15^th News Letter

Margaret River to Esperance

Thursday 5^th, We left our farm stay at Margaret River late morning knowing we were not traveling far as we had picked out a spot that hopefully would be suitable just 12km east of Karridale. Alexandra Bridge Camping area suited all our needs for a quiet afternoon and evening, being well off the road the camping area was quiet, surprisingly large and quite popular. Ken took the opportunity to take the dinghy off the Land Rover roof again and seized the moment to motor up the Blackwater River. He had a great afternoon exploring. For my part I sat and read one of my new books, then eventually deciding to go for a walk, which I thoroughly enjoyed, it’s great to be part of the bush with all its sounds, smells and ambience.

Friday 6^th. After another late beginning we heading east on the Brockman Highway, then turned south onto Stewart Road as our aim was to reach the town of Pemberton where we thought we would stay for the evening. We had arrived in the tall timber Karri and Jarrah forests and oh how beautiful they are. By mid afternoon we were disappointed to find only one Caravan Park and they were not Wendal friendly. What we did notice was how many quaint old wooden cottages there is in Pemberton, not surprising though with the amount of Karri and Jarrah trees surrounding the town. Pemberton was first settled in 1861 and soon after a timber mill was established that made sleepers for the Trans-Australian Railway Line. There are also quite a few wineries in the area, however I for one, am staying away from them; it would be hard to beat Margaret River. We moved on some 25klm south to the town of Northcliff, a much smaller town but one with a caravan park that suited all three of us, called Round To-It Eco Caravan Park.

Saturday 7^th Unfortunately I woke up in the night feeling extremely unwell, so in the morning we had to drive back into Pemberton to find a chemist and some drugs to help with my problem. By mid afternoon I was feeling somewhat better, so we ventured out to Windy Harbour. The actual town itself is really just a small village with a cluster of holiday homes on small blocks of land with not a shop to be seen. A drive to Pt D’Entrecasteaux in D’Entrecasteaux National Park was absolutely stunning with breathtaking 360deg views of both ocean and land.

Sunday 8^th Driving east through Karri and Jarrah forests I kept taking photo’s from the passenger seat hoping they will turn out so that we can share just some of the beauty and majesty of the place. After many kilometers down the Western Highway we arrived at Rest Point Holiday Park just west of Walpole. It’s is a beautiful place next to Nornalup Inlet, with large spacious sights. Well they are if you do what we do and that is spread ourselves over two spots. Very few people here so one can spread freely and get away with it. The inlet has an abundance of pelicans, ducks, seagulls and also it is apparently a great place to fish.

Monday 9^th. The need to go sailing could not be contained another day, so off came the boat and into the water it went. Many hours later Captain Salty came back with tales of his adventure, which included a description of a huge Sting Ray 2 meters in diameter. As I wasn’t along for the ride, I cannot confirm the sighting, however the Captain is not usually prone to exaggeration so my guess is, we can believe him. Recently we purchased a wee book called Common Trees of the South West Forests or What tree is that, now we have all seen the bird devotees with their binoculars discussing what bird it may be and quite frankly I have always had a bit of a giggle thinking ‘Who Cares’. Well Kenny and I have become a wee bit obsessed with the notion of “what tree is that”. Picture if you will, the pair of us with our CROCKS and our FLY NETS, book in hand discussing at length “could it be a Karri or a Yellow Tingle, or is it a Jarrah or a Red Tingle?” As you get older it’s nice to have a common interest even if it is tree spotting, don’t you think? We have come across one tree that has a most unusual name Snottygobble, no I am not making it up and that is not its botanical name.

Tuesday. 10^th Today our aim was to see the Giant Tingle Trees in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. These are massive trees that in some cases are fire hollowed, however they stay alive because the sapwood is still intact. Hopefully I can include a photo of these magnificent creatures. Next stop was Circular Pool, which I believe has fast rapids in winter, but in summer is a lovely tranquil pool. We moved along the coast to Peaceful Bay and then Conspicuous Bay with breathtaking views and hills full of beautiful mauve wild flowers and lots of opportunities at photo shoots.

Wednesday 11^th A slower day that began with a walk to Sandy Beach, which is a secluded beach that we are able to access from our camp ground via a track along the lake. I have a confession; I have become obsessed with taking photos. Now I have a very good reason why this happened, it started with a suggestion from a very dear friend Moira, when she said ‘be sure and take a lot of photos of the wild flowers as I may not have the opportunity to see this region’.

Now Moira is not someone to let you off the hook, so I was on a mission and felt really committed to photograph every wild flower variety that we come across. The results are some really nice studies of wild flowers and some very repetitive photos of yet another version of those purple, orange, yellow flowers. On this particular walk I have to confess to taking 140 creative moments that just had to be shot. Moira you are expected to sit through every shot of every wild flower that I have taken, not to mention all the beautiful trees and artistic misé en scéne that the forest has allowed. I think that perhaps we may need more than just the one bottle of Red to complete the task.

Thursday 12^th It’s been raining but we are both feeling fine after having a long Skype call with our son Freeman, he is alive and well which is always a blessing from a parent’s point of view. The Walk through the Giant Tingle Trees was calling us, so off we went to the Walpole Wilderness Discovery Centre. The unique Red Tingle trees that are found here can reach a height of 70 meters while their heavily buttressed girth can attain a circumference of 20 meters at ground level. The tree top walk begins from the rim of the gully, climbing to 40 meters, then gradually descend to complete the 600 meter loop back to ground level. Sixty meter long steel trusses supported by steel pylons weave through the tops of the trees. Those of you who know me well, know I am terrified of heights so I was not at my most comfortable (hence not too many photo opportunities from me in the tree tops,) I basically just hung on and tried NOT to look down. Another special feature of the walk was it swayed, apparently to simulate the movement of the trees, seriously I could have done without that. Back down to the ground level the world became a different place and suddenly I was able to capture many magic tingle moments once again with the trusty camera.

Friday 13^th. No I am not superstitious thank goodness and we had a great day. Our aim was to make it to Denmark (the town, not the country) by evening however a stop over at Parry Beach was a must as we had heard it was a great spot to camp. Unfortunately for us the flies were in swarm proportions and the bees were just as bad. The campground although very pretty would not accommodate a van our size as the trees in the camp ground formed a canopy that was too low for the mighty Traveller. We pressed on to Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park and were delighted to get a spot right on the water at Wilson Inlet. I can’t tell you how happy Kenny is when we get these great spots with water views; it’s a bit like Christmas really, very exciting.

Sunday 15^th It’s been a lovely couple of days in Denmark, the town is quaint and filled with interesting boutique shops and the people are warm and welcoming.

However the weather is very fickle, one minute it’s raining and the next sunshine but one thing that is constant is the wind. Yesterday we visited a few wineries and found them very small in comparison to Margaret River, also the wines are different, personally I don’t think as good. We also took a drive to the river mouth at Wilson Head and the view was wonderful almost making Kenny drool with excitement (this happens as you get older). Today the little dinghy skimmed across the water at a great rate of knots with a very happy Captain Salty at the helm on yet another adventure in the life and times of Kenny.

Monday 16th and we are on the road heading for the city of Albany. The country vista has changed and we are no longer in forests, its now flatter and less wooded. Unfortunately it’s still raining and as we approach Albany we become acutely aware of just how spread out this city is. Our first choice of caravan parks proved to be disappointing because of its distance from the city so we moved on to Emu Point where we found Emu Beach Holiday Park to be a great location for us. How to describe Albany is a difficult task. According to the visitors information it was settled in 1826, which is two years before Perth. It’s a city steeped in maritime history predominantly based on the whaling industry. The city is filled with beautiful examples of nineteenth century Albany architecture that stands proudly looking over Princess Royal Harbour. The coastline that surrounds Albany is positively indescribable; I seriously do not know how to chose words to relate its beauty. The land mass is high because of the battering from the Great Southern Ocean, thus the beauty of the rock formations are amazing. We were able to visit such spectacles as the Blowholes, Cave Point, The Gap and Natural Bridge, natural features carved from ancient granite by the force of nature.

The Gap features a 25 meter sheer drop to the ocean, quite something to stand beside. There are also some exquisite bays that are sheltered from the harshness of the southern ocean that are able to lie in peace to display their aqua clear water and beautiful white sands in such contrast to the outer coastline. This area is filled with perennial rivers and estuaries it appears to be a water paradise. This would be heaven if only it wasn’t so cold.

Thursday 19^th Again it’s raining and our drive to Bremer Bay some 170 klm away was a little hairy at times because of the velocity of the wind and the forceful rain. We found Bremer Bay Caravan Park very comfortable with its lush green lawns and large camping areas. The rain by this stage had changed its tune and we were experiencing light showers with the occasional burst of sun through the clouds. After settling Wendal in, Ken and I took a drive around the area and found a wonderful look out on Tooreburrup Hill with 360 deg views. Next a drive down to Short Beach for some photo opportunities, then back to the van and a walk to Bremer Bay headland which proved to have some magnificent views and again great opportunity for photo shoots if you were patient enough to wait for the sun to pop its rays out other wise the photos are washed out and you waste your time.

Friday 20^th We headed out again on the South Coast Highway hoping to reach Esperance some 400klm away. The change in vegetation was remarkable; we were back in dry Savanna country, with its scrubby vegetation and absence of the beautiful wildflowers that by now we were so used too. It was a long drive indeed and our dear wee man Wendal was not in his usual good humor. After a few ‘I want out of here’ noises we pulled over twice to see what his problem may have been. This entails putting him on his led and letting him lead us to where he wants to go (we were hoping to the bush where he could relieve himself) but no it was directly back to the van door where he looked longingly at the step trying to get in. This was a no go so on we went and eventually arrived at Pink Lake Tourist Park at Esperance. If we had not been so tired we would have continued on to find alternative accommodation but exhaustion is a remarkable thing. The spot we were allocated backed on to the amenities block and the caravan park washing line I could touch from the door of the caravan. There was no privacy what so ever and as a result the blinds were drawn and the resolve was to move as soon as possible.

Saturday 21^st After hitching up our tried and true Traveller we explored the town and its alternate caravan parks. Crokers Holiday Park was decided on and it suited our profile beautifully. The afternoon offered a window of sunshine so we explored the ocean vista via the Twilight Beach Road. Magnificent ocean views overlooking the Recherche Archipelago drew us to its beauty like a moth to light. Unfortunately the sun did not last long so not too many photo opportunities were available. We are rather sick of the weather other wise it would be lovely to stay and explore this area. However we are on a mission to reach Adelaide by mid December so it’s on to Norseman tomorrow and hopefully warmer weather.

I am hoping that all who reads this is well and doing what fulfills them most in life. I feel very pleased to have done this journey so far, the magic and diversity of this country is mind blowing. It is a place of such extremes on many different levels. I know that when I am settled back in suburbia the time for reflection will be enormous. Take care of yourselves and each other, your friend Elizabeth.

Newsletter 14.

Perth to Margaret River.

Monday 26^th October, as we left Perth the rain became a rather constant companion and the cold by then, we were getting used to. The suitcase had been opened and the winter coats and long pants have come out of mothballs. We headed south on the Kwinana Freeway, which is freeway No 2, this eventually took us into Rockingham a smallish coastal town some 26klm south of Fremantle. From there we continued down the coast stopping to look at the beautiful ocean vista, amazed at how busy and built up these towns were as it became very difficult to decipher where one town ended and another began. Mandurah arrived before we knew it and again where does this town begin and end. The gardens along this stretch of land began to fascinate us and we noted people’s obsession with Roses, in all shapes and color. The competition seems fierce! We found a caravan park at Falcon called Miami Holiday Park, an interesting place that I feel I should not comment on other than to say ‘it’s old and needs a huge make over or bulldozer’. We managed to acquire a ‘lakeside’ site, now that means if you stand on a seat you may see the lake through high reeds and paper barks, however there was a walk we took the next day that was very pretty. We snuggled in with a couple of videos and a great take away pizza and had an enjoyable evening. One of the movies we watched was the long awaited, My year without sex. We have been trying to catch this movie for some time however it’s now out on DVD. It’s a great movie written and directed by the talented Sara Watts, she also wrote and directed Look both ways, and in so many ways both movies are very similar. She certainly has a style all her own as a film director and is married to the actor William McGinnis. They have a unique quality that I feel is synonymous with Australian working class culture.

Tuesday 27^th, heading down the Bunbury Highway, you enter The Lakes district with Peel Inlet on the left while the Indian Ocean is on the right of a narrow strip of land, once again, a very pretty area with lots of new development. Peel Inlet flows into Harvey Estuary to the south as the country unfolds into quiet farmland. On the right Lake Clifton runs parallel to the highway and then Lake Preston runs through to the town of Myalup. These are large mostly shallow lakes that provide a sanctuary to a great deal of bird life, ducks a plenty. We drove into the town of Myalup and also Binningup to check out suitable spots to stop for the evening, however probably because it was raining and cold nothing really appealed so we continued down the highway to Australind, a town on Leschenault Inlet. We eventually settled on one of the only two parks in town Australind Tourist Park right on the highway and ‘oh’ how noisy it was.

Wednesday 28^th we woke to gale force winds buffeting the van and discovered our large back window had a leak. Trying to open our door proved to be a challenge as the wind was blowing against it forcing it shut, however we did manage to get out of there and headed very slowly into Bunbury and then down the Bussell Highway to Capel, Ludlow and on to Busselton. As we got away from the coast we were able to shelter a little from the wind and noted that the highway had a corridor of tall trees running beside it, which helped a huge amount with the swaying of the van. Busselton is a lovely town with many residence who love to garden. Gardens full of Roses and other assorted flowers giving us a welcome feeling despite the inclement weather. With caravan parks a plenty, once again Wendal was able to help us sort out the Cat friendly Parks which narrowed it down to just three. After driving by the suitable parks we settled on Sandybay Holiday Park at Broadwater, a suburb of Busselton. Busselton is best known for having supposedly the longest timber jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Sandybay would have to be the nicest park we have stayed in since arriving in WA. It’s set behind small wooded sand dunes on the edge of a clear blue sheltered bay. About 80% of the park is given over to small Swiss style chalets for holiday people to enjoy. They even have their own fireplaces. Further 10% to permanent caravans, and the remainder to we transients. The grounds are beautiful with lots of trees, manicured lawns and very pretty gardens. The ladies who manage the place are also very nice and informative and extremely helpful.

Thursday 29^th. The sun is shining so it’s a good chance for some sight seeing. Driving west on Caves Road we arrived at Dunsborough, a very pretty but expensive town as we were later to find out when enquiring about real estate. On to Eagle Bay, a drive through heaven we discovered Meelup Beach Road, we will include photos at this point as words cannot describe how beautiful this place is, spectacular bush lands bordering exquisitely sculptured bays.

On to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and we were disappointment in so far as you cannot get close enough to really view the lighthouse without a payment of $15 per person, seems a bit expensive. We were however able to walk onto the headland which offers a 360 deg view. While we were out on the cape we visited our first winery Wise Estate a lovely building and beautiful setting but didn’t care much for the wine. I believe it’s a very popular spot for weddings. Back to Dunsborough for lunch and then on to some more wineries for the obligatory tasting. Virgin Block Winery took our fancy first, probably because of the winery’s crest, which is a picture of one of the owner’s daughters. Also a lovely building but the wine was not to my palate. Windance Winery situated across the road has its cellar door in a very ordinary old shed with no frills but the wine was wonderful and has won many awards. The girl who attended us is the daughter of the owners and very lovely, it would seem they put their energy into the wine and not the façade. Laurance Winery deserves a photo, it’s a very over the top showpiece. The inside of the building is magnificent all the major beams are from the old Woolamaloo wharf in Sydney. We are told the Laurance family built Sea World and Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. I may add that this was the only winery we came across that required payment for tasting their wines, $2 per tasting. Our very favorite winery for the day was Wills Domain run by a lovely young couple who were very hospitable. Darren the owner, works the vines from his wheelchair while his lovely wife Kristin runs the cellar door, they also have a young son who keeps them both on their toes. Their wines are beautiful and I would recommend all visitors to this area to go visit them.

Friday 30^th, It’s raining again so decided to catch up with this blog before I forget what we did do and or what has happened. The afternoon has fined up enough for Ken to take the sailing dingy off the roof of the car for an airing, hope he has fun.

Saturday 31^st, It’s raining again, I think it’s time to leavethis lovely spot before we start growing roots. We decided to take in a movie so headed into Busselton to see ‘Julie and Julia’, highly recommend this movie particularly to anyone who loves food; we both enjoyed it more than we had anticipated.

Sunday 1^st November. After hitching up the caravan we headed out of town south to Margaret River. Very pretty drive through wooded farmland then on to cleared pastures and then wineries. Ken had decided he wanted to stay out of town at Big Valley Farm some 10 klm east of the town of Margaret River. The farm is a working sheep farm, which offers camping with power, water and the usual facilities for $10 per person per night. It is extremely pretty place to be, with wooded rolling hills and sheep dotted all over the countryside. It’s very, very cold here in the late afternoons and at night, I need my gloves and hat when we are out side, I am not used to it.

Monday 2^nd, We took a drive to Cape Leeuwin, the most south westerly point on the Australian continent, very windy and cold but very beautiful. Those lovely wild flowers even manage to grow in these very harsh conditions in this case many differing shades of pink and white appeared everywhere. The lighthouse is on a flat low headland so it’s tall against the backdrop of the Southern Ocean. There are some very old buildings of which one has been renovated into a restaurant, which happen to be serving warm soup for lunch on a very cold day, hard to refuse. Heading back up the coast stopped at Baranup Gallery, it houses some of the most beautiful wooden furniture we have ever seen, lots of other things to look at as well such as paintings and jewelry. Hamelin Bay a small coastal town was our next stop, fortunately it was protected from the wind, very pretty place and wonderful coastline. Our winery for the day was Voyager Winery with its old English buildings and magnificent gardens. Hopefully we can insert photos of this place, as it is something to be seen, however again the wines didn’t do much for our palate.

Tuesday 3^rd, We began the day by walking around the town of Margaret River and looking at the shops. I managed to pick up a couple of books that I had been looking for so was pleased with my purchases. We discovered it was Melbourne Cup day, ‘is that what all the people are doing in the Pub/Tavern’, we chose the bakery for lunch, which proved a good decision. Margaret River Bakery has the most beautiful, delicious cakes, tarts and bread that I have eaten in a long time and I ate too much and suffered the too full feeling after. Time for more wineries so Howard Park & Madfish Winery was our first choice, next was Vasse Flex Winery then Cullen Winery on to Gralyn Estate where we couldn’t resist some white Port and then finally Evans & Tate Winery where I purchased a couple of bottles of wonderful Chardonnay, no more wine please.

Wednesday 4^th, Our first port of call was the Margaret River Cheese Factory very yummy cheeses. Polandri Estate was our first winery for the day, very nice wines and yes we did purchase some. On to the Chocolate Factory and we were disappointed with the quality and felt it was very commercial, lots of gift packaging with huge price tags, sorry you all missed out. On to the Hayshed Hill Winery, which appeared to be, a great place for lunch with wood fired pizzas etc, but didn’t care for the wines. Next stop a small winery called Wilespie and I honestly thought every wine I tried at this place was off, or shall I say, passed its prime or used buy date. The young lady working the cellar door told me they supplied Rockpool Restaurant, in Sydney, something wrong there. Next stop was a Ken interest, Bootleg Brewery Estate however he was disappointed that the tasting was quite expensive, so he decided on a six-pack of mixed beer to go. Kneedeep Winery was just down the road so by this stage the car just pulled in by it’s own accord. This winery has a lovely restaurant with a lovely price tag if you wish to partake, and it seemed very popular by the amount of seats that were occupied. We were by this stage over lunch and almost anything else but managed to have one more tasting each and departed. On we went to Laurance Wines, which we had visited on Thursday but had not taken any photos and I felt they were important, as it’s a showpiece. A few quick photos and heading back home we happened upon Sandalford Winery, and Ken’s call to stop for yet another drop and this time he enjoyed a Merlot and bought a bottle. Coffee sounded good to me so on to Yahava, where we were able to sample some delicious coffees. A nice gentleman behind the counter appreciated my love of coffee and introduced us to some yummy blends and essence. We left there with some fine examples of the coffee we had just tasted and a bottle of French Vanilla coffee essence, which along with our White Port sounds like a great way to end an evening.

I do have to stop this blog somewhere and I guess now is a good time. It’s already to long and my dearest Kenny is complaining that I am going into to much detail. What do you think dear reader? Actually he is just annoyed because it takes him awhile to edit it and there is so much else to do now that he is retired. I hope you are all having heaps of fun and look forward to sharing some of my photos with you. Love Elizabeth