Day 1

So much for early starts, blog updates, etc!

We eventually got away from Karnup at 1600, after a problem with the compressor, 50ks with the van, a return to base and quick trip to Fremantle and back!    The details may come later.

We decided we would make a start rather than stay at home another night, at least we would get through the hills and get well down the Albany Hwy before stopping for the night.    This we did and got to the Robinson road truck stop around 1800, a good start really.    The truck stop sounds a bit rough but in fact we can off the main area and into the bush at the back, as you can see from the picture.     There are usually very few trucks that stop anyway.    This was the case tonight, only one, we didn’t hear him arrive and he didn’t leave until we were just about ready to go in the morning.

 

Day 2

We have to do about 450 ks today to be in Esperence this evening.    The route is mostly through the Great Southern region which comprises largely wheat country.   They are working hard to recover some of the land lost to salination (caused mostly by cutting down all the trees and ripping out the bush) by planting just about the only thing that will grow there, namely saltbush.    All along the route there are areas of salt lake, some of them pretty big, eg; Lake Grace, which is probably a hundred ks long.

The next place ‘down the road’ is Lake King and another salt lake of significant proportion.   Lake King is another small country town with a fairly large catchment area, although its permanent population is less than a thousand.    Like most of these wheat belt towns they are there mainly because of the wheat silos and railway.   

After Lake King we head for Ravensthorpe, a typical wheat belt town until BHPB decided to build a nickel processing plant.   This changed the town forever and had a significant impact as far afield as Esperence, nearly 200 ks away.    A year or so after it was built (the cost having blown out from $1.7B to something in excess of $3B), the combination of the lower nickel price and the rising AUD made it unviable and it was closed down.   It has recently been bought by another company for around $6-700M who seem to be able to operate at a profit!

The last 200ks into Esperence were into head winds which made the fuel consumption jump from something like 16.5 l/100k to around 20 l/100ks which was  rather more than we like.   However, we arrived in Esperence around 1530 which was not bad.

We made contact with our friends and made a plan for next week.

Day 3

Today we headed out to the east of Esperence passing through the Cape le Grande NP, into Cape Arid NP  and on into Thomas River a short run of around 150ks.   Thomas River is in the NW ‘corner’ of Yokinup Bay and is open to the Southern Ocean and, of course the wind off the sea.   

Four years ago the area was complete wiped out by a bushfire, however, in some ways this had a good outcome.   Before the fire there was no real designated camping area and at busy times, the locals, ie; from Esperence and the surrounding farms, would congregate and, understandably, set up ‘enclaves’.

After the fire, two properly laid out campsites were created, one by the Shire (the ‘county council’ and one by DEC (Department of Environment and Conservation).   They installed pit toilets and camp kitchens (bbqs and sinks) which are looked after by volunteer camp hosts.   These facilities are kept beautifully clean.    We choose the DEC option, mainly because of the views (it is up above the bay) but also because the Shire site is a bit small for our rig.

Caught some herring for tea, opened a bottle and watched the sun go down.

Day 4  

Today we walked round to Dolphin Cove, you can drive round but it’s only a 45 minute walk with some brilliant views and you get some exercise!    Dolpin Cove, like all the beaches, is pure white.    The sand particles are round (unlike sharp sand) and so pack together better than most sands, this means you can drive on them quite easily and also they ‘squeak’ when you walk on them.

Met up with a couple of caravanners from two sites down for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles.

 Day 5

Another leisurely start, we’re going to have to practice really hard to get used to this retirement thing!    Today we thought we go for a drive up the beach but actually didn’t get round to it ‘til late morning!    The high tide was due at 1330 so we had about an hour before the water was likely to cut us off.    We managed 15 or so ks and came to a really sheltered bay, where we stopped for a while and thought about fishing but didn’t bother in the end.    With more time we could have continued up the beach for another 30 0r so ks but with the tide rising we would leave it for another day.    

The ride back was fine in most places the beach is hard to enough to cruise at 50-60ks comfortably.    However, you have to keep your eyes open for soft bits.   These often occur where the water seems to accumulate under the sand and it is very soft, once you’re in it unless there is someone to get a strop on you right a way, you can say good bye to the vehicle.    There was a picture in a  4×4 magazine a year or so ago of Land Rover sinking slowly out of sight, here at Thomas River.   

Had a leisurely lunch, did another couple of clues in the Times cryptic, caught another couple fish for starters, read a bit, had the return session with the folks from down the road, early dinner and an early night.    Another hard day!

Day 6

Unfortunately we have to leave this beautiful spot today.   We’re headed for Esperence and ‘Jaycoland’ so that we can spend a day with our Esperence friends.    We will be back!

So a leisurely start (seems to be coming a habit), Helen & Graham popped up to say cheerio as they were off fishing.    We eventually got on the road and the shortish (150ks) drive into town, stopping to put some air back in the tyres as we hit the ‘the tar’ again.

Arrived early afternoon, got set up at the park, a bit of shopping (liquor store mainly) and a bit of touristy stuff.

To the west of Esperence the road stays very close to the sea and beach access is very good, with proper car parks and good facilities.   All the beaches have names, Twilight, Blue Lagoon, Blue Haven (see photo), etc.    The coast here is littered with islands (The Bay of Isles), these are mostly granite outcrops, they were first charted in the last decade of the 18^th century, largely by French explorers.

   Here’s one for Pete, a Sooty Oystercatcher, we think.

We spent quite a while wandering on several beaches, before returning to the campsite and dinner.  

 

Day 7

The plan was to spend the day with Dave and Jane today.   The connection is the Esperence Belltower, which houses a 15-bell carillon.  

A brief history is required, about ten years or so ago, the model railway group needed someone with a ‘steam ticket’, they got Dave Kyle but they got much more than a someone who knew about steam!   It started with the loco shed needing a tower, this became a clock tower then a bell tower.   The team, Dave, Bob and George, all in their 60s, started building the tower from scratch.   I got involved several years ago when Dave wanted to put a ring of bells in his tower.   We looked at the construction, together with proximity of bellringers and decided that a carillon might be the better option and in 2009 the carillon was installed.   So now you can hear Stedman Cinques and several other bellringing methods together with a variety of other music.   However, this isn’t just about the bells, the clock is about 75% complete but amazingly everything has been made by Dave and the team, the clockface bronzework has been designed and cast by them, every single component in the clock mechanism has been designed and machined by Dave.    There are to be four 2.5m bronze statues (one on each corner), to be designed, moulded and cast by the team, one is already in place and is very impressive.   There is more, these guys have not only built the tower, they have also paved a huge area around the tower with granite blocks but have also built a granite pergola with a slate roof in the park.   They really are amazing, all now in their 70s there plans for the tower and the park are on-going and ambitious!

                                   

I don’t know what it is about Esperence but just of town a full size replica of Stonehemge has been constructed in granite!   Apparently the project had been planned for a town in the south west but never got completed, so this guy has taken the stone they started with and finished it off on his property.    The only problem from my point of view is that he has built the henge, as a finshed project, which of course historically has never been proven to have happened.

 

There’s a lot happening in Esperence but unfortunately it’s not a particulary attractive place because the town is built round the port complex and other industry but it doesn’t have any traffic lights! 

On the radar there are some storms heading east along the coast, we thought we might get a noisy night but they stayed away until the morning.

Day 8

We did have a quiet night but it did mean we had to get ready to leave with the storm all around us.   We had some friends camping up the coast at Hopetoun and as we were travelling west along the South Coast Hwy we could see the coast was getting a pasting.   We however, had an uneventual days travelling, Pat had picked out a night stop at a place called Lake Poorracorup about 30ks west of Cranbrook.    We go there about 1700 to find it a very quiet spot, although we think it’s probably popular at the weekends.

                                                  

It is ostensibly a fresh water lake, a rarity in WA these days, which was a sort local playground at the turn of the 20^th century.   In the mid sixties a huge amount of sand was shipped in to create a beach and the lake was stocked with Red Perch, the sandy beach is still there but sadly, as with everywhere else the salinity is increasing and by the 70’s had killed all the fish.    Today it is used for water skiing, swimming etc and is a lovely spot.

 We had a pre-prandial wine and nibbles and watched the sun go down, life’s tough!

Day 9

The morning mist sits over the lake when we wake up but the sun has burned it off by the time we make it outside.

We’re on our way home this morning, only 300 ks, so no rush, morning tea in Manjimup, lunch in Bridgetown and home about 1600.

We’ve had a great time and we hope you’ve enjoyed the commentary.