Thursday, November 21, 2013

WE HEAD SOUTH AGAIN TO COLLIE RIVER





FRIDAY 15TH NOVEMBER   -   We left Perth for our next destination Collie River, 2 ½ hours south.   We drove through some beautiful green countryside with tall trees on either side of the roads and arrived at Collie River Valley Tourist Park at 11.30.  We caught up with our friends Alan and Sandra and The Busselton Caravan Group who were spending three nights at Collie River.  We had met a few of the people in the caravan group when we visited Sandra and Alan in Busselton in May this year. There were 12 caravans at the rally. We settled in and had soon met all the people in the group, who were very friendly and welcoming. 

Collie is 200 kilometres south of Perth and 60 kilometres inland from Bunbury and has 9,000 residents.  It has a rich mining and timber heritage.   Coal was discovered there in 1883 and is the main source of income for the town to this day.   Dr. Alexander Collie discovered the Collie River in 1829 and the township was declared in 1896.  There was an abundance of timber from the surrounding hardwood forest and a thriving agriculture. 
We had a group casserole night under the camp kitchen and were entertained by Dave on the guitar, who was very talented and kept us all laughing non-stop with his endless supply of jokes.  It was a great evening and we were all so full up with everyone’s delicious food and desserts.  A great start to our weekend.

SATURDAY  16TH NOVEMBER   -   The Collie Show was held at the Showground with the usual fair attractions  -  rides, dodgem cars, fairy floss, wood chopping  and equestrian dressage events.  The whole town was out for the event, which was like a mini Sydney Easter Show and was very well organised.  All the kids were loaded up with show bags.  It was a very hot day.  We were fascinated with the poultry shed, the cages were filled with an assortment of chickens, cocks and birds of all sizes.  Some of the Champions were magnificently coloured, black and golds and white with scarlet red cockscombs falling over their eyes and faces and so big they could barely fit in the cages.   There was an almighty noisy racket with them all cock-a-doodle-dooing at the same time and making star performances digging the hay in their cages up and tossing it about.  We watched their antics for ages.







THE IRISH POTATO VAN AT THE SHOW - ONE OF THE SPECIALTIES ON OFFER 



THE IRISH POTATO VAN



We met in the camp kitchen at 5pm for happy hour and were entertained by a  4 person bush band.   They were also very talented and entertaining.  The caravan group have got some very talented musicians and singers amongst them.  We heard some Irish jigs and songs accompanied by the penny whistle and some good old sea shanties.  We went to the local pub for tea which was average food but great company.   During the meal, we saw the fireworks from the show and we all went outside to see them better.  They were magnificent and lasted for over half an hour .  After the meal, we all sat outside Dave and Rae’s van for coffee and cake (like we needed any more food) afterwards. 













SUNDAY 17TH NOVEMBER    -    After coffee and more cake, we said goodbye to everyone in the caravan group as they were heading back to Busselton.  The park was very quiet and empty when they left.  We went for a drive to Harris Dam and walked across the Dam wall.  There was a picnic area to sit by at the bottom of the river and the Bibbulmun Track, a popular walking track that followed the pathway up to the top of the Dam overlooking the reservoir

We then went to Glen Mervyn Dam, a very popular area for camping and waterskiing and jet skis.  We had a picnic lunch watching the boats zooming up and down the water, some with kids in doughnuts or skiers being towed behind the boats.   

We drove through beautiful pastoral land and saw lots of cows and sheep grazing in the lush green paddocks.  The landscape was full of big old trees and we drove along Kingtree Road lined on both sides with towering pine trees, to the boardwalk and viewing platform to see one of the area’s largest jarrah trees.  




Further along the road we came upon a popular tourist spot “Gnomesville” -  home to literally thousands of gnomes from all over the world.  Honestly, seeing was believing.  There were gnomes scattered all over the paths and bushes, stretching further than your eye could see.  The place was crowded with tourists and there was barely a spot to park the car.  It was a fun, tacky attraction that was compulsive in its quirkiness.   We saw the “mobile gnome”, “there’s no place like gnome” and many, many more.  The gnomes had names and dates written on them or on placards placed in front of them, some put there by families, organisations and companies of varying  colours and sizes.  Quite amazing!! 











We enjoyed our stay at Collie.  It was a place we probably would have missed if we hadn’t been meeting Alan and Sandra.  The grounds of the caravan park were a bit overgrown and yellow from lack of watering.   The facilities were clean but basic.  It was council run.  We felt the place would have been more attractive if they’d taken the time to at least mow the area and neaten up the garden beds.  It was $25 a night to stay there as we got a $5 discount being with the caravan group.  Nevertheless, the company and fun we had together certainly made up for the unkempt appearance of the park.

MONDAY 18TH NOVEMBER   -  We left Collie River for our next destination Margaret River, 155 kilometres and a 2 hour drive  further south.  It was a lovely drive through picturesque countryside.  We arrived at Big Valley Campsite, a farm stay ten minutes south-east of Margaret River.  It was a working sheep farm set behind State Forest.  The owners and their family were really helpful and we often saw them riding around on their motorbikes, with Tess the sheepdog sat in a plastic cube on the back seat.   She’d hop out to round up the sheep and move them to a different paddock then, once her work was done, she’d hop straight back into her box on the bike.  The vans overlooked roaming paddocks with sheep, goats and chickens.  It was a very peaceful place, apart from the constant bleeting of the sheep – I don’t think they ever slept as they kept up a constant droning  baaaa all through the night.


ONE OF THE PADDOCKS AT BIG VALLEY FARM STAY



VIEW OVER THE PADDOCK FROM OUR CARAVAN



TUESDAY 19TH NOVEMBER  -   We went on the “Cheers” bus trip around Margaret River.   The cost was discounted from $90 to $72 each as we were staying at the caravan park. We were picked up at 10.30 by Hilary the tour operator.  She was a very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. We picked up others joining the tour along the way to our first winery Watershed which first began operating in 2002.   The winery was set in stunning grounds overlooking a dam and also had a restaurant that can be hired out for weddings and conferences.  It used to be a dairy farm until the present owners converted it to a winery.  We had lunch in the restaurant (inclusive with the tour price) and headed out to our second winery Evans and Tate, which is one of my favourites (as Richard commented “They’re all your favourites” – can’t argue with that).  They were one of the founding wineries in Margaret River 40 years ago and won 7 trophies at the Qantas Wine Show of WA last year.   I was very excited to discover they have just released a sparkling pinot chardonnay and that was the first wine we tasted.  It was gorgeous and only $12.80 per bottle for orders of 12 and over, including free freight to Perth.  I couldn’t contain myself and ordered a case to be sent to Daniel’s for Christmas.  Hopefully, there might be some left when we get back there or else Daniel is in BIG trouble!!! We moved to another room to sample, dukkas and flavoured olive oils and sauces, all divine.  My favourites were a fig infused dipping oil and a lime flavour.  The Venison Farm was our next stop and we sampled salamis, chorizos and pate.  I was a bit sceptical, but they tasted delicious and didn’t have any of the fat or offal that are added to the products we buy in the supermarkets.  We bought a chilli chorizo which we were told will last for up to 2 years in the fridge  – impossible  -  it will never get the chance to stay there for that length of time.  Our next stop was The Margaret River Chocolate Company with lots of free samples that were impossible to refuse.  The Cheese Factory was the next port of call and we bought a chilli cheese and vintage cheddar.  Our third winery was Knotting Hill one of the smaller wineries in the area.  Our last stop was the colonial Brewery where Richard purchased a paddle of 5 beers for $10 and he enjoyed every one of them.  We were dropped back to the caravan at 6pm after a thoroughly enjoyable day out.  We had a good crowd to chat to and have fun.  Sally was taken care of by one of the owner’s daughters who let her out of the van and took her for a walk in the afternoon.





AT THE WATERSHED WINERY



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WEDNESDAY 20TH NOVEMBER   -  We drove to Redgate Beach which was a stunning bay with  clear turquoise water.  We had a quick walk on the beach as we were headed to Mammoth Cave for a self-guided tour inside.  It was $22 each for the tour.  The cave was massive inside and a bit darker than we’d thought.  There was a very narrow boardwalk with a railing to walk on whilst we were inside.  Our MP3 player also had a small torch attached to it, but it didn’t throw out much light once inside the cave.  Mammoth cave is in the Leeuwin National Park surrounded by Karri and Marri forest.  It was discovered by Marmaduke Terry in 1900 who found around 10,000 bone specimens after extensive excavations.   Many of the bones were from huge Australian animals (megafauna) that became extinct around 46,000 years ago.  The cave is a massive limestone cave 500 metres long and 30 metres deep.   Inside the cave we saw lots of stalactites, stalagmites and columns of varying shapes and sizes that were really amazing.   It took us about 40 minutes to walk around inside. On the way out, we walked up 162 steps through a sunken forest before we came back to ground level. 

















NEXT WEEK:  We’re heading to Augusta for a few days and then further south to Denmark, Walpole and Busselton before heading back to Perth at the beginning of December.





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