December 2014

Monday, 1st December 2014 - Burnside Rest Area … Day 546 of our ‘Around Oz’ Tour

Up at 7.30 and start packing up to leave Waroona. Ken and Lorraine are taking a tour group off to Singapore today for a week. They said we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted but we needed to get going to stay on schedule. We hugged and said our goodbyes and said we would see them next in Qld at Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

We headed off into the drizzly rain but stopped quickly at the Bunbury Farmers Market to top up on fresh produce and meat. Still the day continued in the same vein with on and off showers and a bit chilly. On route we stopped for fuel at a place called Witches on Woky (Wokalup) as the diesel was cheap but we soon found out why. The fuel drizzled out at a great rate of 1 litre every 8 minutes and then the pump didn’t have an automatic shut off so diesel went all over the forecourt driveway wasting our diesel which we had to pay for. But, it was here that I learnt what the up at the end of all these little towns mean. Towns like Joondalup, Wooliup, Geegeelup etc. The ‘up’ means ‘place of’. We stopped to wander around Bridgetown and then continued on after having a cuppa and a bite to eat.

Alas, on route, we missed the turning for Pemberton where the giant climbing trees are and there was nowhere to turn the monster around so we continued on to our next rest stop which was the Shannon National Park but it was a bit slippery with all the rain and we were worried we might get stuck so continued on to the Burnside Rest Area, another 10 kms further on. This rest area wasn’t much but it was ok for the night. By this time it was getting chillier so it was on with long pants and slippers.

Time to put the gourmet pizza we had bought at the Farmers Market in the oven. It looked really nice but ended up as pretty ordinary so that was a bit of a disappointment.

Later we looked at the map and looked at the weather forecast and decided that if it dawned clear tomorrow we would backtrack to Pemberton, so we will see what tomorrow brings.

 

Tuesday, 2nd December 2014 - Denmark

It was a dull day when we arose but with the hint of a sun trying to break through the clouds. Ok, so we are heading back to Pemberton via the tourist route of 65 kms. The road took us through Northcliffe and then just before Pemberton we turned down a dirt road for the Dave Evans Bicentennial tree. As we wound our way down the road five emus held us up as they crossed in front of us. We parked in amongst these tall Karri and Tinder trees and wandered down the track to the Bicentennial tree. This tree is a Karri tree over 70 metres high and who knows how wide its girth is?  Inserted into its girth in a spiral stairway style were 25mm high tensile rods about 60 to 80 cm apart. There was a light wire that went from one to the other and attached to this wire was a light mesh which hung off the stairway above giving the climber a false sense of security. If anyone fell between the two rods they would kiss mother earth in a slightly less than perfect condition. Geoff was halfway up to the first platform by the time I got there. When I started to climb I was told in no uncertain terms by Geoff that I was not to try it. It was all bravado on my part anyway, I might have tackled about three rungs! Geoff continued climbing up to the first platform which was about 30 metres high with the top platform being another 30 metres above that. Apparently the top platform can sway as much as 1.6 metres in a decent wind! Geoff had to rest a few times on the way up as his breathing was laboured and he didn’t think he should at-tempt the second stage which he would have done a few years ago.

He enjoyed it nether-the-less.

We continued on into Pemberton where we attempted to buy some Marron which are large fresh water crayfish/lobsters but the place was closed so it was on to the second climbing tree, The Gloucester Tree. This was not as tall as the first one but only had a platform right up at the top so this one was not attempted. The other climbing tree is the Diamond Tree which we missed. Both these trees were ‘runged’ and plat-forms built in the 1930’s as fire spotting towers. There are a few more climbing trees around that are not open to the public as they are still used for that purpose. All very interesting.

Time to get going and we were soon back on the South Western Hwy, also Hwy One, which circumnavigates the whole of Oz. Being Hwy One you would expect a large highway with at least two lanes either way. Nope … it is just like a country road and windy so slow going.

We had soon passed last night’s overnight camp and were heading into Walpole where we did a quick stop for fuel and vittles' and it was on to Nornalup (see … there’s another ‘up’) to the Valley of the Giants. A $10.50 entry fee each saw us walking high up in the canopies of the 70 metre high Karri & Tingle trees on the Tree Top Walk. The unique Red Tingle trees can have a girth of 20 metres in circumference and are quite impressive. The 650 metre long Tree Top Walk is constructed of 60 metre steel trusses supported by steel pylons and the walk meanders through the tree canopies giving fantastic views of these giants. As we walked along the structure would sway with the wind making it a little difficult to keep your balance and, for Geoff, keeping the camera still.

Once back on the ground it was onto the boardwalk through the Valley of the Giants and through a grove of veteran Red Tingle trees called ‘The Ancient Empire’. There was even a couple of huge Red Tingles that you could walk through as the Red Tingles be-come hollow as they age. Once again, all very beautiful and extremely fascinating!

Alas, all good things must come to an end and it was soon time for us to be on our way to find a camp for the night. We headed for the next overnight camp only to find, when we got there, that there was now ‘no camping signs’. Being law abiding citizens (stop laughing) we carried on and rang Gwen who we had met at Karrijini National Park and who lived in Denmark. When she had a cuppa with us at Dales Gorge she had invited us to stay if we ever passed through. When we rang she said great and told us how to get to her rural property. When we got there her driveway was way too steep for us to take the monster down so we parked in a flat spot in front of her entrance in a cul-de-sac. We chatted away until we realised it was way past 7pm so we went up to the motorhome to prepare some tea of local Monk Fish and it was very yummy.

Wednesday, 3rd December 2014 - Albany

We were late-ish getting up and we went down to see Gwen and her friend who was staying with her and they came up to look at the motorhome and then we were off. Gwen had recommended we drive down to Greens Pool which was only 5 kms away so off we went. It was a beautiful bay with large interesting rock formations making a lagoon, of sorts, of aqua water deep enough for people to swim and dive but safe enough for little kids. It was very picturesque indeed.

Before we left we had a late breakfast of Egyptian Eyes and then it was eastward again.

As we neared Albany we detoured to look at a free campsite called Cosy Corner which was nice but all the really good spots were taken leaving only soft sandy areas which were a bit iffy for us. So, we continued onwards but it wasn’t long before there was the familiar, by now, slap, slap, slap as our last older tyre disintegrated. Grrr … getting fed up with this! Of course, today was the warmest day we had for a while and the bush flies abounded. About an hour later it was all done with only a couple of the many passing cars stopping to see if we were ok. It’s nice to know some people care. We were soon in Albany doing the rounds of the tyre places and, as we expected, nobody had our size in stock. We had missed the order for today so the order was to be placed tomorrow meaning the tyre wouldn’t arrive until Friday. Not to worry as we were going to spend a couple of nights here anyway.

At the info centre we picked out a cheaper caravan park which overlooked Princess Royal Harbour. By the time we got there we realised it was 12 kms out of town and we would have preferred some-thing in closer as we were hoping to use the scooter to run around town. We booked a non powered site and found it to be a really pleasing spot right down by the water with a jetty complete with pelicans so we were then happy with our choice. Lovely view, scenic and peaceful, pity about the March flies!

Rump steak for tea from the Farmers Market in Bunbury and it was very tasty and tender and EVEN I liked it as I am not into beef steaks.

 

Thursday, 4th December 2014 - Albany

Bugga - rain, cold and then drizzle set in. That put paid to going out for the day on the scooter. We decided we would go out in the motorhome and would probably find another place to stay overnight.

We headed south to Frenchman’s Bay which had nice views spoilt by the drizzle. We also went to the Whaling Museum, however we thought the entry fees were outrageous at $36 each concession so we didn’t linger as we had been to a whaling museum in Eden. We also wanted to go into the new Anzac Centre which was $19 each.

The Anzac Centre had only opened the month before and commemorated the 100th year of the departure of the convoys of troop ships from Albany going to WW1. It was small but very high tech with an audio swipe and video swipe system where you followed one WW1 participant’s story. There were special stations where you laid your card and the system read the barcode to tell you all about a section of their military career. My guy was Padre Arthur White who survived the war after being honourably discharged with perforated eardrums. Geoff had Brigadier General Harold “Pompey’ Elliot who survived only to commit suicide a few years after being elected to parliament. You never knew if the guy you were following was going to survive the war or not. A very clever concept which created quite an emotional attachment to whomever you got to follow. On the walls were buttons where you could swipe your audio pen to listen to accounts of other people’s stories.

At noon we got a ‘pass out’ and went on a tour of around the military complex buildings that housed heaps of further exhibits about other various aspects of WW1. In particular there was a small section honouring our Aboriginal soldiers and it is about time they were recognised somewhere because, at the time, they definitely were not. We had lunch before we went back in to the Anzac Centre to have a bit more of a look.

From the Anzac Centre we drove up Apex Drive to have a look at the Light Horse Memorial which towered high above Albany and King George Bay and was quite impressive. But it was bitterly cold and you would have thought it was winter and not the fourth day of summer.

 

After all this we then parked and had a wander around the CBD and dropping off a few bits of clothes at the Op shop. We then debated what to do for the rest of the day and decided to drive down to the marina area where we saw the memorial for “Sam the Seal” who, for 26 years interacted with humans and trusted them until 2005 when one ‘A’ hole (excuse my language) betrayed that trust and killed him. So sad!

We were parked in a huge and empty car park and there was not one sign saying we couldn’t stay overnight. The lady in the fish and chip shop said nobody would move us on (it wasn’t one of those luxury type marinas) so we decided we would stay for the night. We had bought fish and chips for tea and they were the best we had eaten in a long time. We could see why the café was so popular with the locals.

 

Friday, 5th December 2014 - Fitzgerald River at Jacup

Well, nobody came to move us along and it was a quiet night. We were up at 7am and on the road by 8am. We stopped for fuel and then it was on to Bridgestone Tyres to get the new tyre fitted which was soon achieved. We filled up with water and then mulled over which direction to take as the weather was cold and overcast. We eventually decided to stick to our original plan and head for Esperance. When we stopped for morning tea Geoff checked the two older tyres on the back. These were the ones we got a year ago in Adelaide that used to be on the front till we put new front ones on at Exmouth and transferred these to the back where they get less wear. Geoff was a bit concerned that it seemed like small cracks were appearing and wondered if this is what they looked like when they first started to de-laminate. Yes … we are a bit paranoid now! These two tyres have done 22,000 kms of hard yakka on the front since we bought them. When we got to our overnight stop he looked at them again and decided to swap the ‘iffy’ looking one to the front of the two back wheels so that if it did shred it wouldn’t take out the diesel heater pipe, waste water pipe and mudflap this time. Once that was done we organised a new one at Esperance for Monday. Better safe than sorry. So, to date, we have purchased seven new tyres since we have had the motorhome.

Still cold … brrrrr!

 

Saturday, 6th December 2014 - Nornalup Rest Area

Before we left this morning Geoff put the motorhome up on the ramp so that he could get the spare tyre out as it is in good nick even though it is getting old and Geoff thinks it needs to be used.

After we had driven quite a few kilometres we realised that we had left our new rubber entry mat behind. Ah well … it only cost $7 so we are not going back for it. We drove to Ravensthorpe and had a fine game trying to find the public dump point as they had recently moved it. We eventually found it but when we went to drive off the engine wouldn’t turn over so Geoff took the relay out and then put it back and it was fine. We drove around the block to stop at the supermarket and the engine wouldn’t turn over again. Geoff did the same thing and it started. Either the relay is going or it has just got damp.

We then drove down to Hopetoun on the coast which was 50 kms out of our way. It was a small seaside town with nice views but nothing special. It is a long way from any major cities so must be good fishing. Anyway, it was a nice view to look at whilst we had lunch and then we continued on to an overnight rest area opposite a roadhouse at Nornalup. Here we caught up with a couple from NSW who we had fleetingly met at Ravensthorpe. It was a good spot for the night and we bought a takeaway dinner from the roadhouse.

 

Sunday, 7th December 2014 - Esperance

On the road by 9am and an uneventful trip into Esperance. We found somewhere to park and made our way through a pretty little park to the visitor information centre to find out about caravan parks in the area. There was also a market so we had a browse around but nothing jumped out at as saying “buy me, buy me”.

Off we went about 6 kms out of town to the cheapest park but when we got there it looked very feral with a lot of old, scruffy and untidy resident caravans. I turned my nose up so it was onto the second one which was hard to find as a new overpass had been put through effectively cutting them off. No vacancy for sites (we found out later that they had lost 10 sites through the new overpass and were fighting for compensation in the courts). Perhaps it would be third time lucky … and it was … Bathers Paradise (what a strange name) but it was nice enough.

Once we had settled in Geoff got the scooter down and we headed back into town to visit the museum at $5 each and it turned out to be a great little heritage museum with heaps of interesting old stuff. There was an old comptometer (financial computing machine) which I used at the Electricity Board when I worked in the UK. This was before electronic calculators and it makes you realise how old you are when you see something you used now in a museum.

But we had primarily come to see the Skylab exhibit. Skylab came down over Esperance on the 12th July 1979 scattering wreckage far and wide over the outskirts of town and rural areas. It was lucky nobody was killed or, at least, injured. There was heaps of Skylab ‘junk’, large and small, and it was fascinating to read the old newspaper accounts from all over the world about it. We had observed it pass over Melbourne (when we lived in Research) on the last orbit before it circled the globe to crash in WA. We spent a good hour there before heading back to the motorhome.

It was much warmer and sunny today, let’s hope it continues.

 

Monday, 8th December 2014 - Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park

We didn’t get up till 8.30 am … nice.

Our first stop was the tyre service centre only to find that (A) they didn’t have a tyre the right load bearing specs (B) they wouldn’t put the old, new, tyre on as it was 8 years old (C) he didn’t think the suspect tyre was delaminating and that it had just got scratched and (D) that he thought that the Firestone tyre we had put on in Albany wasn’t up to the load bearing specs. He suggested we get a new Kuhmo tyre fitted on the back so that all the tyres matched up, we put the new Firestone tyre on the spare, we keep the old ‘new’ tyre as a spare in the case of emergency only and we throw away the old ‘new’ tyre that was on the spare. Ok, that’s what we will do!

We will get it fitted on Wednesday when we come back from Cape Le Grand National Park.

Next it was on to Bunnings to buy a new rubber entry mat (again) and to buy a new smoke detector that was suit-able for both smoke and flame and one that could easily be silenced when cooking toast and the like. We had seen an expert on TV who tested both types of smoke detectors. The photoelectric type was good for quickly sensing flames whereas the ionisation type was good for detecting smoke. The photoelectric type was much quicker in alarming during their tests so by having a dual sensor type we would have the best of both worlds covering a smouldering and a flame fire. As to whether it goes off every time when we cook toast remains to be seen but it does have an easy silence button. (Later note … Yep … it does go off)

After a quick trip into Woolworths we were on our way to Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park, 65 kms eastward. We paid our entry fee and drove past Frenchman Peak and over a rise and there before us was the most astounding and spectacular bay. Living on a boat for eight years we have seen many a beautiful beach and aqua waters but never have we seen a sea of such a beautiful light aqua colour fringed by dazzling white sand. We found a spot with uninterrupted coastal views but, alas, it was very windy so we didn’t put our awning out. Apparently the lower level caravan sites were less windy but did not have the views we have. As we were only here a couple of days we decided we could put up with the wind.

Geoff took the scooter off in anticipation of heading off to some of the various bays close by. Later we wandered down to the beach which has fresh water seeping to the surface through the sand. On the way back we chatted with some other caravaners and they invited us down for a very early, 3.30pm, happy hour so we grabbed our chairs, seats and some chips and headed on back down. There were five others in total but I can only remember three of their names which were Parna, Mick and Roy. We chatted for about 90 minutes and as we did so the sky got darker and darker and the wind blew stronger and stronger and the ranger came round with an ‘awning warning’ which didn’t worry us as we hadn’t put ours out.

We left the others to pull in their awnings and went back to our camp where Geoff put up our Sat TV only to find we had to ring Vast to rec0nnect as we had not used it for a couple of months. How can you ring in a remote area when you have no mobile coverage?

We had fresh NZ Blue Grenadier fish for tea and it was moist and very yummy. It’s always nice to have fish for a change.

 

Tuesday, 9th December 2014 - Lucky Bay, Le Grand National Park

The wind died down overnight only to start up again at daybreak just after 4am. It blew the fridge sun cover un-done so I had to get up and secure it. Then, just after 6am, the three small kids in the tent next door were up and, kids being kids did not know the word ‘quiet’. In the end I got up as I couldn’t sleep. (They were very sweet kids though)

The day was overcast, breezy and drizzly with the hint of the sun trying to burn through. Geoff was still in bed and I still had my PJ’s on when Parma arrived to give me back my dish I had left behind. We discussed the Sat TV and she got Mick to drive Geoff to a high spot where he could get phone reception and the TV was soon working again.

By 11pm the sun was still trying to burn through the clouds so we thought we would give it another hour or so before we made the decision whether to go out on the scooter or not. Meanwhile we put the gunny on to boost the battery as gunny hours are limited here, as they should be.

At 1pm, when the gunny hours were over, we bit the bullet and headed off into a slightly brighter day, but not by much. Our first destination was Thistle Cove about 4 kms away. It was another sweet little bay and was named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 after the master of his ship, HMS Investigator.

From here we continued on to Le Grand Beach … yes … another white sand, aqua sea coastline. The camp sites here were more secluded and more private. There were about 5 to 6 sites vacant today but it was full when we came through yesterday. It was a nice camp site but we are not going to move now. Geoff walked a little way up the walking track for yet more photos and then took the scooter down on to the white sand for another photo opportunity.

Back the way we had come to detour 4 kms down to Hellfire Bay for yet more photos. It is a good job that photos are all digital these days. Another beautiful bay … I must admit that this Le Grand National Park is something special. I must tell Jack and Gill, friends from Bright, that there are a lot of really fantastic hikes down this way.

Back up to the main road and drive up the road to Frenchman Peak where the views would have been good if the day had been clearer and sunnier.

Before we headed down the road back to the camp we ventured a short way up the very corrugated Rossiter Bay track and there were lovely views of Lucky Bay where we were camped. So lovely!

 

Just one last thing to look at which was the Matthew Flinders Memorial overlooking over Lucky Bay which he named in 1802 when he anchored there.

Brrrr - time to get back to the motorhome to warm up and have a very, very late lunch at 3pm. But first we chatted to a lady who had come in with another Jayco Optimum but she was a bit ‘nose in the air’ and not friendly.

By 5.30 pm it was bitterly cold outside again. I wonder if it is always this cold in this part of WA (apparently not, so the camp host told us, very unseasonal).

 

Wednesday, 10th December 2014 - Ravensthorpe (north)

The kids next door woke me up at 5am, then 6am and then 7am when I had to get up as I just couldn’t sleep. I guess the parents shushed them up at 5am and 6 am but not a 7am. Sigh!

It looked like it might be a brighter day today. After brekky we packed up and then pulled the motorhome out so that Geoff could get the scooter loaded. This is when a guy wandered across from a pop top caravan that had pulled in late yesterday. He had recognised the scooter from Cape Keraudren and it was his wife we had got the haircuts from and then spent time nattering over a cuppa. They were a nice couple so it is a pity we are moving on.

When we arrived back in Esperance we stopped at Bunning to get a gas refill, top up on fuel and then get the new tyre fitted on the back and the Albany new one fitted to the spare. Another $250 gone for a Kuhmo tyre but at least the tyre was $60 cheaper than up at Exmouth.

Soon we were on our way back to Ravensthorpe where we stopped to dump and pick up a few supplies. We then drove just 9 kms north to the next overnight rest area and found it to our liking. A large area, away from the road and shady. Once we were settled in Geoff put the motorhome up on ramps so he could fit the rimless spare tyre under the van again. This is a procedure that I am not too keen on as the van is low and the potential for harm is high if a ramp should fail. They are very sturdy ramps and we had chocks at each wheel but I am always on edge whilst he is under there and give a sigh of relief when he is out and all is fine.

By 7pm we were still alone and that’s how it stayed for the night so very peaceful.

 

Thursday, 11th December 2014 - Wave Rock, Hyden

We didn’t hit the road until after 10 am, how slack!

We detoured on the way to the little community of Varley which was a farming community of only 12 houses, a general store and a large wheat facility. It was also ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ country. They had an overnight RV stop which was maintained by donations and in this bay there was information on the ‘fence’ and other things of interest … like the Rabbit Cemetery … but the flies were wicked. Bleh!

We then continued on to Hyden where we booked in for the night at the Wave Rock Caravan Park and had lunch. Then Geoff went off for a little Nananap.

It is quite hot today. From 22º down at Cape Le Grand to 36º up here in the wheat belt. We have indulged in a powered site so we can have the A/C on. At 4pm, when we had convinced ourselves it had cooled down a tad, we headed up the track to Wave Rock. The walk was flat and only 5 minutes to the Wave Rock face itself and it didn’t feel any cooler (Later I checked and it was but it was still 31º). It felt even hotter when we climbed the steps to the top of the rock with the sun belting down and the heat radiating back up at us. The top was very uneven so I clung on to Geoff to keep my balance.

We were going to do the Wave Rock round trip but the descent was too steep at the other end so we made our way back the way we had come. The rock isn’t as majestic as the photos show but we had been warned off this. It is about 15 metres high and 110 metres long and makes up only part of what is known as the Hyden Rock. We can drive to the others tomorrow as the forecast if for 40º and walking in that heat is not enjoyable … then it drops to 29º again. All this time the bush flies were giving us hell and it didn’t matter how much repellent you smothered on, it didn’t seem to make much difference. Alas, the sun was wrong for any really good photos of Wave Rock so Geoff said he may pop back in the morning and try again. Back to the motorhome to escape the flies and cool off.

 

Friday, 12th December 2014 - Quairading

Geoff went off early to battle the bush flies to see if he could get a better photo of Wave Rock. The light was still not quite right and was on a different section of the rock this time. He took a ‘selfie ’anyway.

We left the caravan park at 9.30 and drove the 18 kms further up the road to Mulka’s Cave. Mulka, according to the ‘dreamtime’ was a bad, crossed eyed aboriginal who killed and ate children and was banished and lived in this cave. When we got there we, once again, battled the flies which were atrocious and making their presence felt even though we had the best Bushman’s repellent on. Geoff said they seemed really desperate to get nourishment from any part of your body. So far Geoff has had two in his mouth one fly up his nose and I had one kamikaze into my glass of wine which I didn’t notice until I felt the buzzing of it on my lips. Yuk!

Anyway … back to Mulka Cave … which had a very low entrance but was quite roomy inside. On the ceiling were over 400 aboriginal paintings, printings and stencils all faded and worn over hundreds, if not thousands of years. It was quite impressive and lovely and cool inside and, funnily enough, no flies followed us in. A very worthwhile detour.

From here we drove onto Hyden where we stopped to have a look at the steel sculptures in the rest area. Each sculpture had a plaque with a little historical story attached to each sculpture. Quite interesting and cute. But it was getting hot, it is supposed to hit 40ºC today.

After filling up with diesel we were soon on our way to Narembeen. We tried to load it into our GPS but there must have been a programming glitch as it kept taking us via Perth and back, a total of over 500 kms when it was only 65 kms north of us. It was a narrow road and, at one stage, we had to pull way over on the dirt to let a road train pass coming the other way. At one time Geoff stopped to see if he could capture a small but violent willy willy on film making its way across the dusty paddock, which he did. When I took a still from it, of course it didn’t show it in all of its aggressive motion but you can get an idea.

When we arrived at Narembeen we went into the Grain Discovery Centre to see the history of the grain in this area which is called The Wheatbelt. The exhibition was okay but not worth detouring all this way to see. Whilst we were here we did a quick tour of the township and then it was onto Bruce Rock for another quick look before heading off to our overnight stop of Kokerbin Rock. When we got there we saw a sign that it was now closed to camping and that another camp site was 10 kms away which we never found. It would have been nice if they had put a sign at the start of the 10 km drive in, wouldn’t it! Onto Quairading (pronounced Kway-rah-ding) which was an RV Friendly Town (RVFT) where we stopped in the showgrounds. Once settled in we wandered up to the town and walked along the shops which didn’t take long as there wasn’t much there. Also it was very hot by this time!

 

Saturday, 13th December 2014 - York

It was quite windy last night, calmed down overnight and then started gusting again just after dawn.

We were soon on the road and wondering where we were going to stay overnight as nothing showed up on the Camps 7 book. When we got to York, only 35 kms later, we found it was a RVFT and it was very appealing as we drove through as the main street was filled with original historic town buildings. We parked and wandered up the main street and found it to be a very likable town with their old heritage building being kept in their original but pristine condition. York, we soon learnt, was the first inland town of WA and serviced the wheatbelt districts which grew further and further out from York. Now there are many small hamlets that extend out into the more remote districts of which most are fairly insignificant. So, as we have travelled from Esperance and passing through these, sometimes dying and neglected, communities it was a very refreshing surprise to see the magnificent little town of York. The Town Hall, in particular, was a special architectural delight and we were allowed to tour the upper floors and sat in the balcony of the theatre.

We decided to make it our base for the night as we had already formed the impression that it lived up to its designation of a RVFT as all the locals we had spoken to had been really friendly.

After touring the town hall we wandered around the Saturday market where Geoff was fortunate enough to buy a carton of KitKat Chunky for $10 as they were past there ‘best by’ date by a couple of months which our taste buds certainly didn’t mind even if my fat cells did! 2.6 kgs of Kitkats for $10 … what a win!

Back to the motorhome via the other side of the street past more lovely old buildings to move to Avon Park the designated 24 hour stop over.

After some lunch we wandered back down the town again to visit the Sock Shop where we bought some Ugg scuff slippers for me as the bootie type was starting to really cause my arthritic foot grief and Merino/Possum gloves and some socks for Geoff. Back via IGA as normal .

We have been here only four hours and have already spent about $150 which we really hadn’t intended to spend as we had no intention to stop over. So, being a RVFT really does benefit the local businesses. What you don’t have to spend on caravan fees you can spend elsewhere!

Back for another rest and then Geoff popped out to look at the swing bridge. I had no idea where he had gone as he didn’t invite me. Maybe he needed some ‘alone’ time?

About 5.30 we wandered up town again to the Peace Park where there was a street party being held. It was really a Christmas party for all the kids and, for a small town, there were heaps of rides for the, mostly, smaller kids to enjoy and it was quite busy. I had a snag in a roll and Geoff had a burger and that was tea! As we left Santa arrive on one of the local fire trucks.

Later on, back at the motorhome, we decided to move up a bit as there was a lot of noisy pedestrian traffic coming over the swing bridge, all Aborigines as far as we could see who always seem to be much noisier for some reason. Glad we moved as we then had a peaceful night.

 

Sunday, 14th December 2014 - Middle Swan, outer suburb of Perth

Cereal for brekky today as we forgot it was Sunday. Never mind … tomorrow!

As we were off to Perth today, so we could get in a little Chrissy shopping, we rang around for some reasonably priced caravan parks. The ones closer to the city were $45 to $50 a night so we booked one at Middle Swan for $37 per night and free Wifi, 18 kms out from the Perth CBD and on the train line. We would have had to use public transport even if we had managed to get closer in and it is cheap for us old codgers anyway.

We left York around 10 am and were soon at the Midland Tourist Park an hour later. Check in was supposed to be after 2 pm but they didn’t seem to worry and we were soon settled in for a couple for days. Mundane chores today and Perth city tomorrow.

 

Monday, 15th December 2014 - Midland (Perth)

We awoke this morning to a hostage drama in Martin Place, Sydney. 8am here so 11am there. Not good!

After brekky we headed off on the scooter to Midland Train Station and caught the train into the Perth CBD. The trip in took about 20 minutes and then we wandered around the shops of the city centre. We couldn’t find much to buy and we actually found shop-ping pretty boring as there’s nothing much we both want or need for Chrissy. I did get Geoff a present, a small but sturdy tripod for his new camera … yes, he knows about it as he had to choose it. We sat sipping a coffee at Gloria Jeans wondering what to do next and listening to a busker close by who was very good.

We decided to take the ferry across the Swan River to South Perth where wandered around and partook of some lunch and then it was back on the ferry to Perth.

As both of our legs were c0mplaining we caught the bus back to the station and hopped on the train back to Midland. We popped into the local shopping centre here and found a clearance store and managed to pick up a couple of goodies, Batchelor’s processed peas and UK Penguins! Penguins are biscuits that are very similar to the Oz Tim Tam


Tuesday, 16th December 2014 - Drummonds Reserve, WA … Day 560 of our ‘Around Oz’ tour

Up at 7.30, shower, brekky and on our way. As we drove along we listened to the audio book called ‘Saving Private Sarbi’ which is an interesting book about an Australian EDD (explosive detection dog) who served and got separated from her handler in Afghanistan during an attack by the Taliban. Thought lost she appeared after about a year (I think) after surviving in the harsh Afghan environment and being reunited with handler and became a national hero. We don’t yet know when, what, how and when as we haven’t finished listening to the book yet but there have been a couple of places where the tears have stung and the throat has got lumpy. All dog lovers would l0ve this book.

It was an uneventful trip to Drummonds Reserve Rest Area at a location called Badgingarra in the middle of nowhere just of the Brand Highway and about 50 kms inland from Cervantes and the Pinnacles. We don’t expect any other travellers here as it is a rural road and not the main drag. As I said, middle of nowhere, but the modem is showing 4G so we will see … yep, we get the internet fine!

After we had settled on a camp site I said to Geoff “what’s all that racket”? It seemed like the squawk of birds only continuous. It turned out that we had parked right next to a tree that had a hollow with a batch of baby Galahs in it who were crying out for some tucker. Mum seemed very concerned with our presence being so close but did feed them just out-side our saloon window. Eventually we moved, not so much because of the noise but in case our presence was hindering her feeding her hungry brood.

 

It was a quiet night but we weren’t completely flat so I slipped down the bed during the night and had to wiggle back up. Once again … it was very windy. So far we have had more windy days than calm.

 

Wednesday, 17th December 2014 - Dongara

Goodbye baby Galahs and mum and dad, we’ll leave you in peace. Still windy!

We were soon on the road. As we have been traveling these last two days we have passed many trees with beautiful bright orange flowers. Not sure what they are but once I have identified them on the web I will let you know. (Since I typed this I have found out it is called a WA Christmas Tree (nuytsia-floribunda). How apt a name as it is nearly Christmas. We stopped for a photo op with the motorhome at one particularly beautiful tree and continued on.

The area we were traveling though was well known for its wildflowers but it is re-ally late in the season for them but I was still noticing clumps of very bright red and brilliant white flowers just of the road verges.

We stopped for lunch on the outskirts of Dongara and then went into town to buy a couple of things and then it was onto the town oval where there was a 24 hour stopover for ‘freedom’ campers as Dongara was a RV Friendly Town. Nice spot but not much shade but it wasn’t scorching hot so we found a suitable spot and settled in for the night.

 Thursday, 18th December 2014 - Howatharra (Geraldton)

There was a bit of traffic noise last night as we were just off the main north south highway but it wasn’t too bad.

We were soon headed north towards Howatharra, 30 kms just north of Geraldton. After picking up meat etc. at Geraldton we made our way to Allana and Roy’s olive grove. Allana moved a tractor in the main shed so we could get most of the motorhome in and out of the sun and wind. This was good as there is a strong wind warning for the next few days and the shed is built to cyclone standards. It was noisy inside the shed as the doors rattled in the wind but Geoff was able to wedge them shut and it was a lot better.

 

Friday, 19th December 2014 - Howatharra

Well … today was a full on cleaning day for both of us as the ‘monster’ was really grubby from all the traveling. I know you are not really interested in my cleaning regime but it took most of the day to get the interior back to top notch condition with the woodwork polished and the leatherwork oiled. It’s amazing how long cleaning a smallish area can take. Geoff went up on the roof to clean all of the sap and bird poo off which took him the best part of all day.

Later we wandered around the place with Allana to see how all the systems worked and find out what the animals requirements were etc.

 

 

Saturday. 20th December 2014 - Howatharra

Another … nothing to report day, really. I did three small loads of washing that dried in no time at all in the wind. Geoff just cleaned the bugs off the front of the vehicle but that was all. We enjoyed a ‘rubbish’ TV day. Later Geoff and I wandered through the olive grove and mini pine forest t stretch our legs.
 

Monday, 21st December 2014 - Howatharra

Up at 6am as we needed to take Allana to the airport at 7am for her flight to Perth and then on to Darwin. We had a look around the airport and it was quite interesting as it had large models of the ships HMAS Sydney11, the raider Kormaran and the Dutch East India company ship, the Batavia which went down off the coast here in 1629. They were great models and there was even an old canon on display from the Batavia. Allana told us the local museum had a lot of artefacts from the Batavia so that might be an interesting place to visit one day when we go into town.

We left Allana to catch her plane and made our way into town to complete a few shopping chores. But … what a hard place to ark. Hardly any free car parks so it was find a spot to park, walk to the ticket machine which didn’t work according to the instructions we followed, eventually get the tick, walk back to the car to display! As it was a hot day, by this time we were hot and sweaty so were not impressed. Geoff went into Telstra to try to get his phone to talk to the wifi. They said they had fixed it but not so!

Back to the farm where we found Smeg and Cat Cat still in bed. Later I moved a bit of my stuff down to the house to settle in. Geoff has decided to sleep the motorhome so he can have the bed to himself.

Later we went on Skype to talk to my sister Glynn, Tim and my dad. My dad has not been very well lately and Glynn thinks he may have muscle fatigue as he can’t stand up or sit up by himself sometimes. As we were talking the doctor rang back and they decided to take him to hospital and hope they will do some tests. We will call skype again tomorrow and see how he is.

Tuesday, 23rd December 2014  -  Howatharra

My poor sisters in the UK have spent the last 24 hours at the hospital with my dad.  He has been examined and they have determined that he has had a bleed on the brain from an earlier fall, maybe a month ago even.  He is waiting to go into surgery and it is very worrying.  My sisters are very tired as they have only been cat napping at the hospital when they can.

Apart from all the drama we popped back into town so Geoff could exchange the oil he had bought yesterday which was      incorrect, go back into Telstra with the modem to get his phone wireless issue fixed and that was it for the day as nothing much happens to write about when we are house sitting.

 Wednesday, 24th December 2014  -  Howatharra

Once again my sisters have spent the time with dad in the hospital waiting, waiting, waiting! He was about to go into surgery when the surgeon was called away to the ‘Resuss’ dept but eventually he went in at about 11.30 out time so there was more anxious waiting.  At last I got the news I wanted to hear … dad was out of surgery, sleepy and confused but looking good.  I suppose that’s to be expected when you have had two holes drilled in your skull!  The best Chrissy present ever!

 

Thursday, 25th December 2015  -  Howatharra

Christmas day with a start to the day from my sister saying that dad can lift his arm up above his head which was great when you consider he couldn’t even hold a cup a few days ago.

Pressie time and Geoff got a bottle of Mandarine Napoleon (rare as hen’s teeth these days) and a sturdy but compact tripod for his new camera and a couple of silly little presents.  I got a pair of nice gold earrings, perfume and three scratchies (one was a small winner).  Allana had also left us a pressie which was a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a small box of Lindt chocolates … yum.  A lazy day

In the early afternoon a got a message saying that dad had got up and had a wash… amazing.

 

Friday, 26th December 2015  -  Howatharra

Much too hot to do anything so it was another lazy day.  My sister skyped us with an update on dad and said she was off to the hospital.   Later they skyped on Tim’s tablet from the hospital.  Not great picture quality but we could hear dad fine and at least I was able to talk to him. 

 

 

He is still a little confused and doesn’t know what is hallucination and what is reality at times and Glynn said that at one time he looked around and said ‘this is a nice caravan, isn’t it”.  Bless him.  Early days yet!

 

Saturday, 27th and Sunday 28th December 2014  -  Howatharra

Still very hot and not much to report.  Geoff changed the oil on the motor and tried to flush the radiator fluid out but couldn’t get to the pipe so left it to try again later.  He also pulled out the door panel to see if he could find his phone SD card but nope, it wasn’t there.   Dad seems to be progressing slowly each day. 

 

Monday, 29th December 2014  -  Howatharra

It was quite cool overnight so a reasonable sleep apart from ‘Cat Cat’ wanting to come in and then go out again all of the time.  Tired so I didn’t get up till 8.45 … yawn.  Another very hot day.

After brekkie and a shower we headed off to Geraldton to go to the post office, supermarket, general shopping  and go to the Geraldton Museum as we wanted to visit the shipwreck gallery.  The entry was by donation,  small but very  interesting in all of its displays but the shipwreck gallery was extremely interesting.  It was surprising how many ships had been wrecked in this area called the Batavia Coast with the Batavia, Gilt Dragon, Zuytdorp, and Zeewijk being just a few of the better know shipwrecks.  It was from the above ships that the most  artifacts were on display with the Batavia being the main focus.  At one end of the gallery is the reconstructed portico which was being transported on the Batavia and makes for an impressive sight as you walk in.

 

We spent quite some time in there and then did another tour of the town and actually found the small CBD.  Geraldton is like Albury … really spread out and not a town you would want to walk around.  In fact, I think it is more spread out than Albury.  We also drove along the foreshore before making our way back to the farm. 

Whilst in town Geoff had purchased a small portable breathing apparatus called an Aerosure Medic+ which is new to the market and which we had seen advertised.  You use it for 5 minutes twice a day and it is supposed to reduce shortness of breath and relieve breathlessness and increase respiratory fitness with regular use.  It exercises and manipulates your lungs to make your breathing better.  Not cheap so we are both hoping it helps.  If it does it will be money worth spent. 

 

Tuesday, 30th December 2014  -  Howatharra

‘Cat Cat’ was kind to me last night and didn’t wake me till 6.30 am.  Geoff said he used his machine last night and this morning and said he feels it has helped a lot.  Great!  It is no magic bullet but if it helps, then that is good.

Glynn sent a message and said dad will probably be released from hospital soon.

Apart from that I spent part of the day moving stuff back into the motorhome and cleaning as Allana and Roy are back tomorrow for three days before heading off to New Zealand until the 15th January.

 

Wednesday, 31st December 2014  -  Howatharra

I was up early and doing a last minute pack up and clean whilst Geoff washed the car.  We were off by 7.35 am to go to the airport to pick Roy and Allana up.  The trip should have taken about 35 minutes but we missed the turn and ended up in Geraldton and out of our way so we were another 15 minutes before we got to them.   Sorry guys but we are here now!  We were soon back at the farm and having a cuppa together and then we left them to it and went up to the motorhome. 

Geoff then had another go (with a  bit of help from me) at flushing out the radiator and succeeded this time which was a big relief.  Now we have to get a bit more coolant as we have wasted some of what we  needed.