The drive along the coast has not improved. We have never seen so much road kill, roos, cows, sheep, goats, one about every 100 metres. The animals are either very stupid or there is a lot of traffic along this road. The latter is the most likely although we actually had to stop while a herd of goats leisurely crossed the road.
We stopped at Hamelin Pool to see the stromatolites which were very uninspiring and just looked like rocks to us, then Shell Beach where we stole a bucket of shells (Hamlin cockles) rather than them ending up as chook scratchings like they usually do, and finally Eagle Bluff where we were lucky enough to see sharks, manta rays, turtles and schools of fish from the boardwalk. The visibility was fantastic and the water very still. Unfortunately we were not here at the right time of year to see a dugong.
The CP at Denham was booked out so it’s lucky we had booked ahead. Not a blade of grass in sight; shellgrit is the ground cover of choice here. The weather was lovely until about 3pm when the black clouds came over and the wind started to blow a gale. Our stroll down the esplanade came to an abrupt halt and out came the jumpers. Stephen went to the camp kitchen to make a curry as we were short on gas. While there, another camper chipped him for sampling the cooking with the wooden spoon. She wanted to know if there was anyone else sharing this meal and whether he had permission to lick the spoon. She shut up when he told her that (don’t puke Cath) he and I share other bodily fluids and so he didn’t need permission. Dinner was early as we had to be settled in to watch the Saints v Bullies. Unfortunately for Denis Grant the result was not what he wanted but the game was a ripper and our NBF Rob is one happy man.
Unfortunately, we have had less and less interaction with other campers as we have moved further south because as soon as the sun gets lower in the sky it turns cold and everyone retires to the warmth of their vans. Camp kitchens can be great places to meet others, especially travelling foreigners and tight fisted pensioners.
Up very early on Saturday to get out to Monkey Mia by 7.45am to watch some pommy girls!!! feeding the dolphins (does anyone work in any of these tourist centres who is Australian?). Some good photos but really it is a bit of a rip off. It costs $8 each to see and lasts about 20 minutes, if that. We hightailed it out of there and drove back to the Francois Peron National Park. The 4x4 track was very sandy and quite thick in places and took us across some large birradas (gypsum clay pans). After 48 kms we reached the cliffs of Cape Peron with its magnificent rust red sand dunes and brilliant white sand dunes contrasting against the aqua blue ocean. We walked to Skipjack Point hoping to see a bilby (nocturnal of course, so no hope of that), but were treated to some beautiful wildflower displays, a blue tongue (stump tail) lizard and lots of beautiful birds. Another boardwalk overlooking the ocean but unfortunately the water was a bit choppy and visibility limited. Walked back along the beach through a large flock of Stephen’s favourite birds, the Pied Cormorant. For some reason he has fallen in love with these strange critters. We drove back to Peron Homestead and sat in the artesian tub which was damn hot, in fact too hot for Stephen, who didn’t even bother to get in, except for his right foot for all of 10 seconds. Back to the van to begin preparation for the big match between the Pies and Geeeeellloooonnnng. A long night!! Hope the ‘greatest team of all’ get done by the Saints next week.
Left Denham and drove to Kalbarri. The drive was quite lovely with some magnificent displays of wildflowers along the roadside. We had a shower or two of rain but not enough to worry about. Kalbarri is a seaside holiday town with the river mouth coming into the ocean, so lots of fishing. This is the first really big surf we have seen on the trip. The coastline is very rugged and reminded us a little of the Great Ocean Road. We drove around the town then along the coast and finally settled for some fish and chips for dinner. The snapper and red emperor were very fresh and quite yummy, the chips not so good. It rained quite heavily overnight – what has happened to the sun??
Monday we went to the Rainbow Jungle, a bird sanctuary. Some really beautiful parrots, cockatoos and even some macaws. This is a privately run sanctuary which gets no government funding and I must say they are doing a wonderful job. We followed this adventure with a trip to the Wildflower Park. We saw hakea laurina, scholtzia uberiflora muell, grevillea trachytheca, chamelaucium uncinaturn schauer, banksia hookeriana, acaia hemignosta, etc etc, need I go on?? A day of Flora and Fauna!! Another windy day but the sun remained out and valiantly tried to push up the temperature. Fish curry for dinner. We are slowly making our way through all of the fish we caught. Spent the night watching the Brownlow, a treat because it was live (starting at 6:30pm WA time) and didn’t finish at midnight like it does in Melbourne. Congrats to Gazza.
Tuesday we pottered around (slept in) before heading off to the Kalbarri NP. First stop Nature’s Window, a short walk down to this view over the Murchison River and valley below. We took a path down to the river from the lookout and Stephen was rewarded with some wonderful photo opportunities of the rock face along the river. Back into the car and along the road to the Z Bend lookout. Along the way we came across a Horny Devil – no, not Stephen, another one . You will see pictures of this magnificent creature (its actually a Thorny Devil) in the web album attached. We managed to add to our rock collection which is now soooo large the car is beginning to list. We went to Finlay’s Fish BBQ for dinner. We will begin to grow gills soon! A very informal affair with outside tables, or should I say old school desks, a big fire and a wonderfully friendly atmosphere. A party of young Italian girls had booked for dinner so the cook prompted us all to yell out ‘bongiorno’ when they arrived. They were suitable shocked and started to giggle. We chatted with a couple from Morwell and a young family from Perth who had pre empted the holidays and arrived a week early. When we got back to the van I discovered I had lost my glasses so back we went and fortunately they had been handed in. Phew!
Wednesday we left for Geraldton, a short trip of 170 kms. We are no longer in the outback. The landscape has turned to rolling plains of lush grass and farming land with fat cows and sheep. The wildflowers are everywhere and make for a delightful drive. Properties no longer have north and south boundaries with hundreds of kilometres between each. We were affronted by the sight of traffic lights and streets with names, not just signs directing you to a community. Oh my God, we are back in civilisation!!
We spent the afternoon walking around the town centre and found the ice cream shop (Jenarlie’s) which we had heard all about on the radio. The owner had entered her ice cream in the Perth show for the first time this year and won several first prizes. We chatted to her about her radio interview and she was quite chuffed. Stephen chose licorice (1st prize) and I had passionfruit (1st prize). They were delicious. We also sampled some of the other flavours as well – what can I say, she liked us!! We drove up to the HMAS Sydney Memorial and checked out Uncle Frank Mitchell. A very sobering place. Did you know the Lieutenant Commander’s name was Dalton, just like my maiden name?
Thursday we had a late start before getting on the bikes and riding the path along the beach, past the town centre and beyond. A lovely day with bright sunshine, but still a cool breeze. We stopped for lunch at a seaside café then back to the ice cream shop for a second round, this time passionfruit for S and hokey pokey for moi. We also bought a 1kg tub of passionfruit ice cream for the next few days; I doubt it will last much longer than that. Back on the bikes to burn off the calories gained.
We moved onto Cervantes the next morning. A lovely drive along the coast, with ocean views this time. Cervantes is a lovely seaside resort for the residents of Perth. It is close to the capital and there are quite a lot of holiday homes here and at other little towns along the coast. We set up the van then drove to the Pinnacles about 13 kms away in Nambung NP. These are a natural phenomena, lime mounds very similar to termite mounds. To be perfectly honest it was a bit boring. We did see some very big sand dunes on the way home and had a bit of a run up and down them. The wind once again blew up in the afternoon and it was very cold.
Saturday arrived, Grandfinal Day. A beautiful sunny morning after a freezing cold night, a little different from the day in Melbourne. We ventured out for a look and a walk along the beach but quickly went back to the van when we saw what should be a lovely white beach absolutely covered in seaweed. Gross!! The caravan park is chockers with people as it is a long weekend and the forecast is for a couple of days of around 28 degrees. We watched all the whoopla before the game started then settled in to watch the game at 12.30pm!!!!! A great game but I must admit to going and sitting outside in the sun several times as it was just too nice to be inside. Congrats to ‘the greatest team of all’ on their success this year. Groan.
Sunday we packed up and left for the Swan Valley via New Norcia. A very pretty drive on a beautiful sunny day. New Norcia is Australia’s only monastic town and we spent a very pleasant couple of hours walking around the grounds and checking out the museum. We arrived in Caversham late in the afternoon and visited the Chocolate shop where you couldn’t even get in the door. Far too many people around so we bought some strawberries at a local vendor and headed home.
Monday was cold and miserable, just the right sort of day for a winery tour and lunch by a nice fire. We visited several wineries in the morning where we made a few purchases then had a late lunch at Chesters. A very nice meal with a fire and some good wine to compliment the very yummy food. More rain Monday night and a very cold Tuesday. Cath rang to brag about the beautiful day in Melbourne while we spent most of the day out of the weather in a shopping centre; haven’t seen many of them lately.
Wednesday we ventured into Perth CBD on the train. Finally the rain has stopped although it is still quite cool. The train was full of families going to the Show. Perth is quite a nice city with a well set out shopping district. Stephen managed to buy a new pair of boots, socks, a new shirt and a CD while I somehow didn’t get anything. The day improved with the sun shining and hopefully continuing for the next week.
Tomorrow we move to the other side of Perth, a bit closer to the beach. What can I say, we live in hope!!
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