D & G Down Under

A week of exclamation marks!!!!!

We are getting a second trip in this year through the much anticipated visit of David and Gilly to Australia.

The planning and organisation is pretty much complete and everything is pretty much under control for approximately 5000ks of travel planned to show them a bit of the amazing place we are lucky enough to live in.

Our new Landcruiser has had a component upgrade and we were ready to roll. Until on Tuesday 26th September a fault occurs and Toyota declares the 4×4 unserviceable for at least six weeks, @#$%, what do we do now.

Having explained the situation, Roger refuses to leave Toyota without the promise of a replacement vehicle, a commitment he achieves.

However, this commitment has to be verified by National Toyota and Roger has to provide options and estimates. Having done this we discover its a holiday in Melbourne and it is not until Tuesday the 6th that we can hire a 4X4 and Toyota will pay for it! Hoobloodyraay!

Thursday 5th October

Blissfully unaware (and quite rightly so) of Roger’s stressful week we picked our visitors up from the airport with no fuss and brought them home to Karnup and almost immediately left them alone to make themselves at home as we disappeared to ring handbells (tunes that is)!. Dinner and a not so early night rounded off the day.

Friday 6th October

This morning we have arranged for Sally to come round and get some handbell practice whilst we have the ‘experts’ in town.

The ‘late’ Sally Lloyd lives up to her name and eventually we get a phone call to remind her where we live! The practice goes well and is very beneficial.

We spend the rest day, catching up with all the news of the tour group members and other friends that we have in common. D & G explore the block and pick a few shahtouts, Pat and Gill go shopping and D & R have the arduous task of visiting the local winery, which is conveniently just round the corner.

More socialising and reminiscing over dinner and a glass of wine and then some handbell practice, a format that is to become a relatively common occurrence over the next sixteen days. The wine before the handbells seems to create a suitably relaxed atmosphere!

Saturday 7th October

Unfortunately Janine is away but we’ve organised for Sally to come round again and this time she is early! Roger and Pat take advantage of a few minutes practice before preparing the car for tomorrow’s departure.

Today is preparation day ‘cos we’re leaving tomorrow for all points to Shark Bay.

Sunday 8th October

We get away on time this morning and head north up the Freeway through the centre of Perth and eventually on to Indian Ocean Drive (IOD) which will take us nearly to Geraldton. This road has been upgraded and added to over the last few years, sadly a very dangerous road has been created, there being very few straight sections and therefore double white lines for a very large part of it. So, sensibly driving slow moving vehicles (eg; caravans doing 80-85kph) causes serious, unnecessary frustration and has resulted in a considerable number of accidents.

We stop at Grey for lunch. Grey is a community composed of what we call ‘shacks’, which were built mostly by farmers from the inland stations who wanted a place on the beach go to when they could get away from the station for a few days and their families could do a bit of fishing, swimming or just resting on the beach. Other fishermen built shacks and the place grew, even having it’s own sea rescue unit that you can see the remains of up on the sand dune with it two aerials still in place.

As you can see they were literally DIY shacks but they must have been a blessing for those families who spent most of their time out in the wheatbelt or further afield. There were many of these shack communities all along the WA coast but sadly, as with all things these days, they are gradually being knocked down by the authorities, Grey and another close by, Wedge Island, are among the few remaining. Families are no longer allowed to hand them down, so the end is nigh!

The Pinnacles are an extensive area of limestone rock outcrops which were exposed around 25,000 years ago by the Indian Ocean winds eroding the sand from around the limestone. There is a ‘discovery’ centre which has interesting data about the Pinnacles and their place in the local history.

After visiting the Pinnacles we head for Cervantes and checked into our accommodation. After a short rest we walked to the the Community Bowling Club, just across the street, for tea.

We decide to do the recommended trip back out to the Pinnacles for the sunset. Unfortunately it wasn’t a particularly good sunset, much to David’s chagrin!

Monday 9th October

Continuing up the IOD making the odd diversion to the beach and the Pink Lake at Yallabartharra

We stopped at Eagle Gorge Lookout where flying ants made watching the intrepid explorers from Essex climbing down to the beach a little hazardous!

Arriving at Kalbarri we watched a local cruise boat negotiating the tricky channel into the river mouth, checked into the hotel which was not too bad and looked out directly onto the harbour.

Having had a ‘sundowner’ we went in search of dinner, there were not many options, including a Fish & Chip shop, whose ‘grill goes off at seven”! Eventually we did find somewhere for dinner.

Tuesday 10th October

Later start this morning, heading for the inland gorges at the Ross Graham Lookout and Hawks Head Lookout, both quite impressive for starters.

Then on to ‘Z’ bend and,Natures window.

Then the Skywalk, a new construction, which sees two massive platforms built out from top of the gorge, about 100 metres above the Murchison River.

This is a new experience for us as it has only been opened in the two years or so.

Returning to Kalbarri it is decided that we should head out to the lookout at Meanarra Hill for the sunset. Not only was there little in the way of a sunset but it was very windy and even tried to rain!

A cosy restaurant for dinner tonight compensated to some degree and we had a wind assisted walk back to our accommodation.

Wednesday 11th October

Earlier start again this morning leaving Kalbarri, heading for Shark Bay, we cut the corner off by taking the Warnbanno Chimney Rd and stopped and had a look at the chimney and marvelled at the make up of the people who mined and roasted the lead here in the later part of the  19^th century and in temperatures of up to 50^oC.

A few more ks on the dirt and then out onto the North West Coastal Hwy and a pretty steady run for around 200ks with a break at the Billabong Roadhouse then left to Shark Bay.

A lunch break at the extremely peaceful Hamlin Bay, with its old Post and Telegraph Office buildings and stromatolites.

Denham was among first places on the Western Australian mainland to be discovered when Dirk Hartog made landfall nearby on an island that is now called Dirk Hartog Island. Despite its early discovery, the area was not settled by Europeans until the 1850s.

We had a very nice dinner and actually booked for the following night as we were told there weren’t many seats available. This is hardly surprising as it seems to be the only decent dinner venue in Denham.

Managed 30 mins of handbells before relaxing and discussing the ‘morrow.

Thursday 12th October

Today we’re going to see the dolphins at Monkey Mia. We were advised to get to Monkey Mia by about 0830 as these days the dolphins turn up in their own time.  We could see them out to sea and it was  around 10.00 when they arrived.

When Pat and I were last here (c1997) you could get a bucket of dead fish, wade out into the bay and feed the dolphins. Fortunately, this has all changed and now the only people allowed to feed them are the park Rangers and then only one fish per dolphin. Yes, they can identify each dolphin individually by the shape of and, marks on, the dorsal fin, scars on various parts of the body and colouring. There were maybe twenty in this pod but they were mostly females and youngsters, so not sure how many males were around. It is always an amazing experience to see these creatures at close quarters.

The area has also been seriously developed in terms of restaurants and hotels so we scarcely reconised it. Brunch was rather pleasant at one of those nearby establishments.

The rest of the day included visiting various different parts of the town and coastline including the Ocean Park, where many exotic and quite deadly fish are bred and on display. Here we also watched several different varieties of shark being fed.

Friday 13th October

Today we are breaking new ground for us all with a trip to Dirk Hartog island. The boat trip out of Denham takes about an hour to cross to the island and we are extremely lucky with the weather, the wind has dropped and the sea is pretty calm, making for a very comfortable ride.

Arriving on the island we are given a bit of a tour of the buildings and morning tea. There is, of course, the bar, the station house, accommodation for hire and a few sheds, all pretty typical of outback Australia.

We had a tour of the island in a 4 WD Landcruiser where we saw the ‘blowholes’

and and the beaches to the south end of the island where lots of small sharks come into the shallows.

The day was marred by the most environmentally destructive display of 4 X 4 driving that we have seen in a very long time.

Anyway, back to a pleasant lunch and the sampling of the the island’s gin products, followed by a an hour or so of playing, with canoes and paddle boards in the warm shallow crystal clear water.

The trip back to Denham was smooth and even included the sighting of a humpback whale and her calf.

Dinner tonight was back at the Old Pearler, where we got to meet the owner / chef and complimented him on the food and his work on the place during covid.

Saturday 14th October

Today is referendum day, the question being do we want < 4% of the population to have twice as much voting power as the rest of the Nation? We voted some time ago, just waiting for the outcome.

We’re heading south again, sadly having to head for home but only so we can head off to another part of this amazing state. We’re on the highway as far a Geraldton where we stop for the night.

Sunday 15th October

A reasonably easy run home to Karnup via the frustrating Indian Ocean Drive and the freeway.

Monday 16th October

This morning it was Janine’s turn for some expert tuition from our resident expert handbells exponents.

After which we head to Mandurah for a tour of the area, getting south as far as The Cut and the Estuary and following the coastline where possible.

We also checked out some giant wood scuptures.

There are five of these sculptures which are made from wood recovered from scrap pallets. Sadly someone decided to burn one of them (yet to be replaced) and we couldn’t find the other one. I don’t have a picture of the third one.

Tuesday 17th October

An early start this morning with breakfast at 0630 as we had to put David and Gilly on a train to Perth so that they could catch the ferry to Rottnest Island from Fremantle. They had a pretty long day (good job they’re young), as when they got back to Elizabeth Quay, Roger met them and they went to a surprise major practice at St George’s Cathedral.

Finally arriving home just before ten there was time for a quick drink before retiring as we all had another early star in the morning!

Wednesday 18th October

The second trip, as requested by David and Gilly, is down to Margaret River, renowned mostly for its surf beaches and wineries.

We went via Bussleton so that we could visit the 1.84 km long jetty which has been restored largely by community groups, after parts of it were destroyed by cyclone Alby in 1978.

For all intents and purposes a little bit further south and we are in the Margaret River ‘region’, as opposed to the town called Margaret River (MR). The region is applied to fairly large area which is famous for, notably wineries, surf beaches, specialist furniture makers, confectioners, etc., etc.

So, heading in that general direction we stop for lunch at Deep Woods Winery where we are treated to a tasting of most of their wines, the favourite being a sauvignon blanc which we also tested as an accompaniment to lunch!

After a leisurely run down to MR via Gracetown and Prevelly, both famous surf beaches, and then on to the venison shop which is fascinating but it didn’t have what we wanted. We found our accommodation and searched diligently for a dinner venue over a cup of tea. The options were surprisingly limited but we decided on ‘The River’, almost in town. It was very crowded and quite noisy but the food was acceptable.

Thursday 19th October

Today we have a bit of a run through to Albany via Pemberton (a couple of favourite wineries here) and the coastal towns of Walpole and Denmark (more good wineries).

South West of a line from Perth to Esperence the countryside was historically almost entirely forest comprising two main species Jarrah and Karri. The management, harvesting, usage and export of this resource formed the basis of development of the south west. Soon after leaving MR we’re into Jarrah country, this is very hard wood (some of the streets of London were paved with it) but its colour, which ranges from almost white to almost black, polishes beautifully and was / is used make very beautiful furniture. Sadly most of these forests are being neglected because clear felling is no longer allowed and the timber companies can’t be bothered to log the timber ecologically as their predecessors had done.

The main reason for going this way is to drive through the Karri forests. These trees grow to around 90-100 metres, historically some of tallest ones were used as fire lookouts.  Roger has been to the top of these trees, in his younger days!

It doesn’t matter how many times we drive through here they take our breath away.

Pressing on we’re passing through the once ‘pretty little’ coastal inlet communities of Walpole and Denmark, now very well populated and expensive as they become holiday venues for Perth and the Goldfields. Neverless, they are still good places to explore, unfortunately this will have to wait for another time as have a way to go to get to Albany.

We had hoped to catch up with our friends Zoe and Ron but they are in UK as Zoe’s mother, Barbara, who we know very well, is a bit poorly and since she is 97 they decided to go back to see her.

Ron and Zoe kindly gave us the keys to their home so we can stay there for the next two nights. Having settled in we find somewhere for dinner in Albany and then it’s bedtime.

Friday 20th October

Today we set out to explore the Porongorups a range of hills to the north of Albany, the main reasons for the visit apart from the scenery is a very good winery, Castle Rock, and another Skywalk at Castle Rock itself. Accessing the Skywalk involves a 2.5k walk to get to Castle Rock itself, where there is a steel framed structure to access the seaward side of the rock which provides spectacular views across the coastal plain to the ocean.

The highest point in WA is Bluff Knoll which is part of the Stirling Ranges so we went to the base of the walk up to the top but it was getting a bit late and after a photo or two we left to go back to Albany.

A very enjoyable day, followed by the discovery of a rather good Thai restaurant just down the road from Zoe and Ron’s and then back for a good nights sleep.

Saturday 21st October

After picking up a box of Akoya (a very tasty cross between an oyster and a mussel) a fairly uneventful run back up to Karnup via the Quindanning pub and a rather nice lunch.

Unpacking and a quiet night.

Sunday 22nd October

Ringing at Mandurah this morning then caught the train to Perth for a ring at the Belltower, unfortunately we were two short for the sixteen but we did fourteen.  David and Gilly were given a guided tour by a ringing tour guide and experienced the six tonne bourdon bell ringing out at midday.

Monday 23rd October

David & Gilly’s last day today some handbell practice with Sally and Janine first thing, having D&G here has been invaluable but also shows us that we have a lot of work to do.

Roger took D&G to Peel winery for a proper visit and tasting courtesy of Julie. Some more wine was purchased but Pat and I had already decided on the wine for tonight’s dinner and built the menu round them.

Later in the morning we did some handbell ringing in the pool aided by a glass or two!

So while our visitors packed for the next leg of their adventure, we got a special dinner sorted out.

The meal went very well –

We enjoyed the extra trip with some really good company and we hope that they carry out the threat to come back again.  They will be most welcome even if it’s only to do the washing up and make the sandwiches!

Great fun, thank you.

Since its that time of year, we wish you all a happy Christmas and a safe and healthy 2024.