Busselton, Margret River Area

The drive to Busselton from Perth on Thursday 21st was mostly down a freeway which made for a fast trip but not a scenic trip. We only skirted the outskirts of Bunbury which was disappointing, but I guess we have to leave somethings to see next time we visit. Anyhow we had an interesting time trying to find the "Mandalay Holiday Park", but when we did, we found this five star rated Park to be everything it advertised. The sites were grassed and shaded by Peppermint trees, the amenities are fantastic, beautiful pool's and camp kitchens and games rooms. The manager told us about a colony of an endangered species of little possums who reside in the park, he even showed us a couple of them sleeping in a staghorn. He also warned us that we might hear them of a night as they eat the peppermint leaves over the caravan and poo little balls, which drop onto the top of the van.

We found out later that night that he vastly understated the activity of these little cutie's. We counted 6 up in the tree above us and the amount of poo and pee they excreted was amazing. The poo is like a hard little ball that hit the top of the van and then rolled off, this happened all night. The pee is sticky and smelly. Lucky the buggers are cute because after 4 nights a lovely possum stew was quite on the cards. Anyhow the quality of the park offset the annoyance and thanks to Greg Pinner who arrived the day before we left we managed to wash the van and car with his extendable brush.

Anyway we decided to use this Park as a base to tour the area and so the next day we set out to drive through Margret River to Augusta. Augusta is a little town perched beside the sea adjacent to the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park (named after two French ships who investigated and charted this area prior to a colony being established at Albany). Spectacular scenery was a highlight of our drive to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, this lighthouse is the tallest in the area and is open to the public and for a modest fee you can climb to the top of the 39 metre tower and walk around the balcony. I do not know if I have mentioned before that I have developed vertigo over the years, so after a stiff climb up 167 steps stepping out onto a balcony off the side of this lighthouse I was gripped with terror and if any of you reading this ever go there you will find my fingerprints still in the steel of the handrail, and the most hurtful part of this is that I paid money to do it. Another life's decision was made on this day, no more towers for me, this little fat feller is staying on the ground from now on.

This Lighthouse is also the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean and noticing a couple of old guy's within earshot I began telling Jude that you could actually notice the joint because of the difference in salt content of each sea, we wandered off leaving them trying to see the difference. One of the most photographed items in W.A is a water wheel also at this location, the wooden wheel was used to pump water to the lighthouse site during the construction, the wheel is now encrusted with calcium and makes for a great photo.

On our way back we visited a couple of winery's and a coffee and cheese outlet and also a fudge factory. The coffee was a delight, the cheese ok, the wine crap and the fudge to sickly, I really am turning into a C.O.B.

Next day we traveled to Dunsborough and Yallingup, one of the highlights of the day was a visit to a Wool Exhibition and shearing display. The shop and shearing shed is on a working property and is well worth a visit. The shop has an extensive range of quality woolen products and the shearing exhibition is a must see. Firstly we were given a small dish of pellets to feed the sheep out the front and they are well used to being fed and will jump up on the fence and whip the pellets off your hand in no time. The shearing display was followed up by a display of sheepdog skill's after which Judy was pulled aside together with others to assist in the next display which was hand feeding lambs, she did a great job and after the lamb finished feeding the guy picked the lamb up and plonked him on Jude's shoulder to burp. One of the funniest sights I have seen for a long time.

We visited another winery the "Swooping Magpie" and were very disappointed with the quality of the wine. Off into Dunsborough for a "Sushi" lunch which we both enjoyed very much. Then on to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and then down to a rocky lookout where we spotted a pod of whales playing, we sat and watched until the cold wind beat us, then on to a olive farm for tastings, very yummy. We have over the last two days covered a lot of ground around the Margret River Area and must say that we really enjoyed our time here,but, it is very touristy and the many places available for tastings do put a lot of pressure on to buy their products, we find this unattractive and feel the pressure.

Our last full day we unpacked the bikes because in Busselton there is a bike track all the way along the beach. So we rode into town and visited the market, which we found was a good one with much local produce and other nick naks, we then rode to the jetty, which is currently closed for renovations and so we rode to the new boat harbour and back to the Park. We rode about 30 K's and we were feeling it when we arrived back to find Greg and Sophie had arrived and so we proceeded to a beaut happy hour where we forgot our tired legs. It is great to catch up with friends from home and compare travel notes, we never seem to run out of things to talk about.

Next day after washing the car and van we left to travel to Walpole but along the way we came across a little place called Pemberton and liking the look of the place we decided to stop a couple of days but that's another story.

We had a busy but great time in Busselton, but now "we're on the Road again"

Perth

Saturday 10 Th Oct we arrived in Perth. Sometimes over the last few months I wondered if we would ever get here but here we are, at Karrinyup Waters Resort. The waters bit is a little deceiving as the waters bit refers to a swampy lake and not the sea which is a couple of K's away. The swampy lake is quite beautiful a bit of a cross between Disneyland and a Zoo because of the great playgrounds in an idyllic setting and the wildlife consists of Swans with signet's, duck's with ducklings, water hens with babies and a black and white rabbit which has lived in the park for a couple of years. Throw in a nesting wagtail and a wild bee's nest and we have a wild life center. In reality this is one of the best parks we have stayed at, the facilities are great and the staff friendly and helpful.

It is about 12 K's into the city, the best way to travel is to catch a bus to the train station, train to the city. If you purchase a "dayrider" ticket for $3.60, you can travel all day and this includes ferry's to South Perth. We made good use of this cheap travel, traveling into the city 3 times.

Sunday we had a sleep in and then went shopping, we are surrounded by shopping centers and wasted no time in restocking our supplies. We also visited "Hillarys Harbour" and were blown away with the shops, cafes and the most impressive Children's play center we have seen, this is apart from the fact that the surroundings are beautifully laid out and maintained. On top of all this we found a "crocs" (shoes) speciality outlet (I have come to love crocs, so comfortable). So Robbie scored a new pair of thongs and a pair of croc's with the original croc's sole and leather uppers (if my feet are happy then so am I) Judy scored a stylish set as well and promptly got a blister.

Monday we went for a drive to Freemantle down the coast highway, we wandered around the city center the highlight being a visit to a Japanese grocery outlet, we have grown to like browsing in Asian supermarkets. On the drive home we visited all the beaches along the way, very impressed.

First visit to Perth City on Tuesday, we found our way with no help and when we arrived we Paid for two days travel on the Tourist Tram which travels the city and provides live commentary on the city. This proved to be worth the cost in that we learnt our way around with minimum fuss. The highlight was a visit to "Kings Park" which is an absolute must see in Perth, this park is huge and has many features, our two hour visit was no where near long enough, even a full day would not be long enough to appreciate this beautiful place. We will return,,,one day! We also visited the city bell tower down near the water ferry terminal, a very impressive building.

Next day we returned to the city and visited the Royal Mint and watched a gold ingot being poured, we also visited "Harbour Town" shopping and we were disappointed, all these super discount centers sell the same old same old.

We visited Ikea the next day, because we do not get to visit their stores very often and enjoyed wandering around. We have been through the drama of registering our car this week and thanks to help from Col and Jude and Perry we are legal again all we have to do now is wait for our label to arrive, We are so grateful for the help we receive from home, makes us feel very humble to have such good friends.

Off to the city one more time with a ferry ride to south Perth then lunch at an interesting restaurant and train ride to Mandurah and back and then next day we revisited "Hillary Harbour" and while there had a call from the Sunshine Coast Police who told us that thanks to the information we supplied they had caught the people who stole my wallet and they are due in court on Monday 25Th October. Great news and I hope that they get punished for the stress they caused.

Last night in Perth and Greg and Sophy Pinner arrived in the Park so a great get together ensued and this was a fitting end to our visit. In summary We had a great time in Perth and were once again sad to be leaving, but that's what caravans are designed for....to travel and so next stop Busseltown.

Jurien Bay and New Norcia

Just looking at the two names above, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Spain or France. Jurien is a French name and Norcia is Spanish, Jurien is named after a French Naval Administrator. It is 140 K's South of Dongara and the drive gave us the opportunity of seeing the small towns of Leeman and Green Head along the way. This coastal drive has great views of the coast which is littered with fishing/rock lobsters shacks, these galvanised iron shacks are very agricultural and one tends to wonder if aboriginal humpies might be a better bet. Anyhow there must be a lot of crayfish in this area.

Jurien Bay is lovely little place with good shopping areas and only one caravan park, but it is a good park and was full of holidaying families. Judy was keen to do a sea lion tour. Sea Lions are similar to Seals but, have ears and a face like a puppy dog, young one's are playful and are happy to swim with humans. And so it was an early start when along with 15 others we boarded a modified fishing boat for a 40 minute trip to a little island off the coast. On arrival the skip dropped anchor just off the shore and well within view of a colony of sea lions who showed no interest whatever in us. The deck'ie donned a wetsuit and with flippers and snorkel swam into within about 20 meters of the colony and started jumping up and down and flapping his arms, within seconds a group of young lions took to the water to come and see what the ruckus was about. They followed him back to the boat where the other tourists quickly jumped into the water with them. The tourists and sea lions played happily in the water for the next two hours, the antic's of the sea lions was incredible, the diving, jumping, twisting through the water and even putting their nose on the mask of the swimmers like they were kissing them. The tourists were ecstatic with the experience. I did not swim because of the crook shoulder and Judy because of the cold windy conditions however for the $100 each price tag we thought that it was an opportunity to good to miss even though we were just watching.

The other reason for our visit, was to visit the Numbung National Park and look at the Pinnacles which we did on Thursday Oct 7th. This phenomena of hundreds of limestone pinnacles protruding through the desert sands is awesome, the different sizes and shapes is endless. It is hard to describe the scene, so I'll attach some photo's. The park has a visitors center which is beautifully designed and well worth a visit to see, there is a 1.5 K walk and a 4K drive to chose between, or do both, as we did. We then went in Cervantes for lunch.

Whilst at Jurien Bay we also went for a drive through Lesueur National Park and found a variety of wildflowers which Judy photographed. This drive was about 18 K's through the park and is a beautiful drive with the option to walk different areas.

Last night in Jurien Bay we had drinks with Pat and Pete who are heading in different direction from us the next day.

Friday the 8th Oct and we are travelling inland to New Norcia, a town established by Spanish Benedictine Monks over a hundred years ago, originally 200 acres of land and now 8,000 acres of surrounding land. This is a small community of buildings which were once used for orphanages and boarding schools and a monastery for monks which still exists for the seven monks remaining.

The architecture and buildings are simply fantastic a photographers dream. There is a lovely peaceful ambiance about the town, that is until you try and sleep behind the roadhouse when you discover that even though the roadhouse is closed the road trains still screech to a stop at all times of the night for the drivers to use the toilets and drivers of refrigerated trucks run their cooling all night. This caused our two night stop to shorten to one and no refund for the site fees, oh where has the love gone?

Anyhow we did a really good tour of the buildings, which allowed us to see parts of the place not normally open and give us an insight into the history and lifestyle of the monks. We recommend this tour to anyone interested, it is very good. Also very good is the Hotel which has "Abbey Ale" on tap, this ale is made by Dr Chuck Hahn of Malt Shovel Breweries and is one of the best beers I have ever tasted. They also have Monastery Wines which are really good wines and the food is OK too.

We began our second day at New Norcia by attending mass with the monks and later visited the art gallery and museum which we found to be very good. The art in particular is extraordinary and well worth a look.

In looking back the early Spanish Monks had wood carvers and artists who crafted altars and painted religious scenes which even today are special. One tends to wonder what will happen to all this in the future with the numbers of monks declining and the aging process taking place?

At mid morning we headed off toward Perth

Geraldton, Dongara and Port Denison

Friday 1st of October and we are on the road again (good name for a song), heading towards Geraldton but intending to go onto Dongara to stay. This is about 238 K's and is a fairly soft drive. We stopped at Geraldton and replenished our supplies. Geraldton is a bustling good sized Town, its a change to have to cope with busy traffic again. Stocked up, I was glad we had decided to stay in a smaller town, and was happy to be out of busy Geraldton.

Dongara and Port Denison are described in Tourism Brochures as being divided by the Irwin River, however during our visit we were very confused because there did not appear to be a dividing line between the two.

First priority upon arrival was to set the TV up for the repeat Grand Final. Much relieved to find that we had great reception. Next morning up early for a walk to the "Fisherman's Lookout" and Harbour and then back to the van for brekky and off to the local markets. Local markets lose their appeal after about the 100th outing but fresh fruit and veggies is always good, pity there was not any here. I did get to add to my collection of really bad "cheap" videos, can't figure out what makes me buy junk and love it!

Off to the bakery for lunch, I do know why I love bakery's and so does my waistline. Back at the van with sweaty palms I settled in to watch the Grand Final, I could not believe the difference in Collingwood's game, at half time I was confident we had it won. I was feeling quite emotional after reading the book of the 09 season called "Side by Side" because I understood what it meant to the players and coaches to win. "Winning is not everything---it's the only thing". Now I'll shut up until next season.

Sunday cleaned the car and watched the NRL Final, good to see the combo win. Monday we cleaned out the car and took Pat and Pete into Geraldton for a look around. About 20 K's down the road the drivers side tyre flew to bits (De-laminated). Apart from scaring hell out of me it made a terrible mess of the car, ripping off mud flaps and trim and damaging paintwork. This tyre was a Coopers and had been the spare and never used until Darwin, when I put it and a new tyre on the rear. So it turns out that tyres have a life of about 5 years even if they are not used, then are prone to De-laminating. So take care to rotate your tyre's to get some value out of them.This incident serves to remind us just what can happen and to slow down and be even more careful.

After looking around Geraldton we visited a historic homestead/museum on the way home and then home to sort out the tyre drama. Next day off to Jurien Bay.

Kalbarri

Southwards 373 K's to Kalbarri, a trip that had us nervous about getting a site as we had phoned ahead and were told it was booked out. We also noticed along the way that the number of wildflowers had increased, its good to see the colors all blending together.It has not been a great year for wildflowers and to see carpets of flowers you need to travel inland a little.
We checked out the Caravan Parks as we drove through town, bingo, on the second one they had a cancellation that morning, site 114 is a small site and after pulling out the tape measure I reckoned that we could get the van on site if we placed it between two palm trees and let it overhang into the street a little. So with a little help from the caretaker we set up and booked the site for a week, which was to sit out some of the school holidays, not because there is a lot to do in Kalbarri.
Kalbarri is a small town located on a bay which is protected by a sea wall and sand bar, which makes it a great place for boating and also a safe place for kid's and water sports.There were kid's everywhere, with the sounds of happy family's dominating the area. We rose early next morning for a walk along the beach and up to the bluff, our fitness level is not to good, the relaxed life style is playing havoc with our weight. However after some huffing and puffing we reached the lookout and spent pleasant time looking out over the wild west coastline. The coastal beaches have many reefs protecting them, this looks fantastic to see the waves breaking off shore. We watched some of the fishing boats heading out for the days fishing, its intriguing how they negotiate the Chanel and turn into the surf and power through the waves. The view back over the town is also good.
Every day at about 9am, opposite our Caravan Park (Murchison),Pelican feeding takes place.There is a semi circle railing, giving the Pelican's a little space. The Pelicans are the first to arrive and waddle up to the enclosure waiting for members of the organising committee to feed them the fish. This event is very well organised with the organisers miked up and happy to answer questions, the amazing thing is the numbers of people who arrive to watch and participate, we watched daily from our van and every day there was well over 150 present.
Pete and Pat arrived and set up nearby, so the four of us went to "Finlay's Fish B.B.Q".This place had been recommended to us and was not a disappointment.The owner/cook is an eccentric and his assortment of buildings and decorations around the place are an eclectic collection of Australiana.The absolute surprise is the organisation and quality of the food. Two cooks, one deep fry and 6 or 7 B.B.Q's and the food quantity and quality is excellent. This turned out to be a highlight of our week in Kalbarri.
Judy also created a highlight with an excellent dinner of Roast Pork and Veggies, which we enjoyed with Pete and Pat. Other neighbors joined us after dinner for drinks, which was very pleasant until Pete tripped and fell, straining a hamstring and bruising.
The rest of the week was taken up with sight seeing and book reading, there is a very good exchange book shop at the southern end of town. All in all this was a quiet and restful week, good to recharge the batteries but life goes on and its time to move to Dongara, Port Dennison.

Denham and Monkey Mia

Denham is about 324 K's south of Carnarvon and Monkey Mia is 26 K's further. Monkey Mia is famous for Dolphin Feeding and subject to differing opinions about the value of traveling 260 K's off the main road. Is it worth the trip?..you bet it is. The Dolphins are fantastic, the feeding is well organised with lots of little kid's getting a chance to feed the Dolphins. The cost to enter the park is not expensive in the scheme of things, anyhow back to the start.

We chose to stay at Denham and found that the Seaside Tourist Village was an excellent Park with 2 levels. We were settled into Denham Heights and our friends into Beach side, we had great views out over the ocean and our friends P&P nice views of tea tree beside the beach. Like everywhere along the coast the wind is horrific, strong and unrelenting (we are bloody sick of it). But Denham is a lovely little town with a great future, I think it will keep growing as apart from the wind it looks like a great place to live.

Our main purpose in visiting this area is to see the Dolphin feeding and do a tour of shark bay in a catamaran yacht, we booked the tour and arrived at Monkey Mia early next morning. We were in time to witness the first feeding of the dolphins for the day. As I said before the feeding was excellent, with 7 dolphins arriving and four or five feeding. They seem to really enjoy the interchange between people and themselves and are very curious and seem to be attracted by different colors and movements. They are very cute and I really enjoyed the experience.

Then onto the yacht, with a good seat and the wind doing something useful for a change we skipped across the water of the bay to an area where there is a lot of sea grass under the water. This is the favorite haunt of the Dugong, a marine animal like a miniature whale and we saw plenty of them. They are a very shy, timid creature that come to the surface to breathe and then dive to eat the grass, they stay at the top briefly and you have to be quick to see them and very clever or lucky to photograph them. We also saw turtles and dolphins. At $69 this was a good value for money tour and the bonus was a sunset cruise for an additional $9, which we chose to take the next night. With the experience of the previous day we took wine and snacks and happily sipped chilled wine and nibbles while we whizzed across the water to witness a brilliant sunset. I could really get used to sailing it is an awesome feeling.

We also visited a marine center and saw a huge variety of fish and sea creatures such as blue ringed octopuses, sea snakes and sting rays and many others. We also saw sharks being fed and I reckon the highlight was the commentary and knowledge of the guide, who absolutely talked the whole time and knew what he was talking about. We learnt heaps about sea creatures.

I spent a very nervous Saturday watching Collingwood and St Kilda at war, a frustrating draw resulting, so a very nervous week ahead.

Four nights at Denham and a wonderful time, yes everyone should visit Denham and Monkey Mia and let this wonderful little place wash over you. South again towards Kalbarrie.