Day 65
The day we:
- were greeted a by clear blue sky. Washed another load of clothes, this is becoming more regular as we wear more layers and don't swim each day
- went to visit the sights of Busselton; the 2km jetty but not prepared to pay the $20 for the train fare, can't walk it now either without paying, may come back in the evening. Parklands around here very appealing
- drove the coast road to visit Wonnerup House (1834), a National Trust property then walked the nearby Tuart Forest, the last significant stand of these trees that used to follow the coast all the way up to Carnavon. Was prized for it's great strength and durability. Used extensively in shipbuilding, wheel manufacturing, railway carriages and bridge supports. Back to the van for lunch
- drove to Cape Naturaliste to climb the lighthouse and walk through the coastal park, scanning the ocean for whales at each lookout point. We kept being told by other walkers that they'd seen whales just at the next lookout but for all our troubles we saw none
- called in to Simmo's Icecreamery on the way home and all ate 2 scoop doubles; flavours included Rocky Road, Cointreau and White Chocolate with Malteasers!
Day 66
The day we:
- celebrated Father's Day by Luke cooking a big egg and bacon breakfast in the camp kitchen for Eric on his return from a run and Adrian helping with serving and cleaning up. Fantastic, only casualty was one sauce bottle that didn't make it from van to kitchen. Boys gave their father 2 shirts and a block of homemade chocolate (to share)
- packed a picnic lunch and toured. Visited Margaret River township and the Sunday market, unfortunately the woodturner's workshop was closed. Went on to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet, a windy point but quite lovely. A challenging climb to the top of this one. Still can't see any whales
- toured Jewel Cave, fantastic. Magnificent columns, stalactites, stalagmites and every other formation like curtains and even Karri forest-like features. The tour took just over an hour, we were 45m below the surface
- had lunch in the carpark then drove through the magnificent Karri forest to Cave Eco Centre, an interactive info centre and Lake Cave
- back to Margaret River to visit the beach this time and watch the intrepid surfers, then the local cheese factory and Woody Nook Winery, lovely but pricey
- finished the afternoon at Bootleg Brewery, a delightful spot with lawn stretching down to a dam scattered with people enjoying the music of a 3 piece band and sipping the brew
- went home to a curry and Eric won UNO, a perfect Father's day
The day we:
- packed up, boys did a great job dismantling the flies and awning all by themselves. Stopped in to buy petrol and that's when we discovered the mirrors missing. The last time we took them off was to have the muffler looked at on the hoist yesterday morning. Stripped everything out of the back of the car but they cannot be found, drove on to Pemberton still bemused (Eric must have left them on the ground when we had our picnioc lunch at the cave)
- climbed the Gloucester Tree, what a challenge. 153 rungs to a height of 63m, its the highest fire lookout tree in the world. From the top we could see over towering forests of Karri and Jarrah if we had the courage to open our eyes. Can't say I actually enjoyed the experience but glad I've passed the challenge
- enjoyed morning tea at the tables by the carpark, shared a packet of biscuits with a friendly flock of Western Rosella
- looked over some craft galleries back in the township of Pemberton but they were pretty expensive
- drove on to Walpole to walk the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk. These are Tingle Trees with enormous bases, many of them hollowed out. Again found it a little disconcerting up at the top, the spans of steel move quite noticeably as you walk. Enjoyed the Ancient Walk on ground level being very impressed by these mammoth structures of nature
- finished the trip at Parry Beach, 23kms short of Denmark, a top spot sheltered by tea tree where the caretaker collects $4 a site and provides hot showers and flush toilets
- walked the beach and rock-scrambled home finding birds, crabs and shells. Lost Adrian's sock
The day we:
- woke to a truly beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky. Eric went for a run while Libby walked, he found Adrian's sock. Amazing.
- had breakfast then Luke and Libby went fishing off the rocks, later to be joined by Adrian and Eric who caught his first fish; a small herring
- caretaker offered to take us in his 4WD to a lookout over Hillier Bay for fantastic views of the coast, from here they spot Salmon in the season, he recommended we call in to Green Pool today
- packed the van and headed for Denmark, called in to William's Bay and Green Pool, water a beautiful colour, soft sand and granite boulders form a natural swimming pool
- lunched in Denmark, a very pretty town on Wilson Inlet. We ate pies in the park on the bank of the river
- drove on to Albany, delightful c'van park on Middleton Beach with a view over King George Sound
- walked the beach together then the boys turned back and the old folk walked the boardwalk and up the hill to the lookout
- drove the tourist drive featuring old buildings, replica of Emity (first boat to arrive here in 1826), fabulous station and lookout
- lost the boys in the TV room, booked them in for a fishing cruise tomorrow, Eric thinks the golf course looks inviting
- met a fellow from Invergordon (Scotland) in the kitchen
Day 69
The day we:
- were woken early by an excited Luke who was counting down the hours until the fishing trip where we were going to catch bucket loads
- enjoyed a trip to the National Pk where we visited The Gap (25m shear drop to the ocean) and Natural Bridge followed by the Blowholes. Because it is such a beautiful calm day they weren't shooting but they sure were roaring. Boys got a thrill
- visited the Whaling Station which is now a museum and joined a very interesting tour, owners of this station had the foresight (and financial constraints) to close the place before the international moratorium on whaling)
- had a quick bite for lunch back at the van then dropped Eric at the golf course while the rest of us went on to Emu Pt to find our Spinners Fishing Cruiser at 1pm. Lovely looking boat with great gear, everything looked promising - but the fish just weren't biting. After 4 hrs only 6 fish had been landed for the whole boatload of people, Adrian got 2 Rock Cod and Luke got a King George Whiting and a Rock Cod, the rest of us didn't score but we'd enjoyed a warm, relaxing afternoon and none of us were ill. On the way in to shore the Skipper invited the boys into the foredeck to steer, they were thrilled
- collected Eric, he'd had a nice round playing with the club Vice Captain
- dropped the boys home and made a quick visit to the local bird-hide before cooking their fish which the deckhand had thankfully cleaned for us.
Day 71
The day we:
- were greeted by showers as we tried to pack up, slipped off early to the bird-hide but it was too wet
- stopped in at Ravensthorpe for petrol and bumped into Len and Edna Evans (from Cobram), amazing
- arrived at 3pm, went for a drive which found us fishing off the jetty, it seems the boys' interest has only been fuelled by yesterday's cruise. Libby caught a Leatherjacket which a local showed us how to clean and skin
- were caught in a downpour so had to scamper for the car, that's why Luke didn't catch one. As we reached the car a magnificent rainbow appeared, complete from start to finish and reflected. I can't remember ever seeing one so brilliant before, tried to photograph it but it was too immense
- fish and chips for tea again but had to be expanded by a few sausages as one Leatherjacket doesn't go far. It may not have been big but it sure was cheaper than yesterday's catch, estimate they cost about $18 each!
- played UNO after dinner and Eric remains champ. Have discovered there is a race meeting in Kalgoolie on Sat so we will delay arriving there until Sun. Can think of worse places to be.
Day 71
The day we:
- awoke to light rain then it remained overcast until lunchtime. We drove the tourist drive (Great Ocean Rd - Esperance style). Even on an overcast day the beaches were brilliant turquoise from the lookouts. Found one lookout we were nearly blown off where two French boats sought shelter from a raging storm in 1792
- visited the windfarm which provides the town with about 15%of its power, today would be a good one for generation, then on to Pink Lake but because of the overcast sky its more Muddy Brown
- called in to the golf course (just for a look) and the craft village but again its tourist prices. Love this Southern Region and would like to take home a memento but can't afford one
- lunched at the van then tried our luck at the jetty near our park in the afternoon where Luke chatted with an old local using burley to attract fish. He was catching plenty so Luke sat right beside him. Then another fisherman joined them and before long Luke caught 7 Skip Jacks, half the time with no bait on his line. Not to be outdone Adrian caught a Garfish
- took the fish to the cleaning trough at the long jetty and 2 sea lions came in to feed on the scraps. Luke got so excited he lost our hand reel over the side
- went home for tea and Yahtzee where Adrian a last has won
No comments:
Post a Comment