NT & WA Caravaning 2016

Monday, September 12, 2016

Day 92 Monday 12th September

We had an uneventful journey today as we headed west. Before stopping at Norsman for a fuel top up, we stopped along the east-west railway line walked along the line to pick up old metal spikes. We had seen these being used as rustic hooks etc with some beautiful timber pieces at some of the craft markets we had visited. Paul was interested in collecting some for his timber work back home. From Norsman we had a short stop for lunch. We were then well and truly on the Nullarbor coming upon the first of the Flying Doctors runway which is on the road. We stopped at a lovely large freecamp for the evening along with quite a few other travellers in vans.

Day 91 Sunday September 11

With Lyn and Steve, we spent today exploring the coastal areas around Esperance. We took a scenic drive out from the town and saw spectacular scenery of waves crashing onto rocks, beaches with huge surf and cosy little bays. We climbed a few lookouts too. Back in town we did some shopping and sorted out our plans for the next few days. Heather and Paul would have arrived back home today and they had called in to the Head of the Bight and had seen many whales close in so we are hoping they will be there when we get there.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Day 90 Saturday 10th September

It was a sad day as we left Albany and said goodbye to our wonderful new friends and brilliant hosts, Hanna and Ray. For about the first hour we had quite heavy rain but after that the weather fined up and our journey to Esperance was quite uneventful. We checked out an information board at a roadside stop during our lunch break and realised that there were many more beautiful places we could have visited on the coast but there is always next time. We arrived at Esperance around 3pm and booked into the caravan park. Lyn and Steve had arrived earlier and were able to save a site next to their's for us. Lyn cooked us a beautiful dinner and Rob was able to watch the Crows play their semi-final and win so he was a happy man.

Day 89 Friday 9th September

Lyn and Steve were departing this morning so we said goodbye to them, knowing we would catch up with them tomorrow night. Hanna had told us of some beautiful places to visit not far from Albany so we decided to go out driving. We headed west and visit a beautiful sheltered and shady picnic area at Cosy Corner Beach. We then drove to Mutton Bird Island beach. This beach was more windswept but some people had braved the wind and were fishing off the beach. We drove back through Albany and out in an easterly direction to the huge and magestic Two People's Bay. Next to this bay was a delightful little spot called Little Beach. This picturesque little beach was very sheltered with white sands, turquoise blue water and large granite boulders on the beach and 2 granite heads sheltering the beach. It wasn't the warmest of days but this beach was so well sheltered that children were happily playing on the beach in shorts. We went for a walk along the beach and up over one of the heads. From here we headed back to Albany to have some lunch and do some shopping as we were heading off tomorrow. We collected the caravan from the large house where we had left it and towed it back to Hanna and Ray's house. Rob did a few jobs with Ray while Hanna took me for another drive. This time we headed to Mt Melville lookout. We climbed the tower and were rewarded with magnificent 360° views all around Albany. Hanna then took me out to a property not far from the town where a very gifted wood sculpturer had created a drive around his property which showcased his amazing talent. Beautifully sculpted pieces were everywhere you looked. Some quirky, like the 3 little pigs and a magical tree with a face, others intricate life-like animals, an eagle carrying a snake it had caught, meerkats, farm dogs on the back of and old ute complete with a driver and passenger made from timber. I was completely blown away. It was free and there was an honesty donation box that you could put money in at the end if you wanted to. I certainly did as I would have happily paid a sizeable entry fee to see such talent. Back at the house we did a bit of packing and settled in with Hanna and Ray and take-away chinese dinner to watch the footy.

Day 88 Thursday 8th September

This morning we said goodbye to Heather and Paul as they needed to start heading home to Adelaide. Rob, Lyn, Steve and I decided to explore some of the beautiful national parks close to Albany. Our first stop was the small town of Mt Barker. We were hoping to visit a banksia garden but unfortunately it was closed. We decided to visit the lookout which was pretty impressive and gave great veiws of Mt Barker. Rob was impressed with the communications tower that was 180 metres high. We called into the Mt Barker bakery for coffee and pies. This bakery has won numerous Australian awards for it’s meat pies so we had to buy a few. From here we drove on to Porongurup National Park. We went on a lovely scenic drive and stopped for a short walk to a place called &Tree in the Rock& which of course was a giant tree growing straight out of a very large granite rock. We had noticed that there was another short walk you could do from this spot but we hadn't really studied the map. Lyn decided that it was probably the path we were on and as the rest of us slowly ambled back to the car she set off at quite a pace to complete the walk. Imagine our horror when we realised Lyn was on a very long walk that would take her several kilometres up to tbe peak of a mountain. Steve ran after her calling loudly. Luckily, after about 15 minutes they both returned with Lyn realising that it wasn't the little walk she thought it was. From here we drove to an area where you could do a walk to Castle Rock and Granite skyway. Unfortunately it was a grade 5 walk which is very difficult and involved scrambling over huge granite boulders using metal rungs and handles. I realised that with my bad hip I couldn’t do this walk but Lyn and Steve did it. They took some stunning photos and video of the views to share with us. Rob was quite happy not to do the walk so we instead went to visit another National Park about 30 kms away in the Stirling Ranges. We first visted the Bluff Knoll picnic area which was pretty spectacular. The huge Bluff Knoll, a granite monolith rising up looked pretty spooky with clouds swirling around. From here we took a very scenic drive through the Stirling Ranges stopping at several lookouts and picnic areas. We drove back to Hanna and Ray's house and had another delicious dinner watching the footy. Unfortunately for Ray, the West Coast Eagles lost and are now out of the finals.

Day 87 Wednesday 7th September

Unfortunately the weather turned on us a little today but it did not deter us. Hanna was off working in the morning and the boys had a bit of sorting out to do on Ray's van. Heather, Paul, Lyn, Steve, Rob and I all decided to visit the Albany Heritage Park which is set high on Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide over looking the bays of Albany including King George Sound and Princess Royal Harbour. The park contains pre-federation military installations and the new National ANZAC Centre. Our first climb to us to the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial which was at the summit of Mt Clarence. We had time to reflect and learn more about the men belonging to this group and their service in the first world war. We enjoyed the breathtaking view from the Padre White lookout. Albany holds it's ANZAC day commemerations here each year as it over looks the bay where many of the troops heading to war in WW1 left from and it was their last view of Australian land. From here we drove to the National ANZAC Centre. Rob and I decided we wanted to go into the centre and view the display. We are so glad we did. We were given a card with a photo and the name of a WW1 ANZAC on it and through interactive installations would learn about their experiences during the war and after, if they survived. I had a New Zealand soldier and Rob had a bloke from South Australia. They were both 2 of the lucky ones who survived. Aside from this there were many more interactive, multimedia displays, film and audio commentary. We quite possibly could have spent the entire day in the centre. It really is a credit to the city of Albany. From here we visited the Princess Royal Fortress which was set up in the 1880s by the British Empire to protect the the distant colony of Australia. We returned to Ray and Hanna's for a late lunch. After lunch the boys worked on the caravan and the girls checkedout the Albany shops.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Day 86 Tuesday 6th September

After another delicious breakfast Ray and Hanna took us on a driving tour of some of the spectacular coastal areas just out of the town of Albany. We drove around the large hill that separates one bay from another and stopped at a lookout. There is alot of ANZAC history around Albany because many of the WW1 troop ships left from here. The small entrance into the bay in which the Port of Albany is in, is called Atuturk Entrance named after the famous Turkish leader who fought against the Australians at Gallipoli then assisted them after the war with locating lost soldiers and united his country. We had a look at the large port area where a ship was in being loaded up with wood chips. There are many lovely old buildings near the port and also in the old part of the town. They have been heritage listed and well looked after. From here we drove out to a national park that had two very spectacular natural features, called The Gap and Natural Bridge. A brilliantly designed path and platforms that people in wheel chairs could access had been built out to these natural features. I cannot do the veiws from the platforms justice. Huge, smooth, shear cliffs of granite, dropping into a swirling whirlpool of crashing waves greeted us at the The Gap and across the other side of the path was The Natural bridge with water crashing in and out, under it. We visited another lovely spot called Salmon Holes, where fishermen take their lives into their own hands fishing from the dangerous rocks. We then went to &Whaleworld& which is on the old site of the last whaling station in Australia. It closed in 1978. Lyn, Paul, Heather, Rob and I visited the centre and had a wonderful and informative tour of the site with many good interactive attractions. Rob, Jas and I had visited this attraction back in 2000 and really enjoyed it but there had been many great improvements and it was well worth the money. On our way back into town we stopped at a whiskey distillery called &Limeburners&, where Heather and Paul enjoyed tasting some of the very expensive, award winning whiskey. After returning to Ray and Hanna's for lunch, Paul and Rob had an enjoyable game of golf at the beautiful Albany public golf course and Hanna took Heather, Lyn and myself to the Mt Romance Sandalwood factory. We had visited one of these before on this trip at Kununurra as that is where most of the sandalwood is grown but it is all processed here in Albany. Of course we could not resist spending more money on some of the beautiful products. Back at Hanna's and Ray's another scrumptious dinner was followed by some of playing &May I& once again.

Day 85 Monday 5 September

I think we woke today and thought we were in heaven. Ray and Hanna would have to be the most amazing hosts and we are being thoroughly spoilt. Beautiful, comfortable beds, delicious meals and great conversation. Hanna had to work so she was up early and off. Ray and the boys cooked breakfast on the outdoor barbeque and we sat on the balcony watching the a stand-up paddle boarder out on the very calm waters of the bay. Heather took Lyn and I on a walk while the boys started work on Ray's caravan. Heather took us to the holiday units that Hanna and Ray manage. There are 4 of them and each one cost over a million dollars to build. They were finished to the highest standards and cost $600 a night, to rent. Lyn and I had never seen anything like it. The stunning decor, expensive kitchens and bathrooms, linens, just everything was high end. We walked on to the seafront and stopped a lovely cafe before heading back past some cute little shops. When we got back Hanna was home from work and the boys were ready for lunch. After lunch the boys continued on with their work and Hanna and Lyn went for a longer walk. Heather and I sat comfortably on the balcony reading. Later, Ray took me with him when Hanna and Lyn needed a lift back home and I saw more of this beautiful town. After another delicious dinner, Hanna taught us to play a card game called &May I&. It was very entertaining and a great way to finish the night.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Day 84 Sunday 4th September

Today was one of those very special days when you think &how lucky am I?&. We left our rustic camp site at Coalmine Beach, Walpole just after 9.30am and headed for the &Valley of the Giants& to do the treetop walk. It really was quite breath-taking walking on the suspended platform at the same height as the canopy of the giant kari trees. We then did a beautiful ground walk among the trees learning much about the flora and fauna of the area. From here we drove on to a small but spectacular national park called William Bay. Located on the coast we visited spots like Waterfall Beach where a small waterfall plunged into the white sand of the beach, Madfish Bay , a tiny bay surrounded by rocks and crashing surf and Green Pool, a gorgeous calm swimming area created by large rocky outcrops stopping the surf from coming in. We stopped here for lunch and then drove on through the town of Denmark to Albany. Hanna and Ray, who we had met up at Coral Bay, live in Albany and were most insistent that we should leave our vans at a friend's house and stay in their home. Heather and Paul had already arrived a couple of days earlier. Hanna and Ray's house is absolutely beautiful with amazing views overlooking the bay of Albany. We all have our own bedrooms and had a delicious dinner of fish and chips followed by pavlova. Hanna and Ray are just incredible hosts.

Day 83 Saturday 3rd September

We left Augusta quite early heading for the Kari forest area near the town of Pemberton. Our first stop was Beedelup falls where we could view the falls from a suspension bridge which Rob and Steve had fun rocking while Lyn and I tried to cross it. From here we continued on through the magestic kari forest to the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree. It was 65mt high and you could climb it using the steel rung ladder if you were brave (or silly enough). Steve was the only one of us who did this. From here we drove to the Gloucester National Park, stopping at another lovely waterfall called The Cascades and doing a short walk. We continued on to the town of Pemberton for lunch at the bakery before making our way to another very large kari tree which you could climb called the Gloucester tree. This tree had once been used as a fire lookout and had been maintained for tourists to climb, again up a steel rung ladder. Jasmine and Rob did climb this tree back in 2000 but this time we all decided to take a short walk through the magnificent kari forest and take some photos instead. We then drove on to our next overnight stop at the little coastal town of Walpole. We were entertained by kangaroos and a cheeky kookaburra while having drinks and nibbles before dinner.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Day 82 Friday 2nd September

We drove from Busselton to Augusta today, passing through some of the areas we had explored yesterday and discovering some new ones. We visited the surfing town of Gracetown but no one was out surfing. The whole way down the coast from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin is peppered with surfing beaches and during the summer the area is crowded with surfers. We visited a large picturesque bay that had a huge surf pounding in and here we saw some whales in quite close and frolicking in the sea. One even did a dive where his huge tail came up out of the water. We are really now back to the cool and wet conditions of the south so our kayaks and bathers have been put away and replaced with beanies and coats. We arrived in the small, pretty town of Augusta and booked into the caravan park. Our sites were beautiful, overlooking the Blackwood River estuary. After a quick bite for lunch we went for a drive. We drove to a memorial for the first European people to live herein 1830, the whalers. From here we drove down to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. It was pretty cold and windy and as it was quite a walk to the lighthouse, I stayed in the car. Rob did a tour of the lighthouse that was built in 1895 and Lyn and Steve visited the souvenir shop that was in one of the 3 old lighthouse keeper's cottages. We drove on and continued to enjoy the beautiful coastal scenery. Once back at the caravans we went for a short but lovely walk along the path that follows the river.

Day 81 Thursday 1st August

We spent a wonderful day visiting the beautiful area in and around Margaret River. Our first stop was in the town of Cowaramup. It had statues of cows everywhere and quaint little shops. Lyn and I loved a shop full of natural soaps, body lotions etc. We bought a few things here. We then continued on towards Margaret River, heading in the main street for a walk and a coffee. We stopped for some olive oil tastings and chocolate tastings and from here we visited the first of the wineries, Stella Bella. The wine-maker here was Luke Jolliffe who both Rob and I taught many years ago. Unfortunately, he was overseas on a holiday but we enjoyed some wine tasting and chatting to the lovely lady selling the wines. We visited another little town called Witchcliffe and visited a craft shop that was full of candles and beautiful wood works made from barrel timbers. Lyn then took us to a stunning little beach called Redbanks where once again we marveled at the power of the ocean smashing into the rocks. We headed back to Margaret River and had a delicious lunch at the pub. From here we visited another winery called Mad Fish. We were feeling a bit sorry for Rob as he doesn't tend to do the wine tasting so we found a brewery where he could try a few beers. We finished off with a visit to a cheese factory. Needless to say that we don't need much dinner tonight after that big day.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Day 80 Wednesday 31st August

We left our Freemantle park before 9am this morning, unfortunately once more under grey skies. We took the road close to the coast heading south, first going through Rockingham and then stopping at Bunbury for a look around. We had to dodge showers but saw quite a bit of the coast. We continued on to Busselton and checked into a beautiful park by lunchtime. This park has an outdoor pool with water slides and an indoor heated pool. The camp kitchen has 3 industrial size ovens and hot plates, a large screen TV and heaters. The showers and toilets are like 5 star luxury resort amenities. Very impressive. After lunch we left the vans and drove to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse for a walk and visit. We drove to some more stunningly beautiful spots on the coast down this way but the most impressive was Canal Rocks. A walkway had been constructed to go out over the rocks and one of the &canals& created in the rocks. Huge surf was smashing into the rocks behind and water would rush in and out of the narrow canal that you could stand above. We took a different route home, going inland and seeing some very pretty farms including dairy, sheep, vineyards etc.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Day 79 Tuesday 30 August

We had a lovely day today, starting with a leisurely cruise up the Swan River. We started from the wharf in Freemantle and Lyn and Steve came with us. The wharf area was very busy with large container ships and other car carrier ships in the docks. A pod of feeding dolphins and a seal entertained us at the beginning of the trip. We continued on up the very large river with some excellent commentary about the history of the river and the surrounding suburbs. We saw many multi-million dollar properties, many belonging to mining magnates. There were yachts clubs and marinas everywhere full of large and expensive boats. We arrived at the wharf in the city area of Perth an hour later and walked about 100 metres to a free city bus. This bus took us for a drive around the main business and shopping areas of the Perth city. We were returned to the wharf area and found a cafe on the water where we had some lunch. It was soon time to hop on the boat ready for the return trip to Freemantle. This journey was just as enjoyable and relaxing.

Day 78 Monday 29th August

This morning we said goodbye to Paul and Heather as they were heading south in their van. They had arrived a few days before us and need to be back in Adelaide by mid-September so they needed to start moving. Rob, Jas and I went for a drive down to a lovely spot called Hillary's Boat Harbour. It was a very extensive marina full off boats and surrounded by many small shops. Rob counted over 20 different places to eat at. We stopped for a coffee and Jas and I spent some time in the nice little clothes shops. We drove on from here, heading to Kings Park which is a huge park that overlooks the Swan River and the tall buildings in the city area of Perth. We went for a walk through part of the park and stopped at a cafe for lunch. After this we visited the shop and gallery. It was full of the most beautiful pieces of glass sculptures, books, wooden sculptures, knitted goods, jewelry etc. etc It was all of an extremely high standard I spent quite a bit of time in the shop. We walked into part of the Botanic gardens which were part of Kings Park. Many of the beautiful Western Australian wildflowers were on display and were quite stunning. We returned to the car and Rob drove us out to tbe Perth Airport as unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Jasmine. She needed to fly back to Adelaide and back to work tomorrow. It had been so lovely having her stay with us for the past 3 nights and joining in with Rob’s birthday celebrations.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Day 77 Sunday 28th August Rob’s 60th birthday

We all had a bit of a slow start to the morning after our big night out. None of us needed much to eat for breakfast. Rob was busy taking phone calls and opening gifts for today was his actual birthday even though we celebrated it last night. We finally organised ourselves late in the morning and headed down to the Freemantle Prison. All of us except Steve(having worked in prisons, he didn't need to see this one) decided to do a tour. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt so much about this prison which was first built in 1855 to house the convicts who were sent out to work in the penal settlement of WA. It later became the Freemantle Prison and was closed in 1991. All around Freemantle there is evidence of the work that the convicts did in construction of different buildings. After this interesting excursion we visited the Freemantle Markets which were very busy. We had a good look around and found some interesting food for lunch. Heather, Paul and Rob then went to visit a micro - brewery while Jas and I continued to check out the markets with Jasmine purchasing 2 pairs of some very quirky shoes. Late in the afternoon we returned to the caravan park. Everyone came into our annexe for tea as we had been given containers of the food we had been unable to eat from the restaurant the night before and of course there was left-over cake. We ended up having a good dinner. This was followed by a game of &Pass the Pigs&. Rob had recieved this as a gift for his birthday and we had lots of fun playing it.

Day 76 Saturday 27th August

Despite the wind and rain we all slept pretty well, even Jasmine who was sleeping out in the annexe. She woke up in the morning with water all around her matress and even a few earth worms who had come up from the grass. She and her bedding were quite dry though. We went shopping in the morning at a very large shopping mall a few kms away. It was a bit tricky trying to buy a gift for Rob for his birthday when he was there but with Jasmine's help I managed. After this Rob dropped me off at a hairdresser in Freemantle while he and Jas did some grocery shopping. When we returned to the park we started getting ready for Rob's birthday dinner. We had booked a restaurant in Freemantle(The Barque) and so took a taxi bus with all 7 of us (Lyn, Steve, Heather, Paul, Jas, Rob and myself) , balloons and cake to the restaurant. It was fun! Hanna and Ray met us at the restaurant. We had a private room and had chosen to have a banquet. The food was just amazing. Course after delicious course kept coming. We were all so full. Paul had prepared a very funny powerpoint that was a bit of a roast for Rob and we all thoroughly enjoyed it . Heather had ordered a magnificent black forrest birthday cake that we finished the night with. The staff at the restaurant were wonderful and really helped to make sure it was a memorable night for all of us. When it was time to leave our taxi bus returned to pick us up and delivered us safely back to the caravan park. A fantastic night and a great way to celebrate Rob’s 60th birthday.

Day 75 Friday 26 th August A big Surprise

We left our overnight camp around 10 am which is pretty late for us but I had been dragging my heels on purpose. Rob said he didn’t notice any difference. What he didn’t know was that Jasmine was flying in from Adelaide in the morning to spend a few days over the weekend to help celebrate his 60th birthday. Heather and Paul (who were already in Perth) were in on this and were very helpful, picking Jasmine up from a central bus stop after she had caught a couple of buses from the airport. We arrived at our caravan park in Freemantle and Rob went into the office to book in as he has been doing. He has done this so I can save my hip a bit but this time I wanted to go in but then thought he might suspect something. When he walked into the office he was a bit confused. He saw the very large sliver balloon display with 60 on them but failed to notice his daughter standing next to them. Jas had to jump up and down and wave before Rob realised. Anyway it was a lovely surprise. We put our annex up and Jas will sleep in there till she flies home on Monday. After this Rob drove us into the main part of Freemantle and I had my hair done while Rob and Jas had some lunch and did some shopping. Unfortunately once we got back to the caravans the weather took a turn for the worst with a strong wind whipping up and heavy rains but we were all warm and good. Poor Rob...things got worse when we all sat done to watch the football and his beloved Crows went down to the Eagles in a game that they were expected to win. Oh well I'm sure things will improve over the weekend.

Day 74 Thursday 25th August

We didn't have to travel far today so we had a lazy morning and left Jurien Bay around 10 am. We enjoyed more beautiful views as we moved down the coast and called into Lancelin for morning tea, finding a lovely spot right next to the beach. We continued down the road a little way and stopped at a freecamp called Moore River. It had new toilets and a dump point for caravans. After a bit to eat we all went for a lovely stroll along the river. Rob and I were surprised to see that the substantial bridge that carried the Indian Ocean Drive traffic was a wooden bridge obviously well made but quite some years ago. This freecamp is quite small so we were glad we arrived early to get a good spot. It should be a quiet night but could be a little cold as we have clear skies.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Day 73 Wednesday 24th August

Today we visited the famous Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. It was a 20 min drive to the Pinnacles and then we spent about an hour exploring the thousands of very strange limestone pillars that rise mysteriously from the sand dunes. What actually caued these formations is still in dispute and there are several theories. They were formed about 500,000 years ago. We took many photos and visited the informative Interpretive centre, gallery and gift shop. From here we drove to the town of Cervantes, located on the coast. The sky was clear and there was a little swell. We stopped at a beachside cafe for a coffee. We were impressed by some of the very luxurious seafront homes along this area which is known as the Turquoise Coast and it is an apt name. From here we drove to Lake Thetis which had more stromatolites in it. We walked on the boardwalk and learnt a bit more about these relatives of the earliest forms of life. We then continued on to have lunch at a beautiful, little bay called Hansen Bay. We watched several dolphins playing in the water and saw some very clever sea birds, diving and catching many sizeable fish. Back at Jurien Bay we drove down to the seafront and walked along the jetty enjoying the sunshine and of course the turquoise sea.

Day 72 Tuesday 23rd August

We left Geraldton heading for the national trust town ship of Greenough, about 50kms south. Lyn and I were quite keen to do the self-guided walk around the 11 restored buildings in the settlement. The boys weren't so keen so they stayed back at the general store which had a lovely cafe out the back and enjoyed a coffee. Lyn and I were very impressed with all the restored buildings and displays. We spent over an hour exploring them. From here we drove on to Port Denison where we stopped for lunch. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside eating, watching boats coming and going through the breakwater. After lunch we continued down the coast and arrived at a popular coastal town called Jurien Bay. We managed to book in here for the next 2 nights and hope to visit the famous Pinnacles tomorrow, from here. Rob was pretty happy because the caravan park has 2 small gates either side of the park. One leads to the buthcher and bakery and the other to the local tavern.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Day 71 Monday 22nd August

We decided we would like to stay in Geraldton one more night so Rob went down to book us in for another night. Unfortunately by the time Lyn and Steve went to do this the caravan park did not have any powered sites left and so they moved down to a free park on the foreshore of Geraldton. We headed inland about 55 kms to Ellendale pool. On the way we stopped off at a huge Alinta windfarm. There were over 70 wind turbines spread over the hills. Alinta had also put up information boards about the windfarms and the turbines. A propeller was also on display and the boys were pretty impressed. We travelled on to the very picturesque Ellendale pool, a very inviting scene but it was far too cold to go for a dip. We continued back to Geraldton taking a different route and called into a beautifully restored chapel. Back in Geraldton Rob and I went a nice cafe for lunch located on the foreshore. Following this Lyn and I visited the old Geraldton jail and craft store. It was facinating, as not only was there alot of information about the history of the jail but many of the cells housed craft shops, with knitted goods, candles, jams and pickles, woodworks, lace works etc.etc. Lyn and I were really impressed with a display of felt animals, creatures and mythical beings that one of the talented artisits had made. After the boys returned to join us (as they had been at Bunnings) Rob and I went for a lovely drive out to the port area and saw the fisheries area and many large commercial fishing boats. From there we visited the Point Moote Lighthouse, the tallest steel lighthouse in Australia. We also watched a fantastic kite surfer jumping into air as he sped across the waves.

Day 70 Sunday 21st August

We had an uneventful journey to Geraldton again enjoying the many varieties of wild flowers lining the road. After settling into a lovely caravan park and having lunch we decided to visit the Western Australian Museum of Geraldton. It was located down near the new marina area in a very flash building. It was free but a donation was encouraged and we thought quite deserved. We wished we had arrived earlier as the museum was closing at 3pm. It had so many interesting displays about the history of the local area but the things we really enjoyed were the displays about the ship wrecks located off the coast of this area, mainly Dutch ships from the 1600s and the infamous Batavia mutiny shipwreck artifacts. I remembered these from our last visit 16 years ago. A new stunning display was that of HMAS Sydney that had disappeared of this coast during WW2 in Nov 1941 with 645 souls lost. It told the story and then the search which went on for decades with the Sydney being located of the coast of Shark Bay in 2008. With the museum closing we visited a moving memorial to the HMAS Sydney located on a hill over looking Geraldton. It has a huge marble wall with the names of all the men who had been on the ship and a beautiful metal dome covered with the shapes of birds. Also there was a bronze statue of a grieving woman looking out to sea. It is interesting to note that this fabulous memorial was built in 2001 and it is said that the direction the woman is looking is where the Sydney was located 150kms out to sea in 2008.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Day 69 Saturday 20th August

The wind was up this morning and things were a little cool but the wind dropped out pretty quickly and it started to warm up. Heather, Paul, Hanna and Ray were leaving today and heading south as Heather and Paul's caravan is booked in for a service in Perth in a few days and Hanna and Ray needed to get back to Albany. We were staying here with Lyn and Steve, at Wagoe Beach for another night so we could check out Kalbarri National park. We packed lunch and headed first to the Loop Lookout and the famous Nature's Window. The Murchison River has carved its way through this area creating breathtaking views everywhere. Although I am struggling to walk too far with my hip I was pleased to say I managed all the short walks to the lookouts with Rob only having to do one steep walk on his own. Lyn and Steve thoroughly enjoyed the day too and we probably took far too many photos. We returned to the vans late in the afternoon and had a delicious tea, cooking up some of our fish from Coral Bay. Lyn made a beautiful pineapple pudding for dessert.

Day 68 Friday 19th August

We left our beautiful freecamp on the banks of the Murchison River heading for Kalbarri. It didn't take us very long to get there but when we arrived there was some bad news. All the caravan parks in Kalbarri were totally full and as we were all hoping to have water and power. We weren't sure what we were going to do. Kalbarri has some magnificent coastal views along with beautiful gorge views inland, on the Murchison River. We looked at an option of staying further south at Pt Gregory as we could get into a park there but then realised it was 65 kms from Kalbarri and this would be quite long drive back to Kalbarri to see the sights. 20 kms out from Kalbarri we found a farm at a place called Wagoe Beach. It advertised water and powered sites so we drove into it. Well, we really fell on our feet. There was a group of people staying in the chalets and one site had a camper trailer on it but the rest of the area was available. We were to find out later that these people were here for a beach wedding. 4 wheel drive vehicles were decorated with ribbons for the drive on the beach and we saw the bride and bridesmaids having their photos taken before the cermony. The sites over looked the ocean and we couldn't believe what a wonderful place we had come to. It was also very inexpensive. In front of our sites we could see large sandhills and beyond that the huge swell of the ocean, at times crashing into some cliffs and sending water high into the air. We also spotted several whales. After we had settled in and had lunch we drove along the coast back to Kalbarri stopping in at vaious coastal cliffs including, Natural Bridge, Island Rock, Eagle Gorge and Pot Alley. We also went to a very famous surfing area called Jakes Point and was amazed at the 20 or so surfers who were riding the huge waves. Close to the town of Kalbarri, the Murchison River empties into the ocean and it is quite spectacular. We called in here too. Back to our caravans at Wagoe Beach we settled in around a fire again with another SA couple who had arrived.

Day 67 Thursday 18th August

Today we were all visiting Monkey Mia to see the dolphin feeding and so we were up very early as we needed to be there by 7.30am. We had pre-purchased our tickets hoping to avoid a delay at the entrance but it didn't make any difference. The dolphin feeding is extremely well controlled to ensure the dolphins are still able to catch there own fish out in the wild. Only 5 female dolphins are fed but the others still come in to play. Lyn was very lucky and was chosen to feed one of the dolphins. After the first feeding, Paul, Heather, Hanna and Ray headed back to Denham to collect their vans and visit the Shark Bay Aquarium. We stayed on to watch a second feeding of the dolphins from the jetty. We were standing next to 2 young women who were taking observations of the dolphins who had come into the bay. Following this we had a coffee at the cafe overlooking the bay and resort. We headed back and collected our vans. From here we travelled to a beautiful freecamp located on the banks of the Murchison River. This spot had many clean, chemical toilets and several dump points. We arrived around 3pm and about an hour later, Paul, Heather, Hanna and Ray arrived. They had had a fantastic time at the Aquarium having a young marine biologist giving them excellent commentary regarding the different marine life in the tanks. It was starting to cool down so we decided to have a fire. Fire pits were provided everwhere and we had surrounded one of these with the vans. We went searching for firewood and by dinner time had a beautiful warm fire. We cooked, spuds and corn in the coals of the fire and enjoyed a delicious dinner around the fire.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Day 66 Wednesday 17th August

Today we travelled from Wooramel Station to Denham(Shark Bay) as we will be visiting Monkey Mia tomorrow. We are lucky to be travelling when the famous Western Australian wildflowers are starting to flower. We have been treated to a huge aray of different flowers, various shapes, sizes and colours all the way down to Denham. We stopped off at Hamelin Pool to see the world famous &Stomatolites&, similar to the earliest forms of lifeand dating back 3,000 million years. An excellent walkway out over the water, with interpretive signs helped give us a better understanding as to the significance of these microbes that build stromatolites. We also walked over Shell Beach, a beach completely made of tiny shells, no sand. After arriving in Denham and having lunch we went for a drive out to several lookout areas. Unfortunately our luck with the fantastic weather we have had, ran out today. It has been very windy and we've had squalls with rain go through during the afternoon.

Day 65 Tuesday 16th August

We left Carnarvon without any issues as we only needed to get to Wooramel Riverside Retreat which was only 120km down the road. We arrived before lunch and settled in. The retreat is located at Wooramel stataion, a 356,000 acre working cattle, sheep and goat station. The property borders the Indian Ocean and backs onto Shark Bay. Our camping site was located on the banks of the Wooramel River which is an upside down river, like quite a few of the rivers up this way. The water soaks through the sand and runs underground for most of the time. It only runs on the surface 2-3 times a year for a couple of weeks after good rains. The sites were beautiful with large shady gum trees all around. We had toilets and showers (set inside huge rainwater tanks) but no power or water. The station had designed it's own 4 wheel drive self drive so after lunch we went off on it. We did manage to get lost on part of it but did see alot of the Shark Bay mud flaps and also more of the station area. Lyn and Steve did the 6km walk close to the station homestead, which took them past many old pieces of station machinery and was very interesting. When we returned from our drive we ventured down to the Artesian natural hot baths for a very relaxing and therapeutic soak. The temperature of the water is a beautiful 33°C and it has a very high mineral content. After dinner we sat around our firepit (made from the rim of a truck) and enjoyed a very peaceful, clear evening under the stars.

Day 64 Monday 15th August

It was time to leave Coral Bay so we woke to a beautiful calm morning with no wind! It could have come up later though... We traveled south to Carnarvon without any problems, arriving at the Wintersun Caravan Park before lunch. After delicious pizzas for lunch made by Hanna we took a scenic drive around the town and surrounds. We saw the mile long jetty, tram line and tram museum but decided against walking the jetty or taking the tram as it was $5 to do the walk and $10 for the tram. After our tour, Ray and Hanna then took us to a banana and vegetable plantation that belonged to a friend of their's. We had a walk around the crops of tomatoes and bananas and then made some purchases at the little stall. We headed back to town to do some shopping and following this Rob and I called into another shop on a plantation and I had a frozen, pure mango icecream and Rob a frozen strawberry icecream. Yum. Back at the caravan park, Paul, Heather, Ray, Hanna, Rob and I and booked into the special &Monday Spud Night dinner& that the park runs. For $10 you got a huge spud with a huge choice of fillings as well as coleslaw etc. An icecream dessert was also included. We walked down to the huge recreation shed snd couldn’t believe our eyes. Inside there were 4 long, long tables full of grey nomads wating for dinner, drinking and chatting. There were several more tables outside too. The whole thing was extremely well organised and very efficient. They cooked well over 200 potatoes in a huge oven that was close to where we were sitting. Looking at all these people, it was quite scary. We decided we couldn’t possibly be as old as they were and I think we tried to tell ourselves that we're really not in the grey nomad demographic.....

Day 63 Sunday 14th August

We were hoping for a calm windless day but unfortunately we didn't get that. Still, Steve, Lyn and I were determined to go kayaking and try to get close to the outer reef. Hanna and Heather had another morning snorkel too. We set out close to lunchtime and it was quite difficult going. The further out we went in the kayaks the stronger the wind was and the higher the waves. We were heading into the waves and by the time we made it to a channel marker buoy Lyn and Steve’s kayak had quite a bit of water in it. Steve tried to bail some of it out using his goggles which was quite comical. We were about 2/3's of the way out to the reef and the waves were getting bigger. We sensibly decided we had travelled far enough and then kayaked back into the main bay. I then took my kayak out to the biggest single piece of coral in Coral Bay called Ayres Rock. It is enormous, the top sitting just below the surface of the water and the rest of it going down several metres to the seabed. We headed back in and Lyn and Steve went back to the caravan park. I had a lazy time reading on the beach and later catching up with Hanna and Heather who had gone for a long beach walk. I decided that I couldn't leave Coral Bay without one last snorkel so headed into the water late in the afternoon. So glad I did as I was rewarded with beautiful views of the coral and fish. Rob came down to collect me in a break in the footy. We finished our stay in Coral Bay with a magnificent dinner at a cafe called Finns. We sat outside and all enjoyed our delicious meals and a few drinks.

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