BACK TO TRAVELLING!  FROM BEVERLEY TO ALBANY

It was with joy that Walter received a good health report from his Cardiologist in Perth at the end of January. It didn’t take us long to clean and pack up at Beverley and resume our travels!

We left Beverley on 25th January and headed South to Wave Rock. After 40˚heat the day dawned cold and showery! We arrived at the Wave Rock Caravan park in the afternoon and after we set up camp, planning to stay a few days we strolled around the area. We found a small zoo and bird park so we paid and wandered through it! It really was great and we were the only ones there.

The next day dawned sunny so we donned our walking shoes and headed up the path from the caravan park to view Wave Rock. It really is an incredible geological feature! After viewing the actual “wave rock” we walked further around to Hippo’s Yawn. The track meandered its way through the bush. At one stage we had a rather large brown snake sunning itself beside the track! It was so hot by the afternoon we headed for the pool with our books and stayed there for the rest of the day.

The next day we rose early and drove out the 18kms to another area known as Mulka’s Cave. There are 2 walks here, the first we undertook was the one up to the top of the range. You can view here other rocks that are in the makings also of a wave. The second walk was about 2 kms, more flat but was very interesting with good signage along the way. This was as area rich in aboriginal heritage and also has water holes in the rocks that they used to use and protect when on walkabouts. We were glad we did the walks early as by the time we arrived back at the start and Mulka’s Cave it was getting very warm. Another afternoon spent sitting around the pool!





As is had been a while since we had travelled any distance, we took it easy and only drove as far as Mungilup where we had a road side stop for the night before moving on to Esperance. Esperance is a beautiful place, turquoise clear water and white sands. The jetty is also fascinating with many opting to try their luck fishing from it as the sun is setting. At the end of the jetty is a sigh cleaning table and underneath, Sammy the sealion patrols each evening waiting for his dinner when those lucky enough to have caught fish toss him the scraps over the jetty!

One of the lovely drives around Esperance is the coastal drive. The road follows the many bays and passed the Wind Farm. The sheltered coves, white sands and rocky cliffs make this a very spectacular area. The circular route then comes back inland but pass the Pink Lake. Like near Kalbarri, this lake is tinged pink because of the Beta Carratine in the water.

We also took the cruise to Woodie Island. This island is one of the hundreds in the Recherche Archipelago. Only a half day cruise but you get to view the amazing coastling, cruise coast to other islands that are the home to the Australian Sea Lions and Cape Barren Geese and see dolphins and Sea Eagles in their own environment. Whilst on the island I took the chance to snorkel the clear waters of the bay whilst Walter hiked up to the lookout at the top of the island.

Caravan parks are not really “our thing” so then we drove 60kms east of Esperance to Cape Le Grand National Park. There are two camp areas in this park but our research made us choose the Le Grande beach camp. This is an amazing beach – 22 kms long – pure white sand and clear turquoise water. Our camp site was tucked away in the vegetation which gave us privacy and also shelter from the winds. We were only 150 metre walk to the beach and had a toilet and running water just opposite us. This is an amazing park as water is not a problem here, then even provide flush toilets and solar showers. There is a great camp kitchen too! As in many of WA’s National Parks there are Camp Hosts. Dinese and Mac were our camp hosts here and were a delightful couple and very willing to help out when help was needed.

First though we were saddened and devasted by the news that Fred (from Beverley) had passed away suddenly less than a week after we had left. Only 55 years of age and had such a zest for life. He apparently had a very severe heart attack. At the same time Walter wasn’t well again and was having problems breathing. After 3 days I packed him up and took him back into Esperance to the outpatients department where they then referred him to a local Doctor. Well, after X-Rays, Blood tests etc, they admitted him to Esperance hospital. At first they believed he may have had a number of blood clots so he had to have a CAT scan. Thank goodness this proved negative and found that he had fluid on his lung. Now he is on double the fluid tablets and he hasn’t had any further trouble.

After a week of recuperating he then felt well enough for us to tackle a couple of walks. The first one was from Hellfire Bay to Little Hellfire. Lovely walk (only about 40 minutes through the bush) to reach a delightful bay, again white sand and turquoise water. No one else there, just us. We both went for a swim and wandered down to the other end of the beach where we found a Rosenberg’s Goanna wandering around.

Another more ambitious walk was to the top of Frenchman’s Peak. This is 262 metres above sea level and is virtually a straight up rock face with an incredible cave at the peak and 360˚views of the National Park.

We had a great crowd camping there and that resulted in a few special nights! First we had an Italian night, then a curry night and followed by a Pizza night! Gosh, eating on the road is tough!

Over all we had 3 lovely weeks at Cape Le Grand before we felt it was time to move on. We began to head west along the coast and the first stop was Stokes Inlet National Park. This is a hidden gem only about 70kms form Esperance. We caught up with the camp hosts, John and Christine, who we met nearly 2 years ago just outside Sandstone when we camped the night. They (then) were heading up to Cape Range National Park to take up their first Camp Hosting appointment. Since then they have hosted in many of the WA’s National Parks including King Edward river in the north. They will be hosting at the Bungle Bungle NP later this year.

From Stokes Inlet we travelled on west to the Stirling Range NP. Just a small camp ground but the volunteer Ranger gave us a great site. Lovely Camp Hosts here too, Margaret and Ken. We took the Stirling Range drive, about 80 kms return trip right through the ranges. We hiked up to one lookout, quite a bit of a rock climb at the end, but the views were worth it! We had taken our picnic lunch so we found a nice spot among the ranges and gum trees to have this before returning. We opted out of the other walks as they are over 5-6 kms but all straight up the mountains. So instead we drove to the Bluff Knoll lookout (where one of the most popular walks begins) and looked at the views from there. The Stirling Ranges are spectacular in the Spring. They have over 1500 species of wild flowers, including 10 species of Mountain Bells, and only 2 are found outside of the park. There are also a huge variety of orchids found here too. Even though we were outside of the wild flower season, there was still quite a few species out.

The bird life here is also wonderful, kookaburras, Scarlet Robins, Red capped parrot, Carnaby (short billed) cockatoos, Grey Fantails and the amazingly coloured Splendid Fairy Wren. Very hard to get a decent photo though as they never stay still!

After 4 days (and some rain) we drove another 40 kms to the Porongurup Ranges and booked into the lovely caravan park there. These are only a small range but spectacular. These have a volcanic origin whereas the Stirling Ranges were once a part of an ocean. This means the vegetation is completely different. The Porongurups have huge jarrah, karri and marri trees and also many wild flowers but a different selection.

Walter and I decided to undertake one of the walks here, up past Tree in a Rock, then a 5.5km trail that took us right to the top of the range, via Nancy’s Peak and Morgan’s View. The views were spectacular! There are plenty of birds too, but many hard to see as they are high in the canopy. A number of Rufus Tree creepers and Twenty Eight parrots were visible.

We stayed a week as we found the Porongurup Wine Festival was to be held on the Sunday of the long weekend. There were 12 local wineries, a wok cooking competition and grape stomping! Live band entertainment and free wine tasting made for a very enjoyable day.



We left yesterday and now have arrived in Albany. So much to see and do here but today was a domestic day! Washing and cleaning! Tomorrow we shop and then begin the tourist bit!



So time now to sit back with my Porongurup Wine Festival Glass topped up with a nice local red, a bit of cheese before our roast dinner tonight!

Now we have started to discover Albany. After shopping and topping up our wine cellar, we took a drive around the coastal bay. Albany has a number of small suburbs set around the Princess Royal Harbour. Emu Point was delightful as was Bayonet Heads. We enjoyed a lovely coffee at the little coffee shop at Emu Point, whilst watching the children swim in the protect swimming enclosure and we delighted in the magnificent views in all directions. Across a very narrow isthmus of water is the Botanic Reserve. To get there though it is a much longer drive right around the bay!

We drove up to Mt Clarence and visited the ANZAC Memorial and one in particular to the Desert Mounted Troops including the Light Horse. It meant quite a lot to me as my Grandfather’s brother were in the Light Horse Brigade. From there a drive up to Mt. Adelaide and the Princess Royal Fort. This fort was built in the late 1800’s when there was a scare that either the French or the Russians might invade Australia! However, there has never been a shot fired in anger from these guns.

No one can visit Albany without a trip out to Frenchman’s Bay and Whale World. This is the site of the whaling station that operated for 26 years, closing in November 1978. It has been kept pretty well intact with even the triple expansion steam engine has been kept in working condition. Cleverly designed with the 4 huge tanks that were used to hold the whale oil, now converted as theatres. One of these is a 3-D experience on these giants of the sea. The others have features on sharks, one a hologram on the day in the life of a whaler, and one on the history of the area and the whaling station. Even one of the last whaling ships, the Cheyne 1V is moored here forever on dry land and you can walk through it and imagine how it must have been. There is also a great gallery featuring photos of the work on the station and the ships.



We took a picnic lunch with us so after spending quite a few hours here we drove to the small and beautiful Frenchman’s Bay for lunch. Great facilities and the flashest public toilets we have ever seen!

Then is was a drive back along the coast, popping into the different spots along the way. Places like Salmon Holes (great Salmon fishing here) Stoney Hill (another observation post particularly for W11) , then onto the Blowholes followed by Natural Bridge and the Gap. The day was overcast and a couple of times we had showers so it wasn’t the best for photography. Back into town for a drive around the port area. Quite a busy terminal with grain handling, fertilizer and wood chips. Quite a few ships have been in to be loaded whilst we have been here.

There is also a replica of the brig Amity, but again the light was failing. We may go back before we leave if we get a fine day for another go at taking its photo!

Albany has 2 markets each weekend. A Farmers Market on Saturdays and The Boat Sheds Markets on Sundays. The farmers market is great, such great fresh local fruit and vegies, bread and meat of all varieties: chicken, pork, beef and lamb. There is a Strawberry farm we found here on the outskirts of Albany and we have been buying the best strawberries, 1 kg for $3.00! At the markets, we also found fresh blueberries and raspberries too!

The Boatshed markets  are held on Sundays and feature fresh local seafood. This was another great market so we bought fresh Red Snapper, squid, oysters and mussels.  We have also been getting stuck into the beautiful fresh local strawberries from the strawberry farm!  $3.00 per kg!  Oh, life on the road is tough....

Until next time…

Rob & Walter – The Happy Travellers

THE END OF 2010 - PERTH AND BEVERLEY W.A.

Well, another year has passed and we are already into the end of the first week in 2011.





Following from our last blog, we are still in Beverley. Walter had his Triple heart By-pass at the end of November in Perth at the Mount Hospital. All appears successful but he still has lots of recovery to do. He has had the first check up with the surgeon the week before Christmas and he was happy with his progress so far. He has limitations on his driving and also what he can lift. Nothing over 5 kgs at this point at least for another 2 months. Walter has another appointment at the end of January with his Cardiologist and if he gets the OK then, we will commence travelling again.



Entrance to Kings Park


 Before we arrived in Beverley and whilst we had the van in Perth, Walter and I took a couple of sight seeing trips around Perth.  We did the Double Decker bus tour.  This took us up to Kings Park and around the city.  Kings Park is magnificent with its views out over the city.  We had lunch there before rejoining the bus and travelling around the CBD, including around Burswood the casino.  We also found that we could upgrade which gave us a reduced price on a trip the following day that took us on a ferry down the Swan river to Freemantle and then onto the Freemantle tram.  Similar conditions of being able to get off and on as you wish.

Maritime Museum Freemantle

  This trip was great, driving around Freemantle, passing the Maritime Museum where "Australia 2" the yacht that won the America's Cup is housed, the Freemantle Prison, the Markets, and the Seafood Marina and Round House (from the convict days).  It is a lovely trip cruising down the river, it takes about an hour and on the way home we were treated to a wine tasting!  Lovely Margaret River reds.....we were catching a bus back to the caravan park so having a couple of good reds wasn't a problem!



Photo from 1968 after Earthquake



Picnic on the Avon at Northam

Lorraine & Pete have been fantastic, allowing us to stay here in Beverley all this time. We have done a bit of sight seeing around Beverley prior to Walter’s op, including a trip out to Meckering where the whole town was demolished in an earthquake back in the sixties. Even today you can see where the ground was raised by about 2 metres over a 37 km section, buckling railway tracks and roads. We drove back around through Northam where we had a lovely picnic on the banks of the Avon River.



Peter ready to shear

Peter, before retiring, was a shearer who was born and bred in the Beverley area. But even though he is retired, he is often asked to shear smaller flocks of sheep. Walter has been out with him twice to assist him prior to his op. Some of the merinos were huge, even giving Peter difficulty in dragging them to be shorn!


Merinos ready for shearing

Harvesting Barley at Beverley






Barley Fields at Beverley

 Beverley is a small town of about 1200 people on the wheat belt area of W.A. Grain crops just as wheat, barley, millet and canola stretch away over the hills on all sides of the town. Pete took both of us out one day to a property where a friend of his was harvesting barley. Like two kids, we both had a ride in the harvester as it made its way through the waving fields of barley. Only half the grain silos are opening this year though as this area is in the middle of severe drought. Ironic, when you look at how much water is flowing over the eastern states. The computerization of the harvester is quite amazing. It can tell you when the storage bin is full, how much tonnage per acre is coming off the field, and can control the height and width of the cutting blade

s.

Cottesloe Beach

Whilst Walter was in hospital in Perth, we left the van at Beverley and I stayed in a cabin in a caravan park there. Friends have been fantastic with both of us receiving a lot of support. I took the opportunity to explore a bit of Perth whilst I was there. I took many strolls through the lovely CBD, took a tour of the Perth Mint, walked up the Bell Tower and with Val (another lovely friend met whilst travelling in the Pilbara) visited the aquarium.

Another couple that we met whilst staying at Cape Range, Tony and Vicki, picked me up from Mount Hospital and took me out to their place at Cottesloe for lunch. After dining, then drove me around to Cottesloe Beach and up the beautiful coastline to Scarborough and Sorrento. On returning they then persuaded me to stop for tea before driving me home.


Christmas Day



Ham & cheese Croissants with Moet!

 Preparations for Christmas for us were minimal but we still had a great day. Noddy (Lorraine) and Pete’s two adult children, Kelly and Baydon came home from Perth for Christmas and we felt really included. Santa came in the form of a friend of Pete’s who also arrived from Cardwell in Queensland. Moet champagne and Ham and cheese croissants for breakfast after the parcels under the tree were opened. Like most Christmas’es, we went from eating one meal to another, Lunch was punch, more champagne, crayfish and prawns followed by pork, duck, turkey, chicken and all the salads. Desert came as fruit salad and pavolva and trifle. Most opted for afternoon naps, but Kelly, Noddy, myself and Baydon played games such as Scattergories!
Then of course tea at night was late and we polished off some of the leftovers.

Next day, Noddy and Pete were up early as they were leaving in their van for a 12 month trip to the eastern states following a week at Cape Ritche between Esperance and Albany.

We are currently looking after the house and chooks until we leave when a neighbour will take over.



Harem Gnomes at Gnomesville!

Before Christmas, we received a phone call from Hazell &  Bill, who we met initially at Cape Range N.P. when they were camp hosts there. We have become good friends and they rang us up to ask if we would like to come down and spend New Year with them at Australind (near Bunbury). We took up to offer and left on the Thursday morning 30th, and drove down through Brookton, Pingelly and Collie to get there. All new territory. They like us, are actually of “no fixed address” but stay at their son’s place over summer. He had flown to Rockhampton for holidays over Christmas (a water logged holiday as it has turned out). Lovely brick open plan home on 5 acres. Bill and Hazel gave us a tour around the lovely city of Bunbury and Australind on New Years Eve. Their other son lives in the property next door, so they came over for a BBQ and we all sat up to watch the Sydney fireworks and see the New Year in.




Next day, we packed up a picnic and Bill told us he was driving us out to Gnomesville! I had read about it in a couple of travel magazines but seeing it was amazing! Literally thousands of gnomes placed here by people from not only of Australia but from all over the world! We were only disappointed that we did not have a gnome with us to leave there. If we ever go back we are going to leave our little gnome there too!

Honeymoon Pool

We travelled on up through a beautiful forest road and stopped to see a King Jarrah tree on the way to Wellington Dam. We had our picnic there and enjoyed the cool breeze as it came off the water. Water levels are way down but that didn’t stop a huge influx of New Year campers there. Then we drove onto Honeymoon Pool. Again, being New Year's day it was packed. It is a beautiful place but Bill told us if you come out of school holidays you can have the whole place to yourselves. Great swimming hole, fresh water, and the National Park has made a lovely timber deck and safe steps down into the water.

In the Pool with Lena & Mark

Time to leave, but we decided to drive home via Mandurah and drop into other friends that we had met at Nine Mile. When we arrived, Lena and Arthur insisted we stay so we had another 2 nights ways. They also took on the role of tour guide and drove us around Mandurah , the waterfront and down around the estuaries. Both days were very hot at around the 40˚C mark. Arthur had put up a small pool, so we sat in it to keep cool, with a glass of champagne! We then headed back to Beverley where we are beginning the “spring clean” before we start travelling again.

We hope you all had a safe and Happy Christmas and New Year and that 2011 treats you all kindly.

Rob & Walter