Pemberton

We moved from Busselton to Pemberton last Wednesday. Pemberton is 335km south of Perth in the south west corner of WA. It is surrounded by Karri, Marri and Jarrah forests and has a huge sawmill in town. There are lots of art and craft shops, wineries, lots of farming, marron farms and trout farms as well as beautiful tourist drives.
Pemberton was mostly settled in the 1920's when "free" land was offered to British ex servicemen who had returned from the First World War to face unemployment. They were called groupies and in return for their free land were expected to set up dairy farms. Life was very tough as the land had to be cleared of the huge trees and the settlers also had to survive the depression. A lot of them succeeded and the area is now quite prosperous.

We have set up at Pemberton Caravan Park, surrounded by forest and visited daily by ducks, 28's (a type of mallee ringneck parrot), magpies and blue fairy wrens.

This is a 28 parrot

Ray called this photo "2 Birds eating pretzels"

As I am writing this Blog I can hear the black cockatoos screeching in the tree tops.

The first drive we did was on Thursday and we headed out to Point D'Entrecasteaux which is about 50km south of Pemberton. There were some lovely lookouts to the Southern Ocean and we saw some whales frolicking. We went to a little fishing village called Windy Harbour and were lucky that it didn't live up to its name.

View out to the Southern Ocean from Point D'Entrecasteaux

Ray and Maura with Tookilup behind them

Looking north along Salmon Beach

Curly leaf Banksia

Cathedral Rock, Windy Harbour

Grass tree in flower

The next day we drove out to the Bicentennial Tree. In the 1930's and 40's fire lookouts were constructed in giant Karri trees. Now people can climb these trees and have a look at the view from about 60 to 75 metres up. The problem is that you have to climb up steps made from steel spikes which circle around the tree like a stairway. Only the brave do this. We preferred to look although our friend Terry climbed the Gloucester Tree.

The Bicentennial Tree. You can see the steel spikes which are the steps to climb the tree

In the bottom third of the photot you can see the lady climbing the tree. She had reached the first platform and was on her way up to the top platform.

The Bicentennial Tree is 75 metres high and we did see a lady start to climb up it.

Next stop was a chocolate distillery and I tasted some but ended up buying some coffee liquor as the chocolate was a bit rich even for me. We then went to The Lavender and Berry farm for lunch which was a delight for both taste buds and sense of smell.

Next  day we decided to go on a longer trip - The Karri Forest Explorer. This is a self drive tour through the beautiful Karri forests for about 86km around Pemberton.We went through the Big Brook Forest, The Beedelup National Park and the Warren National Park. We saw waterfalls, huge trees, wildflowers and magnificent scenery.

Big Brook Dam

Looking down the forest trail from the top of the road. These are mainly Karri trees.

Beedelup Falls

Canoeists paddling on the Warren River

On Sunday we went on the Donnelly River Cruise. We didn't know what it would be like as it had rained all night but when we woke up in the morning it was a little clearer so off we went. Terry and Sue went with us as we had caught up again at Pemberton. The bus picked us up at the caravan park and drove us to the river where we got on the boat for a leisurely cruise down the river to its entrnce, had morning tea and a walk on the beach and then cruised back to our start point.
It was a great morning. There is no road access to this area so the river is pristine. There are some shacks??? on the river down near the entrance and the only way they can be reached is by boat. The southern ocean near the entrance to the river was wild as it was quite windy.

This is the boat we cruised the Donnelly River on. Just as well it was enclosed as it was quite cool.

The banks of the Donnelly River

Fishing shacks on the banks of the river.

Looking out to the Southern Ocean from the sand hills near the entrance of the Donnelly River

Reflections of the Melaleuca Trees in the river

Then back to camp and Ray cooked a piece of beef in the Cobb cooker, and Sue did lovely baked vegies and we all had dinner together. It was quite delicious.
We are having a quiet Monday as the weather is a bit funny and we will see what it is like tomorrow as we still have a couple of things to look at before we leave for Walpole on Wednesday.

Well it is now Tuesday and we decided to go for a run out to the Gloucester Tree. It is only about 3km from Pemberton and is another of those fire look out trees. It was in a lovely area with wildflowers around. A man and his 2 children had actually climbed to the platform at the top which is about 61 metres off the ground.

Looking up the Gloucester Tree from ground level

Maura pretending to climb The Gloucester Tree

Ray on The Gloucester Tree

The weather is not so good today. Threatening rain and thunderstorms, so we took down the awning ready for our departure tomorrow as it is better to pack it up when it is dry.
That is enough blogging for now. I will Blog again from Walpole.

Bussleton

We moved from Mandurah to Bussleton on Wednesday 12th October. It wasn't far, only about 160km. You can't drive too far in one go you know. We had a quiet couple of days before heading out and about. The weather wasn't very nice so we caught up with some domestic stuff and did some shopping. Friday 14th wasn't a brilliant day but we decided we had better have a look around because if we waited for fine weather we might still be in Busselton at Xmas.

Looking towards Moses Rock which is off Caves Road in the Margaret River region

 We headed towards Margaret River via Cowaramup and then out to Moses Rock. Because the day was windy, the sea was pretty angry with the waves crashing on to the beach and rocks.

The waves were so blue as they were curling over that it was worth a picture.

You could even see bits of weed in the break.

Next we visited the goody shops, Margaret River Nougat Shop and the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. Margaret River Chocolate is lovely, very creamy and smooth. I would bring you all some home, but it won't last that long. Sorry.

Then to Prevelly, which is where the Margaret River enters the sea sometimes. (Other times it is silted up and only gets out on a big tide). We both thought the entrance would be something spectacular but it wasn't.

Then next stop the Fudge Factory, the Berry Farm, for some jam and lastly the Cheese Factory. This was just about enough for one day, so we trundled back to Busselton for Happy Hour.

Saturday was another quiet morning and Sue and Terry appeared and we had a long Happy 3 hours in the afternoon. I am glad we don't do that too often.

 So on Monday we decided to go to Gnomesville. We had never heard of it until Terry and Sue told us about it.

Apparently some time ago some people were moving from a house to a unit and decided to put their garden gnomes on a roundabout out east of Bunbury. Of course the council didn't like this so they cleared an area beside the roundabout and moved the gnomes there. Over the years people stop by and place gnomes all around.

A lot of social clubs have put groups of gnomes there. Hens parties have got groups of gnomes. Bikie clubs, car clubs, rotary clubs, retirement villages. There are thousands of gnomes.

They are spread over quite a large area. Some are under logs, beside creeks, in trees.

 As you can see some even have their own caravans.



Maura with purple gnomes



Ray with gnomes



These are the gnomes we left. We put them near Santa as we thought they would be busy soon and that would keep them out of mischef



Gnomesville, a magical place. Now I know where all of those stolen gnomes have gone.

On Tuesday 18th October we went for a run out to Cape Naturaliste which is to the west of Dunsborough and Bunker Bay. It had rained on and off all morning so we left Busselton about 8am and drove straight out to the Cape. We wanted to walk down to the whale watching platform and didn't want to get caught in a shower. It was about a 1.2km walk down to the platform and the last 200metres was quite steep but it was worth it. The view was pretty good. The sea lions were sleeping on rocks below and you could see whales further out to sea. We did get caught in a light shower on our way back to the car.



Looking out from Cape Naturaliste



Seals basking on the rocks below Cape Naturaliste

From there we drove to Sugarloaf Rocks and then to Canal Rocks.

Sugarloaf Rock

Canal Rocks

More wildflowers. Rose Bantjine

The Busselton Jetty is 1.8km long and has recently been rebuilt after falling into disrepair. There is an Underwater Observatory at the end and a train goes out along it also.

Back in the West

Well, we are now back in WA. We got here last Tuesday, the 4th October. We had a great time at home, but so busy. Preventative maintenance doctors appointments, catching up with everyone, Mum's 80th celebrations, out to lunch with Rays family and seeing the grandkids.



Mum, daughters, grandaughters

 On Wednesday we moved from the Adventist park down to Woodmans Point which is about 10km south of Fremantle. A nice park, a bit close to the main road from Kwinana to Fremantle but the traffic slows down after dark.


Storm clouds building up over caravan park at Woodman Point


Ray rang his cousin Colleen, who has lived in Perth for many years. She was originally from Forbes in NSW but moved to WA some years ago. I hadn't seen her since we met up with her in Geraldton in 1981. Ray has seen her intermittently in more recent times. Anyway she asked us to her place for lunch with Charlie, her husband, tomorrow, which is Friday. She now lives in an apartment in the centre of Perth. Parking is at a premium for something of our size, so we decided to drive into Fremantle and suss out the public transport option. After going to the Tourist Information and looking at the all day parking options we decided to go by public transport. More on that later.

After visting the tourist information we went for a walk around Fremantle and got lost. We had to ask a couple of different people how to get back to where we had parked the truck.
Anyway after that adventure, we drove down to the port and watched a couple of ship unloading and one coming in.



Sheep ship for live export



Quirky sculpturesat Fremantle Port

Another sculpture at Fremantle

Container ship coming in to port

Container ship getting closer



Container ship loading


Then around to the Fishing Boat Harbour whre we stopped at Kailis Cafe and Fish Market and had lunch. We knew their seafood was good as we have been eating their prawns whilst coming down the west coast. And once again they didn't disappoint.


Pink snapper, calimari and chips



Kailis fishing boats at Fremantle

Fishing boat harbour surrounded by restaurants. Each restaurant appears to have its own fishing boat.

 We even bought a kilo of Pink Snapper fillets as Peter Edler was coming for lunch on Saturday and we decided to BBQ some fish.

After lunch we went for a drive down to Rockingham via Henderson and Kwinana. Henderson is where all of the boat building happens and we seen an enormous nearly finished catamaran which is probably destined for the Mediteranean.


They have huge catamarans in Fremantle


Kwinana is very industrial and Rockingham was very busy as it is a seaside town and the WA school holidays are on.

Well, today is Friday and we are going on our big public transport adventure. First we caught a bus from the caravan park. Surprise Number 1, it only  cost us $3.70 each for all day travel on bus, train and ferry. That is because we are a little older. So we caught the bus from the caravan park to Fremantle Station and hopped on the train to Perth. Surprise Number 2, the trains are immaculate. Carpeted floors, comfortable seats, no graffiti. There are also security cameras and railway security everywhere. It took about 40 minutes to get to Perth. We then had a wander around and then caught a bus to Colleens. Surprise Number 3, the buses which go around the CBD of Perth are all free. 3 different routes and you can hop on and off wherever you like.

We had a great lunch with Colleen and Charlie. They live in a great garden apartment just 5 stops from the centre of Perth and opposite a park and very close to all of the theatres and entertainment venues. Later in the afternoon we travelled in the reverse direction back to Woodman Point.
On Saturday, Peter came out to us for lunch and Colleen and Charlie came for afternoon tea. We had another great afternoon.


Maura, Colleen, Ray and Charlie


Sunday 9th October we are moving on and we woke up to pouring rain. It rained on and off the whole time we were packing up and decided to stop when we had finished. We arrived in Mandurah before lunch and had afternoon drinks with Terry and Sue who we had originally met when they were crossing the Pentecost River up on the  Gibb River Road. We had come to Mandurah as Terry was turning 60 on Monday 10th October and they invited us out to lunch to celebrate this momentous occasion.

We went to Murphy's Irish Pub for lunch and then walked along the foreshore to have coffee and dessert at the Dome Restaurant. We were joined by Col and Mary, two friends who Terry and Sue had met last year while travelling in South Australia. Col and Mary live in Mandurah. We had a fantastic afternoon with lots of  laughs.

Ray, Terry and Col at Mrphy's Irish Pub, Mandurah

Terry and Sue

Mary, Terry and Maura

Terry, Ray and Col

Maura, Ray and Terry walking to the Dome Restaurant after lunch

On Tuesday we had a look around Mandurah, going down to the marina and driving south down the coast.

Mandurah foreshore

Sculpture 1 at Mandurah Marina

Sculpture 2 at Mandurah Marina

 We had a farewell happy hour with Terry and Sue and Col and Mary dropped around also. Next morning we followed Terry and Sue south. They were going to Bunbury and we headed on to Busselton.