Home again! We’ve had an excellent holiday, but it’s always good to be home.
Today, like most travelling days, was most waiting – at the hotel for the skybus, at the airport for the plane – no problems and home on time.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Perth to Melbourne
Now we’re in Melbourne, on our way home. We left Perth this morning after returning our hire car – this one in excellent condition unlike its predecessor – and everything being in order with the flight. We even arrived in Melbourne a few minutes early. I still think that the only good thing about flying is that it's quick. Otherwise, it's the pits.
We caught the sky bus into the city, the fare includes a shuttle from Southern Cross Station to our hotel, which was really good. We’ve booked the return trip for tomorrow, and reckon that it costs about half as much as taking a taxi both ways.
Going by Perth time, it’s now 7:17, but it really feels like 10:17, so off to bed.
We caught the sky bus into the city, the fare includes a shuttle from Southern Cross Station to our hotel, which was really good. We’ve booked the return trip for tomorrow, and reckon that it costs about half as much as taking a taxi both ways.
Going by Perth time, it’s now 7:17, but it really feels like 10:17, so off to bed.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Fremantle
Today’s our last full day here in WA. The bags are nearly packed, ready to go to the airport in the morning, and we’ve enjoyed the last of our sightseeing here.
We caught the bus into Fremantle again. That makes 2 return trips. So far the fares have been $2.40, $1.20, $1.70 and $1.20. The $1.20 fares were home in the afternoon, and I just haven’t worked out why there is such a variation. The bus service is really good, and the free service around the cities is a great idea.
Anyway, having got to Fremantle we walked around to the Maritime Museum, wanting to have a look there and at the submarine HMAS Ovens, sister ship of the Otway at Holbrook. But guess what? It’s closed on Wednesdays. There’s a cruise ship in harbour, the Dawn Princess, and it’s still closed. We must have seen about 30 people around there and all went away shaking their heads. We walked around the waterfront for an hour or so, had lunch at a seafood place, walked around the shopping centre and then caught the bus back to start packing.
Not much else to say tonight. We’ve had a great time here in WA and now we’re looking forward to being home again.
We caught the bus into Fremantle again. That makes 2 return trips. So far the fares have been $2.40, $1.20, $1.70 and $1.20. The $1.20 fares were home in the afternoon, and I just haven’t worked out why there is such a variation. The bus service is really good, and the free service around the cities is a great idea.
Anyway, having got to Fremantle we walked around to the Maritime Museum, wanting to have a look there and at the submarine HMAS Ovens, sister ship of the Otway at Holbrook. But guess what? It’s closed on Wednesdays. There’s a cruise ship in harbour, the Dawn Princess, and it’s still closed. We must have seen about 30 people around there and all went away shaking their heads. We walked around the waterfront for an hour or so, had lunch at a seafood place, walked around the shopping centre and then caught the bus back to start packing.
Not much else to say tonight. We’ve had a great time here in WA and now we’re looking forward to being home again.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Swan Valley
This morning Gordon picked us up to go for a drive to the Swan Valley. Geraldine wasn’t well and didn’t come with us, unfortunately, so the three of us went for lunch. On the way we drove along part of the Graham Farmer Highway, which includes a tunnel under the city. Graham Farmer was a football player whose nickname was Polly. The tunnel is called, of course, the Polly Pipe!
The Swan Valley is a great wine-growing area, many vineyards with cellar door outlets and restaurants. We had lunch at the Black Swan, very good lunch but definitely on the expensive side (as a lot of things are over here). The wine was good, though. On the way back we called in to the Margaret River chocolate factory, which has an outlet here. Very good chocolate, lots of different sorts, and it would be very easy to spend a lot of time and money in there. We escaped with a couple of chocolates and an ice cream, so did pretty well.
Gordon brought us back to the caravan park via the airport and showed us where to find the hire car return place, and also the way to the airport in reverse from here.
It was quite hot today, about 35 I think, and yesterday was also pretty hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be about 25 so that will be good. Les and I are very pleased that we missed the heat wave at home, it’s been middle 20s here most of the time with just the couple of hot days.
The Swan Valley is a great wine-growing area, many vineyards with cellar door outlets and restaurants. We had lunch at the Black Swan, very good lunch but definitely on the expensive side (as a lot of things are over here). The wine was good, though. On the way back we called in to the Margaret River chocolate factory, which has an outlet here. Very good chocolate, lots of different sorts, and it would be very easy to spend a lot of time and money in there. We escaped with a couple of chocolates and an ice cream, so did pretty well.
Gordon brought us back to the caravan park via the airport and showed us where to find the hire car return place, and also the way to the airport in reverse from here.
It was quite hot today, about 35 I think, and yesterday was also pretty hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be about 25 so that will be good. Les and I are very pleased that we missed the heat wave at home, it’s been middle 20s here most of the time with just the couple of hot days.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fremantle
I forgot to blog last night, mainly because not a lot happened yesterday. We left Bunbury and travelled to Fremantle where we are staying in a chalet at the Fremantle Village caravan park. It’s definitely better than the motels the last few nights, but not as good as the park in Busselton.
So today we had a quiet morning, went shopping for something for lunch and dinner, then caught a bus into Fremantle for a bit of a look around. They have free buses that run around the city centres in Perth and Fremantle, they’re a great way to have a look around the place. We hopped on a bus at the railway station and went most of the way around the route before getting out at the waterfront where we went for a visit to the Shipwreck Galleries of the WA Museum.
They have a fabulous exhibition of wrecks along the WA coast, and tell the stories of the Dutch explorers who explored the coast in the 17th century. They had a collection of documents and the original plate left by Dirk Hartog, one of the very early explorers. They also have a part of the Batavia hull, along with a lot of artefacts found on the wreck. It’s a very interesting place and we spent a couple of hours looking around, we could have spent even longer, but time was getting on.
We then went for a walk along the waterfront, a coffee at Dome, which is a chain of restaurants all over the place here, more walking along the waterfront then went back into the city and made our way to the railway station to catch the bus home.
Tomorrow we’re going to the Swan Valley with Geraldine and Gordon, which should be most enjoyable.
Les had a call this afternoon to let us know that the Stable has gone into receivership. Ordinarily this would be interesting but not concern us particularly, BUT my bike is there! It had to go in to get a new regulator after it broke down, and wasn’t fixed before we left so we organised to leave it there and pick it up when we get home. I’m going to try ringing there tomorrow and see if anyone answers the phone. Fingers crossed!
So today we had a quiet morning, went shopping for something for lunch and dinner, then caught a bus into Fremantle for a bit of a look around. They have free buses that run around the city centres in Perth and Fremantle, they’re a great way to have a look around the place. We hopped on a bus at the railway station and went most of the way around the route before getting out at the waterfront where we went for a visit to the Shipwreck Galleries of the WA Museum.
They have a fabulous exhibition of wrecks along the WA coast, and tell the stories of the Dutch explorers who explored the coast in the 17th century. They had a collection of documents and the original plate left by Dirk Hartog, one of the very early explorers. They also have a part of the Batavia hull, along with a lot of artefacts found on the wreck. It’s a very interesting place and we spent a couple of hours looking around, we could have spent even longer, but time was getting on.
We then went for a walk along the waterfront, a coffee at Dome, which is a chain of restaurants all over the place here, more walking along the waterfront then went back into the city and made our way to the railway station to catch the bus home.
Tomorrow we’re going to the Swan Valley with Geraldine and Gordon, which should be most enjoyable.
Les had a call this afternoon to let us know that the Stable has gone into receivership. Ordinarily this would be interesting but not concern us particularly, BUT my bike is there! It had to go in to get a new regulator after it broke down, and wasn’t fixed before we left so we organised to leave it there and pick it up when we get home. I’m going to try ringing there tomorrow and see if anyone answers the phone. Fingers crossed!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Bunbury
We started off with another visit to the Dolphin Centre, and timed it well this time, as one of the dolphins decided to visit at the same time we did. It was pretty quiet, really, just swam up to the people in the water, said hullo for a while, took a couple of fish from one of the volunteers, and swam away again. They only feed each dolphin two fish, which is about 8% of their daily intake, so they don’t become dependent on feeding by people but remain wild animals. There is a pod of about 200 around Koombana Bay, and about 20 live more or less permanently in the bay.
When we came out from the dolphins, there was an old motorbike in the car park so of course we wandered over to say hullo. There is a group of vintage bikes here and they were gathering for a ride out for lunch. We talked to this chap for a while, and went back a bit later when more of the group had arrived.
There is a boardwalk through a mangrove swamp, so we went for a walk there. It’s interesting, and also has some information about shipwrecks in the bay. It was used a lot by American whalers in the 19th century and quite a few were wrecked in storms.
Lunch was fish and chips in a place on the foreshore of Koombana Bay, where we shared a table with a couple from Gladstone, Qld. They are living here for a couple of years, have just arrived and are looking for somewhere to live. The company he works for are putting them up in a motel while they look, which wouldn’t be much fun, and they’re finding it difficult to find a place. They had just been to inspect one furnished apartment, which looked very good, which it should be for $580 a week, I thought. I’m glad we’re not looking for somewhere to live here! We have found a lot of things to be more expensive than at home and obviously the housing is too.
We walked along the waterfront after lunch, there is a series of plaques telling the story of the bay over the first hundred years or so of European settlement, quite interesting and very well done.
We tried again for the sunset photo today, but again the clouds were there. Fingers crossed for Fremantle!
After the photo attempt we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach, very good meal and a beautiful spot for it.
When we came out from the dolphins, there was an old motorbike in the car park so of course we wandered over to say hullo. There is a group of vintage bikes here and they were gathering for a ride out for lunch. We talked to this chap for a while, and went back a bit later when more of the group had arrived.
There is a boardwalk through a mangrove swamp, so we went for a walk there. It’s interesting, and also has some information about shipwrecks in the bay. It was used a lot by American whalers in the 19th century and quite a few were wrecked in storms.
Lunch was fish and chips in a place on the foreshore of Koombana Bay, where we shared a table with a couple from Gladstone, Qld. They are living here for a couple of years, have just arrived and are looking for somewhere to live. The company he works for are putting them up in a motel while they look, which wouldn’t be much fun, and they’re finding it difficult to find a place. They had just been to inspect one furnished apartment, which looked very good, which it should be for $580 a week, I thought. I’m glad we’re not looking for somewhere to live here! We have found a lot of things to be more expensive than at home and obviously the housing is too.
We walked along the waterfront after lunch, there is a series of plaques telling the story of the bay over the first hundred years or so of European settlement, quite interesting and very well done.
We tried again for the sunset photo today, but again the clouds were there. Fingers crossed for Fremantle!
After the photo attempt we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach, very good meal and a beautiful spot for it.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Collie to Bunbury
We left Collie this morning and reached Bunbury about 9:30 – and it’s a good thing we weren’t much later as it might have been even harder to find somewhere to stay. We went to the good old tourist information centre and they found us a room at the Welcome Inn, with limited kitchen facilities. Very limited – the microwave isn’t plugged in and is on the top shelf of a small cupboard on the bench top, there’s an electric frypan, a toaster and a jug. It’s an interesting arrangement!
There’s a dolphin discovery centre here so we went in for a look. It’s very good, but there weren’t any dolphins visiting while we were there, so we’ll try again tomorrow. The entry ticket is good for the month, so you can go as many times as you like. They say that the best time for dolphins is in the morning, so we’ll call in again tomorrow.
We’ve had a good drive around Bunbury, found the Tuart Walk on the southern edge and had a walk there late this afternoon. We had lunch at the Mash Brewery, they make their own beer and it’s a good drop.
We took our fish and chips for tea to the beach, hoping for a spectacular sunset on the ocean, and it looked OK for a while. Then a cloud bank moved in and the sun went behind it before setting, so we’ll try that again tomorrow too.
There’s a dolphin discovery centre here so we went in for a look. It’s very good, but there weren’t any dolphins visiting while we were there, so we’ll try again tomorrow. The entry ticket is good for the month, so you can go as many times as you like. They say that the best time for dolphins is in the morning, so we’ll call in again tomorrow.
We’ve had a good drive around Bunbury, found the Tuart Walk on the southern edge and had a walk there late this afternoon. We had lunch at the Mash Brewery, they make their own beer and it’s a good drop.
We took our fish and chips for tea to the beach, hoping for a spectacular sunset on the ocean, and it looked OK for a while. Then a cloud bank moved in and the sun went behind it before setting, so we’ll try that again tomorrow too.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Around Collie
We had a look around Collie today, which didn’t take long at all. According to what we read, there’s a population of about 9,000 but it doesn’t seem quite that large.
There’s a walk along the river, through an arboretum with stands of eucalypts from the eastern states, so we walked along there between showers this morning. It’s a pleasant walk, about 2 km, across one bridge, through the arboretum to the other bridge and back along the river. That’s the plan, but we missed the path back along the river and ended up closer to the old railway line than the river. It was a good walk anyway, and ends up in the Soldiers’ Park, which has a memorial rose garden and obelisk. There are lots of roses here, all looking beautiful, covered in blooms.
Then we went for a drive to find the brewery which is supposed to be open from 12-5 pm, according to the map. We were a bit early, so went out to Wellington Dam, about 20 km out of town. There are some good information boards there about the construction of the dam and also the Aboriginal story of the snake (not the Rainbow Serpent, another one) that created the Collie River.
Back to the brewery, which was closed. We found out later that they’ve changed their hours and don’t open on Thursdays now, so missed out on trying the beer, so we went to a winery instead and tried a couple of their products. The whites were pretty good, but Les didn’t like the reds much.
After all that it was time for a coffee and another walk around the town – we feel almost like locals by this time – and trying to decide about dinner. We ended up at the pub where we had dinner last night for a steak, which was a good meal. It’s a real workers’ pub in a coal-mining town, quite different to any pubs I’ve been in for a long time!
In the morning we’ll pack up and head for Bunbury where we’ve decided to have a couple of days before going to Fremantle for our last 4 nights in WA. We didn’t really see Bunbury on the way down, so it will be a chance to have a bit of a look around.
There’s a walk along the river, through an arboretum with stands of eucalypts from the eastern states, so we walked along there between showers this morning. It’s a pleasant walk, about 2 km, across one bridge, through the arboretum to the other bridge and back along the river. That’s the plan, but we missed the path back along the river and ended up closer to the old railway line than the river. It was a good walk anyway, and ends up in the Soldiers’ Park, which has a memorial rose garden and obelisk. There are lots of roses here, all looking beautiful, covered in blooms.
Then we went for a drive to find the brewery which is supposed to be open from 12-5 pm, according to the map. We were a bit early, so went out to Wellington Dam, about 20 km out of town. There are some good information boards there about the construction of the dam and also the Aboriginal story of the snake (not the Rainbow Serpent, another one) that created the Collie River.
Back to the brewery, which was closed. We found out later that they’ve changed their hours and don’t open on Thursdays now, so missed out on trying the beer, so we went to a winery instead and tried a couple of their products. The whites were pretty good, but Les didn’t like the reds much.
After all that it was time for a coffee and another walk around the town – we feel almost like locals by this time – and trying to decide about dinner. We ended up at the pub where we had dinner last night for a steak, which was a good meal. It’s a real workers’ pub in a coal-mining town, quite different to any pubs I’ve been in for a long time!
In the morning we’ll pack up and head for Bunbury where we’ve decided to have a couple of days before going to Fremantle for our last 4 nights in WA. We didn’t really see Bunbury on the way down, so it will be a chance to have a bit of a look around.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Albany to Collie
We woke up today to a very grey, rainy day – in fact it was so grey that we couldn’t see across the harbour. Great day for packing the car and moving! It turned out that we got everything in the car between showers, returned the key to the information office, where we had booked the cottage, and headed off to Collie.
On the way we stopped at Kojonup for an early lunch and a visit to the Kodja Centre, which is the information office and a display of artefacts from the early days, aboriginal and European. It’s an excellent place to visit, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is coming this way. We spent quite a while in there. We had called in on our way back to Perth from the tree-top walk on our first day here but didn’t have much time for a proper look. They also had a Sandakan exhibition which was interesting. There is a rose maze outside the centre and we had a bit of a walk in there but didn’t stay long as the rain was threatening again and we just made it back to the car before it started. The maze has over 100 varieties and over 1400 plants, beautiful sights and scents everywhere. There are also the stories of three women, one Aboriginal, one English settler and an Italian immigrant – fictional stories but representing real ones.
We’re staying in Collie for two nights, this is a coal-mining town, definitely not a mecca for tourists, so it will be interesting to have a look around tomorrow at the sights. The tourist office people were very helpful as always, and we have a good map to use when we’re deciding what to see. That will depend on the weather too, it’s quite cool and wet now so it it’s like this tomorrow it might be a good day for a drive rather than a walk.
We’re staying in a motel, we had a look at the only caravan park and thought that it didn’t look too flash, and it’s right out of town, so opted for the Collie Motel. It’s OK.
On the way we stopped at Kojonup for an early lunch and a visit to the Kodja Centre, which is the information office and a display of artefacts from the early days, aboriginal and European. It’s an excellent place to visit, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is coming this way. We spent quite a while in there. We had called in on our way back to Perth from the tree-top walk on our first day here but didn’t have much time for a proper look. They also had a Sandakan exhibition which was interesting. There is a rose maze outside the centre and we had a bit of a walk in there but didn’t stay long as the rain was threatening again and we just made it back to the car before it started. The maze has over 100 varieties and over 1400 plants, beautiful sights and scents everywhere. There are also the stories of three women, one Aboriginal, one English settler and an Italian immigrant – fictional stories but representing real ones.
We’re staying in Collie for two nights, this is a coal-mining town, definitely not a mecca for tourists, so it will be interesting to have a look around tomorrow at the sights. The tourist office people were very helpful as always, and we have a good map to use when we’re deciding what to see. That will depend on the weather too, it’s quite cool and wet now so it it’s like this tomorrow it might be a good day for a drive rather than a walk.
We’re staying in a motel, we had a look at the only caravan park and thought that it didn’t look too flash, and it’s right out of town, so opted for the Collie Motel. It’s OK.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Last day in Albany
Not a great deal happened today, really. That applies specially to lunch, in fact. We went to Emu Point to pick up some oysters and decided to find the marron farm on our way home. The marron farm also has a cafe so we thought we’d try the marron, as they had a tasting plate with salad and bread. Nice and simple, we thought, let’s give it a go. So we ordered, and waited ... and waited ... and waited until this simple affair finally appeared about 40 minutes after we ordered it. Yes, it was good, but 40 minutes?? And they weren’t even busy!
We’ve been packing this afternoon, we head off again tomorrow and think we’ll have a couple of nights at Collie, then to Pinjarra for a couple more and finish off with 4 nights in Fremantle. I’ve sent a booking request to a caravan park there for a cabin, so we’ll see how it goes.
Albany has been a very good place to spend a week, we’ve had a good time and it was great to have this cottage for our stay. There’s quite a lot to see and do and it was a good thing to have a good base and enough time that we didn’t have to rush things.
We’ve been packing this afternoon, we head off again tomorrow and think we’ll have a couple of nights at Collie, then to Pinjarra for a couple more and finish off with 4 nights in Fremantle. I’ve sent a booking request to a caravan park there for a cabin, so we’ll see how it goes.
Albany has been a very good place to spend a week, we’ve had a good time and it was great to have this cottage for our stay. There’s quite a lot to see and do and it was a good thing to have a good base and enough time that we didn’t have to rush things.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Cruising the Kalgan River
We set the alarm to wake us up today – we had decided to do the cruise on the Kalgan River and didn’t want to miss the 9 am start. It’s OK to set the alarm when it’s for something you want to do! So we were up before it went off, of course, and ready for the day.
The cruise was excellent, very enjoyable and we learnt a lot about the local waterways, the local aboriginal people and some of their stories, and we saw some of the wildlife too. The wildlife included white-breasted sea eagles, whistling kites, pelicans, ibis, and sting rays. Our boat captain was very good at the job and kept us entertained for the day, telling us stories about the first Europeans to see the area, the aboriginal people, showing the wildlife – he feeds the sea eagles and kites by throwing fish in the water for them to swoop and take in their talons. They’re not tame by any means and don’t come if it doesn’t suit them. The pair of eagles who are rearing young didn’t appear, but we saw a younger pair further up the river.
After all the excitement of the morning we came home, did some washing, and had a restful afternoon and evening. Great!!
The cruise was excellent, very enjoyable and we learnt a lot about the local waterways, the local aboriginal people and some of their stories, and we saw some of the wildlife too. The wildlife included white-breasted sea eagles, whistling kites, pelicans, ibis, and sting rays. Our boat captain was very good at the job and kept us entertained for the day, telling us stories about the first Europeans to see the area, the aboriginal people, showing the wildlife – he feeds the sea eagles and kites by throwing fish in the water for them to swoop and take in their talons. They’re not tame by any means and don’t come if it doesn’t suit them. The pair of eagles who are rearing young didn’t appear, but we saw a younger pair further up the river.
After all the excitement of the morning we came home, did some washing, and had a restful afternoon and evening. Great!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday in Albany
Sunday in Albany is a very quiet affair, there's not much going on at all. Almost all the shops are shut, and everyone has a quiet time. So we did the same.
We had a very laid-back morning, then went out to Emu Point for a bit more of a look around. It’s a small place, a suburb of Albany, about 10 minutes drive from the city, and looks to be very much a holiday place with lots of B&Bs, caravan parks, motels and so on, as well as people who really live there. We went down to the waterfront which seems to be most pleasure craft and a tour craft that goes up the river. There’s a place called the Squid Shack, and we decided to go back and try it for tea tonight.
Back into town for a visit to the brig Amity, the first ship to bring settlers to Albany. It’s a replica of the ship and a very interesting visit with an audio set to tell the story of the ship and crew. They brought convicts here to start a settlement, but they didn’t stay long and were taken back to Port Jackson. Convicts were taken to the Swan River settlement, which became Perth, some years later. Check the pic of Les sitting in the crew’s quarters, have a look at the headroom!
We also went to the museum which was OK, and old gaol which was quite a good place to see. It was built by the convicts originally and then extended later as a gaol.
We made it out to the Squid Shack at Emu Point for tea and had a very tasty fish and chip dinner – we’ve eaten lots of fish and squid here and it’s generally been very good. We shared our table with a couple from Brisbane who are here for a few days too.
Home again for a quiet evening of not much at all – very good!
Nearly forgot to mention that we had the golf on a bit over the last few days and were looking for Kellys but didn’t see any.
We had a very laid-back morning, then went out to Emu Point for a bit more of a look around. It’s a small place, a suburb of Albany, about 10 minutes drive from the city, and looks to be very much a holiday place with lots of B&Bs, caravan parks, motels and so on, as well as people who really live there. We went down to the waterfront which seems to be most pleasure craft and a tour craft that goes up the river. There’s a place called the Squid Shack, and we decided to go back and try it for tea tonight.
Back into town for a visit to the brig Amity, the first ship to bring settlers to Albany. It’s a replica of the ship and a very interesting visit with an audio set to tell the story of the ship and crew. They brought convicts here to start a settlement, but they didn’t stay long and were taken back to Port Jackson. Convicts were taken to the Swan River settlement, which became Perth, some years later. Check the pic of Les sitting in the crew’s quarters, have a look at the headroom!
We also went to the museum which was OK, and old gaol which was quite a good place to see. It was built by the convicts originally and then extended later as a gaol.
We made it out to the Squid Shack at Emu Point for tea and had a very tasty fish and chip dinner – we’ve eaten lots of fish and squid here and it’s generally been very good. We shared our table with a couple from Brisbane who are here for a few days too.
Home again for a quiet evening of not much at all – very good!
Nearly forgot to mention that we had the golf on a bit over the last few days and were looking for Kellys but didn’t see any.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Around Albany
The Farmers’ Markets are on just around the corner every Saturday so we walked down for a look. There were about 20-25 stalls, all local produce and everything from lilies to marron pies, yummy strawberries and other fruit. We bought some strawberries so we know they are yummy!
After lunch we went to have a look at the model railway club’s display which is open every Saturday. They have an excellent setup in rooms at the end of the old railway station. We spent quite a bit of time there having a good look. Some of the newer trains are digital so as well as movement there is sound as well which adds to the experience.
Following that, we went for a drive up to Mt Clarence, which is where the first Anzac service was held here and the location of a light horse memorial. There is a fortress at Mt Adelaide, close by, but it was just about to close so we didn’t go in today.
We drove around to Middleton Beach, the main swimming beach in Albany. That’s swimming, not surfing – no waves but looks good for a swim although it was very windy today. We drove around for a bit more of a look, then home again.
We went out for dinner tonight to a restaurant called Nonna’s which served a very good meal, very busy place. There don’t seem to be a lot of restaurants here, so although it’s good it’s also quite expensive and you really need to book.
After lunch we went to have a look at the model railway club’s display which is open every Saturday. They have an excellent setup in rooms at the end of the old railway station. We spent quite a bit of time there having a good look. Some of the newer trains are digital so as well as movement there is sound as well which adds to the experience.
Following that, we went for a drive up to Mt Clarence, which is where the first Anzac service was held here and the location of a light horse memorial. There is a fortress at Mt Adelaide, close by, but it was just about to close so we didn’t go in today.
We drove around to Middleton Beach, the main swimming beach in Albany. That’s swimming, not surfing – no waves but looks good for a swim although it was very windy today. We drove around for a bit more of a look, then home again.
We went out for dinner tonight to a restaurant called Nonna’s which served a very good meal, very busy place. There don’t seem to be a lot of restaurants here, so although it’s good it’s also quite expensive and you really need to book.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Albany and Denmark
We had a lazy start today, as we only planned a short day out. We went to Denmark via the highway, had a good drive through mostly grazing country – dairy cattle and some sheep. We had made some sandwiches to take for lunch, which we had in Denmark in a very pleasant little park by the river. Later we went for a drive around the town and found the information centre and there we saw a wood turning workshop, had a chat with the wood turner for a while, then went inside where we found the world’s largest water barometer, it’s 12 metres high is a replica of the one he built originally in the Netherlands. Very interesting thing to see – Les walked up all the steps to the top and saw the water boiling in the vacuum created at the top. This allows a reading to be taken and the vacuum is released and the water falls back to the tub below, then the cycle happens all over again.
While Les was doing that I found the wood turner’s wife busy at the spinning wheel and had a bit of a chat with her for a while. Spinning looks interesting and definitely challenging!
As we were walking back to the exit Les looked out the window and saw Simon, our neighbour from the Busselton park, on his way in. Emma was in the car and came in to say hullo and exchange news. They were on their way to Albany to look for work and see a bit more of the country.
We headed off back to Albany via the coast road, and went out to the blowhole, which wasn’t active today, then round to the Gap and the Natural Bridge, rock formations caused by movements of the earth.
Home again after shopping for dinner, and a quiet night.
While Les was doing that I found the wood turner’s wife busy at the spinning wheel and had a bit of a chat with her for a while. Spinning looks interesting and definitely challenging!
As we were walking back to the exit Les looked out the window and saw Simon, our neighbour from the Busselton park, on his way in. Emma was in the car and came in to say hullo and exchange news. They were on their way to Albany to look for work and see a bit more of the country.
We headed off back to Albany via the coast road, and went out to the blowhole, which wasn’t active today, then round to the Gap and the Natural Bridge, rock formations caused by movements of the earth.
Home again after shopping for dinner, and a quiet night.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Albany
We had our first grey and slightly damp day today. Not a lot of rain, certainly didn’t stop us from getting out and about.
We set off to find Albany Whale World, which is on the site of the last whaling site in Australia. It’s a very fascinating place, and definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in this part of the country. We did a guided tour, about 40 minutes, which gave us a very good outline of the history of whaling here, from the very early days when it was Albany’s main industry to the later times when it became much less viable due to increasing costs and falling demand for whale products, not to mention the quotas imposed by the International Whaling Commission. When the local company finally decided to close down, the workers heard about it first on the ABC news one Friday night. Very well done – not!
We were there for a bit over 3 hours, and managed to see nearly all of it. There is an excellent 3D movie about whales, the different types of whales (some have teeth and some don’t) and different breeds (humpbacks, blue, sperm, etc). There’s also a film about sharks that’s very interesting too. It’s a great place and very easy to spend 3-4 hours there. I think the smell of whale still lingers a bit!
We set off to find Albany Whale World, which is on the site of the last whaling site in Australia. It’s a very fascinating place, and definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in this part of the country. We did a guided tour, about 40 minutes, which gave us a very good outline of the history of whaling here, from the very early days when it was Albany’s main industry to the later times when it became much less viable due to increasing costs and falling demand for whale products, not to mention the quotas imposed by the International Whaling Commission. When the local company finally decided to close down, the workers heard about it first on the ABC news one Friday night. Very well done – not!
We were there for a bit over 3 hours, and managed to see nearly all of it. There is an excellent 3D movie about whales, the different types of whales (some have teeth and some don’t) and different breeds (humpbacks, blue, sperm, etc). There’s also a film about sharks that’s very interesting too. It’s a great place and very easy to spend 3-4 hours there. I think the smell of whale still lingers a bit!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Busselton to Albany
Today was a travelling day, so not a lot to talk about. We packed the car, said goodbye to our English neighbours Emma and Simon, and set off on our way to Albany, via Nannup, Manjimup and Mount Barker where we had lunch in a very good little bakery.
The drive started off in mostly jarrah forest then there were some karri trees in places, some smaller acacias and banksias too, with the occasional bit of cleared land, mostly sheep and some dairy cattle. Most of the drive was in forest of some sort, very interesting watching the changes as we went along.
When we arrived we drove out to Emu Point, which seemed to have some good places to stay, but decided that it’s just a bit too far away from the town, so we came back and found the Tourist Information office, hoping to get some advice about accommodation. They have a free booking service and found us a lovely little cottage, only two blocks away from the main street – uphill to be sure, but not far and not too steep.
It’s an Edwardian style cottage, polished hardwood floors (probably jarrah we think) and fully set up for visitors. Because we’re staying for a week we get a discount, just to make it that little bit better. I’ll put some photos of the view from the balcony on the slideshow, check it out!
On the way down we were talking about the speed limits. The freeway that goes into Perth from the south has only been open for a few weeks, divided road, two lanes in each direction, speed limit 100 km/h. The road we came across today to Mount Barker, usual one lane each way, lines to mark the sides in places, speed limit 110 km/h. Any ideas? Doesn’t make sense at all.
The drive started off in mostly jarrah forest then there were some karri trees in places, some smaller acacias and banksias too, with the occasional bit of cleared land, mostly sheep and some dairy cattle. Most of the drive was in forest of some sort, very interesting watching the changes as we went along.
When we arrived we drove out to Emu Point, which seemed to have some good places to stay, but decided that it’s just a bit too far away from the town, so we came back and found the Tourist Information office, hoping to get some advice about accommodation. They have a free booking service and found us a lovely little cottage, only two blocks away from the main street – uphill to be sure, but not far and not too steep.
It’s an Edwardian style cottage, polished hardwood floors (probably jarrah we think) and fully set up for visitors. Because we’re staying for a week we get a discount, just to make it that little bit better. I’ll put some photos of the view from the balcony on the slideshow, check it out!
On the way down we were talking about the speed limits. The freeway that goes into Perth from the south has only been open for a few weeks, divided road, two lanes in each direction, speed limit 100 km/h. The road we came across today to Mount Barker, usual one lane each way, lines to mark the sides in places, speed limit 110 km/h. Any ideas? Doesn’t make sense at all.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Really our last day in Bussenton
Tuesday 10 November
Today we booked in here at Busselton for another night, figuring that it was easier to do that than have to shuffle luggage from one car to another in Perth. So off we went, it was a very uneventful drive to the hire car place where we handed back to VW Jetta and picked up a Toyota Camry. Not as nice a car, but it has an intact windscreen!
On the way back, we called in to Mandurah for lunch – fish and chips at a place called Ciccerello’s which serves “the best fish and chips in WA”. I don’t know about the best, but it was good.
We did a lot of packing last night, before we decided to investigate staying for the extra night, so there’s not a lot to do tonight. Tomorrow we’ll head off to Albany, via Nannup, Manjimup and Mount Barker.
Today we booked in here at Busselton for another night, figuring that it was easier to do that than have to shuffle luggage from one car to another in Perth. So off we went, it was a very uneventful drive to the hire car place where we handed back to VW Jetta and picked up a Toyota Camry. Not as nice a car, but it has an intact windscreen!
On the way back, we called in to Mandurah for lunch – fish and chips at a place called Ciccerello’s which serves “the best fish and chips in WA”. I don’t know about the best, but it was good.
We did a lot of packing last night, before we decided to investigate staying for the extra night, so there’s not a lot to do tonight. Tomorrow we’ll head off to Albany, via Nannup, Manjimup and Mount Barker.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Last day in Busselton
Monday 9 November
We had our quiet day yesterday, just enjoyed the day doing not much at all, what you might call a Dolittle Day. We just did a bit of washing, shopping and so on, had a bit of a drive around locally.
Today we have also been quiet, we have to pack later as we leave here tomorrow. We’re going to take the car back to Perth and exchange it for one with an intact windscreen.
We did, however, drive around Busselton a bit more. There is a new development with a marina and what they are selling as ‘canal frontage’ building blocks. It looks like Sylvania Waters or part of the Gold Coast, where all the blocks have a canal to park the boat and a road at the front for the vehicle. There are some pretty expensive-looking boats parked there, and the bridge over the entrance canal is high enough to let them pass under it as they go out for a sail. It looks as though it is reclaimed swamp land, very sandy soil, and I don’t think I’d like to live there, really.
A little bit further on we came to the locality of Wonnerup, and went to have a look at Wonnerup House, the original farm here. It was settled by an Englishman, George Layman, and was in the family until about 1972, and was bought by the National Trust a bit later. It’s a very interesting place, and the Trust have been able to obtain a lot of the original furniture and fittings so it’s a good representation of the times. There are two main buildings, one was the second house built there, the first was destroyed by fire, and the other is the later house built by the son of the original settler. The stables and blacksmith’s shop are also there, they have a lot of the original horse tack and tools as well.
One of the original George’s daughters carved a lot of the furniture, made of jarrah, and it looks beautiful. She did a great job of it, which must have taken her some time because jarrah is a very hard wood.
After dinner
We’ve started packing, just about all done now, ready to get away in the morning. We have to go to Perth and will probably come back south to around Collie.
We have had a good time in Busselton, and seen quite a lot of the area while we’ve been here. Now it’s on to the rest of the South-West!
We had our quiet day yesterday, just enjoyed the day doing not much at all, what you might call a Dolittle Day. We just did a bit of washing, shopping and so on, had a bit of a drive around locally.
Today we have also been quiet, we have to pack later as we leave here tomorrow. We’re going to take the car back to Perth and exchange it for one with an intact windscreen.
We did, however, drive around Busselton a bit more. There is a new development with a marina and what they are selling as ‘canal frontage’ building blocks. It looks like Sylvania Waters or part of the Gold Coast, where all the blocks have a canal to park the boat and a road at the front for the vehicle. There are some pretty expensive-looking boats parked there, and the bridge over the entrance canal is high enough to let them pass under it as they go out for a sail. It looks as though it is reclaimed swamp land, very sandy soil, and I don’t think I’d like to live there, really.
A little bit further on we came to the locality of Wonnerup, and went to have a look at Wonnerup House, the original farm here. It was settled by an Englishman, George Layman, and was in the family until about 1972, and was bought by the National Trust a bit later. It’s a very interesting place, and the Trust have been able to obtain a lot of the original furniture and fittings so it’s a good representation of the times. There are two main buildings, one was the second house built there, the first was destroyed by fire, and the other is the later house built by the son of the original settler. The stables and blacksmith’s shop are also there, they have a lot of the original horse tack and tools as well.
One of the original George’s daughters carved a lot of the furniture, made of jarrah, and it looks beautiful. She did a great job of it, which must have taken her some time because jarrah is a very hard wood.
After dinner
We’ve started packing, just about all done now, ready to get away in the morning. We have to go to Perth and will probably come back south to around Collie.
We have had a good time in Busselton, and seen quite a lot of the area while we’ve been here. Now it’s on to the rest of the South-West!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Margaret River winery tour
Saturday 7 November
We did a winery tour of the Margaret River area today. Our driver Richelle picked us up from the caravan park, and we went to Dunsborough to pick up the rest of the group, and then off to our first winery. We went to 4 wineries, had lunch at the Cowaramup Brewery, went to a nut and cereal place and also a chocolate maker. Very interesting day, the wineries were all small family run places, which are usually better than the big places. All the wine was good, some better than others as always, but none really awful. There are about 120 wineries in the region so you could spend a lot of time trying. The brewery also has a tasting setup, you can buy a tasting paddle, which is a board with holes for small glasses of their different beers. Today’s brewery gave us 5 different beers to try, while the one we went to on Thursday had four. They range from a pilsener to a stout, and again some better than others.
Not much else happened today, and we plan a quiet day tomorrow, catching up with washing and so on. We’ll probably have a bit more of a look around the town.
We did a winery tour of the Margaret River area today. Our driver Richelle picked us up from the caravan park, and we went to Dunsborough to pick up the rest of the group, and then off to our first winery. We went to 4 wineries, had lunch at the Cowaramup Brewery, went to a nut and cereal place and also a chocolate maker. Very interesting day, the wineries were all small family run places, which are usually better than the big places. All the wine was good, some better than others as always, but none really awful. There are about 120 wineries in the region so you could spend a lot of time trying. The brewery also has a tasting setup, you can buy a tasting paddle, which is a board with holes for small glasses of their different beers. Today’s brewery gave us 5 different beers to try, while the one we went to on Thursday had four. They range from a pilsener to a stout, and again some better than others.
Not much else happened today, and we plan a quiet day tomorrow, catching up with washing and so on. We’ll probably have a bit more of a look around the town.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Pemberton, Manjimup, Bridgetown
Friday 6 November
Not such a good day today, it’s a bit windy with showers around but still, off we go on today’s drive to Pemberton. The first part of the drive is through national parks, mostly jarrah trees I think. Then suddenly around a bend and there are karri trees instead. They really are beautiful, very tall with straight trunks and not many branches until the very top. The forest is more open than the jarrah forest, the undergrowth is not so dense but I don’t know if that’s natural or if it might have been cleared a bit more.
We arrived at Pemberton, found the tourist information place and discovered that the forest tram had just left and there wasn’t another one until the afternoon, by which time we’d be well on our way back to Busselton. Next time maybe!
We made our way out to the Gloucester tree, which is an enormous karri tree used as a fire watchtower, like the Diamond tree we saw last week. It’s taller than the Diamond tree, and is supposed to move about a metre each way in a breeze. We decided to let others do the climbing for us, and in fact the people coming down the tree as we arrived were a young couple who are camped next to us in the park. They’re English, out here on a working holiday for about a year, and seem like a good pair. We’ve talked to them a bit as we pass in the park, and of course stopped for a chat at the bottom of the tree. They’re still getting used to the distances here, and the fact that we talk in hours rather than kilometres or miles when we’re talking about going somewhere. They are hoping to find work soon so they can keep going on their tripping around.
We left the Gloucester tree and were heading back to the road when there was a tremendous BANG and a huge crack in the windscreen. A bit of tree had fallen on it! No damage to us, the screen stayed in place but has a very large set of cracks in it, so we are taking the car back to Perth on Tuesday to pick up a new one. They don’t have another Jetta, so don’t know what we’ll end up with.
After that excitement, contacting the hire company and so on, we came home via Manjimup, Bridgetown, Donnybrook and Capel. We had a very good steak each for lunch in Bridgetown, not enormous but very good quality and cooked just right.
We still haven’t seen a sunset over the ocean as it’s been a bit cloudy at that time every day, but still have a few days here so fingers are crossed.
Something I’ve been meaning to mention is that we drove up through the wheat belt on our way to New Norcia and the Pinnacles on Saturday. It’s much like our wheat belt at home but our driver told us that there has never been a drought there, some dry years but never a drought. Unbelievable!
Check the photo gallery for a photo of our 5 o'clocker - we have it on good authority that it is the responsibility of all good caravan park people to have drinks and so on at 5 o'clock so feel we have to carry on the tradition.
Not such a good day today, it’s a bit windy with showers around but still, off we go on today’s drive to Pemberton. The first part of the drive is through national parks, mostly jarrah trees I think. Then suddenly around a bend and there are karri trees instead. They really are beautiful, very tall with straight trunks and not many branches until the very top. The forest is more open than the jarrah forest, the undergrowth is not so dense but I don’t know if that’s natural or if it might have been cleared a bit more.
We arrived at Pemberton, found the tourist information place and discovered that the forest tram had just left and there wasn’t another one until the afternoon, by which time we’d be well on our way back to Busselton. Next time maybe!
We made our way out to the Gloucester tree, which is an enormous karri tree used as a fire watchtower, like the Diamond tree we saw last week. It’s taller than the Diamond tree, and is supposed to move about a metre each way in a breeze. We decided to let others do the climbing for us, and in fact the people coming down the tree as we arrived were a young couple who are camped next to us in the park. They’re English, out here on a working holiday for about a year, and seem like a good pair. We’ve talked to them a bit as we pass in the park, and of course stopped for a chat at the bottom of the tree. They’re still getting used to the distances here, and the fact that we talk in hours rather than kilometres or miles when we’re talking about going somewhere. They are hoping to find work soon so they can keep going on their tripping around.
We left the Gloucester tree and were heading back to the road when there was a tremendous BANG and a huge crack in the windscreen. A bit of tree had fallen on it! No damage to us, the screen stayed in place but has a very large set of cracks in it, so we are taking the car back to Perth on Tuesday to pick up a new one. They don’t have another Jetta, so don’t know what we’ll end up with.
After that excitement, contacting the hire company and so on, we came home via Manjimup, Bridgetown, Donnybrook and Capel. We had a very good steak each for lunch in Bridgetown, not enormous but very good quality and cooked just right.
We still haven’t seen a sunset over the ocean as it’s been a bit cloudy at that time every day, but still have a few days here so fingers are crossed.
Something I’ve been meaning to mention is that we drove up through the wheat belt on our way to New Norcia and the Pinnacles on Saturday. It’s much like our wheat belt at home but our driver told us that there has never been a drought there, some dry years but never a drought. Unbelievable!
Check the photo gallery for a photo of our 5 o'clocker - we have it on good authority that it is the responsibility of all good caravan park people to have drinks and so on at 5 o'clock so feel we have to carry on the tradition.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Cape to Cape drive
Thursday 5 November
It was another interesting day today. We decided to do the Cape to Cape drive – no, not Cape York! It’s Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin, but we didn’t go right to Cape Naturaliste because we were there yesterday. We went to Dunsborough then turned south towards Augusta, which is on the way to the Cape.
Very good drive, through coastal country that looks a lot like other parts of Australia, except for the karri trees. There are quite a lot on this drive, they’re beautiful trees, very tall and straight.
We had noticed some information about a maze at Yallingup, so called in for a look when we saw it. It’s a maze made of wooden sections that can be moved so people don’t get too used to the one way. Very challenging! We were lucky and found the exit and a reviving cold drink after walking for about 45 minutes.
We stopped at a winery after the maze – we couldn’t be near Margaret River without at least one, could we??
On to Augusta for lunch. This is a little town definitely making the most of tourism, there are a few places for lunch and lots of building going on, mostly apartments for holiday makers, I think.
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly place on the continent. It was first seen (by Europeans) by a Dutch navigator who named the whole are Leeuwin Land, and the cape was named by Matthew Flinders about 1804. It’s the point where he started mapping the coastline of the continent, and is also the place where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. There’s a picture in the album, you just need to click on the slideshow for the latest pics.
It’s a wild bit of ocean, it’s easy to see why the lighthouse is needed. It was built in 1895 after a bit of delay about money, naturally. It’s still in use today, and like Cape Naturalist has been automated for quite a few years now. We didn’t go to the top of it, because it’s much taller than Naturaliste, in fact it’s the highest on the mainland.
I really enjoyed our visit there, it was great to see such a place, and to have a bit of an idea of the sailing hazards around there. There are a lot of rocks with breaking water that would make things very dangerous for shipping.
We came back through Margaret River, and have organised a wine tour for Saturday. We will be picked up here and brought back afterwards so that means we don’t have to worry about getting home – good plan!
It was another interesting day today. We decided to do the Cape to Cape drive – no, not Cape York! It’s Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin, but we didn’t go right to Cape Naturaliste because we were there yesterday. We went to Dunsborough then turned south towards Augusta, which is on the way to the Cape.
Very good drive, through coastal country that looks a lot like other parts of Australia, except for the karri trees. There are quite a lot on this drive, they’re beautiful trees, very tall and straight.
We had noticed some information about a maze at Yallingup, so called in for a look when we saw it. It’s a maze made of wooden sections that can be moved so people don’t get too used to the one way. Very challenging! We were lucky and found the exit and a reviving cold drink after walking for about 45 minutes.
We stopped at a winery after the maze – we couldn’t be near Margaret River without at least one, could we??
On to Augusta for lunch. This is a little town definitely making the most of tourism, there are a few places for lunch and lots of building going on, mostly apartments for holiday makers, I think.
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly place on the continent. It was first seen (by Europeans) by a Dutch navigator who named the whole are Leeuwin Land, and the cape was named by Matthew Flinders about 1804. It’s the point where he started mapping the coastline of the continent, and is also the place where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. There’s a picture in the album, you just need to click on the slideshow for the latest pics.
It’s a wild bit of ocean, it’s easy to see why the lighthouse is needed. It was built in 1895 after a bit of delay about money, naturally. It’s still in use today, and like Cape Naturalist has been automated for quite a few years now. We didn’t go to the top of it, because it’s much taller than Naturaliste, in fact it’s the highest on the mainland.
I really enjoyed our visit there, it was great to see such a place, and to have a bit of an idea of the sailing hazards around there. There are a lot of rocks with breaking water that would make things very dangerous for shipping.
We came back through Margaret River, and have organised a wine tour for Saturday. We will be picked up here and brought back afterwards so that means we don’t have to worry about getting home – good plan!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Dunsborough and Cape Naturaliste
Wednesday 4 November
Yes, it was a fairly quiet day. We went to Dunsborough, a little place about 25 km west of here, then on to Cape Naturaliste where we did a tour of the lighthouse. It’s a good lighthouse to visit because it’s only about 60 or so steps up to the top. It’s on a hill so doesn’t need to be as high as most. It was built in 1903 and used to be manned until a few years ago when it was automated. They have kept the top rotating all the time since someone worked out that it was a bushfire danger to have it still, with all that glass concentrating sunlight in one place. It was a very interesting tour and while we were outside at the top we saw a group of whales breaching in the bay.
The bay is called Geographe Bay and was named by a French sailor Nicolas Bouvard who was sent by Napoleon in about 1804 to claim the Great South Land for France. His ships were the Geographe and the Naturaliste, hence the naming of local landmarks. The French were too late with the claiming, though, which may or may not be a good thing.
It’s a one-way trip out there so we came back to Dunsborough for lunch then back to Busselton to have a look at the town here. We saw the jetty, which is closed for repairs now. It was badly damaged in a fire and had to have major work done on it, should be finished next May. We saw a crane loading a couple of logs onto a barge to take them out to the jetty. Very interesting to watch how they did it.
I noticed the other day that just about all the tennis courts are lawn, unlike NSW where they are mostly the antbed type. I don’t know why I noticed that, just one of those odd things that make an impression.
One of the coach drivers we had last week mentioned that we might see lots of November lilies growing in the wild. We didn’t see any that day but I noticed a lot of them today on our way out to Dunsborough. They arrived here in soil brought from England as ballast in ships that came here to take timber back to England. They would just empty the ballast before taking on the timber, and any seeds or bulbs in the soil was introduced to the local area. There was a huge trade in karri and jarrah timbers in the 19th century, they are enormous trees.
There should be a couple of new photos in the slideshow now, I hope!
Yes, it was a fairly quiet day. We went to Dunsborough, a little place about 25 km west of here, then on to Cape Naturaliste where we did a tour of the lighthouse. It’s a good lighthouse to visit because it’s only about 60 or so steps up to the top. It’s on a hill so doesn’t need to be as high as most. It was built in 1903 and used to be manned until a few years ago when it was automated. They have kept the top rotating all the time since someone worked out that it was a bushfire danger to have it still, with all that glass concentrating sunlight in one place. It was a very interesting tour and while we were outside at the top we saw a group of whales breaching in the bay.
The bay is called Geographe Bay and was named by a French sailor Nicolas Bouvard who was sent by Napoleon in about 1804 to claim the Great South Land for France. His ships were the Geographe and the Naturaliste, hence the naming of local landmarks. The French were too late with the claiming, though, which may or may not be a good thing.
It’s a one-way trip out there so we came back to Dunsborough for lunch then back to Busselton to have a look at the town here. We saw the jetty, which is closed for repairs now. It was badly damaged in a fire and had to have major work done on it, should be finished next May. We saw a crane loading a couple of logs onto a barge to take them out to the jetty. Very interesting to watch how they did it.
I noticed the other day that just about all the tennis courts are lawn, unlike NSW where they are mostly the antbed type. I don’t know why I noticed that, just one of those odd things that make an impression.
One of the coach drivers we had last week mentioned that we might see lots of November lilies growing in the wild. We didn’t see any that day but I noticed a lot of them today on our way out to Dunsborough. They arrived here in soil brought from England as ballast in ships that came here to take timber back to England. They would just empty the ballast before taking on the timber, and any seeds or bulbs in the soil was introduced to the local area. There was a huge trade in karri and jarrah timbers in the 19th century, they are enormous trees.
There should be a couple of new photos in the slideshow now, I hope!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Now we're in Busselton
Monday 2 November
We had a very enjoyable day with Geraldine and Gordon. They picked us up from the hotel and took us for a drive around the sights of Perth, lunch at the casino, a visit to the mint and back to the hotel. It was very good to have some time with just a couple of people we knew after spending a few days with busloads of strangers! We also talked about the trip we are planning to Italy next year, as they have just done it a few weeks ago. Sounds like a good holiday, I’m sure we’ll have a good time doing it.
Tomorrow we leave Perth, pick up a car and head south to Busselton where we have a week in a caravan park, staying in a cabin. We’ll make that our base for looking around places like Margaret River, Cape Leeuwin, maybe see some whales and dolphins with a bit of luck.
Tuesday 3 November
We picked up our car – eventually! We arrived at the pick-up office on time only to be told that there was a delay and our car wasn’t ready yet, so we went off for a walk for an hour or so then back to the office but no, it still wasn’t ready! After a bit more of a delay we were given an upgraded car and they also waived the fee for a second driver so it worked out well in the end. We have a VW Jetta diesel instead of a Hyundai Elantra. Like all diesels, it doesn’t do quick take-offs, but runs along very well indeed and doesn’t sound too much like a diesel.
Anyway, we headed south on the Kwinana Freeway with a few side trips along tourist drives instead of staying on the freeway. We drove through Mandurah and Bunbury then took another detour to Capel for lunch, and found our new home in Busselton in the Holiday Village where we have a cabin for a week. We’ve done a bit of shopping for necessaries like tea, coffee, milk etc, and Les cooked a barbie for tea – nice change after restaurant meals for a few days.
We had a very enjoyable day with Geraldine and Gordon. They picked us up from the hotel and took us for a drive around the sights of Perth, lunch at the casino, a visit to the mint and back to the hotel. It was very good to have some time with just a couple of people we knew after spending a few days with busloads of strangers! We also talked about the trip we are planning to Italy next year, as they have just done it a few weeks ago. Sounds like a good holiday, I’m sure we’ll have a good time doing it.
Tomorrow we leave Perth, pick up a car and head south to Busselton where we have a week in a caravan park, staying in a cabin. We’ll make that our base for looking around places like Margaret River, Cape Leeuwin, maybe see some whales and dolphins with a bit of luck.
Tuesday 3 November
We picked up our car – eventually! We arrived at the pick-up office on time only to be told that there was a delay and our car wasn’t ready yet, so we went off for a walk for an hour or so then back to the office but no, it still wasn’t ready! After a bit more of a delay we were given an upgraded car and they also waived the fee for a second driver so it worked out well in the end. We have a VW Jetta diesel instead of a Hyundai Elantra. Like all diesels, it doesn’t do quick take-offs, but runs along very well indeed and doesn’t sound too much like a diesel.
Anyway, we headed south on the Kwinana Freeway with a few side trips along tourist drives instead of staying on the freeway. We drove through Mandurah and Bunbury then took another detour to Capel for lunch, and found our new home in Busselton in the Holiday Village where we have a cabin for a week. We’ve done a bit of shopping for necessaries like tea, coffee, milk etc, and Les cooked a barbie for tea – nice change after restaurant meals for a few days.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Some details from the last few days
Friday 30 October
Today we set off on the Treetop Walk and Valley of the Giants tour. It turned out to be a very long day, as we didn’t get back to the hotel until after 11 pm, but was very interesting as we covered quite a lot of ground. We had morning tea in Donnybrook, named after the town in Ireland, then headed off to the Diamond Tree for lunch. This is a fire lookout tree, and has a platform in its higher branches, about 51 metres from the ground. You can climb the tree if you like, and a few of our group went at least part of the way up. We, however, kept firmly on the ground at this stage.
After lunch we went the Treetop Walk and Valley of the Giants near Walpole. The treetop walk is just that, a walk through the treetops on a suspension walk. It was very strange being so far off the ground (about 50 metres I think) with just a suspension walk under us. And yes, I did walk around all the way, about 600 metres, mostly looking straight ahead but managing to take some pics on the way. Very brave, I think!
After that we went to William Bay for a look at the Southern Ocean before setting off on our way back to Perth. We had dinner at Kojonup, at the tourist information office which is run by volunteers and serve meals to tour groups to make a bit of extra money. It was a bit of a rushed stop but still good. One of the local Aboriginal men, Jack Cox, gave us a short tour and talk about the local area. He used to be a boxer and ran one of the boxing tents that went around the shows. He was WA champion in 2 weight divisions, but gave it away to get married.
We finally made it back to Perth about 11 o’clock. Bed was very welcome indeed!
Saturday 31 October
Back in a coach again and off northwards today to New Norcia, a wildflower farm, and the Pinnacles. New Norcia is a monastic town run and owned by the Benedictine monks. It was started in the middle 1800s and is another interesting place. The original monks were Spanish, and left Spain because of an anti-church government of the time. They came to WA to establish monasteries and do good things like education in the local areas. New Norcia is the only one of three monasteries to survive. There are still 8 monks there which is pretty good going.
We had lunch at a wildflower farm, it has about 4000 hectares of flowers, but they’re nearly all finished now so we didn’t see many though we did manage to find a few patches.
We made a brief stop at Thirsty Inlet near the town of Cervantes for our first look at the Indian Ocean. It was very windy there, we talked to some wind surfers who said it was really too windy for them to do anything more than go in a straight line and it wasn’t much fun. They were packing up when we got there.
Next stop, and the whole point of the day I thought, was the Pinnacles. These are small rock formations, and appeared out of the desert years ago. There are various theories about their development but nothing certain. They look a bit like termite hills, but there are lots of them covering quite an area. It was very windy which made it a bit difficult to walk around them much as we were being sand-blasted and it was most uncomfortable. Very good place but I think I was expecting something more spectacular. The formations are quite small, most are shorter than an adult but the shapes were quite good.
We returned to Perth about 8 o’clock, and rang our friends from France, Geraldine and Gordon, who live in Perth. We’re going to spend some time with them on Monday which will be good.
Sunday 1 November
Our final coach day for this holiday, and it was just a half-day around Perth and Fremantle. We went up to King’s Park, which is really beautiful, overlooking the river and the city. We saw lots of native flowers there, and quite a lot of people enjoying it too, which is what it was designed for. The Botanic Gardens are part of the park, too.
After a drive around some of the Perth suburbs we headed out to Fremantle for a bit of a look there too. I think we might go back there tomorrow with Geraldine and Gordon for a bit more of a look.
Quiet afternoon, a bit of a walk down to the Hay Street Mall and maybe a bit more of a walk later.
Today we set off on the Treetop Walk and Valley of the Giants tour. It turned out to be a very long day, as we didn’t get back to the hotel until after 11 pm, but was very interesting as we covered quite a lot of ground. We had morning tea in Donnybrook, named after the town in Ireland, then headed off to the Diamond Tree for lunch. This is a fire lookout tree, and has a platform in its higher branches, about 51 metres from the ground. You can climb the tree if you like, and a few of our group went at least part of the way up. We, however, kept firmly on the ground at this stage.
After lunch we went the Treetop Walk and Valley of the Giants near Walpole. The treetop walk is just that, a walk through the treetops on a suspension walk. It was very strange being so far off the ground (about 50 metres I think) with just a suspension walk under us. And yes, I did walk around all the way, about 600 metres, mostly looking straight ahead but managing to take some pics on the way. Very brave, I think!
After that we went to William Bay for a look at the Southern Ocean before setting off on our way back to Perth. We had dinner at Kojonup, at the tourist information office which is run by volunteers and serve meals to tour groups to make a bit of extra money. It was a bit of a rushed stop but still good. One of the local Aboriginal men, Jack Cox, gave us a short tour and talk about the local area. He used to be a boxer and ran one of the boxing tents that went around the shows. He was WA champion in 2 weight divisions, but gave it away to get married.
We finally made it back to Perth about 11 o’clock. Bed was very welcome indeed!
Saturday 31 October
Back in a coach again and off northwards today to New Norcia, a wildflower farm, and the Pinnacles. New Norcia is a monastic town run and owned by the Benedictine monks. It was started in the middle 1800s and is another interesting place. The original monks were Spanish, and left Spain because of an anti-church government of the time. They came to WA to establish monasteries and do good things like education in the local areas. New Norcia is the only one of three monasteries to survive. There are still 8 monks there which is pretty good going.
We had lunch at a wildflower farm, it has about 4000 hectares of flowers, but they’re nearly all finished now so we didn’t see many though we did manage to find a few patches.
We made a brief stop at Thirsty Inlet near the town of Cervantes for our first look at the Indian Ocean. It was very windy there, we talked to some wind surfers who said it was really too windy for them to do anything more than go in a straight line and it wasn’t much fun. They were packing up when we got there.
Next stop, and the whole point of the day I thought, was the Pinnacles. These are small rock formations, and appeared out of the desert years ago. There are various theories about their development but nothing certain. They look a bit like termite hills, but there are lots of them covering quite an area. It was very windy which made it a bit difficult to walk around them much as we were being sand-blasted and it was most uncomfortable. Very good place but I think I was expecting something more spectacular. The formations are quite small, most are shorter than an adult but the shapes were quite good.
We returned to Perth about 8 o’clock, and rang our friends from France, Geraldine and Gordon, who live in Perth. We’re going to spend some time with them on Monday which will be good.
Sunday 1 November
Our final coach day for this holiday, and it was just a half-day around Perth and Fremantle. We went up to King’s Park, which is really beautiful, overlooking the river and the city. We saw lots of native flowers there, and quite a lot of people enjoying it too, which is what it was designed for. The Botanic Gardens are part of the park, too.
After a drive around some of the Perth suburbs we headed out to Fremantle for a bit of a look there too. I think we might go back there tomorrow with Geraldine and Gordon for a bit more of a look.
Quiet afternoon, a bit of a walk down to the Hay Street Mall and maybe a bit more of a walk later.
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