5th October, 2012 - Still in Albany

Forgot to mention that I found a quilting shop yesterday & collected some more "Australiana" fabric to use in my wall hanging about this trip.

How different can two days be!  Although there were some clouds about, there was blue sky, too, & the sun was shining - more promising than yesterday.

We drove to the Visitor Centre, where the man on duty was very helpful.  He explained that Albany had lots to offer, particularly from an historic viewpoint.  It was established in 1827 after the sailing ship, "Brig Amity", brought the first settlers from Sydney.  The party included a group of convicts, all of them tradesmen, who began the building of the town.  Albany was established before Fremantle or Perth & is the oldest town in Western Australia.

We had a lovely walk along the waterfront, through the ANZAC Peace Park & to the replica of the Brig Amity, which had been visited by the Queen in the 1970's.

When we returned to the car, our luck changed - it wouldn't start & showed no sign of life when Bob turned the key!  We called the RACV, who eventually sent one of their WA colleagues to help us out.  He discovered that it was a starter motor problem - not battery, as we had suspected - &, after a sharp tap on the solenoid (?), the car started ... success!  However, after setting off again & parking elsewhere, we had the same problem & had to re-call the RACV.  This time, a tow truck was sent for & we were taken to a garage where a new starter motor will be fitted on Monday (they have to wait for it to be sent from Perth).  Someone from the garage gave us a lift back to the caravan park, where we had to extend our stay for three extra nights.  What a blessing that we were in Albany when the problem occurred - had we been crossing the Nullarbor, I dread to think what would have happened!  Nothing we can do now, except relax & hope that repairs will be efficient & reasonably priced!

4th October, 2012 - Albany

My day began with a bowl of "light 'n' tasty" breakfast cereal, of the 'macadamia variety'.  As advertised, there was indeed a generous mix of flakes, wholegrains & oat clusters but the macadamia nuts (for which I'd actually purchased the cereal) were hiding very successfully, rather than appearing in "creamy chunks", as described on the box!  It hardly made me "feel better inside", as promised, in fact the lack of macadamia chunks produced withdrawal symptoms & encouraged me to write a letter to "light 'n' tasty's" Customer Relations Team!.  I could only hope that the rest of the day would be more satisfying.



The weather was as "iffy" as the cereal & so we didn't rush to go out - instead, we caught up with a few indoor jobs.  It's good to have a catch-up day, occasionally.

After lunch, the weather improved, marginally, & so we decided to go for a drive & look at a few places of interest.  This proved to be most enjoyable, as Albany & its surroundings are very attractive.  The town is set in a commanding position overlooking the ocean & has some lovely old buildings, which add character & interest. 



Natural Bridge



We drove around the Princess Royal Harbour & Frenchman Bay, making detours to look at the Natural Bridge & Whale World.  The latter was just closing but looked worthy of another visit; the Natural Bridge was a sight to behold, as the mighty waves thundered through it on to the rocks beyond.  So immense was the power of the sea, that it seemed to shake the very ground on which we stood! 

The wind howled & blew a gale (thank goodness for my windproof jacket & Bob's faithful fleece!)  We watched in awe as the sea pounded away at the rocks far beneath us & I, for one, was almost relieved when we moved away from our viewing point on the edge - it was a wonderful, yet terrifying spectacle. 

The scenery around Albany is impressive, particularly on a day like today, with the sky full of menacing clouds through which shafts of sunlight managed to escape, producing beautiful & contrasting effects.  I'm sure it would have appeared idyllic on a more clement day, but surely not as dramatic.  We shall continue to explore tomorrow when, hopefully, the rain will have ceased & it will be pleasant enough to walk as well as to drive.  There is much more that we would like to see.

3rd October, 2012 - Pemberton to Albany



Pemberton



It was exactly 8.45am when we left Pemberton - a comfortable time for us; we can't seem to improve on it.  The rain was drumming on the caravan roof when we went to bed but it would have taken more than that to keep the Hopes awake - we slept like babies (no jokes about second childhood, please!)

We drove away in a mixture of sunshine & showers & the road was actually steaming at one point, as the hot sun evaporated the rain water.  The grass was emerald green & the lakes were full to overflowing.  We passed lush pasture, thick forest & some lovely wineries - it was a verdant landscape.  We were 223km from Albany & it promised to be an enjoyable drive.  A kangaroo hopped across the road infront of us - the first one we'd been that close to.  It was a very undulating route, necessitating numerous gear changes as we drove "up hill & down dale".

Occasionally, the smell of eucalyptus wafted through the car, clearing the head & refreshing the air.  It recalled childhood memories, when the oil was used to relieve our colds.  Sunlight filtered through the forest creating the urge to record it with a camera or an artist's palette.  Giant trees towered above us on either side, awesome & magnificent.  How fortunate that they had escaped the axe.

At Walpole, we noticed a sign to the Valley of the Giants & the Tree Top Walk, which we'd done with Gillian & Tony a few years ago.  We were travelling parallel to the coast & caught glimpses of the ocean through the trees.  Then, we were in cattle country again, where more lucky animals were grazing on the lush green hills (no wonder the steaks are so juicy!)  How different from earlier regions we'd visited, where animals were forced to roam far & wide in search of food.

The area obviously catered for tourists, as more & more signs appeared, advertising holiday cottages, wineries, cheese factories, honey, tea rooms, a pottery & even a toffee factory.  I was hoping for a quilting shop, but no luck, as yet.  Denmark seemed an appealing town but we didn't stop, being only 51km from Albany.

The "Albany Gardens Caravan Park" was spacious & pleasant but the weather left a lot to be desired - it rained & became quite cold!  Having settled in at the Park, we set off for the shops as our cupboards were bare & we needed to stock up with food.  Albany appears to be large place - I hope the weather will improve so that we can have a good look around.

2nd Oct., 2012 - Bunbury to Pemberton

We set off at 8.45am in the direction of Busselton & decided against using the South Western Highway, feeling that the lesser roads would be more scenic.  The countryside did, indeed, look very lush in its Spring mantle & we enjoyed the drive.  Beautiful clumps of white lilies grew in the meadows, along with masses of small yellow flowers.  A group of cows came to stare at Bob as he took photographs - eventually, more & more arrived until he had quite an audience!  What sticky-beaks they are.

Much of our route was hilly & forested.  Nannup was a very attractive little town with a couple of cafes, a bakery, a small church, etc. - we turned off there, towards Pemberton.  It was difficult not to enthuse about the wildflowers, as they continued to provide a never-ending display.

  It was tempting to stop at a place advertising cheese platters, but it was down an unmade road, so we decided against it.  We travelled through karri forests where the trees grew straight & very tall!  Several lakes began to appear in the landscape & we saw numerous signs advertising holiday cottages.

Our caravan park, in Pemberton, was situated in a lovely area - just off the main street of the village, on the edge of the forest.  We settled into our shady spot, then went for a drive to explore our current environment, which was very hilly.  Bob managed to find a steam train on display in the historic area - no longer in working order, but still looking good.  We also drove to a lake, in the forest, which was dammed to retain water in the dryer season but which was currently overflowing into smaller lakes.

At the Sports Club, where we'd called for a drink, we met Fred, a very friendly chap who was eager to relate tales about his family.  Apparently, his father had come to Pemberton in the 1920's, from Northumberland, England, to help to clear the land.  He & his fellow workers had been promised that they would be able to buy their own properties within 4 to 5 years - in fact, it took far longer that that!  He'd borrowed over £50 for his family of five to travel to Australia (a lot of money, then) & it took 20 years to pay it back.  It was a hard life, but Fred's mother lived to the very advanced age of 106!  As we enjoy the comforts of modern life, it's hard to imagine the hardships suffered by earlier generations.

In the evening, we had dinner at a local hotel & just managed to return to the caravan before it began to rain heavily.

25th Sept.- 1st Oct., 2012 - Extended stay in Bunbury

We opted to stay in Bunbury for 8 nights for a variety of reasons: we wanted to spend some time with Gillian & Tony; it was a long weekend (public holiday for the Queen's birthday) & we might have had difficulty finding space at another caravan park; &, it being school holidays, we were probably better staying put where at least we were currently surrounded by adult caravanners.



Bunbury Marina



Bunbury Waterfront



On Tuesday, I had a browse around "Spotlight", which was full of Christmas items!  Not as premature as it might seem, since quilters need adequate time to stitch festive quilts, stockings, advent calendars, etc.  We moved on to another quilting shop, which was a real Aladdin's Cave - it had a wonderful selection of fabrics from which I chose a few that I hope to use in a wall hanging to record our current trip around Australia.  The lady who ran the shop offered Bob a chair & a cup of tea whilst he waited for me - what a diplomat!

Gillian & Tony cooked us a delicious Indian meal on Wednesday & we spent a lovely evening with them.  It absolutely poured & blew a gale during the night - unbelievable weather!

Bob took the car for another service on Thursday morning, as we've covered a lot of kilometres since its last overhaul in Darwin.  We needed to know that everything was in order before we attempt our journey across the Nullarbor Desert.  It continued to rain until late afternoon, since when it has been fine, thank goodness.

On Friday, we collected Gillian & Tony at midday & took them to Capel Vale Winery, which is a short drive out of Bunbury.  The four of us had been there before, so we knew that the food was good & the location attractive.  The gardens were looking beautiful & the rows of vines were green & fresh following the recent rain.  Our entrees were delicious, consisting of large slate platters covered with a selection of tempting morsels which we enjoyed with home-made bread & olive oil.  Gillian, Bob & Tony had "melt-in-the-mouth" steaks & I had succulent fillets of Red Emperor Fish, which were to die for (I remembered Red Emperor from a meal that I'd enjoyed in Denham).  After all this, along with some of Capel Vale's excellent wine, we drove back, well satisfied & ready for a pleasant lie-down.  It's a hard life, but someone has to cope with it!

 



Capel Vale Winery



 

Saturday was Grand Final Day - Hawthorn were playing Sydney Swans at the MCG (the latter team won - you thought I didn't know anything about footy, didn't you!)  Bob & Tony watched the match whilst Gillian took me out for a drive around Bunbury.  We all had tea together - a lovely meal of quiche, chicken, salad & chocolate cake - G&T are spoiling us (the beans on toast will come hard, after all this delicious fare!)  The weather has improved - we had a day of mixed sunshine & cloud.  However, it's pretty cold at night!

On Sunday, we awoke at 9am & had slept for almost 11 hours - incredible!  It was a beautiful warm, sunny day - the best since we'd arrived.  At 12.30pm., we set off for Gillian & Tony's house, where we were greeted by the wonderful aroma of roasting lamb.  Gillian had used her Greek recipe, where a leg of lamb is placed in a dish, on top of onions & tomatoes, surrounded by large potatoes & cooked in red wine - delicious!  After an initial glass of wine, we tucked into our lamb, along with sugar snap peas & asparagus, then enjoyed a lovely Greek salad that Tony had made, before completing the meal with a chocolate & cherry gateau.  What a superb lunch!  We left G&T with a loaf of their fantastic home-made bread, feeling that we had been royally wined & dined.  They'd done us proud.

On our return to the caravan park, we realised that our neighbours were the Swiss couple whom we'd last seen at the Rio Tinto mine.  They seem to be doing a similar trip to ours.  We also met the couple on the other side of us - they couldn't get any electrical power until Bob discovered that the socket they were using was faulty; he soon connected them to a good one, after which we all had a long chat.  We'd had a very enjoyable day.

Monday was our last full day in Bunbury - we're leaving for Pemberton tomorrow.  The weather was gorgeous (30C) & so we packed some sandwiches & a flask and set off to explore some of the countryside outside the town.  It's a very fertile & productive area - a mixture of hills, valleys, forest & meadows.  We drove to Dardanup, into the Ferguson Valley & through the Crooked Brook Forest.  Large herds of fortunate cows grazed on rich pasture land, in very green meadows.

 Beautiful wildflowers grew everywhere, reminding us of the buttercups & daisies in England.  Orchards abounded, many filled with blossom-covered apple & pear trees - a wonderful sight!  There were also mandarin & avocado trees, as well as vineyards, all of which promised to produce a great harvest later in the year.

Dardanup Visitors Centre

Small towns, such as Dardanup & Donnybrook, had lots of charm & character, with many older buildings, attractive shops & churches.  Sadly, "The Quilter's Needle", in Donnybrook, was closed.





The forest area provided us with another treat - the undergrowth was thick with yellow bushes that emitted a heady odour.  The verges were a joy, being filled with more wildflowers, some of which had a delightful perfume.  They came in a variety of colours - yellow, orange, pink, purple, cream & white; we couldn't resist numerous photo-stops.

Finally, we came upon a bizarre place called "Gnomesville", which would have been a Mecca for lovers of garden ornaments.  Hundreds of gnomes of every description were sitting beneath the trees, under toadstools, in the grass, in fact, anywhere that there was a space.  They weren't for sale but were probably just the result of an idea that someone had had - it had certainly caught on; people from all over the world had left gnomes to commemorate their visits & many of the little "characters" represented schools, playgroups, Senior Citizens groups, etc.  Wierd & quirky, but probably a child's delight.

 





Mon. 24th Sept., 2012 - Jurien Bay to Bunbury

It was 9am when we left Jurien Bay - the sun was shining & the temperature was 18C.  The brilliant white dunes looked like snow-covered mountains as they gleamed in the bright sunshine.  With the turquoise ocean on one side & the dunes on the other, we were loathe to leave the coast & move inland.  Bob tried to photograph the picturesque scenery but it was so panoramic that it was difficult to capture it & do it justice.  We've realised, so often, that there is nothing like the real thing.  However, it's nice to have a record for future reference.

Our route was still strewn with wildflowers that coloured the verges & the bush on either side of us - how lucky we were to have arrived at the exact time of their blooming; it was a wonderful sight.  Grass trees (known as 'black boys' before the name became politically incorrect), began to appear in the landscape, their spiky 'topknots' adorning the dark trunks.  Frequently, they had tall, black spikes extending upwards from their grassy heads, probably carrying the seeds.  When we got out of the car to look at them more closely, we realised that many smaller low-growing flowers abounded that we'd been unable to see as we drove along.  The kangaroo paws were incredible, dotted amongst numerous other lovely plants.  There is so much beauty in the world, but all too often we fail to notice it.

The Mitchell Freeway took us through the centre of downtown Perth, which is a very attractive city, situated at the mouth of the Swan River.  It was reminiscent of the Mediterranean, with its terracotta rooftops & arched doorways.  Time was our biggest enemy & we could only take a brief glance as we drove straight through.

At Mandurah, we did something we hadn't done for years ... I knew you'd think that; shame on you! ... we bought some Kentucky Fried Chicken.  We were hungry & it tasted delicious!

We began to see signs advertising wineries.  It was a long time since we'd seen grapes growing - they obviously don't thrive in the red dust!

On arrival in Bunbury & finding our caravan park, we discovered that it was just across the highway from our friends, Gillian & Tony; within walking distance, in fact.  We called on them for a cup of tea & made plans for the next couple of days.  It was good to catch up & share one another's news.

We were definitely in "up" country - half of the nearby place names ended in "up": Myalup, Binningup, Burekup, Dardanup, Boyanup & Mumballup to name a few!  We discovered that the aboriginals use "up" to inidcate "near or by water".

Before dinner, we were invited to join two couples (neighbours in the caravan park) for drinks.  Several wines & beers later, we returned to our van & "rugged up" for what turned out to be a very cold & wet night.  Fortunately, we were warm & cosy in our little home.

Sun. 23rd Sept., 2012 - The Pinnacles

It had been a cold night (we put the warmer duvet on), but the weather was beautiful when we awoke - sunshine & blue sky, so we didn't pack the shorts away.

We set out for Cervantes (24km from Jurien Bay), which is near to the site of the famed Pinnacles.  The verges were an absolute picture - ablaze with yellow wattle, abundant & delightful to behold.  It pleased the eye & lifted the spirit.  Even the fact that Bob had forgotten his wallet, failed to dampen the mood entirely!  Fortunateley, we'd brought coffee & a picnic lunch, so we were able to cope with only $11 between us.

The sand dunes, that ran parallel to our route, were perfectly white & sunglasses were a must to dispel the glare!  We were now in the Nambung National Park & turned off in the direction of the Pinnacles Desert.  We swerved (probably shouldn't have!) to miss another bobtail skink - how sad that they are so vulnerable.

The Pinnacles were an amazing & totally unexpected sight - thousands of limestone pillars rose out of the dune sands creating a scene that one could only liken to a film set, for a space movie.  We visited the Discovery Centre but, not even there could we find a definite explanation regarding the formation of these strange phenomena.  Various theories have been put forward but none is certain.

First, we did the 1.2km walk amongst the pinnacles, then a 4km drive, both of which gave us close access to these unique formations.  It was a spectacular experience & one we wouldn't have missed.