WE’RE IN AUGUSTA AND DENMARK

THURSDAY 21ST NOVEMBER   -   We left Margaret River for our next destination Augusta, one hour further south.  By 11.30 we’d arrived and were set up at Flinders Bay Caravan Park.  It was a waterfront park set in a lovely bay.  The parking bays were very spacious with high hedges separating them and gave good privacy.  The park was very well maintained.  It shuts for half of the year as it gets very cold facing the Antarctic.   Augusta is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin on the furthest southwest corner of Australia.  It has a population of approximately 2,000.  It was a very pretty, quiet town.
 

In July 1986, 114 false killer whales became stranded at Town Beach.  Volunteers manned a three day rescue and carried them onto trucks that moved them to more sheltered waters.  96 of the whales were saved.
 

We went to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and paid $8 for an audio guide around the precinct.   The area has one of the most dangerous coastlines in the World and is one of the most important and busiest shipping lanes.  We walked around the lighthouse keepers cottages.  Three lighthouse keepers and their families lived on the island.  Each lighthouse keeper worked a 4 hour shift on and had 8 hours off.  The last lighthouse keeper left the island in 1998.  The lighthouse is on the headland of Cape Leeuwin, where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet.   It is the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia and was built from local limestone.   It was fully operational by 1896.  22 shipwrecks were reported before the lighthouse was constructed. The light in the lens of the beacon is equivalent to 1,000,000 candles.

ONE OF THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S COTTAGES

THE THICKNESS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE WALL

 

FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER   -   We went to Jewel Cave, the largest show cave in Australia.  It was opened in 1959 and is thought to be about 1 million years old.  Only 40% of the cave has been developed for tourists.  It is 50 metres deep and 8 kilometres long.  The guided tour took us 45 minutes.  There were 700 metres of boardwalks and railings throughout the cave. When we entered the cave, we were immediately struck with just how big it was inside. We were shown the only natural entrance to the cave, a narrow tunnel above us that dropped right into the cave. There were four main chambers that we could walk through and about 300 steps up and down to the viewing platforms inside the cave.  The formations were magnificent and looked like dripping candlewax, some with calcified crystals covering them and shimmering when the lights hit them.  It was just breathtaking looking at the thin straws above us.  One of them was the longest straw stalactite in a cave, measuring 580 centimetres.  We saw a 20 tonne tower sculpture.  Some of the sculptures resembled a karri forest, another looked like a camel.  We saw really long and deep tap roots from a jarrah tree.  We went into the lake chamber that was knee high in water when it was first discovered.  It took almost 15 years for the water to disappear.  We saw the remains of a possum skeleton that was found when the cave was discovered.  At first it was thought to be around 50 years old, but after carbon dating at the University of WA it was thought to be at least 500 years old.  Some of the passages we passed through were so low and close together that we had to duck and dive many times throughout the tour.  It was hard not to hit our heads as we were looking every which way in amazement.  It was $22 each for the tour and certainly worthwhile.  It was undoubtedly the best cave we’ve ever looked inside.

TAP ROOTS FROM THE JARRAH TREE

THE KARRI TREE FORMATION

THE 20 TONNE TOWER FORMATION

A SHAWL FORMATION

THE RED LINE MARKS THE WATER LEVEL WHEN DISCOVERED IN THE LAKE CAVE

 

SATURDAY 23RD NOVEMBER   -   We left Augusta for our next destination Peaceful Bay, 277 kilometres south.  We drove through some beautiful countryside.  It’s lovely to see so many healthy lush green leaved trees around, some of them are so tall that they form an archway over the main road.  There were so many verdant fields and hills and the rivers actually had lots of water in them, such a contrast to further north.  The temperatures are obviously lower than up north much of the time and they have a higher rainfall making the landscape so much more colourful.   We stopped in Pemberton for lunch which was a beautifully quaint little place.   It felt like a cottage garden with lovely flowers around.  We arrived at Peaceful Bay Caravan Park and got set up.  They were pretty laid back when we checked in and said to go find a spot wherever we wanted.  It was an older style caravan park $28 per night, or $21 if you stayed for a week or more.  There were ducks roaming around.  The beach was across the road from the park. The dog section was also the area where 4WD’s are allowed, so we had to watch out for cars coming up and down.  Sally still enjoyed running around and chasing the seagulls in and out of the water. 

HERDS OF DEER WE PASSED BY

 

SUNDAY 24TH NOVEMBER   -   We went for a drive to the main town of Denmark, 50 kilometres from Peaceful Bay and passed many wineries, pottery and art studios on the way.  It was known as an old hippie town with organic growers, greenies and artists living side-by-side. It was a coastal town in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia, 414 kilometres south west of Perth and a 4 ½ hour drive.  It had a lovely feel to the place and we stopped at the famous Denmark Bakery for one of their delicious home-made pies and had a walk around the town.  We drove to Ocean Beach and watched the surfers  and Parry’s Beach on the way back –  a good cheap camping area, but  they don’t take bigger vans or buses and actually had a height barrier on the entrance where you drive in, which is the first time we’ve ever seen that.  It was a good fishing area and popular with families for the weekend.  There was an overflow area higher up that you’re only allowed to camp overnight on if the other area is full up.  Shame as we would have liked to stay there. 
 

MONDAY 25TH NOVEMBER   -   We left Peaceful Bay for our next destination Bunbury, a large coastal town.  It was the third largest city in Western Australia with a population of 71,600.  It took us over 4 hours to get there. The main road meandered through Walpole-Nornalup National Park, South West State Forests and Shannon National Park, which were so picturesque.  We saw lots of big bales of hay rolled up in lines and a paddock of pure white goats with black ears and/or hoods.  Passing through Manjimup, we saw a sign for The Annual Cherry Spitting Festival to be held on 14^th December!!   As we approached Bunbury we couldn’t help laughing as we passed by The Bonking Frog Winery (I kid you not).  We MUST buy something from there just for the label alone.  We also passed The Moo Kow Kafe appropriately painted white with black patches to resemble a cow’s body.  We arrived at the Top Tourist Discovery Holiday Park at 2pm.  It was close to the main road and local shopping centre, parks and beach.   It was a 4 star park with a swimming pool and lots of permanent residents living there.   We had a large drive-through site close to the amenities block.  We got set up and headed straight for the beach.  It was less than 7 minutes drive to Ocean Drive with a beach that stretches for miles and miles.  There is a lovely walking path along the coastline which was busy with joggers, walkers and bike riders. 
 

TUESDAY 26TH NOVEMBER   -   We went for a drive around the town and stopped at Boulter’s Height Lookout and walked up the 100 narrow stepped spiral staircase to Marlston Hill Lookout with great views over the coastline, the harbour and Koombana Bay.   Next we went to Taffy’s the family run home-made chocolates and lollies.  There was so much to choose from.  We watched them making the candies that are cooked in copper kettles, cooled and placed on   pulling machines, cut into bite sized pieces and wrapped in the old-fashioned way.  They make truffles, fudge, peanut brittle, chocolate coated dates and pretzels to name but a few – what a choice!! 



 

We really enjoyed being in Bunbury and were quite surprised by the lovely beach and parks being so nearby.  
 

FRIDAY 29TH NOVEMBER   -   We left Bunbury for our next destination Busselton to stay overnight with our friends Alan and Sandra.  It was a short 45 minute drive to Busselton.  We had a lovely time caching up with them once again and meeting some of their friends that we met at the Rally in Collie a few weeks ago.
 

SATURDAY 30TH NOVEMBER   -   We left Busselton and said goodbye to Alan and Sandra and headed back to Perth to Bonney’s Water Ski Park once more.  We will be based there until 3^rd January 2014 when we’ll be heading back to the Central Coast in NSW until early March 2014.  Our plan is to head up through Queensland and on to Darwin, maybe coming down the centre and back to Perth at the end of next year.  Great plans – we’ll see how they all work out.
 

This will be my last blog for this year as we will be busy painting at Daniel and Min’s house, gardening and doing whatever we can to help them out until we leave next January.
 

Thanks for your company this year and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about all of our adventures. 

Wishing you and your families a very Happy Christmas and New Year, lots of presents, gatherings and parties and not too many hangovers!!   Looking forward to telling you all about our new travels in 2014.   

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.

CORONATION BEACH TO DONGARA

 CORONATION BEACH TO DONGARA

MONDAY 4TH NOVEMBER   -     We left Coronation Beach at 9am for our next destination 100 kilometres south to Dongara  – 355 kilometres north from Perth and a 2 hour drive from Coronation Beach.  We arrived at Dongara Tourist Park about 11.30.  It was on the point at the end of town by South Beach.  It was a roomy park with a new shade cloth bbq area filled with big colourful ceramic pots and plants and ferns that looked very cool and attractive.  They had also recently put in new cabins, painted bright yellows and blues on the ocean front and were making lots of improvements around the park.  When we checked into reception the lady at the desk told us “There’s a little bit of weed on the beach, but further down it’s ok to walk on”.  We soon found that to be somewhat of an understatement as you couldn’t see any sand underneath the solid mass of weed right along the entire beach.  There was a tiny track just about wide enough to walk along,  but try as we did, further along the beach was just the same and impossible to walk on.    We gave up and came back to the van.  We were parked on the corner of the upper level which was well maintained and grassed.  It was $35 per night to stay there and wasn’t very busy.  It was a short walk to the harbour and local supermarket, bakery and pub.  There was a little beach along the harbour that wasn’t cluttered with sand and we took Sally there for a few walks.  We could also walk along the boardwalk and around the obelisk at the top of the hill -   a memorial to those lost at sea.   The main street had a grassy strip with huge Moreton Bay and Port Jackson Figs, planted in 1906.  They were spectacular to see, so big and tall and majestic.

The population of Dongara is about 4,500 and was named The Irwin Valley in 1839 by Lieutenant George Grey after his friend Major Irwin.  In 1852 the town was surveyed and named Dhungarra, which was later anglicised to Dongara.  In 1864, the tiny town settlement had its first mail service by horse from Perth via the stock route. 

The annual festival The Blessing of the Fleet is held each November to mark the beginning of rock lobster season and to wish the fleet a good season. It was being held on 9^th November this year.

TUESDAY 5TH NOVEMBER   -   We went for a drive to Ellendale Pools a 1 ½ hour drive from Dongara, located in the Geraldton area of Greenough , a popular cheap camp area where you can stay for $6 per night for a maximum of 3 nights.  It was a lovely scenic natural watering hole with giant gums and a rocky gorge.  There was a long dirt track into the camping area.  It was a hot day and the place was full of flies.  We were pleasantly surprised to see Wil and Terri there,    a couple we’d met at Cleaverville Beach near Karratha in September.  We had a picnic lunch with them and caught up on all their news. 

On the way back, we stopped at Altina Wind Farm with 54 turbines towering 80 metres high with a rotor diameter of 82 metres and a blade length of 40 metres.  Each blade weighed 7.5 tonnes.  From farther away, it was hard to imagine they were so huge.  Up close, they’re enormous.

RICHARD UNDERNEATH  PART OF THE ROTOR BLADE

We stopped off at the Caltex Service Station for one of the famous Rosie’s home-made pies.  Several people had recommended us to try them for ourselves.  Richard had the steak and kidney pie with a thick fluted high crust, full of chunky meat and kidney.  I had a cheese and spinach roll.  They were both delicious and so fresh with fresh flaky pastry.

WEDNESDAY 6TH NOVEMBER  -  We left Dongara for our next destination Sandy Cape, 100 kilometres south from Dongara. We were looking forward to revisiting Sandy Cape as we’d enjoyed two lovely nights there at the beginning of our trip north from Perth.   An hour after we set off, we were driving up the long dusty dirt road (which seemed longer and more corrugated than we remembered it).  The camping area was quite busy and we quickly found a suitable spot to set up for our overnight stay.  We went for a walk along the beautiful white soft sand beach and up over the dunes on the left hand side to the viewing platform with a complete 360 degree panoramic view of the whole turquoise bay.  We were rewarded with a lone dolphin coming to the surface and swimming up and down briefly.  There was a new caretaker on site and the fees were $15 per night.  It was a beautiful spot and certainly worth the shaky drive up to the camping area.  We had a few more strolls along the beach in the afternoon and chatted to some other people camping there.  It would have been great to stay another few nights. 

THURSDAY 7TH NOVEMBER   -   We left Sandy Cape to visit our friends Denise and Ben an hour south in Seabird.  They had a lovely house overlooking the ocean.  We had lunch with them and went for a walk around the area which is very quiet, but very pretty, with miles and miles of pristine beach up and down the coastline.   Denise is a very good amateur photographer, so Richard and her had lots to talk about and look through her collection of photos, many of which she’s won awards for.  We had happy hour on the grass overlooking the ocean and a lovely chicken pasta dinner that Denise had made for us.  We had parked our van on the roadside outside their caravan park and slept there overnight.

FRIDAY 8TH NOVEMER    -   We said goodbye to Denise and Ben and hoped to catch up with them soon again.  An hour and a half later, we arrived at Bonneys Water Ski Park in Perth in the suburb of Baldivis, 15 minutes from Rockingham.   It was a water ski park for jet skis, wakeboards and water skiers set on 150 acres, owned and run by the Bonney family since 1985.  There were 5 man-made lakes, taking up 110 of the 150 acres for water sports and a paintball facility at the back of the park.  There was also a caravan park behind the lakes.  The owners were only allowed to have 15 caravans at any one time and don’t take bookings.  We had to ring up 2 days before we wanted to arrive to see if a spot was available.  The owners were very helpful and friendly and made sure we were happy with our spot, which was very spacious.  We quickly settled in and went for a walk around one of the tranquil lakes with bbqs , picnic tables, ducks and moor hens splashing around in the water.  It was very peaceful there.  Four of the caravans were there long-term, our neighbour had been there for over 6 months.  It was $30 per night for a powered site and good value for Perth and was pet friendly (most parks in Perth are more expensive and definitely not pet friendly).  

We decided to take a drive into Rockingham for fish and chips for tea and were surprised to see how busy the place was with families sitting on the grass by the ocean having take-away dinner and the kids running around and chasing the flocks of squawking seagulls.  There were lots of people having Friday night drinks and others were walking, cycling and jogging past on the esplanade. There were lots of cafes, restaurants, ice-cream parlours and take-away food shops and no shortage of customers.  We really enjoyed the big serving of cod, garlic calamari, chips and mushy peas and couldn’t finish all the chips, the seagulls got our left-overs.  We went for a stroll up the esplanade and had my favourite rum and raisin ice-cream before we headed home totally full up. 

SUNDAY 10TH NOVEMBER   -  It took us 15 minutes to drive from the ski park to Success to have lunch with Daniel, Min, Bob and Shelley and to see their house which was a lovely spacious 4 bedroom place in a nice area.  It was great to see them again and we had a leisurely bbq lunch and left very full up.  

NEXT WEEK:   We’re meeting up with our friends Alan and Sandra and the Busselton Caravan Club at Collie River for 3 nights, then going further south to a farm stay at Big Valley in Margaret River.