Day 20 Perth

Perth has a population of 1,507,900 and when you consider that the total population of the state is 2,050,884 you can see that most of the population is in the capital.  The next biggest city is Albany, closely followed by Bunbury, then Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and Mandurah.

The Swan River Settlement was founded in June 1829 and three towns were formed - Perth in between Freemantle and Guildford.  Fremantle which was 20kms downstream on the coast served as the colony's functional port and Guildford, 20kms upstream to the east was chosen to supply produce to the surrounding regional because of the rich fertile soil found in the Swan Valley.  Today, the three settlements are as one, with building having filled in the gaps. 

Some of the coastline

Today we went for a drive to Hillarys Boat Harbour, Sorrento Quay and North Beach.  We couldn't get over how busy the area was and then we noticed that the State Surf Lifesaving Championships were being held on the beach.  We went to Sorrento Quay and explored all the shops and enjoyed looking at all the boats moored in the harbour.  The AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia) is here and it takes you on an underwater journey to discover the fascinating and unique marine life of Western Australia.  It overlooks a living coral reef and has an underwater gallery.  There is also a touch pool exhibit where you can handle some of the living animals. 

A view of the Indian Ocean

Hillarys Harbour Resort

Some of the boats in the harbour

We also checked out some of the beaches, there is an amazing coastline.  We couldn't get over the number of kite surfers.  There are specific areas of the beaches set aside for them and it is nothing to see 20 or 30 at every area. 

Tomorrow we are going to Fremantle.

cheers
Pete and Roz

Day 19 Perth Caravan and Camping Show

Today we got up early to go the Perth Caravan and Camping Show.  It was very hot but we had a great day.  We ended up buying:

• a satellite dish (so we can get tv in remote areas
• a table for outside the van - just a small folding one
• a cooking set (someone forgot to pack the fry pan!) and this was a good one with a stock pot, saucepan and fry pan that all stack inside one another with a removable handle.
• a folding bucket
• a cooler for inside the car that runs off the cigarette lighter.  Peter had purchased a cheap one from Canberra before we left so that we could keep some cool drinks in the car but it only worked once.  This one is an Engel and is working very well.
• two back supports for the car - these are brilliant.
• some new biological stuff for the caravan toilet - no chemicals.

Needless to say Peter had to make several trips to the car with all our purchases.

We both had a great time checking out lots of things.  I also sat in on a naturomedico cooking lesson.  This was run by a naturopath who demonstrated cooking without using oils etc.  We got to taste a Moroccan Lamb, a Mango and Orange Smoothie and some Beetroot Bruschetta.  They were yum!  He also gave lots of tips and naturopathic ways during his talk.

There was a train driving around the show all day and you could catch a lift at any time if you needed to.  There were also various musicians and singers around the site which reall gave it a festive air. 

There was so much to see that we spent the whole day there so no photos today.  I was so hot that when we got back to the park I went for a swim.

love to all
Pete and Roz

Day 18 Busselton to Perth

We set off this morning heading for Perth.  We called into Bunbury to have a look around.  Bunbury is a large city with a population of 31,865 and is the regional capital and gateway to the south west.  It is located on a peninsula, surrounded by water and is famous for its white sandy beaches, great fishing and the chance to interact with dolphins.  Bunbury has a strong maritime heritage linked to the port.  From what we could see it is a vibrant city with lots of eating and coffee spots along the waterfront. 

The harbour at Bunbury

A shot of the waterfront at Bunbury

Another shot of the waterfront at Bunbury

As soon as we left Bunbury we were on the Kwinana Freeway which took us all the way to Perth (albeit with some name changes).  We had some stunning views of the city and the coastline along the way.  We headed straight to the Karrinyup Waters Resort at Gwelup (a northern suburb of Perth) where we are staying for 7 nights.  We went to a local shopping centre and stocked up again and chilled out for the rest of the day.

cheers

Pete and Roz

Day 17 Busselton

Today we thought we would have a look around Busselton.  It is quite a big place with a population of 18,000 and was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia with settlement starting in 1834.  If you look at a map of Busselton, it is long and narrow, hugging the coastline.  A 2 km long jetty was built to export the timber from the surrounding areas and is the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. 

This is the jetty at Busselton which is 2kms long

Busselton is sheletered from most of the prevailing winds and has 30km of white sandy beaches.  There are over 200 vineyards and 80 wineries in the area which is quite staggering considering wine was first produced in the area only 30 years ago.  There are also several speciality breweries if you prefer the amber liquid.

Peter and I decided to walk the jetty (all 4kms for the return journey) although there is a train that takes you out to the underwater observatory at the end of the jetty.  The views from the jetty are fantasic. 

This is the train at the start of the jetty

A view of the jetty

The buildings at the end are on top of the underwater observatory

After having a good look around and stocking up on groceries, we went back to the park to relax.  I had a swim in the pool and Peter did some reading.

There is a big group of elderly people here from Mandurah and each afternoon at 5pm they have a "happy hour" where they all get together.  One of the ladies, Elsie, gets her piano accordian out - she is so little the men have to lift it on to her shoulders.  She then plays all the golden oldies and everyone sings along.  We have really enjoyed them.

Also found out the reason for the "up's" at the end of town names eg Meelup, Quindalup, Cowaramup, Yallingup.  These are Aboriginal names and the "up" means 'the place of'.  So for Meelup - Meel is "moon" so it is the place of the moon. 

Tomorrow we are off to Fremantle where we hope to stay for a week.  We are going to the Perth Caravan and Camping Show on Friday.  Hope we don't come home with another caravan like we did when we went to the Melbourne Show!  We do want to look at satelite dishes and a few other things.

Hope everyone is well.

cheers
Peter and Roz

Day 16 Busselton to Cape Leeuwin and back again

I woke up early again and went for a long walk along a path that has been built along the coast.  There were lots of people, walking, jogging and riding bikes.

Geographe Bay taken on my early morning walk

Another shot of Geographe Bay

Today we set out to do some touring.  We went to Dunsborough which is the start of all the wineries and has a population of 4,000.   Then to Carbunup River and on to Cowaramup where we had lunch (bit of a shock when it cost $39.20!).  This is an agriculture area with dairy farms that provide for the cheese making places in the area. 

Next stop was Margaret River which is not only a little town, but the name of the river and the name of the general area.  There are wineries just about every 500 metres!   The town is on the Margaret River and is 10kms from the ocean.  There are lots of caves in the area and most are open for tourists and the area is known for surfing  as the waves are world class and there has been a number of major international surfing competitions held there. 

We drove on through Witchcliffe, Karridale, Kudardup and then to Augusta which had some amazing views of the coast.  Just south east of Augusta is Cape Leeuwin which used to be an operating lighthouse.  We stopped here and the wind was just amazing, it was all you could do to stay upright.  Cape Leeuwin is where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet and is the most south westerly point of Australia.  When you are standing at the light house, you have one ocean on one side and the other side is the other ocean.  It must have been a hard life for the people who manned the lighthouse. 

The lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin

A mad cow at Cape Leeuwin

The lighthouse keepers houses

The lighthouse

Where the two oceans meet

Back to Augusta (only way back) and then we turned off to go to Hamelin Bay and then to Prevelly Park calling in to lots of little lookouts and beaches on the way. 

The number of wineries is amazing and it seems that each one tries to outdo the other with their entrances.

Next was Yallingup where we called into the Shearing Shed.  Not to see the shearing as Peter does that every year himself but to check out the shop.  It was a bit disappointing to find woollen things made in China for sale. 

The Shearing Shed

Then back to Dunsborough and back to Busselton.  It was a full day touring but we saw so much.

Tomorrow - Busselton.

cheers
Pete and Roz

Day 15 Albany to Busselton

Set off this morning and stopped first up at a little place called Denmark (didn't know we were going overseas this trip, did you!).  It has a population of 4,600.  There are lots of walks around here with the biggest being the Bibbulmun Track which goes from Albany to Perth.  Denmark is a major wine producing area and has Karri forests as well.  We called in to the Toffee Factory which was a little farm just out of Denmark where they made toffees, brittles, ciders, ice creams and lots of savoury things in jars as well.  I had a Strawberry Cider spider.  The ice cream was lovely but the cider was a bit dry for my liking.  Peter had a  mandarin ice cream and it was delicious.  All the ice creams are made with fresh fruit.  Peter bought some coffee toffee and I brought some popcorn and peanut brittle and some macadamia brittle - yum!

This was at the Toffee Factory.  It looked like someone had ridden into the round bale.

We continued on to Walpole where we refuelled at 150.6 cents a litre for diesel.  Walpole is a farming area which grew out of the depression era.  In 1930, unemployed men with families were selected and sent to the settlement to carve farms out of the virgin bush.  Timber milling developed soon after.   Passed lots of tree farms and some are called tree plantations and then the country would open up to grazing country with cattle and sheep.  14kms from town is the Valley of the Giants which is a forest of unique red tingle trees.  These trees can reash a height of 70 metres and can attain a circumference of 20 metres and there is a tree top walk.

One of the tree farms

We stopped for a lunch in a little pull off area.  I was pretty tired so just laid on the bed and rested my eyes while Peter finished his lunch.  I didn't realise I had fallen asleep until I felt the van moving and thought Peter was driving off with me still in the back.  Almost had a heart attack until I realised that Peter was playing a joke on me - how mean!

Next was Pemberton with a population of 920.  In 1913, timber mills were established  to supply and cut half a million sleepers for the Trans Australian Railway Line.  There are more wine grapes grown here than in Margaret River and it produces the most avocados in Australia.

We drove on through Nannup, population 1,200 and with lots of walking trails.  Next stop was our destination for the day, Busselton.  We booked into the Mandalay Holiday Resort and Tourist Park.  Although a bit expensive at $42 a night for a powered site, it is the best park we have been in.  There are two heated swimming pools, one of which is indoors, 3 adventure playgrounds for toddlers to teenagers, a playing field, games room, giant jumping pillow and much more.  The amenities are excellent and it is a lovely park with lots of green grass.  We booked in for two nights.

Our resort in Busselton

The pools

Peter then decided to show me a photo he had taken on his phone while we were driving along - me asleep!  I had to make sure I didn't go to sleep again after that.

Tomorrow - out and about.

cheers
Pete and Roz

Day 14 Esperence to Albany

We have been so lucky with the weather.  It raining on our first night in Esperence but it didn't bother us as it was during the night.  Then when we were leaving this morning it was misty rain but cleared up after we were on the road.  I went for a walk this morning and went the opposite way to yesterday and walked to the jetty and then to the end of the jetty.  It was a lovely morning and a lot of people were about as a fishing competition had started earlier with over 100 boats going out to sea.  There were flares and the helicopter was buzzing around.

The jetty at Esperence

We drove to Albany today via Ravensthorpe, Jerramungup (there are a lot of "ups" around here!) and Wellstead.  On the way in and out of Esperence there is a profusion of wild banksias in full flower on the sides of the road.  Between Esperence and Albany, initially the grazing country is all around and then all of a sudden there are tree farms everywhere - rows and rows, all very straight, of trees.

We stopped at Jerramungup to refuel and paid 159.7 cents a litre.  We also had lunch here at a park.  Along the way we passed a property called "Canberra West" which made us think of home.  One thing we have noticed in WA is that most rural people have their names at the front of their property.  As we got closer to Albany, the tree farms turned into grazing properties with mainly cattle and some sheep. 

On arrival we went straight to the Middleton Beach Holiday Park and set the van up.  Price for the site was $38 (prices are going up!) but as we are Big4 members we got a discount which reduced the price to $34.20.  Then we went to the Tourist Information Centre for some information.  Albany has a population of approximately 30,000 and was Western Australia's first white settlement.  It also boasts one of the best natural harbours in the world and has the state's most temperate climate and most popular tourist destination.  Antartica is several thousand kilometres to the south.   Albany was the embarkation point for Australian troops in the First World War.

Albany is straddled between Mt Clarence and Mt Melville so there are fantastic lookouts, some with 360 degree views of the town, the Southern Ocean,k mountain ranges and the region's waterways.  We took the scenic drive which takes you around town and out to Frenchman's Bay, Whale World, the blowholes and much more.  We also sawy the Brig Amity which is a replica ship built in recognition of the arrival of the first settlers in 1826.

Middleton Bay - our caravan park is right on the beach

This is on Mt Clarence and there are plaques for everyone who was killed in war or as a result of war.

The plaques are under a tree which in some cases was planted by a member of the family

This is the avenue, there is a plaque under each tree

Some of the very old buildings

Whale World with a view of the back end of a whaler

There is a great walk around one of the cliffs here just above Ellen Cove.  I went there for my walk this morning.  There are great lookouts along the way. We could have spent more time here but we will be heading closer to Perth today, possibly Busselton.

We are missing everyone at home.  We talk to Lauren every day but still miss her and the puppies.  We are having a great time thought and it feels like we have been away much longer than two weeks.

Till next time

Pete and Roz