Up bright and early as Stephen was busting to see the bus we were parked next to pack up and leave. Not just a bus but a huge luxury motor home which we had seen once before when we were in Katherine many moons ago. He had spent the previous evening talking to the Dutch guy and his wife who owned it but was unable to talk his way into an invitation to actually get inside the thing and check it out. He watched their car, a Mirage, being loaded onto the hydraulic lift and then fitting neatly inside the bus chassis. All very impressive and made our little caravan seem quite small and insignificant.
The weather was not too flash and the rain was quite persistent. The drive from Clare to Adelaide was very pretty and we even saw a tree which had been stuck by lightning not all that long ago. It had been completely split down the middle; you don’t often see stuff like that.
We were finally confronted by lots of traffic as we drove slowly into Adelaide, all a bit much for these country travellers. We set up in Gerard and Lola’s driveway and while we waited for them to come home from work we watched the Melbourne Cup on the TV in the van. It was lovely to see them after such a long time. I don’t think Bruce, the dog, was all that happy as we were invading his territory. We spent our time in Adelaide visiting the Gallery of SA - saw John Brack’s exhibition, checking out the Adelaide market, cruising around the CBD and shopping at Coles in Glenelg, the biggest we have seen on our travels. We spent time with Naomi, Simone and Matthew and listened to all their news. Gerard was working at the races most days because of the ‘Melbourne Cup Carnival’. We didn’t realise that all of Adelaide celebrated this event with such vigour. Lola was a gracious hostess and spent lots of time with us chatting.
Stephen had picked up a newspaper advertising a tool sale at some place in Adelaide on Saturday and was mad keen on picking up a new saw if he could. On Saturday morning we packed up to leave and put our destination, Penola, into the GPS. Stephen also put in the address of the tool sale but we realised it was 30 kms out of our way so he deleted it, or so he thought. I was very surprised by the route we were taking but Sheila has managed to get us all around Australia so why would I doubt her. Suddenly we were in an industrial estate where – you guessed it I’m sure – the tool sale was being held. Someone had not deleted the address it seems, or was it Sheila’s fault who Stephen seemed to be blaming!! “Oh well, we are here so I might as well take a look”. After many strange stares from hardware men at me sitting in the ‘Vic’ car with the caravan on the back, and having to answer comments like “you’ve come a long way for a bargain luv”, and one large saw and a saw horse later firmly tied to the top of the Blue Lux we headed out of Adelaide.
We arrived in Penola late afternoon, probably because we had added 60 kilometres to our trip in the morning, and spent the rest of the very hot day in the very small town having a look at what was on offer which was not much. We had nibbles with a couple from Glen Waverley before retiring to our van for dinner. We had a very slow start to Sunday with a newspaper and a cooked brekkie, both rare treats. Around 11.30 we ventured out into Coonawarra for some serious red wine sport. With the temperature around 35 it was not the best day for tasting red wine but like the troupers that we are we managed to fill the day in and buy a number of good reds to take home. Now these are good, bold red wines from the best area in Australia. Another very warm night followed by a slow start to the day before hooking up the van for the last time. We watched a couple take 2 hours to pack up a camper trailer and were very grateful we had bought a caravan which takes us about 15 – 20 minutes for the same procedure.
The drive to Ballarat was quiet. We were both a bit stunned that we would soon be home and weren’t too sure about how we felt about that. After stepping over the line back into Victoria, we stopped at the Royal Mail in Dunkeld and had a drink at the pub to celebrate. The scenery all started to look familiar as the town names like Casterton, Coleraine and Hamilton flew by. It was not long before we arrived in Ballarat to a wonderful welcome from Chris and Di. Our grassed site was ready and waiting for us and, as we were not going anywhere that night, we left the van on the car. This overnighter was one of our brighter ideas as Chris and Di did a similar trip 4 years ago, so we had lots of experiences to talk about. It was almost like a debriefing session for us. A late night and a few drinks resulted in me not feeling all that flash the next morning but thanks to the healing powers of Berocca I was much improved on the journey home to Strathmore.
We arrived home at 11.30am, unhooked the van and drove straight up to see Cath and the girls. We were a bit dubious about the reception we would get from Frances but our fears were soon put to rest when we were covered in hugs and kisses from both she and Maggie. Cath was also very happy to see us and in only minutes managed to have her diary out and had us booked in for babysitting on a number of occasions over the next few weeks!! We now pay the price for being away for sooooo long. Later in the afternoon we walked around to St Martin’s to pick up Fynn. He didn’t know we were home and his little face, with no front teeth, lit up when he saw us. It was a priceless moment. We had dinner with Pat and Fleur that evening and of course our good friend Aileen who told us we weren’t to go away for that long ever again.
So the journey ends.
In 7 months we have travelled 33,160 kilometres, have used 4,696 litres of diesel at an average price of $1.37 per litre and a total cost of $6,332. Unhooked and re-hooked the caravan 66 times and stayed in 77 different camping grounds, and a horse paddock in Broome, at a cost of $5,402. The most invaluable thing was that we had no trouble with the car or the caravan. Between us we also took 6,468 photos: of which I took, maybe, 68.
We set off to escape suburbia and have an adventure. We’ve achieved those things in bucket loads and, in addition, we’ve discovered much about our country. It’s even more beautiful and vast as those Qantas ads show. I still don’t feel qualified to make any grand pronouncements on the nation and its people. I do, however, feel a new connection to the country. The Red Centre, the Kimberley and the Pilbara are no longer just places on a map. The two great issues facing Australia are the environment and the Aborigines and neither gets the attention they deserve. It will be a crime if the north coast of WA is handed over to the gas companies. The issue of the aborigines will still be with us long after the global financial crisis ends with precious little progress in sight.
One of the best things about the trip has been spending time with each other. We discovered we have lots of fun just being together and even found the time to really talk. Time is a wonderful thing and you certainly need to grab every moment you can as life can sometimes be short. We have met some fabulous people and now have a blog full of yarns. As we return to our ‘normal’ life we again have a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom: a place to pee in peace with thick toilet paper.
Paul Keating once said: ‘If you’re not living in Sydney you’re camping out.’ He obviously didn’t understand the value of camping out.
Thanks to each and every one of you for your emails and best wishes. We hope you enjoyed the journey as much as we did.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/AdelaideClarePenolaBallaratStrathmore#
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Nullarbor 23 October - 2 November
The next few days could only be described as bleak and miserable. Finally we got a site directly across from the ocean and what do we get but gale force winds for days on end. The beaches in Esperance are beautiful and unfortunately we have not seen them at their best, which is in full sun and with no wind. We drove around the Great Ocean Drive and the sun peeked out of the clouds which enabled Stephen to take a few photos. Sunday we drove to Cape Le Grande. The sun had finally come out and the sky was clear, however the wind did not give up. We walked along Cape Le Grande beach and watched some young kids (with wetsuits) boogie boarding in the very impressive surf. We then gave our calves another workout by climbing Frenchman’s Peak. The higher we got the stronger the wind was and there were times when I thought I would be blown off the rock face. The temperature was quite high but wrecked by the wind chill factor. After completing this climb we spent a very pleasant hour or so eating lunch at Hellfire Bay and walking along the pristine white sand. Lucky Bay and Rossiter’s Bay completed the drive and we were treated to a number of emus grazing on the roadside. Stumpy tailed lizards are prolific in the area and we spend all our time trying not to run over them as they love to warm themselves on the bitumen.
Monday, 26th October 2009, exactly one year since 26th October, 2008. That’s right, I am sure you have all guessed that it is Stephen’s anniversary, the day of the dreaded fall, with pike, from the ladder. It has been declared an accident and titanium free day. At no time is he allowed to leave my side and definitely not allowed to climb a ladder. Yeah right, as if that is going to happen!! We spent the morning on a boat cruising around the Recherche Archipelago and having morning tea at Woody Island. We saw lots of seals, sea eagles, pacific gulls, Cape Barron geese and the fin of one dolphin. We also laughed a lot as Stephen constantly pretended to fall over his feet the whole morning. It was a lovely morning with the sun shining and the wind finally still. As we returned to shore the clouds closed in but the humidity was high. As you would expect, Stephen spent the afternoon cleaning the top of the caravan – on the ladder – and washing the car. You can’t keep a good man down – literally. It is great to see him fit, well and very happy.
Tomorrow we are off to Kalgoorlie, to spend a couple of days with Rebecca Sherry (daughter of Jan and John) and her family. Finally little people to play with.
We had a wonderful time with the Thomsons of Kalgoorlie. We spent time reading books and playing at the park as well as lots of time in the 'little house', as the girls – Jasmine, Leah and Chloe - liked to call the caravan. As all good grandparents we had a good stash of lollies to bribe them with. The superpit is something to behold and we took several trips out to see it, one to just gap at the enormity of the hole, another to see a blast and the last time at night to see it under lights. One can’t visit Kalgoorlie without a tour of Langtree’s Brothel, a real working brothel. There were six on the tour, two couples and two ladies who were attending a conference in town. The two guys were somewhat outnumbered but quite okay about it. We asked lots of questions and probably went to a level of enquiry that was way beyond what we needed to know. The most interesting room was the Sport Room which came complete with a boxing ring around the bed, a racing whip with feathers, a round (as in boxing) bell and lots of other sporting props. Veeery interesting!!
After being farewelled by Rebecca, Greg and the girls we turned our attention to the Nullarbor. We decided to head for Cocklebiddy for the night. We took turns driving so as not to go to sleep with boredom. There is absolutely nothing to see on this journey except for k after k of bush scrub with the occasional tree thrown in. We unexpectedly reached Cocklebiddy around 3.30pm and decided to press on as it looked rather ordinary and we still had a couple of good hours driving left in us. We figured we could make the Mundrabilla Roadhouse before the light failed. And we did, only to find that the caravan park was closed. Hmmm. With the next stop 68 kms away we went back 10 kms to an off road camp site we had noticed. No power, but for one night and with it now being dark, we had no choice. One notable fact was we had only passed 19 (yes I counted) ‘freshly dead’ kangas for the day. We had been told to expect a virtual massacre across this road but it just didn’t happen. A quick dinner and straight to bed. A 845 km drive tends to make you very tired.
We woke up with the birds the next morning at 6am. We wanted to get away by 7am as we were keen to get off the Nullarbor and hopefully to Streaky Bay. We got into the car and went to turn on the radio for the 7 o’clock news when we noticed the clock display was 6.03am. We had misread the time when we woke up at apparently 5am. Groan!!! As if all day on the road wasn’t enough for us we were adding to it by an extra hour. The most interesting part of the day was the Madura Pass, a wonderful high view of the Nullarbor, very unexpected. I was driving and Stephen was sleeping when I was surprised by this fabulous site. Of course I woke him up as we had to take a photo. We passed a number of cyclists crossing the Nullarbor. I wonder at what point they asked themselves, “what the hell am I doing and how can I turn back???” We also had the delight of having to turn our clocks back 2½ hours which meant we had less time to cover the k’s. We made a stop at the Great Australian Bight and took some photos but were gazumped at the Head of Bight by a closed gate. We weren’t overly concerned as the whales have all but stopped migrating and the chances of seeing any were minimal. Around 4pm we arrived in Ceduna and handed over the fruit and vegies to the fruit fly Nazis. We then stopped and restocked at the IGA, a most annoying necessity. Onto Streaky Bay in time for a well earned drink and nibbles while we overlooked the water. It was very warm and the forecast for the following day was 35. After 672 kms for the day we felt we deserved a day of rest in this lovely little seaside stop.
Probably the fact that we had lost several hours meant we didn’t wake until 8.30am. By then it was quite hot. After breakfast we walked into town for a look-see and by the time we got back to the caravan park the temperature had climbed quite significantly. Unfortunately about the same time a hot northerly wind started to blow which made for a rather unpleasant afternoon. We put the airco on and were in and out of the van reading or sleeping. The wind blew a gale for most of the night and when we awoke the next morning it was quite chilly and a few drops of rain were falling. Streaky Bay is yet another fishing holiday spot which a lot of people seem to return to on a regular basis. An interesting fact about Streaky Bay is all the houses face the street when they could have a beautiful view of the beach if they faced them the other way????
Back on the road and to somewhere near Adelaide, not sure where. When we left Streaky Bay the temp was about 19 degrees, by the time we reached Poochera it was 28, Kimba it was 35 and as we drove into Portagutta it was 45. Thank goodness for air conditioning in the car. As we were leaving Portagutta Brudda we were confronted with a large dust storm caused by a cool change. The temperature dropped 16 degrees in about 15 minutes. For the past few days we have tried to entertain ourselves by picking on each other, laughing at those less fortunate than ourselves, listening to the radio or reading books. It seems the closer we get to Adelaide the bogan factor seems to kick in, it must be a proximity thing!! We made a decision to head for Clare for the night rather than Port Pirie as it looked very industrial. A sleep over in Clare then off to Adelaide tomorrow.
As this is the penultimate edition of Oztrek I will give you a list of the things I will miss about not being ‘on the road’/trailer trash.
• Looking at a black sky with millions of little sparkling lights while you have a 3am bush pee
• The road lined with beautiful little flowers I once thought were weeds
• Stephen devising his very own traveller’s wave which he used when passing other caravan travellers – this took several weeks to perfect
• Stephen practising his traveller’s wave while he thinks no one is watching
• Sitting quietly in the car while the landscape constantly changes
• The hurricane of a road train as it passes by
• The never ending broken white line
• The delight of meeting NBFs
• The fun with NBFs
• The five minutes it took to do the ‘housework’
• The absolute quiet of the night
• The constant temperature of the north and the sun on your face
• Not worrying about what was for dinner as Stephen would always have that covered
• No where to shop which of course took the strain out of ‘what will I buy’
• Animals that moved freely around
• The different colours of the soil
• Red dust on and in my shoes
• The challenge of climbing in and out of gorges
• The crystal clear water of swimming holes
• The freezing water of swimming holes
• The beautiful turquoise blue of the Indian Ocean
• The jagged rock faces of the mountain ranges
• A face that is not the same colour as mine – although I do have a pretty good suntan
• 5pm nibblies
• 6pm nibblies
• 7pm nibblies
• Speaking to Stephen and he has to listen because there is no escape from the Blue Lux
• Plotting routes and constantly changing them
• Listening to the IPod while we drive along
• Every day being either Saturday or Sunday
• Watching Stephen wash the Lux every other day
• Janet’s laugh – indescribable – we already miss it
• Sheila’s voice on the GPS – at the roundabout take the third exit
• Watching others back their caravans into tight spots – trailer trash sport
• Fresh air with no smog/Nature
• Waking to the sound of the birds
• Rob’s jeans and smalls hanging on the clothes horse everyday
Things I will gladly see the back of:
• Macca on a Sunday Morning
• Thursday with Colin on the ABC (Colin Barnett, King/Premier of WAland)
• Bloated animal carcasses on the side of the road
• Thin toilet paper at every amenities block in Australia
• Eco Toilets/Straight Droppers
• Showers with no water pressure
• The occasional ‘Dick’ we would run across who knew everything there is to know
• Information on the Eagles and the Dockers – who cares???
When next I write we will be home with our family. Here we come!!
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/EsperanceKalgoorlieNullarbor#
Monday, 26th October 2009, exactly one year since 26th October, 2008. That’s right, I am sure you have all guessed that it is Stephen’s anniversary, the day of the dreaded fall, with pike, from the ladder. It has been declared an accident and titanium free day. At no time is he allowed to leave my side and definitely not allowed to climb a ladder. Yeah right, as if that is going to happen!! We spent the morning on a boat cruising around the Recherche Archipelago and having morning tea at Woody Island. We saw lots of seals, sea eagles, pacific gulls, Cape Barron geese and the fin of one dolphin. We also laughed a lot as Stephen constantly pretended to fall over his feet the whole morning. It was a lovely morning with the sun shining and the wind finally still. As we returned to shore the clouds closed in but the humidity was high. As you would expect, Stephen spent the afternoon cleaning the top of the caravan – on the ladder – and washing the car. You can’t keep a good man down – literally. It is great to see him fit, well and very happy.
Tomorrow we are off to Kalgoorlie, to spend a couple of days with Rebecca Sherry (daughter of Jan and John) and her family. Finally little people to play with.
We had a wonderful time with the Thomsons of Kalgoorlie. We spent time reading books and playing at the park as well as lots of time in the 'little house', as the girls – Jasmine, Leah and Chloe - liked to call the caravan. As all good grandparents we had a good stash of lollies to bribe them with. The superpit is something to behold and we took several trips out to see it, one to just gap at the enormity of the hole, another to see a blast and the last time at night to see it under lights. One can’t visit Kalgoorlie without a tour of Langtree’s Brothel, a real working brothel. There were six on the tour, two couples and two ladies who were attending a conference in town. The two guys were somewhat outnumbered but quite okay about it. We asked lots of questions and probably went to a level of enquiry that was way beyond what we needed to know. The most interesting room was the Sport Room which came complete with a boxing ring around the bed, a racing whip with feathers, a round (as in boxing) bell and lots of other sporting props. Veeery interesting!!
After being farewelled by Rebecca, Greg and the girls we turned our attention to the Nullarbor. We decided to head for Cocklebiddy for the night. We took turns driving so as not to go to sleep with boredom. There is absolutely nothing to see on this journey except for k after k of bush scrub with the occasional tree thrown in. We unexpectedly reached Cocklebiddy around 3.30pm and decided to press on as it looked rather ordinary and we still had a couple of good hours driving left in us. We figured we could make the Mundrabilla Roadhouse before the light failed. And we did, only to find that the caravan park was closed. Hmmm. With the next stop 68 kms away we went back 10 kms to an off road camp site we had noticed. No power, but for one night and with it now being dark, we had no choice. One notable fact was we had only passed 19 (yes I counted) ‘freshly dead’ kangas for the day. We had been told to expect a virtual massacre across this road but it just didn’t happen. A quick dinner and straight to bed. A 845 km drive tends to make you very tired.
We woke up with the birds the next morning at 6am. We wanted to get away by 7am as we were keen to get off the Nullarbor and hopefully to Streaky Bay. We got into the car and went to turn on the radio for the 7 o’clock news when we noticed the clock display was 6.03am. We had misread the time when we woke up at apparently 5am. Groan!!! As if all day on the road wasn’t enough for us we were adding to it by an extra hour. The most interesting part of the day was the Madura Pass, a wonderful high view of the Nullarbor, very unexpected. I was driving and Stephen was sleeping when I was surprised by this fabulous site. Of course I woke him up as we had to take a photo. We passed a number of cyclists crossing the Nullarbor. I wonder at what point they asked themselves, “what the hell am I doing and how can I turn back???” We also had the delight of having to turn our clocks back 2½ hours which meant we had less time to cover the k’s. We made a stop at the Great Australian Bight and took some photos but were gazumped at the Head of Bight by a closed gate. We weren’t overly concerned as the whales have all but stopped migrating and the chances of seeing any were minimal. Around 4pm we arrived in Ceduna and handed over the fruit and vegies to the fruit fly Nazis. We then stopped and restocked at the IGA, a most annoying necessity. Onto Streaky Bay in time for a well earned drink and nibbles while we overlooked the water. It was very warm and the forecast for the following day was 35. After 672 kms for the day we felt we deserved a day of rest in this lovely little seaside stop.
Probably the fact that we had lost several hours meant we didn’t wake until 8.30am. By then it was quite hot. After breakfast we walked into town for a look-see and by the time we got back to the caravan park the temperature had climbed quite significantly. Unfortunately about the same time a hot northerly wind started to blow which made for a rather unpleasant afternoon. We put the airco on and were in and out of the van reading or sleeping. The wind blew a gale for most of the night and when we awoke the next morning it was quite chilly and a few drops of rain were falling. Streaky Bay is yet another fishing holiday spot which a lot of people seem to return to on a regular basis. An interesting fact about Streaky Bay is all the houses face the street when they could have a beautiful view of the beach if they faced them the other way????
Back on the road and to somewhere near Adelaide, not sure where. When we left Streaky Bay the temp was about 19 degrees, by the time we reached Poochera it was 28, Kimba it was 35 and as we drove into Portagutta it was 45. Thank goodness for air conditioning in the car. As we were leaving Portagutta Brudda we were confronted with a large dust storm caused by a cool change. The temperature dropped 16 degrees in about 15 minutes. For the past few days we have tried to entertain ourselves by picking on each other, laughing at those less fortunate than ourselves, listening to the radio or reading books. It seems the closer we get to Adelaide the bogan factor seems to kick in, it must be a proximity thing!! We made a decision to head for Clare for the night rather than Port Pirie as it looked very industrial. A sleep over in Clare then off to Adelaide tomorrow.
As this is the penultimate edition of Oztrek I will give you a list of the things I will miss about not being ‘on the road’/trailer trash.
• Looking at a black sky with millions of little sparkling lights while you have a 3am bush pee
• The road lined with beautiful little flowers I once thought were weeds
• Stephen devising his very own traveller’s wave which he used when passing other caravan travellers – this took several weeks to perfect
• Stephen practising his traveller’s wave while he thinks no one is watching
• Sitting quietly in the car while the landscape constantly changes
• The hurricane of a road train as it passes by
• The never ending broken white line
• The delight of meeting NBFs
• The fun with NBFs
• The five minutes it took to do the ‘housework’
• The absolute quiet of the night
• The constant temperature of the north and the sun on your face
• Not worrying about what was for dinner as Stephen would always have that covered
• No where to shop which of course took the strain out of ‘what will I buy’
• Animals that moved freely around
• The different colours of the soil
• Red dust on and in my shoes
• The challenge of climbing in and out of gorges
• The crystal clear water of swimming holes
• The freezing water of swimming holes
• The beautiful turquoise blue of the Indian Ocean
• The jagged rock faces of the mountain ranges
• A face that is not the same colour as mine – although I do have a pretty good suntan
• 5pm nibblies
• 6pm nibblies
• 7pm nibblies
• Speaking to Stephen and he has to listen because there is no escape from the Blue Lux
• Plotting routes and constantly changing them
• Listening to the IPod while we drive along
• Every day being either Saturday or Sunday
• Watching Stephen wash the Lux every other day
• Janet’s laugh – indescribable – we already miss it
• Sheila’s voice on the GPS – at the roundabout take the third exit
• Watching others back their caravans into tight spots – trailer trash sport
• Fresh air with no smog/Nature
• Waking to the sound of the birds
• Rob’s jeans and smalls hanging on the clothes horse everyday
Things I will gladly see the back of:
• Macca on a Sunday Morning
• Thursday with Colin on the ABC (Colin Barnett, King/Premier of WAland)
• Bloated animal carcasses on the side of the road
• Thin toilet paper at every amenities block in Australia
• Eco Toilets/Straight Droppers
• Showers with no water pressure
• The occasional ‘Dick’ we would run across who knew everything there is to know
• Information on the Eagles and the Dockers – who cares???
When next I write we will be home with our family. Here we come!!
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/EsperanceKalgoorlieNullarbor#
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Pemberton, Albany, Stirling Ranges, Hyden 15 – 22 October
Pemberton, what a gem!
We arrived around lunchtime after a picturesque trip through beautiful forests and pasture land. After satisfying our appetite with a Woolworths 4 seed roll we boarded the Pemberton Tram which meanders through towering karris, marri forests, over trestle bridges and across rivers. This was a 1¾ hour trip and the first chance we had to stop and look at the scenery without worrying about where we were driving. Needless to say staying so still we soon found ourselves falling asleep in such peaceful surrounds. Stephen then climbed the Gloucester Tree, 61 metres, while I stayed on terra firma. Late in the afternoon we drove out to Big Brook Dam where we were amazed that some ‘youths’ were swimming in the freezing dam while we watched the sun go down with a drink in our hand.
Friday was a lovely morning and the ‘plan’ was to drive to Beedelup Falls then onto Yeagarup sand dunes for some 4x4 ing. We were surprised to find the falls in a beautiful national park with lots of walking trails. We spent the next couple of hours bushwalking and passed the Karri Valley Resort which was set on a lovely lake, a name to remember. By the time we left the NP it was lunchtime and we found ourselves at the Silkwood Winery enjoying a platter for two and a bottle of very nice Cab Sav. We spent the next 1½ hours as the only guests in the most beautiful setting before a number of people crashed our party. The food was delicious with garlic prawns, dolmades, smoked chicken pate, spring rolls, cheese, biscuits and fresh fruit. It was now obvious that we would not be going to the dunes today and would need at least another day to enjoy the area.
Saturday was hot, back up to 30 degrees, a designated beach day. First call was the Yeagarup sand dunes, a series of vast mobile sand dunes which are steadily moving inland swallowing up forest, lakes and woodlands. The tyres were let down to a very low 12 and we made our foray onto the sands. The first hill is a doozy and we had to have a second go before getting up as the driver was a little tentative and didn’t have enough momentum. Once over the top you are confronted with a huge oasis of sand. We followed the markers over the dunes and through the sandy woodlands for about 12kms that led us to Yeagarup beach which is on the Southern Ocean. The water was bubbling and there was no swimming in this water unless you had a death wish. We had great fun returning, this time with more confidence as we knew what was confronting us. We left just as the yahoos were arriving, complete with stubbies in each hand! On the way back we drove through the Warren NP and climbed the Bicentennial Tree, 75 metres high. Even I had a go this time. We stopped at an avocado farm and bought a box of 35 avocados for $5.00 and a Crownie! We have been giving them away to our NBFs along the way. Twenty percent of Australia’s avos come from this area. Our next stop was Windy Harbour via Northcliffe, an interesting holiday and fishing spot. What started as a fishing cabin village has developed into a holiday town but still with the fishing cabins, some more glam than others. The beach has a sheltered area which is safe for swimming but is surrounded again by the Southern Ocean, a truly wild stretch of water. A kip on the beach and a stop at the Warren Winery where we chatted to the owners for sometime then home for dinner. We sat and had a drink and shared nibbles with our neighbours, Merrill and Norm, and never quite got to the food part; let’s just call it a liquid dinner that night. Merrill and Norm still hadn’t appeared when we left the next morning. Some people just aren’t stayers.
We loved Pemberton, it is what Margaret River used to be like before it became far too commercialised. It is a quaint old town which has retained its character surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery. Michael Butler assures us that it is the home of Bunnings. Stephen was devastated that he was unable to take a tour of the timber yard as they close at 12 noon on Friday and don’t reopen until Monday morning. Not bad hours if you can get them!
Up early and packed up to move to Albany. This day we had lots of stops planned on the way. First stop, Walpole. The chap at the Visitor’s Centre was more than helpful and provided us with maps of the area and stops to make along the way. We drove around a loop which took us past the inlet that Walpole is built on. Next stop, the Valley of the Giants and the Tree Top Walk. A great way to enjoy the red and yellow tingle trees which make up this forest. A few more kilometres down the South Coast Highway and we came to the toffee shop – free samples – where we made a small purchase so that the owners wouldn’t feel bad!! The next port of call, Denmark, the home of the largest barometer in the world, woohoo. Here we experienced the joy of running up and down the 6 flights of stairs watching the water level in the barometer rise and fall on a 6 minute cycle. Some people just don’t know when to stop having fun!! (Stephen: water boils at the top of the barometer at a very low 19.1oC, interesting)?? Denmark is a lovely little seaside town and we probably should have stayed here in hindsight. We eventually reached Albany (not Allbany) around 5.00pm just as the rain started to fall. Albany is a big town and we tend not to like these too much anymore. A big day in the car but a lovely drive and well worth taking the time to stop and see things.
Monday morning we awoke early to a clear sky so took advantage of this and went for a walk along the very nice Middleton Beach and were rewarded with some whales playing off the point and some seashells for Maggie and Frances. Unfortunately the weather closed in and we spent the day on the computer updating photos and blogs although around lunchtime we did take a break and went for a drive to Frenchman Bay. Here we went to Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound, Stony Hill lookout, the Blowholes which weren’t blowing water but made a huge sound that made me jump about 3 feet and think I was about to be blown off the rocks - much to Stephen’s amusement, the Natural Bridge and the Gap. All of these involved climbing up and down trails and while the sun was out, the wind was blowing a gale. We were treated to our first, then second snake sighting for the trip; however they kindly crawled off the path into the bushes to allow us to pass.
Tuesday morning we set off for the Stirling Ranges which we had been told not to miss. A fabulous but short (90 kms) drive along Chester Pass Road to the Stirling Ranges Retreat, a gen-u-ine nature reserve. The further we got away from the coast the higher the temperature got. An early lunch before climbing Bluff Knoll, a mere 1095 metre stroll up, up, up, up – are you getting the picture – up, up, up. At the halfway point I told Stephen to go ahead as there was no way I was going to make it. He went ahead and I decided to go a little further, then a little further, then a little further. Next thing I knew I was only 10 minutes from the top and no one was more surprised than Stephen when he walked around the corner on the way down and there I was. He walked back up to the top with me and I was very grateful that I had made the effort – my God, it was some effort – as the view from the top was spectacular. There was an ‘older’ chap at the top who took our photo and if Stephen had come down and told me that I hadn’t made it up there and some really old geeza had, I wouldn’t have been too happy. By the way, it was the old geeza’s third attempt at climbing the Bluff, the first 2 attempts failed but he has since stopped smoking. I think there is a message in that for all the puffers of the world. Coming down was no mean feat either. I could hardly believe how bloody steep it was and was amazed that I had actually made it to the top. We arrived back at the van very tired and hanging for a drink. A tour group were gathered around a blazing fire so we sat and chatted for a while before making dinner and hitting the sack.
A beautiful morning, just perfect for a ‘Wildflower Tour’!! Now that you have all picked yourselves up from the ground, I will proceed. The couple who run this retreat are very into their flora and fauna and we had been told their Wildflower Tour was not to be missed. Ayleen (yes Aileen, this is the correct spelling) took us in her little Hi Ace van and we ‘gutter crawled’ – a totally new experience for me although I’m not sure about Stephen – along the road stopping to spot wild orchids. They are obscure little plants but once shown where they are you quickly learn what to look for and believe it or not are soon spotting them for yourself. I could not believe the stuff coming out of Ayleen’s mouth, botanical and common names of every plant we saw. Tony, her husband, took over after morning tea and continued the lessons with the larger plants, symbiotic relationships (???) and some history of the area. Three hours later we were disappointed when the tour finished. Who would have thunk!!!
Back to the van for a quick bite of lunch then we moved to Hyden, the home of Wave Rock. The drive through the ‘food bowl’ of WA was very interesting, acres and acres of wheat, canola, oats, barley and any grain you can think of. The biggest problem we have is that farmers do not provide signage on their properties informing the passing public what crops they are producing. We must ring “Macca” next Sunday and suggest they install electronic boards along the fencing with this information. We arrived at Hyden around 4.30pm and by 6.00pm had completed all the walks around the rocks. Wave Rock was quite impressive but the million dollar question was: Was it worth driving 250 kms out of our way to see it??? The answer is yes, as Chris and Di Ridsdale have seen it and we couldn’t have them seeing something that we haven’t. We were treated to the sight of an Obscure Dragon while here (see photos) along with swarms of mosquitoes. Joy of joys! Back to the desolate caravan park, dinner and a very early night. The most redeeming feature of this place was that the temperature was around 27 degrees.
As we had not even unhooked the van we were away from Hyden around 8.00am the next morning. The drive from here to Ravensthorpe was again through the wheat crops yet this area has many salt lakes and has a serious salinity problem. We have heard a lot about Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun on the ABC on our trip. BHP Billiton were going to ramp up a nickel mine in the area so lots and lots of Government dollars in infrastructure was put into the area then they decided not to go ahead with the project. The city now has 200 new houses, new cafes and shops with no one to buy or run them, so the mining company and the government have given the Shire $10 million as compensation. We stopped for some morning tea at one of the cafes and the owner, a local, told me that 7 of the 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom houses in Hopetoun had been sold (apparently to local farmers for holiday houses: it’s near the beach) for $375,000 each, well below cost. Unfortunately it’s a bit far from home for us to pick up a bargain.
We continued on towards Esperance but were stopped in our tracks by a grass fire. With the road closed we took a gravel road detour, always a worry with the van, however the road was quite good and we only passed about 5 road trains going the other way; uggh, clouds of dust!! As we approached Esperance the temperature once more dipped to around 21 and the wind was hurricane force.
Why is it that as soon as we approach the beach the weather turns sour???
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/PembertonAlbanyStirlingRangesHydenEsperance#
We arrived around lunchtime after a picturesque trip through beautiful forests and pasture land. After satisfying our appetite with a Woolworths 4 seed roll we boarded the Pemberton Tram which meanders through towering karris, marri forests, over trestle bridges and across rivers. This was a 1¾ hour trip and the first chance we had to stop and look at the scenery without worrying about where we were driving. Needless to say staying so still we soon found ourselves falling asleep in such peaceful surrounds. Stephen then climbed the Gloucester Tree, 61 metres, while I stayed on terra firma. Late in the afternoon we drove out to Big Brook Dam where we were amazed that some ‘youths’ were swimming in the freezing dam while we watched the sun go down with a drink in our hand.
Friday was a lovely morning and the ‘plan’ was to drive to Beedelup Falls then onto Yeagarup sand dunes for some 4x4 ing. We were surprised to find the falls in a beautiful national park with lots of walking trails. We spent the next couple of hours bushwalking and passed the Karri Valley Resort which was set on a lovely lake, a name to remember. By the time we left the NP it was lunchtime and we found ourselves at the Silkwood Winery enjoying a platter for two and a bottle of very nice Cab Sav. We spent the next 1½ hours as the only guests in the most beautiful setting before a number of people crashed our party. The food was delicious with garlic prawns, dolmades, smoked chicken pate, spring rolls, cheese, biscuits and fresh fruit. It was now obvious that we would not be going to the dunes today and would need at least another day to enjoy the area.
Saturday was hot, back up to 30 degrees, a designated beach day. First call was the Yeagarup sand dunes, a series of vast mobile sand dunes which are steadily moving inland swallowing up forest, lakes and woodlands. The tyres were let down to a very low 12 and we made our foray onto the sands. The first hill is a doozy and we had to have a second go before getting up as the driver was a little tentative and didn’t have enough momentum. Once over the top you are confronted with a huge oasis of sand. We followed the markers over the dunes and through the sandy woodlands for about 12kms that led us to Yeagarup beach which is on the Southern Ocean. The water was bubbling and there was no swimming in this water unless you had a death wish. We had great fun returning, this time with more confidence as we knew what was confronting us. We left just as the yahoos were arriving, complete with stubbies in each hand! On the way back we drove through the Warren NP and climbed the Bicentennial Tree, 75 metres high. Even I had a go this time. We stopped at an avocado farm and bought a box of 35 avocados for $5.00 and a Crownie! We have been giving them away to our NBFs along the way. Twenty percent of Australia’s avos come from this area. Our next stop was Windy Harbour via Northcliffe, an interesting holiday and fishing spot. What started as a fishing cabin village has developed into a holiday town but still with the fishing cabins, some more glam than others. The beach has a sheltered area which is safe for swimming but is surrounded again by the Southern Ocean, a truly wild stretch of water. A kip on the beach and a stop at the Warren Winery where we chatted to the owners for sometime then home for dinner. We sat and had a drink and shared nibbles with our neighbours, Merrill and Norm, and never quite got to the food part; let’s just call it a liquid dinner that night. Merrill and Norm still hadn’t appeared when we left the next morning. Some people just aren’t stayers.
We loved Pemberton, it is what Margaret River used to be like before it became far too commercialised. It is a quaint old town which has retained its character surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery. Michael Butler assures us that it is the home of Bunnings. Stephen was devastated that he was unable to take a tour of the timber yard as they close at 12 noon on Friday and don’t reopen until Monday morning. Not bad hours if you can get them!
Up early and packed up to move to Albany. This day we had lots of stops planned on the way. First stop, Walpole. The chap at the Visitor’s Centre was more than helpful and provided us with maps of the area and stops to make along the way. We drove around a loop which took us past the inlet that Walpole is built on. Next stop, the Valley of the Giants and the Tree Top Walk. A great way to enjoy the red and yellow tingle trees which make up this forest. A few more kilometres down the South Coast Highway and we came to the toffee shop – free samples – where we made a small purchase so that the owners wouldn’t feel bad!! The next port of call, Denmark, the home of the largest barometer in the world, woohoo. Here we experienced the joy of running up and down the 6 flights of stairs watching the water level in the barometer rise and fall on a 6 minute cycle. Some people just don’t know when to stop having fun!! (Stephen: water boils at the top of the barometer at a very low 19.1oC, interesting)?? Denmark is a lovely little seaside town and we probably should have stayed here in hindsight. We eventually reached Albany (not Allbany) around 5.00pm just as the rain started to fall. Albany is a big town and we tend not to like these too much anymore. A big day in the car but a lovely drive and well worth taking the time to stop and see things.
Monday morning we awoke early to a clear sky so took advantage of this and went for a walk along the very nice Middleton Beach and were rewarded with some whales playing off the point and some seashells for Maggie and Frances. Unfortunately the weather closed in and we spent the day on the computer updating photos and blogs although around lunchtime we did take a break and went for a drive to Frenchman Bay. Here we went to Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound, Stony Hill lookout, the Blowholes which weren’t blowing water but made a huge sound that made me jump about 3 feet and think I was about to be blown off the rocks - much to Stephen’s amusement, the Natural Bridge and the Gap. All of these involved climbing up and down trails and while the sun was out, the wind was blowing a gale. We were treated to our first, then second snake sighting for the trip; however they kindly crawled off the path into the bushes to allow us to pass.
Tuesday morning we set off for the Stirling Ranges which we had been told not to miss. A fabulous but short (90 kms) drive along Chester Pass Road to the Stirling Ranges Retreat, a gen-u-ine nature reserve. The further we got away from the coast the higher the temperature got. An early lunch before climbing Bluff Knoll, a mere 1095 metre stroll up, up, up, up – are you getting the picture – up, up, up. At the halfway point I told Stephen to go ahead as there was no way I was going to make it. He went ahead and I decided to go a little further, then a little further, then a little further. Next thing I knew I was only 10 minutes from the top and no one was more surprised than Stephen when he walked around the corner on the way down and there I was. He walked back up to the top with me and I was very grateful that I had made the effort – my God, it was some effort – as the view from the top was spectacular. There was an ‘older’ chap at the top who took our photo and if Stephen had come down and told me that I hadn’t made it up there and some really old geeza had, I wouldn’t have been too happy. By the way, it was the old geeza’s third attempt at climbing the Bluff, the first 2 attempts failed but he has since stopped smoking. I think there is a message in that for all the puffers of the world. Coming down was no mean feat either. I could hardly believe how bloody steep it was and was amazed that I had actually made it to the top. We arrived back at the van very tired and hanging for a drink. A tour group were gathered around a blazing fire so we sat and chatted for a while before making dinner and hitting the sack.
A beautiful morning, just perfect for a ‘Wildflower Tour’!! Now that you have all picked yourselves up from the ground, I will proceed. The couple who run this retreat are very into their flora and fauna and we had been told their Wildflower Tour was not to be missed. Ayleen (yes Aileen, this is the correct spelling) took us in her little Hi Ace van and we ‘gutter crawled’ – a totally new experience for me although I’m not sure about Stephen – along the road stopping to spot wild orchids. They are obscure little plants but once shown where they are you quickly learn what to look for and believe it or not are soon spotting them for yourself. I could not believe the stuff coming out of Ayleen’s mouth, botanical and common names of every plant we saw. Tony, her husband, took over after morning tea and continued the lessons with the larger plants, symbiotic relationships (???) and some history of the area. Three hours later we were disappointed when the tour finished. Who would have thunk!!!
Back to the van for a quick bite of lunch then we moved to Hyden, the home of Wave Rock. The drive through the ‘food bowl’ of WA was very interesting, acres and acres of wheat, canola, oats, barley and any grain you can think of. The biggest problem we have is that farmers do not provide signage on their properties informing the passing public what crops they are producing. We must ring “Macca” next Sunday and suggest they install electronic boards along the fencing with this information. We arrived at Hyden around 4.30pm and by 6.00pm had completed all the walks around the rocks. Wave Rock was quite impressive but the million dollar question was: Was it worth driving 250 kms out of our way to see it??? The answer is yes, as Chris and Di Ridsdale have seen it and we couldn’t have them seeing something that we haven’t. We were treated to the sight of an Obscure Dragon while here (see photos) along with swarms of mosquitoes. Joy of joys! Back to the desolate caravan park, dinner and a very early night. The most redeeming feature of this place was that the temperature was around 27 degrees.
As we had not even unhooked the van we were away from Hyden around 8.00am the next morning. The drive from here to Ravensthorpe was again through the wheat crops yet this area has many salt lakes and has a serious salinity problem. We have heard a lot about Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun on the ABC on our trip. BHP Billiton were going to ramp up a nickel mine in the area so lots and lots of Government dollars in infrastructure was put into the area then they decided not to go ahead with the project. The city now has 200 new houses, new cafes and shops with no one to buy or run them, so the mining company and the government have given the Shire $10 million as compensation. We stopped for some morning tea at one of the cafes and the owner, a local, told me that 7 of the 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom houses in Hopetoun had been sold (apparently to local farmers for holiday houses: it’s near the beach) for $375,000 each, well below cost. Unfortunately it’s a bit far from home for us to pick up a bargain.
We continued on towards Esperance but were stopped in our tracks by a grass fire. With the road closed we took a gravel road detour, always a worry with the van, however the road was quite good and we only passed about 5 road trains going the other way; uggh, clouds of dust!! As we approached Esperance the temperature once more dipped to around 21 and the wind was hurricane force.
Why is it that as soon as we approach the beach the weather turns sour???
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/PembertonAlbanyStirlingRangesHydenEsperance#
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Perth, Woodman’s Point, Collie, Nannup, Yallingup 1 – 14 Oct
Our move to Karrinyup, which is a northern suburb of Perth, coincided with the increase in the temperature. The caravan park was delightful with lots of grass and lakes with ducks and swans. We no longer judge the parks by the pool as it is not warm enough to use them. Hopefully that will change soon.
Our old NBFs, Janet and Rob joined us on Friday and the days and evenings became a lot more interesting. Stephen no longer had to put up with just me, he had someone else to play with!! I must admit it was nice to speak to someone other than him as well. Over the next week we spent days sitting in the sun, reading and chatting and on occasions went for a drive to do some shopping or have a look at the coast.
Our weekend was very social. On Friday night we had dinner at Suzanne and Adrian’s home in Mosman Park. Suzanne and Adrian were our ‘partners in crime’ on the Great Escape cruise we had last year. It was as though we had just stepped off the boat, the conversation flowed as did the wine. Sunday morning we drove into West Perth to Jen and Warren’s apartment overlooking Kings Park and the Swan. They too were with us on the Great Escape last year. It was lovely to see them again and to recall all the wonderful memories we had of our 2008 adventure. We were privileged to cruise with them on Warren’s boat “Cyanic”, a 50’ Riviera, very nice indeed. We were joined by two other couples and Suzanne, unfortunately Adrian was singing in a concert and was unable to join us, for the trip up the Swan from South of Perth Yacht Club. We anchored near Freshwater Bay for a lovely BBQ lunch. Adrian joined us when we came back to the marina. Thanks to Jen and Warren for a wonderful day. That leaves only 3 from, in the words of Sue Pentelow, “the fishing trip”, that we have not caught up with. We hope to catch up with Sue as a visit to Adelaide is scheduled for the trip home so watch out Tasmania (Jane and Brian).
While watching the reports on the rugby league grand final over here (WA), you will all be pleased to know that the most reported item on the Melbourne Storm win over Canterbury was that the Storm originated from the old Perth Reds thereby somehow making it a Western Australian victory. Congrats to all of WA on this amazing feat!!!!
Wednesday I celebrated my ## birthday with lunch at the Soda Café at North Beach with Stephen, Janet and Rob. At the tender age of ## this is the first time I have ever been able to spend my birthday outdoors in the sun looking at the beach. We had a wonderful meal although the wine left a little to be desired. We drank it anyway!! A birthday with NBFs, what will the OBFs say?? Also a first, I received a birthday call from each member of my Dalton family. Obviously my being absent makes their hearts grow fonder, although Sue, I wish you hadn’t called me at 5.55am (or #:##)!! Thanks to all those who rang or emailed me, it was lovely to hear from youse all, especially Fynn, Maggie and Frances and of course, Cath, Julian, Pat and Fleur.
On Thursday morning Stephen drove the caravan to a nearby service centre to be ‘serviced’. By noon he was back to pick me up at Janet and Rob’s where we said our goodbyes and headed off to Woodman’s Point, which is about 10 kms south of Fremantle. As it was still WA school holidays we were biding time before heading south. We will probably not see Janet and Rob on this particular journey again as they are heading back to Qld and we are not. You can now feel happy Ails that we no longer have any friends left on this trip, unless we befriend someone else!! However, they are coming to see us in Melbourne in the new year.
We spent Friday in Fremantle at the Maritime Museum, the market, walking around the streets and admiring the wonderful old architecture of this very quaint town. We also drove to Cottesloe Beach just so that we could say we had been there.
Saturday morning we left for …….. we didn’t know ……. but as the weather had again turned sour we thought we would head away from the coast and go inland. This turned out to be a very good idea as the drive was delightful with rolling green hills and lots of farm animals. We drove through Pinjarra, where we stopped at the Saturday morning farmers’ market and tasted juices, fudge, olives and cheese and bought some handmade curry paste and some bio-organic rump steak. Next stop was at Coolup where diesel was a record low 113.9 per litre. This is the cheapest we have paid on the whole trip. We were thrilled when we arrived at the next petrol station and it was 120.9 per litre. Finally a win!! Next was Harvey where we visited HaVe cheeses and tasted their samples. We purchased a lovely soft triple cream Ash Blonde brie and some yukky blue for Stephen. The day was disappearing and the weather starting to close in so we settled on stopping in Collie. What we thought would be a lovely little country village surprised us when we were confronted with a town of 19,000 which swells to 30,000 mid week when the miners arrive Monday morning. We unhooked the van and took a drive out to Harris River Estate and Block 42 Brewery for a taste then onto Wellington Dam for a look see. The dam was full but we were told that the day before it had been overflowing – dam, we missed it. We continued through the Wellington National Park, a very pretty drive to see the King Jarrah, which was a dud. By now it was quite late so we decided to try one of the 5 pubs in town for a counter tea. We settled on the Fed (The Federal Hotel) where the clientele was very reminiscent of the “Bay of Pigs” at the old Vic Park: an IQ of around 90 and an average of 3 teeth each. The night was very, very cold and the following morning grim.
Sunday we had the same plan ……… none. By 9.30 we were in Boyup Brook, the country music capital of WA. Yahoo!! Of course as it was so early nothing was open, except the churches so we headed for St Dodgem’s and found ourselves in …. Bridgetown. This was a lovely little town of 1,600, but most of them were still asleep. As the rain came down we bought a hot chocolate at the café then as the town came to life and shops opened, we strolled around and visited the Christmas shop, as you do. While there we received a call from the Mitchell Footy Tipping crew who were waiting for us to arrive for the end of season BBQ. Stephen gave them his bank details so that the winnings could be directly credited to his account. He does live in a fantasy world at times. The drive through to Nannup was lovely - at one stage the temperature reading was 12 degrees although it was quite sunny - and we decided to spend the rest of the day there. A trip to another cheese producer and a winery rounded off a very pleasant day. Our side trip into the country proved to be a winner.
The big news item this night was that Guy McKenna (Gold Coast) had signed Brandon Matera, son of Wally and nephew of Peter!!!!! It’s really hard when you are travelling in a different country!! You don’t know what major news items you are missing. Now we do believe that “WA” stands for “WE’RE ALONE”.
Monday saw us driving through Busselton to Yallingup, by the beach. The weather report had promised improved conditions over the next week so we were preparing for some sun. We spent 3 days waiting for it to come out and, it finally did, …… as we were packing up to move on Thursday. Meanwhile we spent a pleasant couple of days taking in the wineries, galleries and food of Margaret River, always hard work!! We also managed to fit in a couple of stops along the coast to check out the surf and the Canal Rocks, a real find. The sea has carved canals through the rocks and when the swell hits the rocks the water surges through the canals in a very dramatic fashion. As we were climbing down the rocks Stephen tripped and fell. What is it with this guy, the month of October and not being able to stay upright??? This time the result wasn’t quite so dramatic with just a skun knee. Another pleasant little excursion was to the Ngilgi Cave (pronounced Nil Gee). I have never really been a big wrap for cave trips as they are usually dark smelly places with bats. No such thing at Ngilgi, you experience stunning stalactite, stalagmite, helicitite and shawl formations lying beneath the limestone ridge which forms Cape Naturaliste (copied this from the brochure). We went down to the bottom of the cave 37 metres below the surface where there is an underground amphitheatre with these stunning crystal formations rising and falling. I really hope Stephen’s photos do it justice. We also drove to the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste. Stephen was in a particularly stupid mood this day. As we were climbing to the top of the lighthouse he was leading the way with me following. As you do when you reach the top and there is a door, you slam it in front of your wife so she can’t get in unless she knows the secret password, leaving her and 10 other people stranded on the steep steps. Of course this backfires when the door won’t open and someone has to practically get in a pinch bar to rescue the idiot who is left red faced. Who was laughing now??? Me. We stopped at Bunker Bay on the way back, a truly beautiful beach with whales playing off shore and surrounded with very expensive holiday homes.
We now move onto Pemberton, who knows what awaits us there.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/PerthCollieYallingup?authkey=Gv1sRgCNaGq6_fkojT2AE#
Our old NBFs, Janet and Rob joined us on Friday and the days and evenings became a lot more interesting. Stephen no longer had to put up with just me, he had someone else to play with!! I must admit it was nice to speak to someone other than him as well. Over the next week we spent days sitting in the sun, reading and chatting and on occasions went for a drive to do some shopping or have a look at the coast.
Our weekend was very social. On Friday night we had dinner at Suzanne and Adrian’s home in Mosman Park. Suzanne and Adrian were our ‘partners in crime’ on the Great Escape cruise we had last year. It was as though we had just stepped off the boat, the conversation flowed as did the wine. Sunday morning we drove into West Perth to Jen and Warren’s apartment overlooking Kings Park and the Swan. They too were with us on the Great Escape last year. It was lovely to see them again and to recall all the wonderful memories we had of our 2008 adventure. We were privileged to cruise with them on Warren’s boat “Cyanic”, a 50’ Riviera, very nice indeed. We were joined by two other couples and Suzanne, unfortunately Adrian was singing in a concert and was unable to join us, for the trip up the Swan from South of Perth Yacht Club. We anchored near Freshwater Bay for a lovely BBQ lunch. Adrian joined us when we came back to the marina. Thanks to Jen and Warren for a wonderful day. That leaves only 3 from, in the words of Sue Pentelow, “the fishing trip”, that we have not caught up with. We hope to catch up with Sue as a visit to Adelaide is scheduled for the trip home so watch out Tasmania (Jane and Brian).
While watching the reports on the rugby league grand final over here (WA), you will all be pleased to know that the most reported item on the Melbourne Storm win over Canterbury was that the Storm originated from the old Perth Reds thereby somehow making it a Western Australian victory. Congrats to all of WA on this amazing feat!!!!
Wednesday I celebrated my ## birthday with lunch at the Soda Café at North Beach with Stephen, Janet and Rob. At the tender age of ## this is the first time I have ever been able to spend my birthday outdoors in the sun looking at the beach. We had a wonderful meal although the wine left a little to be desired. We drank it anyway!! A birthday with NBFs, what will the OBFs say?? Also a first, I received a birthday call from each member of my Dalton family. Obviously my being absent makes their hearts grow fonder, although Sue, I wish you hadn’t called me at 5.55am (or #:##)!! Thanks to all those who rang or emailed me, it was lovely to hear from youse all, especially Fynn, Maggie and Frances and of course, Cath, Julian, Pat and Fleur.
On Thursday morning Stephen drove the caravan to a nearby service centre to be ‘serviced’. By noon he was back to pick me up at Janet and Rob’s where we said our goodbyes and headed off to Woodman’s Point, which is about 10 kms south of Fremantle. As it was still WA school holidays we were biding time before heading south. We will probably not see Janet and Rob on this particular journey again as they are heading back to Qld and we are not. You can now feel happy Ails that we no longer have any friends left on this trip, unless we befriend someone else!! However, they are coming to see us in Melbourne in the new year.
We spent Friday in Fremantle at the Maritime Museum, the market, walking around the streets and admiring the wonderful old architecture of this very quaint town. We also drove to Cottesloe Beach just so that we could say we had been there.
Saturday morning we left for …….. we didn’t know ……. but as the weather had again turned sour we thought we would head away from the coast and go inland. This turned out to be a very good idea as the drive was delightful with rolling green hills and lots of farm animals. We drove through Pinjarra, where we stopped at the Saturday morning farmers’ market and tasted juices, fudge, olives and cheese and bought some handmade curry paste and some bio-organic rump steak. Next stop was at Coolup where diesel was a record low 113.9 per litre. This is the cheapest we have paid on the whole trip. We were thrilled when we arrived at the next petrol station and it was 120.9 per litre. Finally a win!! Next was Harvey where we visited HaVe cheeses and tasted their samples. We purchased a lovely soft triple cream Ash Blonde brie and some yukky blue for Stephen. The day was disappearing and the weather starting to close in so we settled on stopping in Collie. What we thought would be a lovely little country village surprised us when we were confronted with a town of 19,000 which swells to 30,000 mid week when the miners arrive Monday morning. We unhooked the van and took a drive out to Harris River Estate and Block 42 Brewery for a taste then onto Wellington Dam for a look see. The dam was full but we were told that the day before it had been overflowing – dam, we missed it. We continued through the Wellington National Park, a very pretty drive to see the King Jarrah, which was a dud. By now it was quite late so we decided to try one of the 5 pubs in town for a counter tea. We settled on the Fed (The Federal Hotel) where the clientele was very reminiscent of the “Bay of Pigs” at the old Vic Park: an IQ of around 90 and an average of 3 teeth each. The night was very, very cold and the following morning grim.
Sunday we had the same plan ……… none. By 9.30 we were in Boyup Brook, the country music capital of WA. Yahoo!! Of course as it was so early nothing was open, except the churches so we headed for St Dodgem’s and found ourselves in …. Bridgetown. This was a lovely little town of 1,600, but most of them were still asleep. As the rain came down we bought a hot chocolate at the café then as the town came to life and shops opened, we strolled around and visited the Christmas shop, as you do. While there we received a call from the Mitchell Footy Tipping crew who were waiting for us to arrive for the end of season BBQ. Stephen gave them his bank details so that the winnings could be directly credited to his account. He does live in a fantasy world at times. The drive through to Nannup was lovely - at one stage the temperature reading was 12 degrees although it was quite sunny - and we decided to spend the rest of the day there. A trip to another cheese producer and a winery rounded off a very pleasant day. Our side trip into the country proved to be a winner.
The big news item this night was that Guy McKenna (Gold Coast) had signed Brandon Matera, son of Wally and nephew of Peter!!!!! It’s really hard when you are travelling in a different country!! You don’t know what major news items you are missing. Now we do believe that “WA” stands for “WE’RE ALONE”.
Monday saw us driving through Busselton to Yallingup, by the beach. The weather report had promised improved conditions over the next week so we were preparing for some sun. We spent 3 days waiting for it to come out and, it finally did, …… as we were packing up to move on Thursday. Meanwhile we spent a pleasant couple of days taking in the wineries, galleries and food of Margaret River, always hard work!! We also managed to fit in a couple of stops along the coast to check out the surf and the Canal Rocks, a real find. The sea has carved canals through the rocks and when the swell hits the rocks the water surges through the canals in a very dramatic fashion. As we were climbing down the rocks Stephen tripped and fell. What is it with this guy, the month of October and not being able to stay upright??? This time the result wasn’t quite so dramatic with just a skun knee. Another pleasant little excursion was to the Ngilgi Cave (pronounced Nil Gee). I have never really been a big wrap for cave trips as they are usually dark smelly places with bats. No such thing at Ngilgi, you experience stunning stalactite, stalagmite, helicitite and shawl formations lying beneath the limestone ridge which forms Cape Naturaliste (copied this from the brochure). We went down to the bottom of the cave 37 metres below the surface where there is an underground amphitheatre with these stunning crystal formations rising and falling. I really hope Stephen’s photos do it justice. We also drove to the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste. Stephen was in a particularly stupid mood this day. As we were climbing to the top of the lighthouse he was leading the way with me following. As you do when you reach the top and there is a door, you slam it in front of your wife so she can’t get in unless she knows the secret password, leaving her and 10 other people stranded on the steep steps. Of course this backfires when the door won’t open and someone has to practically get in a pinch bar to rescue the idiot who is left red faced. Who was laughing now??? Me. We stopped at Bunker Bay on the way back, a truly beautiful beach with whales playing off shore and surrounded with very expensive holiday homes.
We now move onto Pemberton, who knows what awaits us there.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/PerthCollieYallingup?authkey=Gv1sRgCNaGq6_fkojT2AE#
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Denham, Kalbarri, Geraldton, Cervantes, Perth 18 - 30 September
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!!
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/DenhamKalbarriGeraldtonCervantesNewNorciaPerth#
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!!
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/DenhamKalbarriGeraldtonCervantesNewNorciaPerth#
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tom Price, Exmouth, Coral Bay, Carnarvon 4 - 17 September
We drove from Karijini passing Mt Bruce on our way to Tom Price. We were very reluctant to leave this magnificent place as we had such a great time here.
The town of Tom Price was established by Hamersley Iron in the early 60’s and originally was a drinking town with a mining problem. Since being handed over to the state government this situation has now been turned around completely to a mining town with a drinking problem. The first thing we did at Tom Price was to have a long hot shower at the CP followed by a visit to the supermarket to replenish the supplies and restock the cellar. The couple that we met at Karijini, Andrew and Lexie, told us about a mechanic in town that was quick, efficient and cheap and as the Lux was due for a service Stephen went to see them and made a booking for the Saturday morning. I was a little nervous about the timing as we had also booked a mine tour that required us to be at the information centre at 8:45am.
Geoff Anderson advised us that “you must drive up Mt Nameless” so we decided to fill in the Friday afternoon by making use of the 4WD and headed off. It was a 10km windy, steep, bumpy drive but the view from the top was spectacular. You could see right over the town to the North and the mine to the East. It also gave us an insight into the vastness of the mine.
On Saturday morning Stephen was up early as the Lux needed to be at the mechanics at 7:00am so I had a long sleep in, then spent an hour or so making myself beautiful for the mine tour. We easily made it to the info centre for the start of the tour and then spent an interesting (yawn) couple of hours learning all about iron ore mining, Caterpillar trucks, overburden, repatriation of exhausted mining areas, tyre wear rates, diesel fuel consumption, carrying capacity of different size trucks, fatigue breaks (previously called smokos) etc. (all since forgotten).
That afternoon we drove to Hamersley Gorge and had a particularly refreshing swim in the pool. Whilst there we met a couple that were on holiday from Kalbarri and they gave us a couple of hints about things to see in that part of the country. We also added to our rock collection. Watched Geelong narrowly beat Footscray.
The following day was all about the Pies. Unfortunately we don’t want to talk about it so not much to say except there is always next week against Adelaide.
After leaving Tom Price we stopped at Parapardoo for petrol and while I was inside paying Stephen was approached by a young French girl who was after a ride to Exmouth. If you see the photos you will understand that she was firmly entrenched in the back seat of the car by the time I got out of the petrol station and back to the car. Stephen managed to clear it in record time!!! Her name was Aureole “but call me Lili”. She was actually very nice and proceeded to chat non stop for the next 60 minutes. She was 24 and studying architecture and was on a 10 week adventure around Australia, starting in Sydney – hitchhiking! She had joined the WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), the idea being that you stay a few days and work on the farm and in return you get free food and board. All well and good but 10 weeks!! She had covered as much distance in 6 weeks as we had in 5 months and had to be in Sydney by 30th September still wanting to see Adelaide and Melbourne?? There was going to be a lot of flying from Perth to get there I think.
We were heading for Yardie Homestead which is past Exmouth and closer to the northern part of the Ningaloo Reef (Cape Range NP). Lili had to be at Bullara Station about 70 kms south of Exmouth sometime on the following day. We invited her to stay the night with us at Yardie (in the tent for those of you that are thinking weird things), go snorkelling with us the following morning then we would drive her back to the station in the afternoon. She was very happy as she had heard lots about Ningaloo and was looking forward to snorkelling.
We had a very nice evening with our guest and were all up bright and early the next morning and off to Turquoise Bay to see Ningaloo Reef. Turquoise Bay was just that, the most beautiful blue water and snow white sand. We donned our snorkelling gear, plunged into the water and swam out to the coral. The water is certainly warmer here than on the west coast of Victoria. Unfortunately it was a bit windy which made it a little cool once you got out of the water. The coral and the fish were amazing and I even managed to follow a turtle which was swimming along the bottom. The best thing about the Ningaloo reef is it is all straight off the beach; you don’t have to go out in a boat to get to it. We walked along the beach then went back in for another swim before heading back for lunch to the caravan park. On the way to Bullara we stopped at the lighthouse where we saw a number of whales just off the coast, then Exmouth to have a look around. We dropped Lili off around 3.30pm then headed back to Yardie. On the way we took a quick detour to Charles Knife Gorge. A wonderful view across the water from the top and some stunning gorges plunging from the side of the road. Unfortunately the light was fading and we weren’t quite sure how much further the road went. We needed to get back to the camping ground before dark as we had never seen quite so much road kill as we had in the past two days and we had no intention of contributing to it.
Next morning we drove to the ‘Drift’ which is next to Turquoise Bay. Here you enter the water at the southern end of the beach and ‘drift’ down with the current over the coral towards an opening in the reef that sucks you out into the ocean where you die. The idea is to get out of the water and onto the beach at the optimum time avoiding the death by drowning bit. The fish were everywhere – big, small, colourful, not so colourful, schools, individual – they were fantastic. The coral was dense and we had a wonderful time. We did several ‘drifts’ and as I am writing this blog we obviously were very smart about choosing the right time to get out of the water.
In the afternoon we went back to complete the drive into Charles Knife Gorge and take some photos. We shouldn’t have bothered because what we had seen the previous day was all there was to see.
Our final day at Ningaloo we went to the Oyster Stacks. We had been told that the best snorkelling was to be had at this spot. Very nice but we enjoyed the Drift the most where there were more fish and the element of danger was very appealing!! Spent the rest of the day sitting in the sun soaking up the cancer rays.
Packed up and headed for Coral Bay. Only a short drive and we were there before lunch. Set up, had lunch then headed to the beach for a walk and a look see. Coral Bay is at the southern end of Ningaloo. One of the most appealing things about this spot is you can walk to the beach where the sand is once again snow white and the water turquoise blue with the coral visible from the water’s edge. I chatted with a couple from Box Hill and swapped travel stories while Stephen talked on the phone to Denis Grant for – a long time. I was very patient as both Collingwood and Footscray were in the finals and they had a lot to discuss. The wind had come up so we decided to save the swimming until the next day.
To make a long story short we spent 5 nights at Coral Bay swimming, snorkelling, walking along and laying on the beach. We also went out in a glass bottom boat to the edge of the reef and saw turtles and snorkelled in the deep water. We just loved it here. Unfortunately the wind got fairly strong each afternoon but the mornings were a dream. There were lots of families here and I think it is very popular with the Perth retirees. On our final night while we were tucked up nice and snug in our van we heard a strange unfamiliar sound. It was rain, not just a few drops but a bucket load of it came down around 1am. The last time we had any rain was on Anzac Day in Burra SA. It was also the day that Collingwood snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Essendon. Quite memorable. At some stage during these 5 days Collingwood gave us false hope yet again by narrowly beating Adelaide.
We waved farewell to Coral Bay and moved onto Carnarvon crossing the Tropic of Capricorn – groan. The drive along the west coast is proving to be rather bland. We spent the afternoon driving around the town, the bay, and then the heritage area where we caught a little train along the 1 mile jetty. It was blowing a gale and was freezing cold. Did some shopping then a quiet night inside the caravan and out of the wind.
The following day we drove to the Blowholes, about 50 kms north of Carnarvon. I had a day at the wheel and Stephen had a day as the navigator. The Blowholes were fantastic, a little like Port Campbell in Vic but the cliffs were a lot smaller which made the crash of the waves quite spectacular. We returned along the Plantation Run where we purchased fresh fruit and vegies directly from the farms. We drove along the memorial avenue to the victims of the HMAS Sydney, found the memorial to Peter Mitchell’s Uncle Frank and took some photos for Aileen. Then it was home to wash the Blue Lux because it was covered in salt from our stay at Coral Bay and Stephen was anxious because you couldn’t see its natural lustre.
Latest News:
You will all be glad to know that beef prices are good with old cows at a high of $1.35 and a low of $1.26.
It was Preliminary Final week in Victoria but over here it is all about Ross Young who won the Sandover Medal and that Paul Haselby had come to an agreement with Fremantle. Who cares????
Yes, Sen. Det. Sgt. Chris O’Connor, we did see you on the 7.30 Report on Wednesday 16 September.
Stephen’s jaw has not quite recovered with the news that Senator Conroy dropped regarding Telstra.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/TomPriceExmouthCoralBayAndCarnarvon#
Monday, September 14, 2009
Karijini National Park 31 August – 3 September
It was a long trip to Karijini from Point Samson so we decided to stay the night at the Munjina (Auski) Roadhouse and go into Karijini early the following morning. An uneventful stay at Munjina although Stephen took the opportunity to wash the caravan. It had been looking very old and used and with some TLC it came up looking loved and new. What a shame we are about to haul it over red dirt: again!
We were up early and arrived at Karijini about 10am. People were lined up and as one lot of campers went out, one went in. Two of the three nights we were there the full sign was up early in the afternoon.
We were staying at Dales Campground which is at Dales Gorge. After setting up and having an early lunch we walked around the rim of the gorge and down to Fortescue Falls. It was really hot and you needed plenty of water and your hat to keep the sun off your head. An easy walk with a set of descending stairs into the gorge at the end. Little did we know that this would be the norm for the next few days.
We walked onto the Fern Pool, a lovely waterhole with lots of fish biting your toes. Met a nice couple from Phillip Island and chatted for a while. After our refreshing swim we headed back to the Fortescue Falls where Stephen took lots of photos while I swished my feet in the water. Lots of people at these two places.
We continued along the creek at the base to Circular Pool at the other end of the gorge. We were completely blown away by the geology of the walls of the gorge. This too was to become the norm over the next few days. Stephen went for a swim at Circular Pool but I chose not to as there were lots of mossies just waiting for me to get into that water and I wasn’t about to satisfy their need for my blood. The pool was really cold as it sees little sun during the course of the day.
Then came the ascent to the top of the gorge. Gasp!! The phrase ‘what goes down must come up’ was very apt in this situation. After breathlessly climbing our way to the top of the gorge we walked back to the van for a well earned drink and nibbles before dinner.
The Pilbara is very different from the Kimberley. The red earth is a much more maroon or rusty colour than the orange pindan of the north, sticky and kind of greasy however they are very similar in that the dust works its way into every nook and cranny. As we had no water for a shower it was a quick wash with the cloth and a new set of clothes to make one feel better. An early night as we had no electricity and no TV; God forbid we might talk to each other.
Up at sparrow’s fart with the birds making a racket as usual. We drove to the visitor’s centre around 9am and grabbed a map of Weano and Hancock Gorges. These gorges were about 45 kms from Dales along a dirt road. All of the walks at Karijini are rated from 1 – 6, one being very easy, six requiring ropes and experience abseiling. On arrival we were not sure how we (I) would go with some of the harder walks/climbs but we were about to find out.
The descent into Weano was very downie, very, very downie (a made up word to describe descending from a great height at a steep angle using steps that do not meet the building code. You know: downie!!). We eventually made it safely to the bottom with me wondering how the hell I was ever going to do the uppie bit at the end. We followed the path along the creek with lots of crawling along narrow ledges, up over very large rocks and then back down through a gap in the rocks we found. This saved us walking through the water and taking our boots off. With shaking limbs because I had never done scary stuff like this before (or should I say had refused to do stuff like this before) we continued on towards Handrail Pool, which is a 5!! Prior to going through the crack in the wall we dumped anything that was unnecessary – everything except the camera – then proceeded to do even scarier stuff. Once through the crack in the rock you had to hang onto the handrail (hence the name) then climb down a knotted rope ladder. How good am I!! The pool was very cold but as clear as you get. We walked around the back of the pool and decided to try our luck and see how much further we could get through the water. I managed to get a little further but Stephen bravely continued and disappeared from sight. Would he ever come back?? Of course he did or I would be home organising the funeral you silly old duffers. It was just as much fun getting out of the pool and back up the rope, back through the crack and then to discover that I had taken the right path while someone, who will remain nameless, took the wrong path and had to go back and start again. We safely retraced our steps and were back on the top of Weano Gorge by lunch time. We sat in the shade and ate our lunch to recharge the batteries.
We were so pumped up we decided to tackle Hancock Gorge. This walk starts as a 4 but quickly becomes a 5. The challenge was not for me this time but for Stephen. Why, because there is a steel ladder involved!! The steps down were again designed to accommodate a giant, not a short arse like myself. Then came the ladder which finally took us into the gorge. After some theatrics for the camera Stephen safely conquered the ladder and we continued on. I was not feeling as brave this time as there were a lot of very narrow ledges to be traversed so I took the sooky la la route, dumped the clothes and swam through the water, while Stephen took the high ground. Not sure that I was that smart as it resulted in me falling twice on my bum because of slippery rocks. I ended up crawling on my hands and knees through the water while Stephen remained high and dry. We made it as far as the Spider Walk but decided we had done enough for this day and began to retrace our steps. Up the ladder yet again then we managed to not follow the track via the steps to the top. Don’t quite know what happened but the path we took was much better, not as long and nowhere near as steep. Sometimes you are just lucky!!
The afternoon was quickly slipping away but we had time to go to Oxer and Junction Pool lookouts, then called into Joffre and Knox Gorge lookouts on the way home. The last two had us gasping, particularly Knox. It was about 100 metres down to the pool and looked fabulous. Oh no, we will have to stay another day and come back. Will the legs hold up???? We arrived back at the camp exhausted and it doesn’t matter how much swimming in beautiful clear pools you do, you still feel grotty. We boiled the kettle and had a wash and an early dinner. We met 4 young men from Lilydale who were taking a gap year travelling around Australia. Unfortunately one of them was wearing a Richmond jumper so we had to do the obligatory teasing and offering our sympathies to him for barracking for such a loser team. Off to bed, we were buggered!!
Up early yet again, those damn birds. We had decided to ‘do’ Knox Gorge first then assess how we felt before going to Joffre Gorge, however we did take lots of photos of Joffre and were not too disappointed when we discovered about 3 bus loads of young people swimming in the falls below.
The descent into Knox was a scree slope which is slippery shale and you really had to watch where you put your feet. My legs were really tired from the previous day and the giant steps once again were not helping. The walk along the creek bed was not too bad and we had brought our water shoes which helped a lot with the slippery rocks. There was one bit of narrow ledge stuff but not too bad. We passed the pool we had seen the previous afternoon and ventured on much further. We finally arrived at a small pool where the water ran through a very narrow crack in the wall leading to a waterfall and Red Gorge Pool (Red Gorge is a 6). This is not accessible unless you can abseil. Stephen managed to climb through the rock via a fallen tree branch to the top of the waterfall and got some great photos. The rocks in this gap look like waves but the photos will explain this better than I can. We spent some time here then retraced our steps and swam in the pool we had previously passed. The water was very cold but we were hot and it was really refreshing. Boots back on and the climb to the top. Back to the caravan and a bucket bath yet again.
We both agreed that we had had more fun at Karijini than at any other of the National Parks we have visited. The gorges provide a refreshing retreat from the arid plains above. In the north of the park, small creeks, hidden in the rolling hillsides suddenly plunge down 100 metre chasms. Hopefully Stephen’s photos will give you some idea of the magnificent geology of Karijini.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/Karijini?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeep_2n1vLWigE#
We were up early and arrived at Karijini about 10am. People were lined up and as one lot of campers went out, one went in. Two of the three nights we were there the full sign was up early in the afternoon.
We were staying at Dales Campground which is at Dales Gorge. After setting up and having an early lunch we walked around the rim of the gorge and down to Fortescue Falls. It was really hot and you needed plenty of water and your hat to keep the sun off your head. An easy walk with a set of descending stairs into the gorge at the end. Little did we know that this would be the norm for the next few days.
We walked onto the Fern Pool, a lovely waterhole with lots of fish biting your toes. Met a nice couple from Phillip Island and chatted for a while. After our refreshing swim we headed back to the Fortescue Falls where Stephen took lots of photos while I swished my feet in the water. Lots of people at these two places.
We continued along the creek at the base to Circular Pool at the other end of the gorge. We were completely blown away by the geology of the walls of the gorge. This too was to become the norm over the next few days. Stephen went for a swim at Circular Pool but I chose not to as there were lots of mossies just waiting for me to get into that water and I wasn’t about to satisfy their need for my blood. The pool was really cold as it sees little sun during the course of the day.
Then came the ascent to the top of the gorge. Gasp!! The phrase ‘what goes down must come up’ was very apt in this situation. After breathlessly climbing our way to the top of the gorge we walked back to the van for a well earned drink and nibbles before dinner.
The Pilbara is very different from the Kimberley. The red earth is a much more maroon or rusty colour than the orange pindan of the north, sticky and kind of greasy however they are very similar in that the dust works its way into every nook and cranny. As we had no water for a shower it was a quick wash with the cloth and a new set of clothes to make one feel better. An early night as we had no electricity and no TV; God forbid we might talk to each other.
Up at sparrow’s fart with the birds making a racket as usual. We drove to the visitor’s centre around 9am and grabbed a map of Weano and Hancock Gorges. These gorges were about 45 kms from Dales along a dirt road. All of the walks at Karijini are rated from 1 – 6, one being very easy, six requiring ropes and experience abseiling. On arrival we were not sure how we (I) would go with some of the harder walks/climbs but we were about to find out.
The descent into Weano was very downie, very, very downie (a made up word to describe descending from a great height at a steep angle using steps that do not meet the building code. You know: downie!!). We eventually made it safely to the bottom with me wondering how the hell I was ever going to do the uppie bit at the end. We followed the path along the creek with lots of crawling along narrow ledges, up over very large rocks and then back down through a gap in the rocks we found. This saved us walking through the water and taking our boots off. With shaking limbs because I had never done scary stuff like this before (or should I say had refused to do stuff like this before) we continued on towards Handrail Pool, which is a 5!! Prior to going through the crack in the wall we dumped anything that was unnecessary – everything except the camera – then proceeded to do even scarier stuff. Once through the crack in the rock you had to hang onto the handrail (hence the name) then climb down a knotted rope ladder. How good am I!! The pool was very cold but as clear as you get. We walked around the back of the pool and decided to try our luck and see how much further we could get through the water. I managed to get a little further but Stephen bravely continued and disappeared from sight. Would he ever come back?? Of course he did or I would be home organising the funeral you silly old duffers. It was just as much fun getting out of the pool and back up the rope, back through the crack and then to discover that I had taken the right path while someone, who will remain nameless, took the wrong path and had to go back and start again. We safely retraced our steps and were back on the top of Weano Gorge by lunch time. We sat in the shade and ate our lunch to recharge the batteries.
We were so pumped up we decided to tackle Hancock Gorge. This walk starts as a 4 but quickly becomes a 5. The challenge was not for me this time but for Stephen. Why, because there is a steel ladder involved!! The steps down were again designed to accommodate a giant, not a short arse like myself. Then came the ladder which finally took us into the gorge. After some theatrics for the camera Stephen safely conquered the ladder and we continued on. I was not feeling as brave this time as there were a lot of very narrow ledges to be traversed so I took the sooky la la route, dumped the clothes and swam through the water, while Stephen took the high ground. Not sure that I was that smart as it resulted in me falling twice on my bum because of slippery rocks. I ended up crawling on my hands and knees through the water while Stephen remained high and dry. We made it as far as the Spider Walk but decided we had done enough for this day and began to retrace our steps. Up the ladder yet again then we managed to not follow the track via the steps to the top. Don’t quite know what happened but the path we took was much better, not as long and nowhere near as steep. Sometimes you are just lucky!!
The afternoon was quickly slipping away but we had time to go to Oxer and Junction Pool lookouts, then called into Joffre and Knox Gorge lookouts on the way home. The last two had us gasping, particularly Knox. It was about 100 metres down to the pool and looked fabulous. Oh no, we will have to stay another day and come back. Will the legs hold up???? We arrived back at the camp exhausted and it doesn’t matter how much swimming in beautiful clear pools you do, you still feel grotty. We boiled the kettle and had a wash and an early dinner. We met 4 young men from Lilydale who were taking a gap year travelling around Australia. Unfortunately one of them was wearing a Richmond jumper so we had to do the obligatory teasing and offering our sympathies to him for barracking for such a loser team. Off to bed, we were buggered!!
Up early yet again, those damn birds. We had decided to ‘do’ Knox Gorge first then assess how we felt before going to Joffre Gorge, however we did take lots of photos of Joffre and were not too disappointed when we discovered about 3 bus loads of young people swimming in the falls below.
The descent into Knox was a scree slope which is slippery shale and you really had to watch where you put your feet. My legs were really tired from the previous day and the giant steps once again were not helping. The walk along the creek bed was not too bad and we had brought our water shoes which helped a lot with the slippery rocks. There was one bit of narrow ledge stuff but not too bad. We passed the pool we had seen the previous afternoon and ventured on much further. We finally arrived at a small pool where the water ran through a very narrow crack in the wall leading to a waterfall and Red Gorge Pool (Red Gorge is a 6). This is not accessible unless you can abseil. Stephen managed to climb through the rock via a fallen tree branch to the top of the waterfall and got some great photos. The rocks in this gap look like waves but the photos will explain this better than I can. We spent some time here then retraced our steps and swam in the pool we had previously passed. The water was very cold but we were hot and it was really refreshing. Boots back on and the climb to the top. Back to the caravan and a bucket bath yet again.
We both agreed that we had had more fun at Karijini than at any other of the National Parks we have visited. The gorges provide a refreshing retreat from the arid plains above. In the north of the park, small creeks, hidden in the rolling hillsides suddenly plunge down 100 metre chasms. Hopefully Stephen’s photos will give you some idea of the magnificent geology of Karijini.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/Karijini?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeep_2n1vLWigE#
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Broome – Eighty Mile Beach – Port Hedland – Karratha – Point Samson 11 – 30 August
We finally made it back to Broome, and I never thought I would say this, but it was good to be home (in the van!!!) after 3 weeks in the tent. Had lots of stories for Ali and Dave.
It was Tuesday and we headed straight for the bank on our return as we had been having a problem with our credit card for the past week – it wouldn’t work. We soon discovered the bank had cancelled it, some story about our number being in the public domain which is not good, however it would have been nice if they had informed us before they had cancelled it as we were now left with no credit facilities at all. We had intended to leave Broome on our return from the GRR but now needed to stay until new cards arrived by Thursday/Friday. When they hadn’t arrived by Friday we were then told Tuesday. Poor Ali and Dave, we were so embarrassed to be still at their place after they had been so kind to take us in, in the first place.
However I must say we enjoyed our extra week in Broome. We met up with Bill Wilding and took him up to Cape Leveque, a mere 200 kms north, for the day. If you were at home and decided to travel 400 kms on a day trip people would think you were crazy but when you see how vast the land is up here, it is nothing. We had a great day swimming and lying in the sun. Stephen and Bill bored me silly in the car talking about electronics and telecommunications, although I must admit I finally learnt about what Stephen does at work after all these years. We stopped at the Beagle Bay bakery for morning tea, then the church and spoke with the local hermit Irish priest who lives in the community. Then it was onto Lombardina where we also visited the very unique church. I was interested to read in the St Kevin’s Newsletter this week that they now have a connection with the primary school there and have some of the local kids coming down to Melbourne later in the year. Unbeknown to us, the Head of Glendalough, Peter Finnigan, and some of the boys from SKC were at the Lombardina primary school on the day we were there. All in all, a great day. Bill very kindly cooked dinner for us the following evening and it was shared with Shane and Barclay who live in the Brothers' house in Broome – what a hardship that must be!!
We took time to visit the Willie Creek Pearl Farm which was very interesting. We caught up with Richard and Sandra at Cable Beach one evening for a drink and nibbles and heard Richard’s tale of woe about going on a fishing charter and losing his wallet and keys overboard. We tried to not laugh but that just didn’t happen. Other than that we spent quite a lot of time at the beach swimming and enjoying the weather.
Finally on Tuesday we got our new cards and bid Ali and Dave a fond farewell on Wednesday morning. We would like to thank them for their hospitality and the use of their ‘horse paddock’.
The 300 kms to Eighty Mile Beach could only be described as very boring and it appears as though most of the trip down the coast will be the same. Unfortunately the road is about 10 – 20 kms away from the sea most of the time so you never see the water.
We had to spend one night on an unpowered site. A quick walk on the beach with the tide so far out we couldn’t reach the water, dinner and early to bed as we had no TV and I could hardly expect Stephen to speak to me after all these months away. The next morning we moved to a powered site then spent the next 4 days sitting on the beach reading, fishing and walking along the sand. With 80 miles of it you don’t run out of sand to walk on. We also gathered lots of shells for Maggie and Frankie. Stephen had a great time trying out his new fishing rod and he provided dinner on 2 nights with some lovely fresh from the sea; threadfin salmon. The evenings were quite weird with sea fog rolling in and wetting everything inside and out of the caravan. We just had to put up with wet things as it was far to warm to close the windows and door. On the last night we rolled up the awning, took up the mat and stored the table and chairs away before they got wet, so naturally, the wind was blowing and there was no fog – Murphy’s Law. All of this, of course, made for an early get away the next morning. Eighty Mile Beach was very nice but there is no swimming and I certainly understand why because we watched the fishermen reel in little and big sharks on a regular basis. Even if you could swim there you wouldn’t be able to, as it is wall to wall fisherpersons and you would end up with a hook in a place I can’t mention. I was amazed at the number of women fishing, all ages and all sizes.
The drive to Port Hedland was as boring as the drive from Broome but just as we reached the town things started to get interesting. It was a miracle!!! Stephen’s head began to swivel far more than it had since his accident last year. There were cranes, trucks, trains, boats, salt flats and mound after mound of black and brown iron ore. At one stage his eyes were popping out of his head so I offered to drive the rest of the way in so that he could take it all in, and also because I feared for my safety. This seemed to snap him out of it as that would never do. One doesn’t allow one’s wife to drive the van into the caravan park, it’s not very macho. We were so lucky to have the help of the gardener/maintenance man to assist with the backing in of the van. After 20 minutes of trying to follow his directions and nearly wrecking the car and van I was very tempted to tell him to naf off as we have previously had no trouble at all with this task. We finally settled in and found our NVONBFs (now very old new best friends) Janet and Rob. The last time we saw them was at Windjana Gorge on the Gibb River Road, and only very briefly, so we had lots of catching up to do. We invited them to dinner and had a wonderful night chatting and telling stories of what we had been up to.
Janet and Rob left the next morning for ??? somewhere - they’ve gone now so who cares (of course I say this with love and affection), but we will catch up with them at Karijini or Exmouth in a week or so. Stephen and I spent the morning watching a ship dock and fill up with iron ore at the port. I once had a similar experience watching grass grow. The afternoon was spent catching up on emails and phone calls.
We woke at 6.00am (yes that’s correct we are two hours behind y’all) to ring Fynn for his birthday. After talking to him and hearing how many figurines he had got for his birthday we went outside to find the van covered in dew. The fog was back. From now on we will have to take this into consideration as we move further south. After drying everything off, we moved onto Karratha. We sang happy birthday and watched Fynn cut his cake on Skype later in the day. I am starting to desperately miss the kids.
You are nobody in Karratha if you don’t wear blue denim overalls with a yellow safety shirt and steel capped boots or drive a Toyota 4x4. We felt very out of place with our shorts, tee shirts and thongs but fitted into the Toyota category quite well. We were here to go on the port loading facility tour but had a day to fill in before this so decided on a drive to Millstream - Chichester NP. We were pleasantly surprised by this little trip as the scenery was fantastic with rolling hills and majestic mountains with iron ore trains weaving in and out much to Stephen’s delight. He even got a blast of the train’s horn from one of the driver’s as he was scrambling to take a photo of this enormous train with 230 carriages and pulled along by 3 locomotives. Also the wildflowers are beginning to come out and make the roadside much more interesting.
We visited the homestead which is now an information centre then walked to the nearby river which had been badly damaged in the last wet. We had lunch by Crossing Pool and Stephen even managed to fit in a kip after lunch before we returned to Karratha.
The next morning we spent doing the tour of the port which frankly was a bit ho hum (Stephen’s words not mine). We decided to move to Point Samson where the caravan park was right on the beach and we could swim and then get eaten by the sand flies. The pub was next door and a little café called Moby’s which sold great fish and chips. We also took the opportunity to visit Wickham – boring – and Cossack which was the original port in the area in the late 1800s. It is now a heritage centre and was quite interesting. The beach here was quite spectacular and we watched a guy kite surfing.
We are now off to Karijini for more red dust and hopefully lots of wonderful walks and gorges to keep us busy.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeEightyMileBeachPortHedlandKarrathaPointSamson?authkey=Gv1sRgCKDbtY3xx8DxJg#
It was Tuesday and we headed straight for the bank on our return as we had been having a problem with our credit card for the past week – it wouldn’t work. We soon discovered the bank had cancelled it, some story about our number being in the public domain which is not good, however it would have been nice if they had informed us before they had cancelled it as we were now left with no credit facilities at all. We had intended to leave Broome on our return from the GRR but now needed to stay until new cards arrived by Thursday/Friday. When they hadn’t arrived by Friday we were then told Tuesday. Poor Ali and Dave, we were so embarrassed to be still at their place after they had been so kind to take us in, in the first place.
However I must say we enjoyed our extra week in Broome. We met up with Bill Wilding and took him up to Cape Leveque, a mere 200 kms north, for the day. If you were at home and decided to travel 400 kms on a day trip people would think you were crazy but when you see how vast the land is up here, it is nothing. We had a great day swimming and lying in the sun. Stephen and Bill bored me silly in the car talking about electronics and telecommunications, although I must admit I finally learnt about what Stephen does at work after all these years. We stopped at the Beagle Bay bakery for morning tea, then the church and spoke with the local hermit Irish priest who lives in the community. Then it was onto Lombardina where we also visited the very unique church. I was interested to read in the St Kevin’s Newsletter this week that they now have a connection with the primary school there and have some of the local kids coming down to Melbourne later in the year. Unbeknown to us, the Head of Glendalough, Peter Finnigan, and some of the boys from SKC were at the Lombardina primary school on the day we were there. All in all, a great day. Bill very kindly cooked dinner for us the following evening and it was shared with Shane and Barclay who live in the Brothers' house in Broome – what a hardship that must be!!
We took time to visit the Willie Creek Pearl Farm which was very interesting. We caught up with Richard and Sandra at Cable Beach one evening for a drink and nibbles and heard Richard’s tale of woe about going on a fishing charter and losing his wallet and keys overboard. We tried to not laugh but that just didn’t happen. Other than that we spent quite a lot of time at the beach swimming and enjoying the weather.
Finally on Tuesday we got our new cards and bid Ali and Dave a fond farewell on Wednesday morning. We would like to thank them for their hospitality and the use of their ‘horse paddock’.
The 300 kms to Eighty Mile Beach could only be described as very boring and it appears as though most of the trip down the coast will be the same. Unfortunately the road is about 10 – 20 kms away from the sea most of the time so you never see the water.
We had to spend one night on an unpowered site. A quick walk on the beach with the tide so far out we couldn’t reach the water, dinner and early to bed as we had no TV and I could hardly expect Stephen to speak to me after all these months away. The next morning we moved to a powered site then spent the next 4 days sitting on the beach reading, fishing and walking along the sand. With 80 miles of it you don’t run out of sand to walk on. We also gathered lots of shells for Maggie and Frankie. Stephen had a great time trying out his new fishing rod and he provided dinner on 2 nights with some lovely fresh from the sea; threadfin salmon. The evenings were quite weird with sea fog rolling in and wetting everything inside and out of the caravan. We just had to put up with wet things as it was far to warm to close the windows and door. On the last night we rolled up the awning, took up the mat and stored the table and chairs away before they got wet, so naturally, the wind was blowing and there was no fog – Murphy’s Law. All of this, of course, made for an early get away the next morning. Eighty Mile Beach was very nice but there is no swimming and I certainly understand why because we watched the fishermen reel in little and big sharks on a regular basis. Even if you could swim there you wouldn’t be able to, as it is wall to wall fisherpersons and you would end up with a hook in a place I can’t mention. I was amazed at the number of women fishing, all ages and all sizes.
The drive to Port Hedland was as boring as the drive from Broome but just as we reached the town things started to get interesting. It was a miracle!!! Stephen’s head began to swivel far more than it had since his accident last year. There were cranes, trucks, trains, boats, salt flats and mound after mound of black and brown iron ore. At one stage his eyes were popping out of his head so I offered to drive the rest of the way in so that he could take it all in, and also because I feared for my safety. This seemed to snap him out of it as that would never do. One doesn’t allow one’s wife to drive the van into the caravan park, it’s not very macho. We were so lucky to have the help of the gardener/maintenance man to assist with the backing in of the van. After 20 minutes of trying to follow his directions and nearly wrecking the car and van I was very tempted to tell him to naf off as we have previously had no trouble at all with this task. We finally settled in and found our NVONBFs (now very old new best friends) Janet and Rob. The last time we saw them was at Windjana Gorge on the Gibb River Road, and only very briefly, so we had lots of catching up to do. We invited them to dinner and had a wonderful night chatting and telling stories of what we had been up to.
Janet and Rob left the next morning for ??? somewhere - they’ve gone now so who cares (of course I say this with love and affection), but we will catch up with them at Karijini or Exmouth in a week or so. Stephen and I spent the morning watching a ship dock and fill up with iron ore at the port. I once had a similar experience watching grass grow. The afternoon was spent catching up on emails and phone calls.
We woke at 6.00am (yes that’s correct we are two hours behind y’all) to ring Fynn for his birthday. After talking to him and hearing how many figurines he had got for his birthday we went outside to find the van covered in dew. The fog was back. From now on we will have to take this into consideration as we move further south. After drying everything off, we moved onto Karratha. We sang happy birthday and watched Fynn cut his cake on Skype later in the day. I am starting to desperately miss the kids.
You are nobody in Karratha if you don’t wear blue denim overalls with a yellow safety shirt and steel capped boots or drive a Toyota 4x4. We felt very out of place with our shorts, tee shirts and thongs but fitted into the Toyota category quite well. We were here to go on the port loading facility tour but had a day to fill in before this so decided on a drive to Millstream - Chichester NP. We were pleasantly surprised by this little trip as the scenery was fantastic with rolling hills and majestic mountains with iron ore trains weaving in and out much to Stephen’s delight. He even got a blast of the train’s horn from one of the driver’s as he was scrambling to take a photo of this enormous train with 230 carriages and pulled along by 3 locomotives. Also the wildflowers are beginning to come out and make the roadside much more interesting.
We visited the homestead which is now an information centre then walked to the nearby river which had been badly damaged in the last wet. We had lunch by Crossing Pool and Stephen even managed to fit in a kip after lunch before we returned to Karratha.
The next morning we spent doing the tour of the port which frankly was a bit ho hum (Stephen’s words not mine). We decided to move to Point Samson where the caravan park was right on the beach and we could swim and then get eaten by the sand flies. The pub was next door and a little café called Moby’s which sold great fish and chips. We also took the opportunity to visit Wickham – boring – and Cossack which was the original port in the area in the late 1800s. It is now a heritage centre and was quite interesting. The beach here was quite spectacular and we watched a guy kite surfing.
We are now off to Karijini for more red dust and hopefully lots of wonderful walks and gorges to keep us busy.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeEightyMileBeachPortHedlandKarrathaPointSamson?authkey=Gv1sRgCKDbtY3xx8DxJg#
Monday, August 24, 2009
Gibb River Road Week 3 – Emma Gorge – Kununurra – Bungle Bungles – Fitzroy Crossing - Broome 4 – 10 August
Day 15 – Packed up the tent and departed El Questro for Emma Gorge. A 45 minute walk into the gorge but well worth the effort. A spectacular gorge with tall majestic walls surrounding a clear freezing cold pool into which water cascades down the walls like rain. We bit the bullet and dove into the water. It was absolutely freezing and made your arms ache. The cascading water felt like icicles when it hit your skin. Hundreds of photos later we walked back to the car and headed off on the final 70 kms of the Gibb River Road. More shaly rocks with the odd bit of bitumen thrown in saw us reach our destination without any drama. Our journey completed we headed for Kununurra where we booked into the Kimberley Grande for a night of debauchery and laundry!! We swam in the pool then went to dinner in the restaurant. How luxurious it all was.
Some vital information on the GRR:
• 1882 kms travelled
• 20,695,211 corrugations at an average height of 5.41 cm
• 17,148 large rocks
• 117 creeks, floodways and rivers
• 628 dead tyres
• 207 wrecked shockers
• 14 broken main springs
• 482 songs on the IPod
• 2 very happy people
Day 16 – We awoke fresh as a daisy after a good nights sleep in a kingsize bed. Reality soon checked in when we registered at the Discovery Caravan Park – trailer trash, or worse, tent trash yet again. We spent the day booking tours and replenishing our diminished food supplies. Fresh fruit and vegies were the order of the day. Most importantly we stocked up on grog, our two week ‘drying out period’ – well sort of – officially over.
Day 17 – Picked up at 8.00am for a tour of the Argyle Dam and Ord River. We travelled by bus to the dam where we went on a 2 hour cruise of the dam. Triple J run a pretty slick operation with tour guides who are very knowledgeable and provide lots of facts and figures on the making of the dam and its uses. After lunch we boarded another boat for a return cruise to Kununurra via the Ord River. Our tour guide, Cam, was a font of knowledge re flora and fauna and we spotted a Nankeen Night Heron and two Black Bitterns which are quite rare. We have done lots of tours during our trip and this one, along with the mailrun out of Coober Pedy, have been the best. As the boat pulled back into Lake Kununurra around 6pm we were treated to the site of millions (no exaggeration) of fruit bats flying into the sky as a full moon rose over the lake. Back at the tent I had received a message from one W J Wilding on my phone. Bill was also in Kununurra. After a lengthy chat we arranged to catch up with him in Broome. He was having dinner with the Josephite nuns that night and we were heading for the Bungles the next day.
Day 18 – Up at 4.30am – no I am not kidding – for a 6am flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles. To make a very long story short (not like me at all) Stephen, who was sitting on the right side of the plane saw everything and his photo finger was almost herniated. Anne, who was sitting on the left side of the plane, negotiated a $200 refund with the General Manager of the flight company - not happy Jan. Back to the caravan park to pack up and head for Purnululu National Park – the Bungle Bungles. The road into the national park was windy, rocky and had a number of very high crests and river crossings. Demanding drive but Stephen enjoyed the challenge. A long day with just enough time to go to the Kungkalahayi lookout for sunset. Dinner and then off to bed on a very cool night.
Day 19 – Up very early as we wanted to start our first walk at 7.30am as the heat can take its toll if you start much later. The Mini Palms walk was hard on the legs as it followed a creek bed with lots of pebbles. Thankfully the ankle is coping well and is getting stronger each day. After 40 minutes of boulder climbing and through tiny crevices (this walk isn’t for those who luv cheese) we reached a platform overlooking a chasm. At the end of the chasm was a tunnel that appeared to us to have a neon sign saying, “come and look at me”. We ventured past the No Entry sign and climbed down to the floor of the chasm because we all know that No Entry means Be Careful, right!! We also just happened to have a torch with us so we went through the tunnel opening to find – not much – just a very big hole, however it was a great view back up towards the platform. As we were there on our own we made lots of noise and enjoyed the cathedral like acoustics. Next we drove back to Echidna Chasm, a unique chasm which the photos will give you a better perspective than I can. We drove to the south end of the Bungles for lunch. It was now hitting about 35 degrees and too hot for us to try the Piccaninni Creek Lookout walk so we decided on the Cathedral Gorge walk as we were told it was nice and cool in there. The 60 minute walk took us 20 minutes – they must time this walk with the old lady factor included – and we were happy to find it about 10 degrees cooler than outside. We dallied in here for about an hour and when we emerged around 2pm the heat had gone out of the sun so we continued onto the lookout walk. By this stage we were a bit Bungled Out , however we finished the day with the Dome walk so that we could say we had done all the walks at the Bungles. As we arrived back at the camping ground a fellow camper had his hose out so we asked if we could use it to have a shower. Out came the soap and we soon felt human again. We cooked some chops on the open fire and Stephen wouldn’t let me go to bed at 6.15 so I had to wait until 7.30pm when I fell into the sleep of the dead.
Day 20 – Our day commenced at 5.20am when a flock of yellow-crested cockatoos landed in the tree above our tent. I swear they were louder than a Strathmore girls lunch . Fortunately they were toilet trained and our tent was saved. We drove out of the national park at 7.20am, a record. We were driving to Fitzroy Crossing today which would be our last night in the tent – yeah!! We made a couple of stops along the way at Mary’s Pool, Ngumban Cliffs and an aboriginal art gallery at one of the communities. We arrived at the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge at 2pm and couldn’t believe it when they told us they didn’t even have an unpowered tent site. Fortunately we had Plan B available down the road so at least we had somewhere to stay. Enjoyed a buffet roast at the Crossing Inn.
Day 21 – Well this is it – 21 days since we left Broome for our camping adventure. It certainly has been enlightening to see the Kimberley. The homesteads, aboriginal communities, gorges, waterfalls, chasms, rivers, roads, flora, fauna, bugs and insects have given us a wonderful experience and I only hope that one day some of you decide to take the time to see this fabulous part of Australia. I must say, we have had enough of the dust and can’t wait to find a bit of grass to rub our toes in. My gorgeous Stephen’s comment was: “You haven’t been anywhere until you have been bitten on the bum by a mossie at Mitchell Falls camping ground.” I guess that says it all.
• While watching the sunset at Kungkalahayi lookout in the Bungles one lady was heard to say: “I wonder how long this goes for?”
• Recently the Premier of WA, Mr Barnett, was addressing the Derby community regarding the viability of tidal power generation and made the following statement: “How can you be sure that the tides will occur everyday?”
Some people are just uummmmph - stupid
Photos: Stephen has gone a bit overboard on this edition but persist as they are very good.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek3?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTCwuvFvpK_KQ#
Some vital information on the GRR:
• 1882 kms travelled
• 20,695,211 corrugations at an average height of 5.41 cm
• 17,148 large rocks
• 117 creeks, floodways and rivers
• 628 dead tyres
• 207 wrecked shockers
• 14 broken main springs
• 482 songs on the IPod
• 2 very happy people
Day 16 – We awoke fresh as a daisy after a good nights sleep in a kingsize bed. Reality soon checked in when we registered at the Discovery Caravan Park – trailer trash, or worse, tent trash yet again. We spent the day booking tours and replenishing our diminished food supplies. Fresh fruit and vegies were the order of the day. Most importantly we stocked up on grog, our two week ‘drying out period’ – well sort of – officially over.
Day 17 – Picked up at 8.00am for a tour of the Argyle Dam and Ord River. We travelled by bus to the dam where we went on a 2 hour cruise of the dam. Triple J run a pretty slick operation with tour guides who are very knowledgeable and provide lots of facts and figures on the making of the dam and its uses. After lunch we boarded another boat for a return cruise to Kununurra via the Ord River. Our tour guide, Cam, was a font of knowledge re flora and fauna and we spotted a Nankeen Night Heron and two Black Bitterns which are quite rare. We have done lots of tours during our trip and this one, along with the mailrun out of Coober Pedy, have been the best. As the boat pulled back into Lake Kununurra around 6pm we were treated to the site of millions (no exaggeration) of fruit bats flying into the sky as a full moon rose over the lake. Back at the tent I had received a message from one W J Wilding on my phone. Bill was also in Kununurra. After a lengthy chat we arranged to catch up with him in Broome. He was having dinner with the Josephite nuns that night and we were heading for the Bungles the next day.
Day 18 – Up at 4.30am – no I am not kidding – for a 6am flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles. To make a very long story short (not like me at all) Stephen, who was sitting on the right side of the plane saw everything and his photo finger was almost herniated. Anne, who was sitting on the left side of the plane, negotiated a $200 refund with the General Manager of the flight company - not happy Jan. Back to the caravan park to pack up and head for Purnululu National Park – the Bungle Bungles. The road into the national park was windy, rocky and had a number of very high crests and river crossings. Demanding drive but Stephen enjoyed the challenge. A long day with just enough time to go to the Kungkalahayi lookout for sunset. Dinner and then off to bed on a very cool night.
Day 19 – Up very early as we wanted to start our first walk at 7.30am as the heat can take its toll if you start much later. The Mini Palms walk was hard on the legs as it followed a creek bed with lots of pebbles. Thankfully the ankle is coping well and is getting stronger each day. After 40 minutes of boulder climbing and through tiny crevices (this walk isn’t for those who luv cheese) we reached a platform overlooking a chasm. At the end of the chasm was a tunnel that appeared to us to have a neon sign saying, “come and look at me”. We ventured past the No Entry sign and climbed down to the floor of the chasm because we all know that No Entry means Be Careful, right!! We also just happened to have a torch with us so we went through the tunnel opening to find – not much – just a very big hole, however it was a great view back up towards the platform. As we were there on our own we made lots of noise and enjoyed the cathedral like acoustics. Next we drove back to Echidna Chasm, a unique chasm which the photos will give you a better perspective than I can. We drove to the south end of the Bungles for lunch. It was now hitting about 35 degrees and too hot for us to try the Piccaninni Creek Lookout walk so we decided on the Cathedral Gorge walk as we were told it was nice and cool in there. The 60 minute walk took us 20 minutes – they must time this walk with the old lady factor included – and we were happy to find it about 10 degrees cooler than outside. We dallied in here for about an hour and when we emerged around 2pm the heat had gone out of the sun so we continued onto the lookout walk. By this stage we were a bit Bungled Out , however we finished the day with the Dome walk so that we could say we had done all the walks at the Bungles. As we arrived back at the camping ground a fellow camper had his hose out so we asked if we could use it to have a shower. Out came the soap and we soon felt human again. We cooked some chops on the open fire and Stephen wouldn’t let me go to bed at 6.15 so I had to wait until 7.30pm when I fell into the sleep of the dead.
Day 20 – Our day commenced at 5.20am when a flock of yellow-crested cockatoos landed in the tree above our tent. I swear they were louder than a Strathmore girls lunch . Fortunately they were toilet trained and our tent was saved. We drove out of the national park at 7.20am, a record. We were driving to Fitzroy Crossing today which would be our last night in the tent – yeah!! We made a couple of stops along the way at Mary’s Pool, Ngumban Cliffs and an aboriginal art gallery at one of the communities. We arrived at the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge at 2pm and couldn’t believe it when they told us they didn’t even have an unpowered tent site. Fortunately we had Plan B available down the road so at least we had somewhere to stay. Enjoyed a buffet roast at the Crossing Inn.
Day 21 – Well this is it – 21 days since we left Broome for our camping adventure. It certainly has been enlightening to see the Kimberley. The homesteads, aboriginal communities, gorges, waterfalls, chasms, rivers, roads, flora, fauna, bugs and insects have given us a wonderful experience and I only hope that one day some of you decide to take the time to see this fabulous part of Australia. I must say, we have had enough of the dust and can’t wait to find a bit of grass to rub our toes in. My gorgeous Stephen’s comment was: “You haven’t been anywhere until you have been bitten on the bum by a mossie at Mitchell Falls camping ground.” I guess that says it all.
• While watching the sunset at Kungkalahayi lookout in the Bungles one lady was heard to say: “I wonder how long this goes for?”
• Recently the Premier of WA, Mr Barnett, was addressing the Derby community regarding the viability of tidal power generation and made the following statement: “How can you be sure that the tides will occur everyday?”
Some people are just uummmmph - stupid
Photos: Stephen has gone a bit overboard on this edition but persist as they are very good.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek3?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTCwuvFvpK_KQ#
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Week 2 Gibb River Road - Manning Gorge – Drysdale – Mitchell Falls – Home Valley – El Questro 27 July – 3 August
Day 8 – What started as an early night (Day 7) proved to be an interrupted night’s sleep. A young German couple camped next to us decided to have a couple or 6 bottles of wine. The girl went quietly off to bed but the bloke decided to sit in his car and listen to (c)rap music. After several hours of the same CD over and over Stephen went to ask him to turn it off to find him fast asleep (pissed) and unable to rouse him. Stephen opened the door of his car and turned the volume off. About midnight he woke up and turned it on again and this time decided to sing as well!!! Fortunately he only ‘sang’ one song then turned it off and loudly got into bed. Hmmm, the joys of camping. We were on our way to Manning Gorge by 8am. Quite a difficult walk in but well worth the effort. A series of falls into a glorious waterhole. We watched the German people jump off the high rocks into the swimming hole. It probably wasn’t such a bad way to clear the cobwebs from the previous night. After much umming and ahrring we decided to drive to Drysdale around lunchtime and check out the road to Mitchell Falls. We had heard some horrendous stories of broken down cars and shredded tyres and that the road was in the worst condition it has ever been. The drive to Drysdale wasn’t too bad and when we arrived we were delighted to hear that the grader was currently grading the Mitchell Falls road. Yahoo, just in time. We booked in for dinner at the ‘bar’ then ordered a drink and rang the kids from a public phone housed in an old refrigerator. Great to hear Fynn and the girls voices and Cath, Julse and Pat’s also. Set up camp then back to the bar for dinner. We were chatting to some people when I spotted Kununurra Scott. He was supposed to take a group of 4 up to Mitchell Plateau but had been unable to get his trailer up there. He assured us that we would be okay as the grader had almost finished its job. We sat next to a couple who said they had driven/crawled for 9 hours to get to the falls but had a wonderful time and were very encouraging. We had lamb shanks and chocolate pudding for dinner and some very good company.
Day 9 – We left for Mitchell Falls at 8.30am. It was 105 kms to the falls turn off and we did that in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The last 20 kms were shocking with corrugations that went up to my elbow and there was quite a lot of rock. It was 87 kms from the turn off to the campsite. The first 7 kms were very bad conditions but after that the grader had been through which made it a lot easier. However, it was not an easy drive by any means, very slow and you needed to concentrate. The last 16 kms (which were not yet graded) were again very, very slow and hard driving but at 1.40pm we finally reach the Mitchell Plateau Camping Ground. We had made it unscathed but very tired. We found a shady spot, set up camp and did very little for the rest of the day. Lots of animals crawling around outside during the night.
Day 10 – We commenced the 1 ½ hour walk to the falls at 8.30am. Got to Little Merton Falls in about 20 minutes where we found lots of aboriginal art including some Bradshaw art. We spent 40 minutes walking under the falls and exploring the artwork. We ventured on to find more artwork along the way before finally reaching Big Merton Falls. These falls were dry but quite spectacular all the same. Took some photos and moved onto the top of Mitchell Falls where we waded across the water. We had finally reached our major destination for this trip. Much excitement. We went for a bit of an explore and found the track Dave had told us about which took us right around passed the falls to a ledge where we could look back and see all 4 levels of the waterfall. It was magical. We sat by ourselves and ate our lunch on the ledge looking at the most beautiful setting in the Kimberley. If we had walked 5 steps forward we would have plunged into the gorge below. With photos taken we put our backpacks back on and went back to the falls for a cooling swim. At 2.30pm we caught the helicopter back to the camping ground. Well, sometimes its just nice to take the easy option. Spent the evening with Rosemary and Bill, a couple of 'old cockies' from the Mallee.
Day 11 – 5990 kms from home we backtracked along the MF road to Drysdale. The grader had finished the last 16 kms and it was a nice smooth track out. We were accompanied by Rosemary and Bill and it was good to know we weren’t completely alone. Turned onto the Kalumburru/Drysdale Rd in under 2 hours. About 7 kms down the road we came across some poor bastard who had broken a main spring and was limping back to Drysdale. Not much you can do except let them know back at Drysdale that they are coming. Got back to Drysdale in 4 hours, an hour off our time going up. As it was lunchtime we had lunch with Rosemary and Bill and Jo and Donald, a couple from Kojanup in south WA at the pub then decided to push onto Home Valley. In hindsight this was not such a good idea as it was much further than we though and the road was shocking, shaly and rocky. We stopped at Ellenbrae for scones, jam and cream – yummy but $4.50 for one scone was a bit rich. We were getting a little concerned as it was almost sunset and as we came over the crest towards Home Valley we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Cockburn Ranges in full light from the setting sun. For the first time we put the tent up in the dark then hit the bar for a much needed and deserved beer for Stephen and G & T for me.
Day 12 – A day of rest. We were stuffed after the drive from the previous day so decided to spend the day rubbing our feet in the grass at Home Valley and swimming in the very nice pool. We are definitely sick of the red and gray dust and dirt and this little oasis of grass was just what we needed. As the sun set over the Cockburn Ranges we rang the kids from the lookout – unexpected phone coverage – and Ails to catch up on all the gossip and footy scores. Late in the evening while sitting by the fire a young couple, Anna and Brett from Port Melbourne, asked if we could keep an ear out for their sleeping children while they had dinner at the homestead. It was good to act like grandparents again.
Day 13 – Destination El Questro. After much uummming and aahhhring (again) we decided on the $30 a night camping option rather than the $2000 per night homestead suite (minimum stay 2 nights). The camping ground was very picturesque and shady and the amenities very good – I’m still thinking we chose the wrong option. We spent the morning at Zeberdee Springs, beautiful spring falls which ran rings around any other springs we had previously seen. In the afternoon we went to the Branco and Saddle back lookouts – real 4x4 stuff and Anne was a bit scared-y-catish. Great vantage points to look out over the property. Ran into a couple of donkeys on the way back. We also took a detour to Chamberlain Gorge for a sticky beak at the homestead. Also caught up with Tyreman and Shazza and heard their tales of woe of wrecking 5 tyres on the Gibb and having to limp into Kununurra for a complete set of 6 new tyres. They didn’t get to see or do much at all after we last saw them. We obviously had luck on our side.
Day 14 – We started the day early with a walk to El Questro Gorge. A lovely walk with ferns and crystal clear swimming holes. Feeling ready for a challenge we passed/climbed the halfway point where most people stop, waded through a pool up to our chests with our gear above our heads and climbed/or was pulled up a very large boulder. We came across some magnificent waterholes so clear you could count the pebbles on the bottom of the pool. A demanding walk but a lot of fun. Back to the tent for lunch then a river cruise up Chamberlain Gorge for 2 hours. Lovely gorge but we should have saved our money on the cruise and hired a couple of self drive boats, it would have been better value. Returned to the camping ground to find Anna, Brett and the new grandkids camped behind us. We sat around the fire after dinner chatting for several hours and it must have been at least 9pm when we crawled into bed!!
Lots of photos on: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek2?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2jnd6Sv8KIVg#
Day 9 – We left for Mitchell Falls at 8.30am. It was 105 kms to the falls turn off and we did that in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The last 20 kms were shocking with corrugations that went up to my elbow and there was quite a lot of rock. It was 87 kms from the turn off to the campsite. The first 7 kms were very bad conditions but after that the grader had been through which made it a lot easier. However, it was not an easy drive by any means, very slow and you needed to concentrate. The last 16 kms (which were not yet graded) were again very, very slow and hard driving but at 1.40pm we finally reach the Mitchell Plateau Camping Ground. We had made it unscathed but very tired. We found a shady spot, set up camp and did very little for the rest of the day. Lots of animals crawling around outside during the night.
Day 10 – We commenced the 1 ½ hour walk to the falls at 8.30am. Got to Little Merton Falls in about 20 minutes where we found lots of aboriginal art including some Bradshaw art. We spent 40 minutes walking under the falls and exploring the artwork. We ventured on to find more artwork along the way before finally reaching Big Merton Falls. These falls were dry but quite spectacular all the same. Took some photos and moved onto the top of Mitchell Falls where we waded across the water. We had finally reached our major destination for this trip. Much excitement. We went for a bit of an explore and found the track Dave had told us about which took us right around passed the falls to a ledge where we could look back and see all 4 levels of the waterfall. It was magical. We sat by ourselves and ate our lunch on the ledge looking at the most beautiful setting in the Kimberley. If we had walked 5 steps forward we would have plunged into the gorge below. With photos taken we put our backpacks back on and went back to the falls for a cooling swim. At 2.30pm we caught the helicopter back to the camping ground. Well, sometimes its just nice to take the easy option. Spent the evening with Rosemary and Bill, a couple of 'old cockies' from the Mallee.
Day 11 – 5990 kms from home we backtracked along the MF road to Drysdale. The grader had finished the last 16 kms and it was a nice smooth track out. We were accompanied by Rosemary and Bill and it was good to know we weren’t completely alone. Turned onto the Kalumburru/Drysdale Rd in under 2 hours. About 7 kms down the road we came across some poor bastard who had broken a main spring and was limping back to Drysdale. Not much you can do except let them know back at Drysdale that they are coming. Got back to Drysdale in 4 hours, an hour off our time going up. As it was lunchtime we had lunch with Rosemary and Bill and Jo and Donald, a couple from Kojanup in south WA at the pub then decided to push onto Home Valley. In hindsight this was not such a good idea as it was much further than we though and the road was shocking, shaly and rocky. We stopped at Ellenbrae for scones, jam and cream – yummy but $4.50 for one scone was a bit rich. We were getting a little concerned as it was almost sunset and as we came over the crest towards Home Valley we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Cockburn Ranges in full light from the setting sun. For the first time we put the tent up in the dark then hit the bar for a much needed and deserved beer for Stephen and G & T for me.
Day 12 – A day of rest. We were stuffed after the drive from the previous day so decided to spend the day rubbing our feet in the grass at Home Valley and swimming in the very nice pool. We are definitely sick of the red and gray dust and dirt and this little oasis of grass was just what we needed. As the sun set over the Cockburn Ranges we rang the kids from the lookout – unexpected phone coverage – and Ails to catch up on all the gossip and footy scores. Late in the evening while sitting by the fire a young couple, Anna and Brett from Port Melbourne, asked if we could keep an ear out for their sleeping children while they had dinner at the homestead. It was good to act like grandparents again.
Day 13 – Destination El Questro. After much uummming and aahhhring (again) we decided on the $30 a night camping option rather than the $2000 per night homestead suite (minimum stay 2 nights). The camping ground was very picturesque and shady and the amenities very good – I’m still thinking we chose the wrong option. We spent the morning at Zeberdee Springs, beautiful spring falls which ran rings around any other springs we had previously seen. In the afternoon we went to the Branco and Saddle back lookouts – real 4x4 stuff and Anne was a bit scared-y-catish. Great vantage points to look out over the property. Ran into a couple of donkeys on the way back. We also took a detour to Chamberlain Gorge for a sticky beak at the homestead. Also caught up with Tyreman and Shazza and heard their tales of woe of wrecking 5 tyres on the Gibb and having to limp into Kununurra for a complete set of 6 new tyres. They didn’t get to see or do much at all after we last saw them. We obviously had luck on our side.
Day 14 – We started the day early with a walk to El Questro Gorge. A lovely walk with ferns and crystal clear swimming holes. Feeling ready for a challenge we passed/climbed the halfway point where most people stop, waded through a pool up to our chests with our gear above our heads and climbed/or was pulled up a very large boulder. We came across some magnificent waterholes so clear you could count the pebbles on the bottom of the pool. A demanding walk but a lot of fun. Back to the tent for lunch then a river cruise up Chamberlain Gorge for 2 hours. Lovely gorge but we should have saved our money on the cruise and hired a couple of self drive boats, it would have been better value. Returned to the camping ground to find Anna, Brett and the new grandkids camped behind us. We sat around the fire after dinner chatting for several hours and it must have been at least 9pm when we crawled into bed!!
Lots of photos on: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek2?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2jnd6Sv8KIVg#
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Broome - Gibb River Road Week 1 18 - 27 July
Our fishing charter was a huge success. We came home with 9 big fish to fillet and put into the freezer, or should I say Ali and Dave’s freezer. AOC fishing charters did a great job and we thoroughly recommend them. A great day was had by all even if there was a ‘Dick’ on board who swore the best fishing ever was at the Florida Keys in the US of A. Needless to say he hardly caught anything all day while all around him reeled them in. At one stage I thought our placid Stephen was going to push him overboard.
The next few days were spent gathering stores and packing for our journey along the Gibb River Road and beyond. At the last minute we decided to leave our good chairs behind and bought 2 pack away chairs – “pink” Maggie – which fitted into the back of the car more easily.
As this adventure took us 21 days and is quite a lengthy edition I am going to divide it up into 3 weeks. I am relying on Stephen’s great photos to tell the story about the places we visited and I will provide some insight into the people and events that took place which hopefully will make it a bit more interesting.
Day 1 - On Tuesday 21 July we set off with Anne driving to Derby where we stopped for lunch and filled up on fuel. We found a fuel pump behind the information centre which was selling diesel at 12c a litre cheaper than the BP or Shell. Stephen could not believe his luck. Had chicken sandwiches at the park where we found a condom dispenser hanging from the tree limb. Hmmm!!! Stephen took over the driving and we turned onto the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge, our first stop. There were lots of people in the camping ground but we managed to find a nice spot under a tree. Walked to the Gorge late in the day. There is no swimming at Windjana as there are lots of freshwater crocodiles and the water is quite murky. When we returned to camp a couple had setup their camp on the other side of “our” tree and they had decided to sleep under the stars on their camp stretchers. Unfortunately the stars do not muffle the sound of snoring!!
Day 2 – The camp started to stir at 5.30am. What the !!! Apparently they were all up to see the sunrise. Hope this isn’t going to be a daily event. Just as we were heading off to Tunnel Creek a huge gust of wind came through the camp and blew the canvas off a camper trailer exposing all the worldly possessions of the owners, who were not there. Stephen and a couple of others pegged down the canvas as best they could before we left. The road to Tunnel Creek wasn’t too bad and we arrived at 8.45am – told you we were up early. A number of people were already there including 2 young fellas from Zimbabwe who were ‘racing’ around Australia in a ute and a motorbike taking turns riding and driving. They initially started with 2 bikes but found the going to difficult so had sold one bike and bought the ute. They were taking all the back roads, Tanami, Gibb River etc. Tunnel Creek was really interesting. It was a hideout for Jindamara (Pigeon) a rogue aborigine in the early 1900’s who caused the landowners quite a bit of grief until finally cornered and gunned down. A bit of a legend at the time. It is an interesting underground walk through the tunnel often wading through water. On the way back to Windjana we were hailed down by two old new best friends, Janet and Rob. We had not seen them since we left Kununurra so stood in the middle of the road and chatted. At this point I should point out that we had decided not to bring any grog with us on this part of our trip. You may now pick yourselves up off the floor and continue reading. There were two reasons for this decision, the first was that space was an issue and the second was we felt we needed to ‘dry out’. Rob was aghast when Stephen told him this and promised to call in at Windjana on his way back to Derby with a refreshing ale for Stephen. Back at camp while having lunch we noticed some familiar faces nearby, our NBFs Sandra and Richard. So the rest of the day went a bit like this. Rob and Janet called in so Stephen had a beer or two with Rob while Janet and I chatted, spent dinner with Sandra and Richard while the boys drank more beer and I chatted with Sandra. All this time I am drinking water and getting extremely irritated at Stephen’s ‘drying out’ phase. I should also at this point introduce some new campers who took the space of the snorer from the night before. At this time we will call them Tyreman and his missus. He had spent the afternoon fixing a tyre that had a slow leak and needed plugging.
Day 3 – Up again at sparrow’s fart (bloody campers) and on the road by 8am. Passed the camel man for the 4th time and hit some roadwork for a couple of k’s. The scenery was quite mountainous and the road windy but not too bad. We stopped at Lennard Gorge for a look see and a 3km walk. Sounds good. It was very hot and the first opportunity to try out the recovered ankle. The path to the Gorge was quite rocky but we made good time and were treated to a wonderful view above the falls. After a bit of exploring we discovered some pink ribbons which we thought was the road back on this loop walk to the carpark. After 30 minutes walking through scrub and an ever diminishing path and Anne starting to suffer a ‘meltdown’ Stephen made the decision we should retrace our steps and go back to the Gorge. We had just about run out of water by the time we reach the Gorge again so Stephen made me wait in the shade while he went back to the carpark along the original track and got some more water and something to eat. Meanwhile in the shade I was settling down for a nana nap when others arrived. How embarrassing!! We finally made it back to the car and immediately turned on the air-conditioning. We continued on to Silent Grove where we had a cold shower and spent the night under another shady tree.
Day 4 – We drove out of the camping ground at 7.59am (a pattern is emerging I think). The road to Bells Gorge was very rocky with some water crossings but generally not too bad. A rocky walk to the Gorge was well rewarded with a great day swanning around for hours in the water, eating, reading books and basking in the sun. A very beautiful place. Returned to our camp at Silent Grove to dinner then we listened to Collingwood thump Carlton on the radio. We were stunned that we could pick up reception because we were definitely out in the middle of nowhere.
Day 5 – On the road at 7.27am. Hmmm!!! Our destination today was Mornington Wilderness Camp which is owned by the Australian Conservancy Society. It is 90kms off the Gibb River Road but well worth the detour. The road in was quite smooth and we made very good time arriving at around 10.30am. What a gem of a place, great camping ground, great facilities and a restaurant and bar. We booked into the restaurant for dinner then set up camp. Unfortunately we broke a tent pole in our rush to set up and spent the next hour fixing it with some help (a battery drill) from a couple of old blokes camped nearby. We soon realised we were camped next to Tyreman and his missus – Bruce and Sharon from Bendigo. After lunch we drove to Sir John Gorge, a challenging little 4x4 track. We could not believe our luck when we realised we were the only people there. It was magic, just the two of us in this remote and very beautiful setting. We decided it was an optional clothing opportunity!!! Try not to think too deeply about this as it could upset your day. We shared a table with our NBFs for dinner. A very pleasant evening spent with fine food, NBFs and yes, red wine.
Day 6 – Finally got to sleep in. We hired canoes at the office and set off to Dimond Gorge at around 9.30am. We paddled down the Fitzroy River for several kilometres where we pulled onto a beach for a lunch of biscuits and sardines, snack bars and some water. We slowly paddled back in the afternoon surrounded by the walls of the Gorge and wrapped in serenity. Shame we had to share the setting with about 6 other couples. The drive into Dimond Gorge was another 4x4 and Stephen is having lots of fun crossing creeks and going over rocks beds. After dinner we went to a talk by the ranger on the work being done in the park. Since the society has undertaken a reduction program on wild cattle and donkeys and a controlled burning program some species of birds and small land creatures that were endangered have dramatically increased in numbers. This truly is a magnificent place, the wildlife and the scenery takes your breath away.
Day 7 – After a noisy evening we were up very slowly. The camping area here is huge and you can just about camp anywhere, however an elderly couple had arrived late yesterday afternoon and had decided they wanted to set up their tent on the doorstep of the old blokes. The old blokes were none too happy, which was fair enough. Unfortunately the old blokes had decided to enact revenge on the new arrivals and spent the evening drinking, playing canasta and making snide comments about people invading others space. This was all well and good but we were also kept awake by these irate and somewhat inebriated gray haired nomads. We packed up our little tent and heading for Manning Gorge. We were about 17 kms from getting back onto the Gibb River Road driving what could only be described as a freeway surface when we hear ph, ph, ph, ph, ph, ph. A flat tyre, poop. Stephen got down and dirty and in 30 minutes we were once again on our way with every rock now looking like a grenade. This was not a good sign as the most difficult part of the journey will be over the next few days. Along the way we stopped at Adcocks Gorge and Galvins Gorge for a swim and lunch. Feeling cooled and refreshed we stopped at Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we luckily purchased a secondhand tyre. We set up camp around 4.30pm at Manning Gorge. A night by the fire with marshmallows before yet another early night.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek1?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-Cm9y4zaLr8gE#
The next few days were spent gathering stores and packing for our journey along the Gibb River Road and beyond. At the last minute we decided to leave our good chairs behind and bought 2 pack away chairs – “pink” Maggie – which fitted into the back of the car more easily.
As this adventure took us 21 days and is quite a lengthy edition I am going to divide it up into 3 weeks. I am relying on Stephen’s great photos to tell the story about the places we visited and I will provide some insight into the people and events that took place which hopefully will make it a bit more interesting.
Day 1 - On Tuesday 21 July we set off with Anne driving to Derby where we stopped for lunch and filled up on fuel. We found a fuel pump behind the information centre which was selling diesel at 12c a litre cheaper than the BP or Shell. Stephen could not believe his luck. Had chicken sandwiches at the park where we found a condom dispenser hanging from the tree limb. Hmmm!!! Stephen took over the driving and we turned onto the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge, our first stop. There were lots of people in the camping ground but we managed to find a nice spot under a tree. Walked to the Gorge late in the day. There is no swimming at Windjana as there are lots of freshwater crocodiles and the water is quite murky. When we returned to camp a couple had setup their camp on the other side of “our” tree and they had decided to sleep under the stars on their camp stretchers. Unfortunately the stars do not muffle the sound of snoring!!
Day 2 – The camp started to stir at 5.30am. What the !!! Apparently they were all up to see the sunrise. Hope this isn’t going to be a daily event. Just as we were heading off to Tunnel Creek a huge gust of wind came through the camp and blew the canvas off a camper trailer exposing all the worldly possessions of the owners, who were not there. Stephen and a couple of others pegged down the canvas as best they could before we left. The road to Tunnel Creek wasn’t too bad and we arrived at 8.45am – told you we were up early. A number of people were already there including 2 young fellas from Zimbabwe who were ‘racing’ around Australia in a ute and a motorbike taking turns riding and driving. They initially started with 2 bikes but found the going to difficult so had sold one bike and bought the ute. They were taking all the back roads, Tanami, Gibb River etc. Tunnel Creek was really interesting. It was a hideout for Jindamara (Pigeon) a rogue aborigine in the early 1900’s who caused the landowners quite a bit of grief until finally cornered and gunned down. A bit of a legend at the time. It is an interesting underground walk through the tunnel often wading through water. On the way back to Windjana we were hailed down by two old new best friends, Janet and Rob. We had not seen them since we left Kununurra so stood in the middle of the road and chatted. At this point I should point out that we had decided not to bring any grog with us on this part of our trip. You may now pick yourselves up off the floor and continue reading. There were two reasons for this decision, the first was that space was an issue and the second was we felt we needed to ‘dry out’. Rob was aghast when Stephen told him this and promised to call in at Windjana on his way back to Derby with a refreshing ale for Stephen. Back at camp while having lunch we noticed some familiar faces nearby, our NBFs Sandra and Richard. So the rest of the day went a bit like this. Rob and Janet called in so Stephen had a beer or two with Rob while Janet and I chatted, spent dinner with Sandra and Richard while the boys drank more beer and I chatted with Sandra. All this time I am drinking water and getting extremely irritated at Stephen’s ‘drying out’ phase. I should also at this point introduce some new campers who took the space of the snorer from the night before. At this time we will call them Tyreman and his missus. He had spent the afternoon fixing a tyre that had a slow leak and needed plugging.
Day 3 – Up again at sparrow’s fart (bloody campers) and on the road by 8am. Passed the camel man for the 4th time and hit some roadwork for a couple of k’s. The scenery was quite mountainous and the road windy but not too bad. We stopped at Lennard Gorge for a look see and a 3km walk. Sounds good. It was very hot and the first opportunity to try out the recovered ankle. The path to the Gorge was quite rocky but we made good time and were treated to a wonderful view above the falls. After a bit of exploring we discovered some pink ribbons which we thought was the road back on this loop walk to the carpark. After 30 minutes walking through scrub and an ever diminishing path and Anne starting to suffer a ‘meltdown’ Stephen made the decision we should retrace our steps and go back to the Gorge. We had just about run out of water by the time we reach the Gorge again so Stephen made me wait in the shade while he went back to the carpark along the original track and got some more water and something to eat. Meanwhile in the shade I was settling down for a nana nap when others arrived. How embarrassing!! We finally made it back to the car and immediately turned on the air-conditioning. We continued on to Silent Grove where we had a cold shower and spent the night under another shady tree.
Day 4 – We drove out of the camping ground at 7.59am (a pattern is emerging I think). The road to Bells Gorge was very rocky with some water crossings but generally not too bad. A rocky walk to the Gorge was well rewarded with a great day swanning around for hours in the water, eating, reading books and basking in the sun. A very beautiful place. Returned to our camp at Silent Grove to dinner then we listened to Collingwood thump Carlton on the radio. We were stunned that we could pick up reception because we were definitely out in the middle of nowhere.
Day 5 – On the road at 7.27am. Hmmm!!! Our destination today was Mornington Wilderness Camp which is owned by the Australian Conservancy Society. It is 90kms off the Gibb River Road but well worth the detour. The road in was quite smooth and we made very good time arriving at around 10.30am. What a gem of a place, great camping ground, great facilities and a restaurant and bar. We booked into the restaurant for dinner then set up camp. Unfortunately we broke a tent pole in our rush to set up and spent the next hour fixing it with some help (a battery drill) from a couple of old blokes camped nearby. We soon realised we were camped next to Tyreman and his missus – Bruce and Sharon from Bendigo. After lunch we drove to Sir John Gorge, a challenging little 4x4 track. We could not believe our luck when we realised we were the only people there. It was magic, just the two of us in this remote and very beautiful setting. We decided it was an optional clothing opportunity!!! Try not to think too deeply about this as it could upset your day. We shared a table with our NBFs for dinner. A very pleasant evening spent with fine food, NBFs and yes, red wine.
Day 6 – Finally got to sleep in. We hired canoes at the office and set off to Dimond Gorge at around 9.30am. We paddled down the Fitzroy River for several kilometres where we pulled onto a beach for a lunch of biscuits and sardines, snack bars and some water. We slowly paddled back in the afternoon surrounded by the walls of the Gorge and wrapped in serenity. Shame we had to share the setting with about 6 other couples. The drive into Dimond Gorge was another 4x4 and Stephen is having lots of fun crossing creeks and going over rocks beds. After dinner we went to a talk by the ranger on the work being done in the park. Since the society has undertaken a reduction program on wild cattle and donkeys and a controlled burning program some species of birds and small land creatures that were endangered have dramatically increased in numbers. This truly is a magnificent place, the wildlife and the scenery takes your breath away.
Day 7 – After a noisy evening we were up very slowly. The camping area here is huge and you can just about camp anywhere, however an elderly couple had arrived late yesterday afternoon and had decided they wanted to set up their tent on the doorstep of the old blokes. The old blokes were none too happy, which was fair enough. Unfortunately the old blokes had decided to enact revenge on the new arrivals and spent the evening drinking, playing canasta and making snide comments about people invading others space. This was all well and good but we were also kept awake by these irate and somewhat inebriated gray haired nomads. We packed up our little tent and heading for Manning Gorge. We were about 17 kms from getting back onto the Gibb River Road driving what could only be described as a freeway surface when we hear ph, ph, ph, ph, ph, ph. A flat tyre, poop. Stephen got down and dirty and in 30 minutes we were once again on our way with every rock now looking like a grenade. This was not a good sign as the most difficult part of the journey will be over the next few days. Along the way we stopped at Adcocks Gorge and Galvins Gorge for a swim and lunch. Feeling cooled and refreshed we stopped at Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we luckily purchased a secondhand tyre. We set up camp around 4.30pm at Manning Gorge. A night by the fire with marshmallows before yet another early night.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek1?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-Cm9y4zaLr8gE#
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