Exploring Australia!

At last we're off exploring western parts. Some we've seen before, fleetingly, plus plenty of new ones hopefully!

Mar 17th - Mar 19th
Time to move on again, this time to Fremantle. Our last stop before the northern leg of our trip. On the way we wanted to call into Mandurah, a town we stayed in on our last visit. There’s a lovely restaurant in a great setting by the river where we could have lunch. Arrived in the town to find the annual Crab Fest in full swing! Nothing to eat in town apart from - crab. After a snack (not crab!) we called into Marapana Wildlife Park to give Kim an animal “fix”. Nice small park with plenty of koalas – no cages, so you can get really close. No koala cuddling this time though as it was too hot to wake them up! On the final part of the 220km trip the inevitable happened – oops, Steve was pulled up for speeding. 11kph over the 80kph limit. That’s about 7mph above the 50 limit – on a WIDE dual-carriageway! After a few sweaty moments we were let off with a warning….

Fremantle - wow it was HOT! Saturday was in the low 30s but Sunday was REALLY hot, over 35C again!

Our home was an old 3 bed semi (Victorian at a guess!) which was last decorated by, the Victorians. It’s large, 40 paces from the bedroom to the bathroom! The promised internet connection is via a 20 year-old PC with ultra-slow dialup. So much for being able to get some work done, still need to find an internet café…. One evening we sampled some local culture at the beautiful Cottesloe Beach - the "Sculptures by the Sea" exhibition. 50-odd international sculptors were displaying art from the puzzling to the wacky. So our sculptor friend Tony D should fit in well, he’s puzzling and wacky. I know he won’t mind us telling you, as long as you look at his website – www.sensualsculptures.com.

Mar 14th - Mar 16th
A short 85km drive and we arrived in Busselton. Our tiny 2 bed holiday chalet was somewhat down-market compared to everywhere else. The lounge, dining and cooking areas are in a single small room so it’s like living in the kitchen! To watch a bit of TV in the evening we lined up the plastic dining chairs and sat looking up at the TV, which is mounted on the kitchen wall – just like being at the cinema! Or maybe not….

The next day we walked the length of the Busselton Jetty and visited the underwater observatory at the far end. It’s a long jetty, 1841 metres (1.15 miles!) and, typically, the train which ferries visitors to the far end had broken down. So we walked. In the sun. Had a good idea though, we wore our new sun hats. Steve lost his when the wind picked up and sent said new hat into the water. Kim wasn’t impressed and grumped at Steve until he reminded her that it had only cost $8 (£3). Half way along the jetty Kim realised that it was quite like walking along a narrow bridge (it’s only 8 foot wide in places) and she’s not happy on bridges at the best of times, let alone one which is a mile out to sea, and she was even less impressed when we noticed that the wooden boards we were walking on were old, rotten and loose!

We must be getting blasé with the continuing good weather - we went to the cinema and saw the new Travolta film, Wild Hogs. It’s about 4 middle-aged guys who go on a road trip on their Harleys - haven’t laughed so much in ages. So we’ve decided that for the rest of our road trip we’ll be known as the Wild Koalas….

Mar 11th - Mar 13th
A short 80km drive to Margaret River. Arrived early so we detoured to Prevelly Beach – a local surfers beach. Picturesque bay with tremendous surf waves but lots of warnings of a dangerous rip current - the best surfers have their area out with the big waves and there’s a less rough section of the beach where everyone else surfs. At least we thought it was less rough until we stood on the sand! Then on to the cottage which the owner has built as an extension to his own house. Even the promise of an internet connection indoors! That means we'll be able to call people at last! Oh dear, it doesn't work..... what a surprise....no mobile connection either....

Have managed some work and some rest.... visited some vineyards, more beaches and The Margaret River Chocolate Factory, mmm, yum yum….. Even an English cream tea at the Cape Lavender vineyard. All their produce, health products, wine, scones for tea and the tea itself contain lavender. We filled ourselves with their scones and lavender ice-cream. Great surprise when we arrived back at the cottage, the promised internet connection was working! At least it was for 2 hours, then it went off again. On Tuesday we decided to brave the beach and try some sunbathing again, hoping it would be better than the last attempt on Kim’s birthday when we were sand-blasted. Went to Gnaramup Bay, “That looks nice, and not many people either” said Kim. Soon found out why – as soon as we stepped onto the beach we walked into a swarm of large sand flies which spent the next few minutes trying to access every unprotected orifice as we beat a hasty retreat. We eventually managed to sunbathe for a couple of hours though – even braved the Indian Ocean which was noticeably colder than the Maldivian section of the same ocean.

Mar 9th and Mar 10th
Friday and a short 120km drive north to Augusta. Stayed in another wooden chalet, this time an absolutely superb one. With 3 bedrooms it’s big enough to live in. Set high up above the river mouth, the view is outstanding. Late afternoon we drove down to the river to watch the dolphins then went to Hamelin Bay - it faces west so we hoped for some sunset shots. It was sunny but very cold and windy - unfortunately Kim had misread the sunrise time for the sunset time, so we arrived much too early!

Saturday - had a lazy late breakfast sitting on the terrace looking out over the treetops to the ocean whilst feeding the blue wrens hopping around at our feet. Spent the afternoon at Cape Leeuwin, the most south-westerly point of the continent, where 2 oceans meet. Photographed the lighthouse, a 40 metre tower impressively positioned on the rocks at the point. Clambered down the rocks to get closer shots of the sea, the waters were pretty rough even though the day was averagely calm and warm at 24C. No good trying to tour inside the lighthouse though as, guess what, it was closed for maintenance – re-opening on the 17th. What’s going on, no kangaroos on the beach, no meat pies and now this….

Mar 6th - Mar 8th
More HOT, HOT days, still in the high 30s. Even a trip to Mount Barker in the hope didn't cool us. Wednesday we drove the 200km to Pemberton via long stretches of Karri tree bordered road. Highway 1 is the major road, but only single lane. Just the width of a road train, fortunately – especially when we met a road train on the apex of a sharp bend. He was travelling so fast that his rear trailer was drifting across the crown of the road - we squeaked through! Shortly afterwards were following another road-train when he ran off the road and disappeared in a cloud of red dust, it took several seconds for our view to clear… Finally arrived in Pemberton where we had a “pummelled earth” (mud brick!) chalet set into woods at the Lavendar and Berry Farm. Great views and the scent of lavendar everywhere, so we slept well! Unbelievably hot, 41C! Fortunately the chalet was cool, so cool in fact that we first thought it had air-con. It was even too hot to wear our Aussie hats and Steve’s hair is now thin enough on top that his scalp complains at too much exposure!

One reason for visiting this area was to see the spectacular Beedelup Falls, - when we arrived the road was closed, not even walkers allowed! So we went to another waterfall, Cascades. Gentle multi-level falls, really photogenic fortunately. Then a visit to the Karri forests to find picturesque trees where we found the Gloucester Tree, the original fire-watch platform for the area. It’s 61m high with a spiral ladder made from 3 foot long steel rods hammered into the trunk. We didn't attempt the climb as for the most part there are no side rails to the ladder and, to descend, you have to climb down backwards! All 61 metres! Whilst staying at the Lavendar Farm we wanted to try their award winning pies. But at lunchtime we were told that pies were off! Later in the day we met the farm owner and complained about the pie shortage – “no worries mate, they’re back next week” – typical…..

Mar 4th and 5th, 2007
Relaxed days - Sunday lunch at a local vineyard, Forest Hill Wines. Two years ago only the cellar was open but now the restaurant is fully operational, so the intended snack turned into a full Sunday lunch - we’re lucky that they squeezed us in as it was Labour Day weekend and everywhere was packed. At last, Aussie wildlife. We saw wild kangaroos by the road this evening (live ones this time!) as we came back from a sunset beach shoot. Monday we awoke to the sound of something clattering on our chalet’s tin roof. A flock of kookaburras were in the trees around us, jumping up and down on the branches and dislodging the nuts! Thanks for the alarm call guys.... Another hot day – 40C was forecast for Perth and it must be well into the 30s even here in the woods. Writing this to the sound of kookaburras still squawking outside, don’t they know this is supposed to be a peaceful place?

Mar 3rd, 2007
A 530km drive to Denmark. Rather than using Highway 1 we used a smaller road via the Stirling Ranges. Saw our first outback wildlife – a fox!! Do foxes really exist in Aus or did we imagine it? At least we managed to get to Ravensthorpe without Steve collecting another speeding fine. Two years ago a copper the size of a grizzly-bear caught us doing 136kph (just over 80mph) – good job he didn’t see us a few moments earlier as we had been travelling at 100mph! Finally getting used to driving slowly but 110kph (70mph) on clear outback roads still seems slow…. Now staying in a 2 bed chalet set into woodland, unbelievably it seemed cold in here – Steve had to light the log burner in the lounge! Oh dear, left the door open on the burner for too long and filled the lounge with smoke. A thermostat is so much easier!

Mar 2nd, 2007
No news on Thursday, an enforced rest day due to Steve waking with a bad migraine and spending the morning in a dark room.... Finally it was Friday - KIM'S BIRTHDAY! So then, how many of you forgot THE birthday? We know who you are!! After an al-fresco café breakfast we went to the local beach for a sunbathe. Not a good idea, it was so windy that as soon as we stretched out on our mats the soft sand was threatening to bury us, even after a few minutes. We had to lie with heads into the wind so that the sand didn’t fill our nostrils! When we eventually returned to base at least two showers were required to de-sand ourselves.... no bath, again...

Feb 28th, 2007
Wednesday and the reason for a 2nd visit to Esperance, a trip to Lucky Bay to photograph the kangeroos on the beach. Sunny morning forecast and 35C so we set off to the National Park to visit the eastern beaches. Two years ago we went to Lucky Bay and photographed kangaroos on the beach, so hoping to see them again we started at the same beach. NO KANGEROOS! So Kim still needs an animal “fix”! This time there were too many tourists keeping the wildlife away…. After a further 3 beaches for photo opportunities we concluded we had had enough of beautiful beaches for one day.

Feb 27th, 2007
Tuesday was warmer, blue skies and 34C, so we toured the local beaches to the west. Whilst exploring we managed to interrupt a Porsche 911 photoshoot on the cliff road, high above the crystal blue sea. The team of photographers and support crew certainly picked a fabulous location, unfortunately they managed to cover up the car as we approached. We stopped to ask what was going on and apparently it's a new model. What's the fuss, haven’t 911s always looked the same? Later, from one of the clifftop car parks we spotted a school of dolphins in the bay – too far out for a good shot unfortunately – that’s when I regretted having sold our 500mm lens! We visited the local wind farm and Kim had to stand under the blades of one of the turbines – she wasn’t happy – not much chance of getting hit though, not when you're that small…. We've been plastering ourselves with Aussie strength (factor 30+) sun-cream but Steve forgot to put it on his neck so that part is now a little red....

Feb 26th, 2007
Then on Mon the 26th a 400km drive to Esperance where it was 25C, a bit chilly! Stopped several times, food and rest stops plus unscheduled photo opportunities made it a 4½ hour journey. Unfortunately we added a parrot and small black bird to the day’s road-kill total – that was in addition to the bodies of a kangaroo, 2 sheep and a snake that we saw on the journey. Most vehicles seen on the journey sported large roo-bars for obvious reasons! Still have to rely on internet cafes and had trouble with the phone cards, phone boxes kept cutting us off so we had to use the mobiles to phone the UK, ouch.. Kim was happy though, she managed to make a fuss of the motel's resident cat. Having planned to be in Esperance for a few nights we could have some rest as well as going on photo jaunts.

Feb 25th, 2007
One night in York then 250km to the Wave Rock Hotel in Hyden, not far from Wave Rock (no surprise there..). During journey we had to negotiate 10km of outback roadworks. Not supposed to drive the hire car on unsealed roads but what do you do when the road has been taken away? Unlevelled, crushed, red stone. Max 30kph, lots of dust when another vehicle went other way. Road was mostly 2 cars wide but in sections was single track with a sloping gravel run-off on either side. Exciting when a car came the other way as we had to go onto the shoulder – glad we only met a road-train on the wide section! Although we didn't seem to have climbed any hills, Hyden is 980ft above sea-level! Quite a comfortable hotel, all facilities apart from internet, AGAIN. Not far to Wave Rock so we visited a couple of times to get different light. It's an amazing rock, eroded by rain and rivers (hard to believe) and stands 15m high by 110m long.

Feb 24th, 2007
A short 90 minute drive and we were in York. Thankfully the temperature was only 37C, a few days before it had been 51C! The hotel was quite characterful and full of characters - it even had a bath so Kim was very happy as we have been surviving on showers only and she looked forward to "soaking her feet"! To our surprise the barmaid had a thick Scouse accent! She said that Esperance (our next destination) was hit by a cyclone 6 weeks ago, millions of dollars damage - would our motel still be standing! Would the kangaroos still be on the beach? Would there still be a beach? Another lady in the pub told us that the beach by her house in Esperance had been cut away, she now has a 6ft drop to the sand!

Feb 23rd, 2007
Finally, we're off to Perth at last! At the Virgin Blue check-in we discovered we had more luggage than we flew with to Singapore - 54kg! That's 14 kg over-weight. Fortunately the guy on check-in assumed we had recently flown into Perth on a Singapore Airlines flight and let us get away with the extra! We collected our rental car, after being kept waiting 90 mins because several renters had called that morning to say they would not be bringing their cars back that day - so we had to wait, along with others, for cars to turn up. Finally managed to get to Emma and Henry's, our friends in Lesmurdie, to take them up on their kind offer of a bed for the night!

cheers for now, Steve & Kim