Week 28 Perth

                               Week 28

                                Perth

We have been reminding ourselves about the advantages and disadvantages of cities. It does not appear to matter if we are residents or tourists, getting about has its own particular stresses on us.

There is a twenty-seven hole golf course right opposite our park, so of course we had to test it out. It is affordable at $15 for nine holes and you don’t have to book tee off times. We will have to return twice more to play the course.

Our big surprise was to find Chris and Margaret had arrived. They said someone had to drive us to the airport when we flew out, but I think they were a little surprised we still had a full week to go. We will still be arranging a taxi Monday evening.

We set out for an expedition to Kings Park, taking the local transport. It is a learning experience and also an affirmation that nothing happens quickly in the city. We got off to a bad start when we left the camera at the first bus stop. Brian hopped off and went back to get us and followed on the next bus an hour later. The worst is the camera lens has been dying and the camera was useless anyway. We have since bitten the bullet and bought a new lens , so it has definitely been an over budget week.

From the city you catch a free bus to the gardens and there is also a set of three systems circling the city that are free to use. Great to keep cars to a minimum.

The park is open and roomy. There are good samples of many of the flowers we have come across on our travels so far.

We polished off our day by catching a ferry across to South Perth. Dolphins frolicked in the water – so much for Monkey Mia.

The following day was retail therapy day, buying parts for the caravan. We ended up getting a driving tour round Perth, ending up in a groovy tunnel that was a great experience. We ended up in four shops and driving for as many hours.

There are lots of walks in the area of Perth we are in within reasonable driving distance. We first tackled the Zig Zag railway track. We came to a deserted quarry and an abseiling lesson, coming up as well as down. Again flowers were abundant despite the dry.

We followed this with an exploration of the local village, Kalamunda, further up from where we are. There is a heritage village here as well as some quaint shops and eateries.

We tackled a slightly longer walk the next day, a little bit slippery underfoot. It led past a pipeline and one of the water supplies for the region. A visit to a chocolate factory and a coffee outlet made up for any discomfort the warm weather has created. We have in fact had beautiful weather since we have arrived.

A change of pace on Saturday found us driving to Freemantle. Again, the drive is straightforward, but parking is not so easy at the end of the road, even on the weekend. Once you get some local knowledge and find out about the free Cat buses circling around, you can park in the outskirts and pick up the free bus along the route.

The highlight of the day were some interesting markets and the coffee strip, a bit like Melbourne’s St Kilda strip. The Shipwreck Museum was well done and only a gold coin entry. It was well worth a visit. It was easy to fill in a day here till running out of energy drew us home.

We finished the week with a visit to the Royal Show, again on public transport. The disadvantage of reduced services on Sunday was compensated by the reduction of fares. The show was good, but very similar to what we are used to at home. We saw a good sampling of ring events like show jumping and the woodchip. Sheep dog trials were great where the dogs and the handler have to take three sheep through a number of area such as a race, a bridge and a pen. It was my favourite event for the day.

There was a great display of old steam engines and trains along with tools and machinery from by-gone days. Again the day passed very quickly and it was with tired feet that we finally reached home, all showed out for at least another year.

The other small world part of the week was finding a new neighbour was from Gordonvale, John Brooks and his wife Lynn who worked at the same school as I had. What are the chances? They are both working for a Rio Tinto mine in the north, working week on week off and coming back to their van and exploring in their off time. They store the van here while they work. It’s cheap, and the airport is close by. I’m sure the pay and conditions are motivating and the lifestyle is perfect when you are still working age and your children are off your hands. Lynn and John particularly like having their meals cooked and the cleaning done each working week. Life is OK they say.

So we come to the end of another week. The time has come to head east for a fortnight to meet Kyan, as well as reconnect for much of the family and friends.

See you back on travel news in a few weeks.

The lucky nomads.

Week 27 Western Flora to New Norcia

                                                              Week 27

blue China Orchid

                                  Western Flora to New Norcia

Our week begins on Sunday heading to the coast fromWestern Flora Park. The drive to the coast is rolling and like a roller coaster ride, up and down, over and over.

We drive through a series of little seaside towns, some older than others. Leeman was the furtherest north, then down to Green Head. The bay is pretty and in summer would be very attractive for some swimming and snorkeling.

Green Head

Next we came to Jurien Bay, the “Gold Coast” town, bigger and more developed. If you are staying in the area, here’s where to get your groceries.

Finally we come to Cervantes where we find a lovely little coffee shop at the caravan park where we had a decadent lunch and cuppa. Chris and Margaret eat your hearts out.

Beyond Cervantes is the park known as the Pinnacles. There is a lot of roadwork here and there is soon to be a coastal road built linking to Perth. That will open the area to more day and weekend visitors from the ‘big smoke’.

The Pinnacles are all in the eye of the beholder. We walked the walking track, looked at the information center and then drove through the park. I was left underwhelmed, though you do have to see them at least once. I was just glad it wasn’t one of my bucket list items or I would have been very disappointed. Others I have spoken to have been affected much more positively, so it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was glad our parks pass covered the entry.

The return trip really filled up our day so we were glad to see the Flora Park at the end of it all. Liz and Brian who we met earlier in the trip and who we keep running into drove into Western Flora that morning. Liz loved the walk with Allan and she came over for a chat. We were a bit behind schedule that night, so ending up just about having breakfast in the end. It is nice to see familiar faces and have a good chat about great things to see.

purple flag

Monday found us staying closer to home. We first walked to the park extremity and over the highway, looking for some orchids Brian had previously found. We did find a couple, but the flying duck and the Arrowsmith got away.

Searching for orchids is a bit like catch and release fishing. First you have to choose the search zone. Next you have to be patient, but alert for all signs. You get a buzz when you find them and the camera gets a work out. We ventured a bit further in the afternoon and followed a couple of roads an enthusiast had shown us.

Rested, we were ready for a bigger day on Tuesday. We headed for the Stockyard Caves, a river cave where the cattlemen rested the cattle droving from Geraldton to Perth.

The entrances to the caves are homes to millions of bees. Perhaps they are attracted to the cooler temperatures. What surprised me was there was not an equal number of birds trying to catch them, but, saying that, birdsong surrounded us.

A torch is a must. For the group that went caving in Chillago, it was a bit like the self-guided one we did with Allan from the caving club. It was dark as inside and I wasn’t letting Brian find the tinier caves inside the big tunnel with only one torch between us. I was very nervous and glad to emerge into the light again. There were no other explorers, so may have felt better if there were other people there. There is a bit of rough track to drive in to get here, but nothing dramatic.

From there, after snacking with the birds (and bees) we headed to Lesueur National Park. This park is mainly drive through, but you can stop to look at pull in spots.

The first track we found led us to another first for us, kangaroo paws. The red and green was stunning. Our day was made.

mangles kangaroo paw

There is a walk here, and true to form, we got a bit disoriented where the track leading down led to the lookout and the track leading higher was the one we actually wanted. Never mind. The diversity of plants and flowers is absolutely amazing.

Wednesday finds our week at Western Flora to be at an end. We drive inland now, again over hills and down dales. We are tempted to stay at Carnamah, not far from Three Springs, but the caravan Park was not attractive by any stretch of the imagination. Thus we kept driving to see what happened.

Coorow beckoned and then Latham. We had to slow down for an echidna deciding to cross the road, flashing our lights at another car from the other direction. Everyone stopped, including the echidna, whose quills were trembling. He was hiding in plain sight in the middle of the road hoping we would go away, and we were trying to get him to cross before he became a wheel tester. Eventually he demurred, slinking under some roadside bushes to calm down. The other road crossers are the flat, short tailed lizards which lead very dangerous lives.

We saw some signs leading to wreath flowers so decide to stay at Latham and drive back to find them without the van. Turns out there is no park or camp areas at Latham, so we just pulled up by the shire hall where there were toilets. A local came by to tell us the Community Centre was better with hot showers, for free. Great free camp spot. We had a big field beside us where we practiced with our wedges and four big tennis courts as well.

Thursday finds us at Dalwallinu. We take a self-guided drive to see some wildflowers, but again we are under-whelmed. We have seen far better to the north. Perhaps we are becoming hard to please. Still it is a pleasant town and Brian is itching to find the golf course.

The colours we have seen driving this week have been jaw dropping. Bold purples have dominated the landscape. As we have moved into the wheatbelt, the gold of the canola fields then dominate. Even the everlasting displays of whites and pinks interrupted the norm of the golden wattles seemingly everywhere. Life is pleasant.

We had intended a game of golf on Friday, but the howling wind did not ease. Our game is dodgy enough without adding impediments to accuracy. Instead we walked all the mapped walks around town. Murphy’s Law prevailed and it wasn’t till the very last that we saw anything of interest – after two and a half hours slogging. May as well have played golf considering the distance we covered.

Margaret and Chris will laugh because we find ourselves surrounded by Jayco Freedoms tonight. They must be another caravanning club off for a weekender in wildflower country.

So Saturday finds us heading to a bit of a religious weekend, at least in a historical sense. New Norcia is our destination. We are camped by the servo with power toilets and showers for $12 as apposed to $8 for no frills, no services across the road. Heaters are still necessary and our generator is too small even for the tiny heater we use.

New Norsia is still a running operation, but many of the boarding schools and facilities are not in full time use. The original monks worked hard at building over 200 wells in the area that made it possible to farm sheep in an otherwise too dry area. They certainly were community supporters and builders. Lots of weekenders here on a Saturday so tourists abound.

Leads me to problem one for the day. There are some very nasty birds here who either hate me or my black coat with red collar. I haven’t been bombarded so much as when I used to ride my bike to work.

Earlier in the day we had a bit over 100km to drive. The road is busy with huge trucks and most is narrow with rough shoulders. Needless to say each kilometer felt like five to Brian, you could feel the tension in the air.

There was a road closure that was a bit of a Clayton’s deal. Traffic was asked to pull over for an 8 metre load, two in fact. About 15 minutes later two big trucks zoom through, one very wide and one very long, then some other traffic. We waited for another 5 and then Brian pulled out, thinking that was that. The airways came alive. “The caravan has taken off.” Long story short they told us to keep going. Ten km later we passed the next wide float, not even on its journey yet, but I suspect we delayed them. Left our mark on the WA psyche with that one.

We decided to help the local economy with a meal out at the old dormitory, now a pub. It is ye old world mostly restored, but not exactly 5 star. We both made wrong choices, so the night turned a bit flat – cured of eating out until we get home.

Thus at the end of the week we will be heading into Advent Park in Perth where we will be staying either side of our trip home, and the caravan will be staying for the next month. Brian has a shopping list a mile long and we are both looking forward to some city excitement. There are lots of things happening in Kings Park when we arrive, so they will be priority one.

Cheerio for another week,

Granddad and Grandma Nomad