Day 79 - Margaret River - Capel, WA 16 April, 2024
All wined out, it was time to move on from the Margaret River region, but not too far.
We loitered around the campsite while I caught up with some internet stuff and didn't get on the road until 9:00 A.M.
Driving part of the route we had done the day before on the winery tour, our first stop was Cowaramup to check out the Temper Temper Fine Chocolate shop, at the recommendation of our tour driver. His recommendation was a good one, as we were in chocolate heaven, browsing all the fine goods and purchasing several items.
Continuing north, we detoured slightly out to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse for a quick visit. The views were obviously spectacular, however we thought not as good as Cape Leeuwin, as apart from the lighthouse there was only the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean disappearing over the horizon.
Our last touristy stop for the day was Busselton, where we parked up near the jetty, had lunch, paid for the mini tour of the jetty and underwater observatory, and set off out to the end of the 1.8 km long jetty.
We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day, with clear blue skies, a gentle breeze and a temperature in the high 20s.
There was a lot of information to read on the way out, so we took our time to read most of it, going slowly because our allotted time for the observatory at the end of the jetty was about 45 minutes away.
At 1:00 P.M. we lined up for the observatory tour, going down to the lowest level first and worked our way back up to the top, getting there in plenty of time to catch the train back along the jetty. The observatory was ok, but not as good as we had imagined. There were a lot of small to medium fish around, and a lot of interesting growths on the jetty piles.
We drove a little way out of Busselton to the small town of Capel, where the council provided a free camp in an area of their sporting oval.
We were joined by Black Cockatoos, Galahs, Ringneck Parrots and Magpies during the afternoon and evening, which also included a spectacular sunset.
Day 80 - Capel - Donnybrook, WA 17 April, 2024
After another leisurely start to the day we drove back into Capel to do some chores.
With the chores done it was back on the road for a scenic drive through Capel River to Donnybrook, where we just wanted to kill some time until we could phone a nearby winery that offers free camping, to see if we could spend the night there.
We parked up in a logging park that had some historical displays, had morning tea and called the winery, which said we could stay there for the night.
It was only a short 10 km drive to the winery, so we were there before lunch. We planned to get set up, do a wine tasting, have lunch in Mata, then relax for the rest of the day. However, the man who owns the winery sort of suggested that his wife likes campers to go for tastings later in the afternoon, I guess because it's a more social way to do it.
So, we set up, chilled for a while, had lunch, then chilled some more until it was time for the wine tasting.
At the appointed time us and another couple camping there fronted up for the wine tasting. The wines were passable but nothing like the wines we'd had in Margaret River, but they were a lot cheaper at about $20 per bottle. After buying a bottle of red wine we went back home for the evening, which included a some star gazing in the low light pollution sky.
Day 81 - Donnybrook - Burekup, WA 18 April, 2024
We woke to another beautiful autumn morning, with clear blue skies, but tempered somewhat by a cool wind.
We weren't expecting too much from our first stop for the day, Gnomesville, but were actually blown away by the huge area covered with tens of thousands of gnomes of every imaginable kind. It was one of those places where you can't quite get a picture that captures just how amazing it is, or the scale of it.
A scenic drive later, after having to detour for 15 km because of a damaged bridge, we arrived at the Wellington Dam, near Collie to check out the mega mural on the dam wall.
We went to the lookout first where you can see right across the dam, and the scale of the huge mural. I put the drone up to attempt to get some better shots of the mural, but my flying skills weren't really up to the task.
A short walk away, we went out on to the dam wall, hoping to get a better view of the mural, but the best view was from the lookout. I put the drone up again to get some video of the whole area, but had to cut that short when an eagle took exception to the drone and looked like it was going to attack it.
After another very scenic drive we arrived in the mining town of Collie. Once parked up, we set out walking to do as much of the Collie Mural Trail as we could manage in the 30 degree heat. Many of the artworks were stunning, particularly the black and white works of the artist Shakey (Jacob Butler).
Part way around we stopped for lunch at a bakery, then continued on to cover most of the town centre art works.
Last up for the day was a short drive to Burekup, where we parked up in the free RV park for the night.
Day 82 - Burekup - Harvey, WA 19 April, 2024
Our first destination for the day was Bunbury, our first bustling city since the start of our trip, and we didn't like it after having been on the back roads and in small country towns for so long.
We stopped at a lookout first to get an overview of the city, then drove to the nearby boat ramp to fill up with fresh water.
Back along the waterfront there was a large metal sculpture of an Aboriginal man that we wanted to see. It was extremely well done and was certainly impressive in size.
After visiting the local Toyota dealership to check on a Hi-Lux timing chain issue we'd been made aware of, we were getting frustrated with the amount of traffic all around us, and headed out of town.
We had a quick stop at a servo on the way out, then carried on to the Leschenault Estuary Eco Museum, where we stopped to read the information boards and walk out the boardwalk that stretched out into the estuary. We saw loads of tiny fish, a small number of medium size fish and a crab in the water.
Our next stop, which we almost gave up on trying to find because of recent changes to roads and closed roads, was the Featured Wood Gallery and Museum in Australind. The small museum focused mainly on early American history and wars, but did have a section on Ned Kelly. It was certainly an eclectic collection of memorabilia, with many replica guns, a section on American Indians and many model planes hanging from the ceiling. While the museum was interesting, the gallery grabbed our attention more, with some wonderful examples of wooden sculpture, wooden goods and some art that we really took a liking to.
There was a cheese factory near Harvey that we wanted to visit, and maybe have lunch there, so that was our next planned destination. However, I missed a turn off the highway and, because we were really hungry by then we changed plans and headed to the nearby Crooked Carrot cafe, which we assumed would be fairly quiet as it's beside a busy highway and not near any towns.
The cafe was absolutely heaving with people, so much so that we considered leaving, but hunger forced us to line up in the queue of people waiting to order. Out in the seating area, which also included a large playground, gardens and a couple of train carriages, most tables were full with hundreds of people, but we managed to find a table to ourselves.
After lunch we drove a short distance to the small town of Harvey and parked up in a council run RV free camp.
Day 83 - Harvey, WA 20 April, 2024
Today was pretty much a down day for us, killing time until it was time to go to Perth.
In the morning we drove out to the Harvey Dam and walked as far as we could across the dam wall. It was another beautiful morning with clear blue skies and just a gentle breeze so we really enjoyed the walk.
Just down from the dam wall we pulled into the day use car park and walked around the area on paths that followed a stream coming from the dam and passing over a small weir.
With fresh air and exercise out of the way, it was time to head to Harvey Cheese, a short drive away. First up was cheese tasting that included a Fetta, Havarti, an extremely yummy chive and garlic butter, a hard cheese and a very nice Camembert/Brie.
We chose some cheeses, jerky and some of that yummy butter to take home, then had a coffee and sticky bun for morning tea.
Back at the Harvey RV park we relaxed for the rest of the day.
Day 84 - Harvey - Mandurah, WA 21 April, 2024
We were initially concerned about how we were going to fill in the day, with only a 75 km drive to Mandurah planned. We took the back roads out of Harvey, driving past the Big Orange, just a few kilometres outside Harvey in the fruit-growing area.
Once we got underway Meg found a place of interest on WikiCamps that sounded interesting, at Herron, not far from Mandurah. We drove as slowly as we could without annoying other motorists, and got off the highway as soon as we could.
Lake Clifton, at Herron, is one of very few sites in WA, and the world, where you can see thrombolites. The thrombolites look like light-coloured rocks but are actually built by micro-organisms that are too small for the human eye to see, and resemble the earliest forms of life on Earth.
From the car park there is a short walk onto a boardwalk that takes you out over the lake and above the thrombolites. The lake is saline, and is only separated from the open ocean by a thin line of sand dunes.
Another attraction that Meg had discovered on WikiCamps was the Giants of Mandurah, which are huge wooden sculptures created by Thomas Dambo, a 45-year old artist from Denmark.
There is a self-guided trail you can follow to see all the sculptures, and the first one for us was a 3 km roundtrip walk through bushland from Lake Clifton to the site of the sculpture. The sculpture which was titled "Jyttes Hytte", when we found it, was gigantic, had its arms wrapped around a tree, and was extremely well done.
All that walking had made us hungry, and luckily the Thorny Devil Brewery was just down the road from the Lake Clifton car park. Luckily we got in early because the place started to fill up really quickly by the time we had our food and drinks.
Seeing our first giant sculpture inspired us to want to see more, so on the way into Mandurah we diverted off through the 'burbs to see our second one, Seba's Song in Wannanup which was a 1.5 km walk in the hot sun. The sculpture was equally impressive as the first, and set in a beautiful harbourside location.
We weren't sure where the other sculptures were located so we drove into the Mandurah
Visitor Information Centre to grab a brochure, before continuing our quest.
Next up was "Santi Ikto" at Koolyininap (Hall's Head), that required another 1.3 km walk along some spectacular coastline, and up and down some hills. The effort required was worth it though to see another impressive, large sculpture, looking out towards the vast Indian Ocean.
Last up was "Yaburgurt Winjan Cirkelstone" in Coodanup, that this time didn't require a long walk to the beachside location. This sculpture was of a man lying down on the sand because he'd eaten too many crabs.
Out of energy by then, we headed to the Mandurah Caravan and Tourist Park for the night, go setup, did some laundry, had showers and relaxed.
Day 85 - Mandurah - Perth, WA 22 April, 2024
Today was one of those days where we thought we didn't have much to do on the way to Perth but it ended up being busier than we expected.
Our first mission for the day was to find the fifth and last of the Giants of Mandurah, which was located about 10 km away in the semi-rural suburb of Parklands. It was only about a 700 metre walk from the carpark to "Little Lui", who wasn't so little. Once again the craftsmanship was incredible, particularly the way the sculpture was melded into the surrounding environment.
Next up we drove into Freemantle, mainly to check out the ferries to Rottnest Island, where we planned to go in the next couple of weeks.
However, we got distracted once we got into Freemantle, parked up near the harbour, checked out the Bon Scott sculpture, then went into the WA Shipwrecks Museum.
The museum is located in what was the old Commissariat building, an impressive sight in itself, with beautiful sandstone block walls and timber flooring.
The museum exhibits were extremely well presented, and the highlight was the Batavia exhibition, which included a part of the hull of vessel. There were many other related displays that included a huge number of artefacts from the many shipwrecks off the WA coast.
With nothing else we wanted to see in Freemantle, so it was a short drive to Cottesloe, south of Perth, where we got settled in with Meg's family for a couple of weeks.
Days 86 - 88 - Perth, WA 23 - 25 April, 2024
It felt a bit weird staying in a house after three months on the road, but it was nice to have a break from the constant travelling, and it would give us a chance to reset and catch up on some badly needed cleaning inside and outside Mata.
On our first day in Cottesloe we went for a walk in the morning to check out our surroundings, heading to the coast first. The views of the Indian Ocean were expansive, with many ships dotted around the coast. Despite what we thought was cool weather, with a very cool wind blowing, there were many people on the beach and in the water swimming.
Once on the coast path we walked to the north as far as the clothing optional beach sign to get a photo, then back in the other direction for a while. On the way back to the house we popped into a shop to get some supplies for dinner that night.
On the second day of our rest stop, we caught the train into Perth central station, then walked some distance to King's Park, which we unfortunately found out was on top of a large hill!
Once there though, the views of the city and surrounding areas were spectacular, particularly as it was another beautiful day, albeit a bit cold earlier on. The walk along the tree-lined avenue commemorating Perth's centennial year in 1929, when the trees were planted, was very relaxing.
We stopped at the lookouts that provided wonderful views of the city, Swan River and surrounding suburbs, then stopped at the State War Memorial, where an army of workers were preparing for ANZAC Day the following day.
After morning tea at the cafe in the park we set out walking to Subiaco, where there was a Bunnings we needed to visit, and which was sort of on the way home. It was quite a long walk, and the temperature had increased somewhat since we left Cottesloe, but we got to see some parts of the city that we would otherwise have missed.
With our purchase from Bunnings in the bag, a BBQ cover to cover the e-bikes, we set out for Subiaco train station, then took the train back to Cottesloe.
On Anzac Day eve, Arni drove us all in to Victoria Park, a suburb close to the city, for dinner.
Victoria Park is wall-to-wall restaurants, and people, representing every country and culture imaginable. We chose Middle Eastern cuisine and ended up at the Petra restaurant, which seemed to be authentic going by the number of Middle Eastern people dining there. In fact, I think apart from one other couple, we were the only non Middle Eastern people there, and the place was very busy.
Apart from the food taking a long time to come out, and the restaurant not being licenced, we all really enjoyed the meals, all of which were very large, and which we struggled to finish. That didn't stop Arni buying some Baklava on the way out though!
Day 89 - Rottnest Island, WA 26 April, 2024
One of the experiences we really wanted to do in WA was a trip to Rottnest Island, which is about 20 km of the coast of Freemantle.
You have to either travel there by boat, which we planned to do, or fly, which we thought was a bit unnecessary. Included in the ferry cost is a $20 visitor charge that is used to maintain the island's infrastructure and care for wildlife. We had the e-bikes charged up and ready for biking around the island.
We caught the train and travelled the five stops to Freemantle Station, then biked a short distance to the ferry terminal and checked in the bikes.
The ferry departed at 9:30 A.M., only took 30 minutes to get to Rottnest Island, and was thankfully a nice smooth journey compared to our previous horrific experience on the Orca-watching boat out of Bremer Bay.
At Rottnest we retrieved the e-bikes and set off on a circumnavigation of the island, somewhat disturbingly anti-clockwise, as had been recommended to us.
Our first brief stop was the Bathurst Lighthouse, before continuing on stopping here and there at very picturesque bays along the way. One such stop was at Little Parakeet Bay, where we sat in a covered seating area and had morning tea, and another was at Pink Lake, which reminded us of the many salt lakes we'd passed since the Kalgoorlie area.
After passing many more bays we rode through Narrow Neck to West End, the western-most point of the island, and stopped there for lunch. The views all around West End were quite spectacular, so it was a great place to take a break.
On the return journey to Thomson Bay, the scenery didn't change much from the morning's ride. We were becoming a little concerned later in the journey about the level of our bike batteries, which had reduced more than we expected due to the large number of hills we had to ride over. Thankfully, however, we made it back to the ferry with plenty to spare.
One of the main attractions of the island is the Quokkas, small marsupials about the size of a domestic cat, and we were lucky enough to see a few of them, even one that we could've touched but resisted the temptation.
Back at Thomson Bay we treated ourselves to a nice cold drink at the pub while waiting for the return ferry journey.
We were extremely lucky with the weather for the whole day, with clear blue skies, mid-20s temperatures and a gentle breeze. De rigueur clothing for the majority of the females we passed was bikini tops and skimpy shorts and many of the young men were shirtless because of the warm temps.
The return journey back to Freemantle was even smoother than the outward journey, which finished off a wonderful day.
Days 90 - 92 - Perth, WA 27 - 29 April, 2024
Apart from doing a lot of cleaning inside and outside Mata during this time, we did some exploring of the local area.
We explored south past Cottesloe Beach, and as far north as Scarborough Beach on our e-bikes. The beaches are all beautiful and well-populated, especially on the weekend when we went to Scarborough Beach.
I had an additional trip into the city one day to get my laptop battery replaced, not being able to find anybody local who could do that. The journey was an easy one though, utilising the very efficient train service.
As an additional bonus for these few days, the weather was perfect, with no clouds in sight, temperatures in the mid-20s and only a gentle breeze most of the time.
Day 93 - Perth - Yanchep NP, WA 30 April, 2024
To give our hosts in Cottesloe a break, we decided to take off for a few days.
Our plans were to spend two nights in nearby Yanchep NP, then go and visit friends we'd met on our Vietnam and Cambodia trip a few years earlier, who live in Forrestfield, in the eastern suburbs of Perth.
For the first time in many weeks the weather forecast was predicting rain, starting in the morning, and continuing on for the next two or three days. As predicted, the rain started falling lightly as we drove away from Cottesloe, headed first for the Scarborough BCF to buy some new levelling ramps, as our current ones were both broken. After another stop at the nearby shopping centre to stock up on supplies, we continued the drive to Yanchep NP, passing through light to heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
The rain was still falling when we arrived at our designated campsite, so we didn't bother setting up anything outside, and did what we could to ride out the rain, that looked like it was going to stop early afternoon.
After lunch it was still raining lightly, but we didn't want that to deter us from exploring the area, so we grabbed umbrellas and set out in the direction of the visitor information centre.
The start of the walk took us through woodland where small Fantail-like birds flitted around us, seemingly not scared of us at all. We also saw other Wrens and Kookaburras before we came out of the woodland.
Just across the road from the woodland there is a Koala boardwalk where we saw a few Koalas sleeping in the trees. The Koalas aren't native to WA, but have been in Yanchep NP since the 1930s, when they were rehomed from Perth Zoo, which had too many Koalas at the time.
There were dozens of Kangaroos everywhere as we made our way to the Chocolate Drops Tea Rooms, where we indulged in some of their homemade chocolate, struggling to choose from dozens of available varieties, all made on the premises, and coffee.
Just across from the tea rooms, we popped into the visitor centre to get a brochure of the NP that included a map, to help us with the walks we planned to do the following day, rain gods willing.
Heading back towards our campsite, we walked along the edge of the wetlands, always accompanied by loads of Kangaroos. The wetlands were home to Swampies, Ducks and other wading birds we couldn't identify and also, according to the signs at the side of the lake, home to Tiger Snakes, although we didn't see any.
Walking past the Yanchep Inn, we went in to check out their menu in anticipation of having lunch there on our second day in the NP.
On the way back to our campsite we saw many Ringneck Parrots (28s).
All the buildings we went into on our walk were beautiful old sandstone brick construction, with highly-polished wooden floors, high ceilings and intricate windows and doors, some of which contained stained glass.
Unusually for a NP, Yanchep had a fairly new ablutions block with five hot showers and multiple toilets. After taking advantage of the lovely hot showers on a a cool day, the rest of the day was spent chilling.
Day 94 - Yanchep NP, WA 01 May, 2024
It looked like it was going to be another wet day today, but after a few drops of rain fell before we got up, the day started to brighten up a bit.
There are a number of walks around Yanchep, ranging from 500 metres to 52 km. After the morning routine we set out on the shortest of these, the Boomerang Gorge Walk, which took us past limestone cliffs and caves that had been created over thousands of years by wind, water and erosion. We also saw some beehives in the rock crevices swarming with hundreds of what we hoped were native bees.
Walking across to the other side of the large oval where Gloucester Lodge sat, we set out on the Wetlands Walk, that took us in a circle around Loch McNess, a lake mostly covered in dense flora and not containing very much water.
We were once again accompanied by many small birds that flew around us, and there were also large numbers of white-tailed Black Cockatoos flying above us, which we couldn't definitively identify as Baudin or Carnaby Cockatoos. Kangaroos, Swamphens, Black-Winged Stilts, Ducks and other birds were feeding around the edges of the lake. Disturbingly, near the start of the walk, we encountered a wild black cat that took off as got close to it.
All the other walks were longer than we wanted to go, so relaxed for the rest of the morning until it was time to go to the Yanchep Inn for lunch.
At midday we walked back up to the inn, grabbed a drink and ordered lunch. The building was in the same Tudor style as all the other buildings we had seen in the NP, and had been built and opened in 1936. It harked back to an era when buildings were constructed to last, and had a lot of older design features that you wouldn't see today, sadly.
Lunch was delicious and they were quite large meals, veal scallopini for Meg and duck breast on beetroot and feta mash for me, washed down with a couple of drinks that left us incapacitated for the rest of the afternoon.
The sun returned in the afternoon, making for a very pleasant day to finish off our stay at Yanchep.
Day 95 - Yanchep NP - Forrestfield, WA 02 May, 2024
Leaving the national park we drove into Yanchep itself first to have a look around, then continued on to Forrestfield, where we arrived at our friends' place late morning.
They took us on a tour of the hills, national parks, state forests, wineries and town around their area, ending up at Guildford where we had a very nice lunch in the Rose and Crown Hotel, which was built in 1841.
We took the scenic route back to their place, via the Zig Zag Scenic Drive road in Gooseberry Hill.
The rest of the day/evening was spent swapping war stories and imbibing far too much wine.
Day 96 - Forrestfield - Cottesloe, WA 03 May, 2024
Not feeling particularly well, we had to force ourselves to pack up, say goodbye to our hosts, and get on the road back to Cottesloe.
Apart from a brief stop at a dump point, we only stopped once more on the way back, at a chocolate place for morning tea.
Thankfully we were able to relax for the remainder of the day.
Days 97 - 99 - Cottesloe, WA 04 - 06 May, 2024
For these few days we were mainly focused on spending as much time with family as possible, while doing a few jobs on Mata, before we got back on the road for the next part of our odyssey.
We took the time to replace the e-bike cover on the bike rack that was totally trashed from 9,000 km of travel, many of those kilometres on unsealed roads.
Also, the power level of the lithium batteries had dropped down close to 90%, so after getting some advice from the Explorer factory, we plugged into the 240 volt for a few hours then did a reset of the Victron controller.
On the Saturday we walked 1.5 km to the Ocean Beach Hotel, on the waterfront in Cottesloe, and had lunch with great views out over the Indian Ocean watching the shipping, yachts and people going by.
On our walk back home we went via some laneways and back streets, one of which took us past the Secret Garden, a smaller version of Gnomesville that we'd visited a few weeks earlier.
The following day, Sunday, was another beautiful day with clear skies and only a gentle breeze, if a little on the cold side.
Because it was so nice we got the e-bikes out and rode to the Rous Head lighthouse in North Fremantle, about 10 km from Cottesloe. We started out on the bike path that runs alongside the train line for most of the ride south, then switched over to the waterfront pathway, that was crowded with walkers, bikers, dogs, prams and was very hard to navigate.
There were loads of people fishing all the way out to the lighthouse, and around the lighthouse, where we stopped for a drink and to take some photos before turning around for the homeward journey.
Knowing how bad the waterfront pathway would be, we went over onto the train line pathway at the earliest opportunity, avoiding the worst of the Sunday beach traffic.
On Sunday night we had a rare treat; we got to see Figgy Tuna playing live at the Indian Ocean Hotel in Scarborough.
Figgy Tuna are a talented group of four school friends, which includes Meg's 17-year old nephew Tom on guitar. They had a mostly hard rock sound, in a small venue, which took us back a few decades. It was great to actually see them play live, however I don't think we would be able to last the whole night experiencing that volume of music now that we're old farts.
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