1 May 2011
It dawned bright and clear this morning and we all felt much better with the sun out. We decided to go and have a look at Augusta which is right at the bottom easternmost tip of WA – wow – what a pretty place!! We did the river walk and it was just magic. We stopped and had a picnic lunch at the edge of the riverbank and then headed off to look at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse – another fascinating place and so different from the one on Rottnest. This one has all the original buildings there and there is a lot of history to go with it as well. It is also where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet.
We headed back to camp and got a great fire going and boiled our water for showers and cooked a date scone mix in the form of a damper in the camp oven – yummeeee!
2 May 2011
We went exploring along the “Caves Road” today, heading towards Margaret River. First stop was at Lake Cave which is “a stunning crystal wonderland” as they put it. It is quite a climb down and back up again but totally worth it. Mother chickened out again but the rest of us went and had an amazing time – we sure earned our WeetBix today!
After that we headed in to have a look at Margaret River as we had heard so much about it but the actual town itself was a bit of a disappointment – we came to the conclusion that it must be the countryside around it and all the attractions that make it famous rather than the town itself.
3 May 2011
We were heading off to Busselton today as we wanted to look at the underwater observatory on the end of their jetty which is the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere but on the way we decided to stop at Margaret River Chocolate Factory – omg – chocolate-lover’s heaven!! Did you know that it is actually possible to have too much chocolate!? I thought it was a myth! We had morning tea consisting of real hot chocolate (hot milk with chocolate in it rather than chocolate powder) along with an assortment of different chocolates and slices ... Wow – way too much chocolate!! The chocolate they make there is the best I have ever tasted too – not too sweet – just right!!
We moved on to Busselton only to find that the tours to the observatory were booked out – bumma! It was nearly the last day of the school holidays which may explain it so instead we went to have a look at Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse but we didn’t end up going in as it was a bit of a walk and it was getting late so instead we did something that Mother had been desperate to do ever since landing in Perth – we stopped at a little beach not far from our campsite and watched the sun set over the ocean – what a beautiful sunset it was too! It was a great end to the day.
We are going to try again for the observatory on our way back.
4 May 2011
We packed up this morning and started heading towards Albany.
Just before Pemberton we came across the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree which was originally a fire lookout but was turned into a climbing tree in 1988. It is a 70-metre high tree and it has stakes winding their way up the tree right to the top. I was the only one stupid enough to give it a go but I thought it was great and got to the top so see the magnificent views over the karri forests. There are a couple of other trees in the area you can climb too but one was enough for me!
We went through Pemberton where we stopped for lunch at a little park and ended up staying at Quinninup Eco Tourist Park which was a great little park with very take Skippy’s (drove Boris nuts) but we only intended to stay the night and didnt want to get all the cooking stuff out and there was the Quinninup Pub only about 500 m away so we walked down there and had a beaut dinner in the cozy little pub. In the morning we discovered a mini “Gnomesville” right outside the Park which was very cute.
5 May 2011
On the road again and we were driving though very pretty country all day – such a beautiful part of the country!
We kept heading east and stopped at Walpole for lunch – it was pouring rain and we all got soaked. We decided to have lunch in the little bakery there rather than try to get all our lunch stuff out in the rain. We found a cozy, warm, dry corner of the bakery and dried out and hung around for an hour or two hoping for the rain to stop as we wanted to do the treetops walk in the Valley of the Giants but it didn’t let up much so we went and did it anyway in the rain. Only the three of us did the treetops walk which is 40 m up in the canopies of some enormous tingle trees. Ross wasn’t all that happy about the way the walkway swayed around – it was making him a bit nauseous but he survived! It was great and then when you finish with the treetops walk you go on a boardwalk around the base of some other trees which we all went on – that was great too! It was quite an experience – just trying to contemplate how old those trees are makes you head spin!
We moved on to Denmark and as it was still raining and we didn’t want to set the tent up in the rain we booked a little cabin at the river mouth in a caravan park – we slept in the caravan still and The Oldies stayed in the cabin but we all squeezed in there to have dinner, showers, etc – lucky we all get on as it was quite cozy!
6 May 2011
We packed up in the morning and left our 4x4 and van at the Visitor Information Centre and all jumped in the other car and went exploring Denmark. We went on the tourist drive and stopped at a couple of places including Duckett’s Mill Wines/Denmark Cheese Factory where they have AWESOME cheese!! We didn’t know what to buy but in the end we bought a couple of different sorts of feta cheese and a Scottsdale Cumin cheese which is the BEST CHEESE I HAVE EVER TASTED – I’m in love!! Unfortunately we only bought a little bit but maybe its for the best or I may have had a cheese overload!
We then went for a drive down to have a loot at Green’s Pool, etc before heading for Albany to look for another campsite for the night.
We headed for Cosy Corner which is a free campsite and when we arrived it was pretty full and it wasn’t looking good but we eventually found another part of the camp area where there was nobody so we set up there. Again, toilets but no showers but that’s ok!
7 May 2011
I woke up in the morning with a horrible pain in my ?bladder? It was really intense and I had no idea what it was about but it was extremely painful. Ross and I were going to head into Albany anyway on our own today to give the oldies a day off so we jumped in the car and headed off thinking that if the pain didn’t improve I would get it checked out in Albany. The pain did improve so we went up to the Desert Corps Memorial lookout – wow – what a view! Albany has to be one of the prettiest towns I have ever seen. As you drive in it reminds you almost of those pictures you see of the Greek Isles where you see all the little houses dotted on the side of the mountain – that was my first impression of Albany.
After the walk up to the lookout I was still in pain so I finally decided I had better go to the Emergency Department of the Albany Hospital – what a great hospital – wonderful staff and I was in and out so quick it made my head spin! Lucky it was quiet, they did a bunch of tests, assured me there was nothing to worry about and it was most likely just a “muscle strain” but to come back if it didn’t improve, etc and within an hour I was on my way!
While Ross was waiting in the waiting room he read the local paper and read about a ?TracMech which was some sort of get together he thought with a bunch of vintage cars so we decided to go and check it out. When we arrived, it was not only vintage cars but vintage tractors and even an old Tiger Moth that we saw – there were also a bunch of old stationery engines – steam, etc, all very interesting. We didn’t stay too long as I wasn’t feeling all that crash hot. We stopped off a the Information Centre before heading back to camp and having a quiet afternoon – something we haven’t done for who knows how long!
8 May 2011
MOTHER’S DAY. We all bundled into the car and headed for Albany for the day. The first stop was the Brig Amity which is a replica of an old brig used in several notable voyages of exploration and settlement in Australia in the early nineteenth century.
Second stop was the lookout again – even better than yesterday as less clouds – what a magnificent view! After that we headed back to the Info Centre to find out if we could pay for hot showers somewhere in town and yes, they do them at the Info Centre so we had showers before heading off to Emu Point for famous fish & chips at the Squid Shack. It was really busy with a 50-minute wait so we spent the time wandering along the foreshore and looking at all the bird life. When we finally got lunch it wasn’t all that crash hot – the chips were nice but I didn’t like the batter or the taste of the fish particularly – so much for the best fish & chips in town – never mind.
We went and did our washing at the laundromat and went for a walk in ANZAC Peach Park before heading “home” again.
9 May 2011
It was our turn for a quiet day while the oldies headed into town today. They wanted to do some shopping, etc so Ross and I went for a walk on the beach and had a relaxing day, actually, this is the first real chance I have had to be on the computer for more than five minutes for the whole trip so today is the day I have written up this whole blog from the beginning of April!
10 May 2011
Another trip into Albany today - we wanted to see all the sights and do the whole touristy thing. The first thing on the agenda was Whale World. Can't say I enjoyed it. It was interesting as far as the whole history thing went but they went into so much gory detail about killing, chopping up and cooking the whales it made me feel quite ill - it was a bit like going on a tour of an abbatoir without the live meat.
Next stop was the blow holes. With these ones you have to be there at the right time to see anything and we weren't there at the right time though there was lots of noise and it was a beautiful walk down to it. On the way back up Ross was in front and spotted a little ?bandicoot - something like that anyway and decided to film it as it was on the footpath. Only seconds later a ?falcon swooped down to try to catch it and Ross got it all on video - it was like - aww - look at the cute little mousy thing - oh dear ... we are pretty sure the bird didn't get it but it was a bit of a hair raiser! Mother was very brave and walked most of the way down to the blowholes and back - quite a feat as it is a very steep climb!
After that we headed off to The Gap and the Natural Bridge which are together - wow - absolutely stunning! Mother surprised us all (including herself) by standing out on the platform over The Gap to take photos seeing as she is petrified of heights!!
11 May 2011
MOTHER'S 70TH BIRTHDAY
We packed up camp today and headed off to Denmark again before heading back to Quinninup to camp at the Eco Park again.
When we reached Denmark we stopped to do a shop and it being Mother's 70th birthday we decided we needed to do something special so while everyone else shopped I went off to the "toilet" and went to the bakery and bought a Black Forest Roulade which was the only thing they had that resembled a birthday cake. Ross bought some candles from the shops and we managed to smuggle them into the caravan with Mother being none the wiser. When we reached Quinninup we told her we would shout her dinner at the pub for her birthday but before we all headed down to the pub for dinner Ross and I took Boris for a walk and smuggled the cake down to the pub and lined it up with the people there to bring it out for desert with the candles lit, etc.
When we arrived for dinner we all sat at the bar for a while for drinks and Mother ordered her usual Advocat and lemonade but the girl could only find a bottle that was nearly finished and only had a small amount of Advocat in the bottom of it. We told her to put the lemonade in the bottle and shake it up and that would be okay but before she had a chance to put it into a glass we grabbed a straw and gave it to Mother to drink it out of the bottle - she looked like an alco!!
The surprise cake thing worked out great and we all had a wonderful night.
12 May 2011
We moved on to Manjimup and Greens Island campsite - what a beautful spot! When we arrived there was only one other lot of campers there and we soon worked out that they were the same people we had seen down at Cozy Corner. They were a hubby and wife with 3 kids who were doing home schooling on the road with the kids - lovely lot and we all got on great.
Mother cooked silverside in the camp oven with white sauce and spuds in alfoil in the coals - yummo!!
13 May 2011
Ross and I went into Manjimup to have a look around - lovely little town. There is a Timber and Heritage Park in the town and we will all come back another day to check it out.
When we got back to camp Ross and I went for a bike ride along one of the parts of the Bibbleman Track which was right near our campsite - wow - what a windy, up and down track - I was exhausted!
14 May 2011
We had a lazy day today and didn't do much at all - tough life!
15 May 2011
We went to the Timber and Heritage Park today - very interesting. We had Subway for lunch before heading back to camp again for another lazy afternoon.
16 May 2011
We packed up this morning and headed up towards Bridgetown which is an area where Mother's relatives used to live so she was very interested to have a look around. We split up to get there as The Oldies wanted to go back into Manjimup first and go on the bitumen whereas Ross and I wanted to go the back way through the forest and through Donnelly River where you have to drive around the local kangaroos who have taken up residence in the middle of the road area and who obviously get fed as they are very quiet and not bothered at all about cars.
Bridgetown is just gorgeous and what a fantastic time of year to be touring around with the trees showing off their wonderful autumn colours! There is a little museum and jigsaw display in the Information Centre there - absolutely fascinating! We all ate lunch in the little park across the road from the Info Centre before hitting the road again only to stop at the next town - Balingup which is another lovely little town.
We were looking for a campsite near Collie as we wanted to go to Gnomesville in the morning. The first campsite we pulled in at was Glen Mervyn Dam which was an almost completely dry dam that was extremely uninviting so we decided to go onto the next campsite - Stockton Lake Recreation Area - wow - what a difference - glad we picked this one!! What a gorgeous spot! It is actually an old open cut mine site and the water is very acid so you can't swim in it but what a glorious backdrop it made - got some great sunset and sunrise piccies there!
17 May 2011
Packed up and headed off to Gnomesville this morning - what a top spot. If I had gnome there were going to be so many gnomes there we would have taken some of ours along and added them to the pile! It was quite incredible actually - it just went on and on - there were thousands of them there and many had their own little houses, stories and poems - you could spend a whole day there.
The weather was starting to turn nasty so we headed into Bunbury. Ross and I are heading "home" tonight but The Oldies are going to stay the night in Bunbury as there is a display that Lester wants to see in Dardanup tomorrow.
25 May 2011
LESTER'S BIRTHDAY
We went to Kings Park today and had a look around at the Botanical Gardens, War Memorial, etc. We had a BBQ lunch at Kings Park before we all had to go to the osteopath. Well, the other three went - I didn't need to go - Westcoast Osteopathy - Todd - he has done wonders with all of us - we are deeply indebted to him for the fantastic work he has done on us all. I have been going to chiro's, physio's, masseurs, etc, etc for over 20 years without one of them being able to help me and Todd is the only one who has found out what my problem has been all this time - I had a "rib out" - don't know what the technical term is but that has been my problem the whole time - I have been in pain for 20 years!! He also gave me exercises to do to help keep it in and fix up the different muscles that have weakened and strengthened over the years to compensate. Lester also had a similar problem from a work accident 15 years ago and he had never come across anybody who could fix him either before he met Todd - it's quite mind boggling actually. Roz' mum also went there and has had a huge improvement and Mother has also found a great difference.
On the way home we stopped off at Alfred's Kitchen - a great little burger joint on the side of the road in Guildford that has a streetside open fire - we shouted Lester a burger for his birthday.
