funny & a couple of French boys at the camp had him jumping & cavorting all over the place. We actually bought some meat from the farm but I do hope it wasn’t from cuties like him!

20TH MAY 2013 – SHARK BAY, NORTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Another day, – what wonders will we experience? Our journey today takes us to Shark Bay Marine Park, which covers 1500 kms of coastline, making it the largest marine embayment in Australia. The shallow waters support more than 320 species of fish, turtles, dugongs, dolphins,& manta rays. It is also has the longest wildflower season in WA, but sadly we are too early for that. First stop after leaving camp is Shell Beach, a stretch of unique Australian coastline comprised of countless millions of tiny cockle-like shells, quite fragile & crumbly. Scientists are puzzled as to why these molluscs grow so quickly & profusely in this area.

Shell Beach

Stromatolites!

 

 

  The shell build up is 8-9 metres deep. Further along is Hamelin Pool which is the site of another unique feature called ‘stromatolites’. This site is one of only a few places on earth where living marine stromatolites exist. They are the oldest living organisms on the planet which resemble rocky like lumps in the very clear water but are really quite spongy. They date back 3.5 billion years & are examples of the oldest & simplest forms of life on earth. The water in Hamelin pool is twice as saline as usual seawater which means that few predators & competitors can survive allowing the microbes to grow at a rate of .3mm per year, so examples up to a metre high are very, very old.
They are protected by a viewing platform over the site. When they die they become hard & rocklike.

Eagle Bluff

Caravan at Eagle Bluff

 Other attractions nearby were Eagle Bluff, with a 100mtr walkway along the ridge of the cliff face. It is sometimes possible to view sharks, turtles, rays & large fish in the shallow waters below but we were not blessed with their presence. On the historical side, an island just off the coast called Dirk Hartog Island was the site of the first recorded landing on Australian soil by Europeans. It is possible to stay over there but I’m sure would be very expensive. Probably the most popular attraction is the National Park reserve of Monkey Mia where wild dolphins come several times each day to be hand fed a small amount of fish & interact with humans. Touching is not allowed. There are lots of boat tours , camel treks etc available also & snorkelling is popular. We are saving that for further up the coast at Ningaloo reef where it will be warmer water. The only town on Shark Bay is Denham where the caravan parks are $40+ per night & full to overflowing. Hence we stayed where we did & drove in & did the sights for the day, heading out later in the day towards Carnarvon to a free overnighter. We have the feeling we will be digging deeper in our pockets as we head further north if we can’t find more freebies, but time will tell.

17TH MAY 2013 – KALBARRI, MID WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Above Kalbarri

 

Ocean Cliffs Kalbarri
 

Another 165kms to travel to Kalbarri, via Port Gregory for morning tea. There has been some rain before us & we are hopeful it will keep heading south. We are not so lucky with the caravan park this time who won’t allow us to share a site, however we do manage to get two alongside each other. This suits us well as we do all the cooking in the van & share our meals. Rene was chief cook in Perth so now it’s my turn, though Stu is very good & does his ‘Butter Chicken’ one night. We have managed to have most of our meals outside except for one night. Kalbarri is a beautiful area with magical cliffs & ocean views, so we spent the first afternoon visiting some of those. Really the whole area is one ‘ginormous’ National Park. The second day was a biggie, as we spent the day walking a 10km trail through the most beautiful & stunning landscape of gorges. Armed with our picnic lunch & water, me with my hiking sticks like a great granny should, we were blessed with a lovely sunny day and a gentle breeze. At the bottom of the gorge is the Murchison River, not an abundant amount of water at the moment, but Bruce couldn’t resist a swim in the middle of the afternoon & then had to walk in wet shorts. We did see some wildlife, like roos , tiny lizards, black swans, herons & wild goats looking down at us from their great height on top of the cliffs. The gorge is mostly sandy with eucalyptus trees in places, & the rock formations & cliffs are like red pancakes stacked on top of one another. Of course there was a fair amount of climbing to be done, but luckily not too onerous for we senior citizens. Stu took a couple of videos of us all throughout the walk which I am sure you will find quite comical when you see them.

On the trail Kalbarri National Park

Nutures Window

At the bottom of the Gorge

Because dogs are not allowed in the park Rene had found a ‘dog sitter’ for the day, so he was over the moon to see us on our return & we were all glad to be back ‘home’ for a long cool drink & hot shower. And so we had the ‘last supper’ having thoroughly enjoyed each others company, with plans to meet up for another holiday in the future somewhere. We all hit the sack early, rose early & as we can pack up a lot quicker than they with their tent, we set off, calling into a couple more lookouts of the gorges on our way.

Stu on rock ledge

 

We are now heading for Shark Bay, some 300+kms further north, through part of the wheat belt. It is quite flat, with a 360deg horizon & clouds so big, some looking like rain. Luckily we drive through it . Marino sheep are evident, recently shawn but they are identifiable by their larger size & longer legs. The temperature rises to 25deg before morning tea. Lots of vans pass us going south which pleases us as it won’t be so busy ahead. There are quite a lot of overnight parking areas which we hope will continue to Denham which is our next call. About 80kms before Denham we found a camping 'resort' called Nanga Bay  which was only $25 per night.  The word resort was loosely used - it had all the trappings, like tennis court, spa, swimming pool, motel units, restaurant etc   but was a very old homestead with all the usual corrugated iron sheds which had seen better days.  Also had it's own beach, & though the powered end of the campsite was occupied, the unpowered where we were was like a ghost town apart from the very large noisy generator which went day & night, luckily it didn't keep us awake probably due the wind direction which came up over night.

 

13TH MAY 2013 – LEEMAN, GERALDTON, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

 

It is some time since I ‘blogged’ – have been busy with our friends Rene & Bruce in Perth, have chatted till our tongues nearly dried up, & been chauferred on all sorts of little jaunts, had a family birthday party for Bruce’s 66th, Mother’s Day breakfast at a cafe by the water at the marina, gone canoeing on the Murray River (not THE Murray River), & generally had a fun time. Then Rene & Bruce packed up their tent & camping gear & dog Billy, to accompany us in their own car for 6 nights further north. En route on a glorious morning we quickly lost the traffic & the highway was very quiet. The landscape was shrubby, lots of pink banksias starting to flower. Lovely green sheep farms were evident, in gently rolling paddocks filled with ‘pimply’ white rocks, so that it was difficult to tell the sheep from the rocks as we sped past. Could have been the Sth Island of NZ. We followed the Indian Ocean Drive, with quite a lot of wind turbines harnessing the abundant sea winds for power to these little towns. Along the way we separated so that Stu & I could visit ‘The Pinnacles’ – dogs not allowed. These limestone pillars rise mysteriously from the sand dunes, some up to 4 mtrs tall, & an eerie contrast to the surrounding heath. Some are jagged , & sharp edged columns, others resemble tombstones. There is a 1.5km walk or it is possible to drive the 4km through them. We found them very photographic & interesting. We soon met up with the others at a little coastal fishing village for morning tea & then continued on to another small fishing place called Leeman where we were to spend the first two nights at their daughter’s bach, We in our van & they in the bach. Billy insists on us all walking a fair bit which is good for all, & one day we did an hilarious off-road trip to some caves in the Landcruiser. The road was really rough in places, quite narrow & very sandy in others. It reminded me of the song “ All shook up!” Stu thoroughly enjoyed throwing us all around. Not always a lover of caves myself, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was very large & was used by the drovers in the old days to keep their cattle overnight. A riverbed runs right through it which of course was just sand at present, but I’m sure it roars through at certain times. There were also two other caves but one we couldn’t enter & the other was a lot smaller. We discovered an alternative road out which was much more comfortable for the return trip home but it really was a most enjoyable outing.

Fishing boat at Leeman
 

 

Carpet Shark landed at Leeman

 

Day 3 it was off to Geraldton, a large town about 200kms further up the coast where Bruce was the ships’ pilot for many years. We were fortunate to convince the caravan park that we could all fit on one site instead of the two we booked, so after settling in Bruce was keen to show us his old workplace environment, so there was much talk about the sea & ships etc – two old sailors who haven’t seen each other for many years. They are like twins – not identical but oh so..... alike! One of the interesting things was a one of the many refugee ships which manage to reach Australia. It apparently appeared right in front of a waterfront cafe one day in broad daylight with a big sign saying ‘help us to get to NZ’.

Refugee Boat
 

  Naturally they were held here. It was a very rough looking small boat, overloaded with about 70 people – hard to imagine where they all managed to fit. An emotional place to visit was the Memorial to the naval ship ‘HMAS SYDNEY II’ which disappeared with 645 servicemen after a battle with the German raider ‘HSK Kormoran’ in 1941. Although the Kormoran was also lost, many of her crew survived the ordeal. The main focus of the memorial is a large silver dome of 645 seagulls, representing the 645 lives lost. The second part is a wall which shows photographs of the ships & the names of the crew of the Sydney. The third element is a bronze statue of a woman gazing out to sea as she awaits news of the ill-fated Sydney. The remains of the Kormoran were finally located on 12th March 2008 approximately 207 km from the west coast of WA. The Sydney was finally found on Sunday 16th March 2008 also 207km from the west coast after 66 years. The other famous shipwreck here was the Dutch merchant ship the ‘Batavia’ which was wrecked on the Abrolhos Islands just off the coast here in 1629 after a murder & mutiny.

HMAS Sydney II Memorial at Geraldton

 

Stylised Bow of HMAS Sydney II


 

6TH MAY 2013 -  PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Finally at Perth, headed straight for previously booked caravan park, very organised like residential streets with good concrete pads, lovely ablutions.  As soon as we were settled we headed for our friends about 15 minutes away.  All excited to see each other after our last visit here about 7 years ago, though we had seen them momentarily in NZ a couple of times.  As Bruce & Stu were originally at sea together there has been non-stop conversations about the sea, the old days & anything marine, while Rene & I have done the family & grandchildren to death.  Bruce has recently retired after being a ship's pilot in Darwin, & Geraldton ever since they arrived here over 20 years ago from Whangarei.  The  'neighbours' at the caravan park must wonder what we do with our time as we leave about 9am each morning to join them walking their dog Billy, the most gorgeous  Cavalier Spaniel who I could take home tomorrow.  We have done something different every day, from going into Perth City to doing tourist drives around the area, being mostly fed & watered by Rene & arriving back at the van about 9.30-10pm each evening.  In other words, 'having a ball'.  Of course we normally stay away from cities but there were various tasks we needed to address ,  - #1 having my camera cleaned due to dirt on the inside of the lenses,  & also had to take the van into a caravan repair place to have the fridge checked as it has not been running on mains power for a while.  Only an element as it turns out, but an expense we could have done without.
One day we went to Fremantle to visit Bruce at one of his volunteering interests, assisting on a replica sailing ship called the 'Duyfken' or in English 'Dovekin'.  In 1606 this small Dutch ship commanded by Captain Willem Janszoon, sailed from the Spice Islands in today's Indonesia & mad the first recorded European landfall on the Australian Coast.  They charted 330 kms of Cape York Peninsula's western coast in the Gulf of Carpentaria.  The indigenous people of Cape York have passed this story down through generations but it has otherwise been a little known part of Australian history.  Thus this replica was built to convey that history & to learn more about the shipbuilding & seamanship of those old times.  It is sometimes sailed, otherwise is a tourist attraction at it's berth in Fremantle where Bruce does his stint each Wednesday.

Bruce & Janice onboard "yacht" Duyfken

Yesterday afternoon we took Rene & Bruces' two canoes to the upper Swan River & took it in turns - we girls first, accompanied by Billy in with Rene, pelicans & white egrets & ducks on the river.   Then the guys turn, of course longer than us but we enjoyed sitting by the river watching a group of young men fishing.    By the time the guys returned it was 'wine o clock' & a barbie, sitting under the stars.

"Billy"

Bruce and Stu on the Swan River

Today we all left 'home' at 7.30am, headed for a nearby Farmers Market, walked Billy in the nearby park, then stocked up on fresh fruit & vegies for the next week.  Also being Mothers Day, R & B's son had booked us all in for a breakfast near the beach & marina not far from either home.  Was nice to have a family Mothers Day even though it wasn't with my own family.  Tomorrow the four of us  head north to a family bach at a place called Leeman for a couple of nights, us in the van which we can park there. After that we all head further north to Geraldton for two nights, then two more nights further on to Kalbarri National Park.  Rene & Bruce will then return to Perth & we will continue on.  Will miss their company tremendously as we all get along so well.

1ST  - 6TH  MAY 2013 -  BUSSELTON, BUNBURY, PINJARRA,  MANDURAH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Busselton Jetty

This week is a bit of a fill in week as we head towards Perth as we have come ahead a little quicker than we thought & not due to see our friends till 6th on.  Busselton is a nice large town, very modern,  but other than the famous jetty not a lot to interest us & the weather turned drizzly.  We were lucky to get photos of the jetty while there was some sun out.   Stayed that night in a pine plantation freebie with no facilities, but the phone & TV both worked.    Next day (2nd) travelled onto Bunbury which Stu thought would be bigger than Busselton but was not.  A  much older town & a bit scruffy & again nothing of interest but Stu had a few things he needed from shops so that filled in a little time.  Night accommodation in  the Leischenault Peninsula Conservation Park after travelling down a terrible corrugated road which just about shook the microwave out of its place.  Only 3 vans there.  OK, toilets provided & firewood but only $14 so couldn't complain.  There was a very large wetland estuary which on the way in was busy with black swans, white egrets & ducks etc, but as the road was so bad & the chauffeur was very concentrated on his task I didn't dare ask to stop.  We did go for a nice walk after settling in but sadly the birds were too far away.  We did however see a little family of roos, several young ones & a mother & possibly the 'dad'.  It was interesting to stand quietly & watch them, the youngsters very unsettled & mum putting her head close & putting their fears to rest.  After a while they settled down & didn't worry as long as we didn't try to come too close.  I suppose one becomes a little blase` after a while, but I still love to see them living in the wild & doing their own thing.
3rd - headed inland along a lovely dual carriageway to a  lovely little town called Pinjarra - very historic & well kept.  This was to be our base for 3 nights & we had prebooked a caravan park because of the school holidays & couldn't find free sites in our book in the area.  On arrival at the park we were a bit daunted as it was really for permanents who lived in old caravans or little huts, some of them retired people, some obviously unemployed younger people.  We had opted for no power as it was $26 even unpowered & we were OK without.  The ablution blocks were clean & there was a laundry though as we have our own little one I normally use that IF I have power to do so.  Right  beside our van was a tiny pup tent with two young people in it who didn't seem to be travellers & appeared to just hang around in the kitchen provided all day.  I would say they were unemployed.  Some of the sites had lovely little gardens & ornaments etc, all retired people who couldn't afford any better.  It was  quite depressing to see how some people have to live & makes one wonder about the stories of their demise.  One thing we noticed was that almost everyone we saw was smoking!!!    Unfortunately we had had to prepay when we booked so couldn't really go elsewhere, but we were out most of the day so it was OK.  It certainly wasn't a place were would have felt comfortable sitting out under our awning.  There were quite a few children there too, some obviously lived in the onsite caravans.  They all seemed normal happy kids & were quite well behaved.  We spent the first afternoon exploring the little town & walked over their suspension bridge (just a bridge).

Walk in Lane Poole reserve

Walk in Lane Poole reserve

4th - A driving day exploring a nearby village called Dwellingup - really lovely, again old & historic.  Visited a Conservation  Park Area called Lane Poole Reserve  & discovered we could have camped in there.  It is part of the Murray River Valley (not to be confused with THE Murray River in the other states).  It is 100 kms south of Perth & very popular with metropolitan visitors & tourists alike.  It covers 55,000 hectares so there are plenty of walks etc to do & dirt roads in all directions.  As we often find, the signage is quite poor or confusing so easy to get lost.  It is a great place for kayaking (if we only had ours with us),  in winter becoming a raging torrent, and in summer a limpid stream for swimming, kayaking or fishing.  They even allow dogs in the camping areas as long as they are kept on a leash.  Nearly everyone in Australia seems to have a dog  so lots of parks provide doggy plastic bags & bins.  We did a couple of walking trails which were pleasant & thought about a cycling trail as well but decided they would be too hilly for us oldies.  There was a POW camp in another part of the forest which is only a few bits & pieces & signs saying where each building etc was sited.  It was for Italian & German prisoners, who were taken out to work on the farms in the area & the Italians in particular were admired for their hard work ethics.  Many  remained in Australia at the end of the war by going AWOL just before their release & disappearing around the country.  Also visited  a lovely dam but surprised at how low it was.
5th - A real change for us, visiting some caravanning people we met on our last journey here.  They live in Mandurah,  a large modern area, full of canals & a boaties paradise with large estuaries plus the ocean.  It was really lovely to have some long conversations with them & see where they live etc.  Wayne is a real handyman & a perfectionist, builds his own small yachts among other things, & their home is immaculate & beautiful though a very small section which suits them these days.  They are both into cycling, walking, swimming, boating, kayaking - you name it!  Much more active than us, & live in the perfect place to do it all.  Mandurah has cycle tracks, & walking tracks everywhere.  Because it is a relatively young town it is quite planned, so all the houses look relatively new & the streets much the same, lots of islands & circles, which  it makes  it a nightmare for getting around if you are a stranger - thank goodness for the GPS.  They took us on a grand tour of the whole place & being Sunday it was busy with families everywhere.  Both Stu & I said we had never seen so many houses in all our life.  We were relieved when they took us back to their house where we had a lovely hot Sunday lunch & pored over maps & routes & suggestions for us to see further north.  All in all a lovely day.

6th - Finally arrived in Perth - very easy, freeway all the way from Mandurah (100 kms).  Had prebooked our caravan site for a week in order to spend lots of time with Stu's friends who we last visited here about 6 years ago.  So lovely to see them & it was as if we had only seen each other a month or so ago.  Stu & Bruce were at sea together & have been mates ever since.   Bruce has just retired as a ship's pilot.  So there will be no blog during this week here & then they are going to travel with us for a few days as we head north.  Really looking forward to having the company for a change. 

Shags - Attention!

Whistling Kite
 

 

27TH APRIL 2013, AUGUSTA/MARGARET RIVER, SOUTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

After a wonderful evening in the forest, awoke to a miserable morning. A little rain had fallen overnight & still misty drizzle when we left. Drove as far as the little town of Nannup & spotted another market, so a good chance to get some more homemade marmalade & jam. We so hate the stuff from the supermarkets. This is a big vegetable cropping area so also able to buy beautiful fresh cauli & broccoli really cheaply. Nannup is a gorgeous little old village full of character but it was raining quite hard by then so we didn’t linger. Temperature only 16deg. We are heading back down to the coast again to Augusta & it is a shock to discover that though not a large town it is like peak hour in the city. There is no parking for us with the van (not RV friendly), & all the caravan parks were overflowing. Of course it was school holidays & Anzac weekend as well so not a good time to arrive. Luckily we had been told about a nice park on a sheepfarm not too far away, so promptly rang & booked ourselves in. Feeling secure that we had somewhere to park for the night we set off with caravan in tow to visit the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse which is on the extreme south west point of Australia, just out of Augusta. It was built in 1896 & still features the original lens in the light, now electric. It has the intensity of one million candlepower & a range of 25 nautical miles. Nearby is an old stone waterwheel. Originally made of wood, it has petrified into stone through the passage of time & the elements. The wooden trough which brings the water down from the hills is still there & carrying water though I’m sure it must have been restored at some point. In total contrast there is a huge project in progress building a marina with rock walls –no shortage of those here!

Our farm caravan park ‘Big Valley’ turned out to be a real haven. A really beautiful farm with green, green paddocks & healthy sheep. It was also a lot cheaper than all the other parks & very friendly. They even allow dogs if kept on a leash. Quite a number of people took advantage of that so there were all varieties being walked several times a day. We were fortunate to get the last powered site – only because we phoned earlier. Lovely site looking over their valley, with lots of trees surrounding the property. The ablution blocks & camp kitchens etc are all built of corrugated iron like big farm sheds, all very clean & nice. On the first night they had an aussie movie in one of the camp kitchens which was quite amusing, & we all gave a gold coin donation to the flying doctor service. On Friday nights they do pizzas but we weren’t there for that even though we ended up staying for 4 nights. It was a good central spot to visit all of the Margaret River region only about 6kms from the town of that name. During our 4 days here we must have visited just about every beach on the coast, all lovely, some surfy, some sheltered & good for families. We found it fascinating to watch the surfies – the waves are just great for those guys. At Hamelin Bay we hoped to see stingrays as they are common along this particular beach, but although we got glimpses of them in the waves were unable to get photos. On very still days it is sometimes possible to see them in numbers.

The Lake Cave

 

The Lake Cave

This area is covered in caves, 100+ in all, many of which are self guided. We chose one which had a guided tour, - thought we’d be ‘real’ tourists for a change & chose the ‘Lake Cave’. After walking down 300 steps into this monstrous hole in the ground we stepped into a wonderland. This particular cave has pools of water in it so you walk through it on boardwalks. Because of the water there are beautiful reflections of the stalagmites & staligtites & ‘straws’ which are the very fine ones which eventually grow into staligtites. The lighting of course makes it quite stunning & a most unusual feature in this cave was a suspended ‘table’ & pillar over the water with no support underneath. It is all so sculptural & amazing. Of course we had to climb the 300 steps up again.

28km ride to Cowaramup

All this driving round by car is all very well, but in between we thought we needed more exercise, so did a walk around 10 mile Brook Dam – (got lost for a while), cycled 28kms on a rail trail, & climbed over rocks & rocks & rocks which I do love. There are so many different formations of them in this country. Today it was the Canal Rocks & the Sugarloaf, both on the coast. We also spent time watching the surfies catching waves at one of the beaches. It’s quite breathtaking.

One of many cow statues in Cowaramup

 

On our rail trail jaunt we discovered the most gorgeous little village called Cowaramup (or cowtown for short). And cow town it was, with wonderful life-like statues of cows throughout the village & in the park. We think Paparoa could well do with a theme like that, after all, we are a dairy farming area. These statues were all sponsored or donated by locals & each had a large eartag with the sponsor’s name on it. Many of the shops were old style & painted in cream & brown for that heritage look. We thought it was great & obviously so did a lot of other people as it was quite busy.

Surfers at Prevelly Beach

Sugar Loaf rock Cape Naturaliste


 

 

 

26TH APRIL 2013 – PEMBERTON, SOUTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

On the road again for another day in paradise. Life is so hard! Left Windy Harbour in sun but misty rain & low cloud near Mt Chadulup. A large Wedgetail Eagle flew right in front of the car & so wish I had my camera at the ready. What a magnificent bird, so glad we didn’t hit it. The roads are very quiet especially initially, though to be honest they never seem to be very busy anywhere here. There are lots of glimpses of old railway lines as we go along – would make lots of good rail trails for cyclists. We reach Warren National Park to view ‘The Bicentennial Tree’, a 67m high Karri which used to be a treetop fire watch tower. It is now one of three huge trees in the surrounding areas which are a tourist attraction, not only to look at but to climb!!! There is a tower halfway up & another right on the top. Except for the canopy of the tree there were no branches left on so it is amazing to look straight up. There was only a young couple there when we arrived, the girl having just tried a few metres of the climb. It is just as it was, with strong steel rungs spiralling round the tree to climb on, with frail looking wire netting on the outside supposedly to stop your fall. We couldn’t believe that it was allowed, no supervision, no charge even except that it is in a National Park so you are expected to pay an entry fee. We had a pass so it wasn’t necessary for us, but we noted that the young people didn’t pay. Can you imagine OSH in NZ allowing such a thing? Stu climbed a good way up & I a short way, but as we left the young ones were intent on climbing to the top. We don’t know whether they made it or not.

Stu climbing the Bicentenial Tree

Who says its not green here

 

Driving on to the town of Pemberton we visited the second ‘climbing’ tree, the Gloucester Tree, this one only 60m. So called because the Duke of Gloucester visited once & their party picnicked nearby while watching the watchman climb up to his tower. This seemed to be the main tourist one as there was a coach load of people arrived just after us (lucky us), & lots of families visiting too being school holidays. This tree differed only that it still had a lot of branches on & only the top tower. We could hardly believe our eyes as there were people like a trail of ants climbing up & down & passing each other somehow, including quite young children who went right to the top!!! One young mother I spoke to said her children had been up about 3 times.

Next stop was Manjimup, a slightly bigger town only 45 minutes from Pemberton. It is the closest we have found two towns for a long time. Needing to replenish the larder we ambled around the town & stayed a little longer than intended, conscious of the fact that we had to get into a free camp early. The GPS directed us as usual but we felt we should have been on the main highway, but ended up on a minor road. Stu finally decided to stop & check the map to discover that yes, we were heading in the right direction, but certainly not the way he meant. One advantage was that there was no other traffic & luckily the road was not too bad though a bit narrow. Continuing on our journey we began to see lots of wineries, the vines looking so colourful in their leaves of yellow, orange & lime green. This is a major growing area with orchards & vegetable growers, especially cauliflower I believe. Didn’t seem to make them any cheaper in the supermarket though. In a Woolworths magazine I read an article about some apples called ‘Jazz’ which apparently were bred in NZ in 1980 by crossing Royal Gala & Braeburn. They are of course now growing them here & in Tasmania – no wonder they don’t want OUR apples. I don’t remember seeing them at home but I did buy some at a Farmers’ Market here & they were delicious. Finally we were back on the highway but the first rest area we found had been closed for camping, & the second was full. There was a lot of frustration from the driver ‘you know who’ who couldn’t turn around & we had to backtrack to find our 3rd & last choice. The only highlight was seeing a family of emus, strolling alongside the highway – the little ones were so cute. As it turned out we were so, so lucky as we ended up in a large picnic area in the forest, totally alone except for the birds for company & about 5kms from the highway. It was called ‘Willow Springs’ but we saw no sign of either willows or springs. Settled in, I lit the campfire provided & we laughed about the afternoon while nibbling cheese & crackers & some red stuff in a glass. Life is indeed wonderful & tomorrow we can do it all again.

Karri tree near Pemberton

 

Our own private camp spot at Willow Springs

 

 

 

25TH APRIL 2013 – D ENTRECASTEAUX  NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Moving on again to our next destination (hope your remember your French), ‘D Entrecasteaux’ National Park on the coast, a short journey of 80 kms. We had to stop at a tiny place called Northcliffe as our prepay for the phone was running out. As we often don’t know what the day or date is, we completely forgot it was Anzac Day & wondered why nearly everything was closed but the Info Centre & ‘servo’ where we were able to renew it. We had been told Windy Harbour Caravan Park, our destination, had a lot of seaweed on the beach & was quite smelly, but decided to go & check it out anyway as there were things in the area we did want to see. On arrival, although we couldn’t actually see the beach, I could smell it as soon as I alighted from the car. There was only one other van in the park which didn’t encourage us either, & the whole feel of the place didn’t do it for me. There seemed no-one around to direct us to a site anyway. This gave me time to check out the beach situation & it was not good! The whole beach was covered in smelly, horrible seaweed so as far as I was concerned we were not going to stay. Stu however thought it didn’t matter as we weren’t going to use the beach anyway & it was only for one night to explore the National Park. So I gave in gracefully & settled into a good site & before we knew it other campers began to turn up, the camp caretaker appeared as well, & was gruff but nice. It was only $18 per night unpowered (seniors rate of course), & there were lovely hot showers, free firewood for the fire again, & good drinking water for immediate use only. There are lots of quaint little baches just like the old days in NZ, & I suspect they are the buildings from the old mill town of Shannon, our stopover for the previous two days. We had been told they were all moved out to be used as seaside cottages & I’m interested to find out if I’m correct. They are all lined up in little unsealed streets, most unoccupied at present being a week day. I’m sure it must get busy at weekends, especially in summer.

Cliffs at Salmon Bay

 

Fishing at Salmon Bay

We spent the afternoon exploring by car & though you would imagine we might have seen enough sea & waves etc, we just can’t get enough of it here. It’s so beautiful & every area is different in someway or other. The Aussies really do things properly in their provision of lookouts, paths & roads to these attractions, some of them far from anywhere. All the lookouts here are beautiful stainless steel, but in some areas they are hardwood which is very prolific in their forests. Either way they are so solidly built & always built to attract the eye as well as being very functional. The cliffs & surrounding landscape is much more rugged in this area too. I was looking forward to a photo of the lighthouse on the headland, but disappointingly it was just a modern type with no character at all. The rest of the views more than made up for that though. It was a perfect day, about 22deg, sunny,& no wind , & though the waves were pounding into the cliffs, the ocean itself looked quite calm. At one lookout we thought we saw dolphins or whales, but they turned out to be rocks under the surface of the water. The day came to a pleasant end with another campfire dinner under a gentle sunset & a bright full moon. I think I’m reverting back to my Cub Mistress days & summer holidays up north when I used to cook Chinese etc on the camp barbie. Stu says we are getting more like Aussies every day!!!

Rock window D'Entrecasteaux National Park

Sunset Windy Bay

 

Windy Bay Baches