Week33
Bunbury to Busselton
The trip from Perth to Busselton was uneventful, if you discount the hundreds of motorcycles zipping by. Pink ribbons waved everywhere so guess it was a fundraising rally. We passed through lots of interesting little towns any of which were the perfect place for a few days sojourn.
Bunbury looks to be a similar size as Cairns. If we stayed a few weeks longer we could get to see the Village People, but the price tag per seat was a bit much. The town is like old Cairns, the streets interesting to walk.
Their version of the Esplanade is the town lake, about an hours walk around. Some of it passes through mangroves also so birdspotting is inevitable.
There are other opportunities for walking like the old jetty, shorter than we expected and closed for renovations. Never take the tourist info at its word. Later in the week we checked out the Busselton Jetty - same result - closed for renovations, but this one is busting on a weekend. The place to be.
There is an interesting tower that is the town’s lookout with 360 degrees view of the town and the water views. There is a dolphin centre here too, but we are giving it a miss as monkey Mia may have spoiled us.
This is obviously a tourist destination with most of the town under paid parking, but it is empty. Obviously the season hasn’t started yet. There is a lot of new construction but you wonder who pays for it all. The walk around the lake has lots of exercise stops with stations for fit or silly people.
Brian spotted the Harvey Cheese factory and had to go back for a tasting and buy a few favourites. There were some interesting timber doors and tables here for sale, individually crafted. Sometimes its good to be a long way from home - stops impulse buying.
We then headed toward Collie to look at Wellington National Park and the Dam here. It was built in the 1930’s and undergoing refurbishment to modernize its safety features. The forest is reminiscent of around the Tinaroo Dam, but much drier. There are lots of bike trails and we even saw a rafting group preparing for action.
The week began badly. The handle fell of our coffee pot. Disaster. Brian has been trying to think of how to repair it to avoid buying a new one. If only I had.... going through his brain. On our lake walk this morning we came across some rubbish awaiting collection so Brian emerges with a blind part that has broken along the journey plus a piece of aluminium to solve the coffee pot problem. Keep you posted on the outcome.
We are actually outside of Busselton now, about 10km south staying at another adventist park, a lot smaller than the last and at an affordable $19 a night.
We went to have a look at the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, walking around to see the frolicking whales. We are right in the season so sightings are almost guaranteed. Take your binoculars.
The walk is peppered with wildflowers, a welcome reminder of why we are here in the first place. We will be returning here, especially when the weather improves.
Brian has an agenda to find the Evans and Tate Winery which won several awards at a recent wine show. Thus we sipped and sampled and gathered a dozen to send home. Tom gets to pick them up and has to save one bottle of Evans and Tate Redbook Cabernet Sauvingnon 2007. There are two, but he is allowed one to check it is OK. By the way, thanks in advance Tom for minding them for us.
On the return we had to stop at Laurance, a destination full of ambience. The lake entrance boasted a diving lady and backed by rose gardens Robyn would love. Inside is art works and glass pieces. There was also a bird bath in memory of Steve Irwin and some interesting dancers inside. You have to pay here for a tasting, but get some olives, olive oil and bread to dip between samplings. We splurged here too and purchased a red and a white to smuggle into the van ( remember we are in a no drink zone for a few more days, but lets keep mum about what happens behind closed doors.)
Thought of Fiona and Andrew here (and Gail and Wal actually) as this would be a perfect venue for a wedding. Absolutely stunning. Bet Andrew is his usual self, but are you getting excited Fiona?
Yallingup is another coastal village in the area, for those with deep pockets. The village is nestled into the mountain side, reminding us of Thredbo, though this has stunning views of the ocean.
Friday found us exploring the Tuart Forest. It was a lovely drive amongst tall forests, but no opportunities for walks were obvious. Thus we ventured on to Donnybrook, a place after my own nature. Actually it is a lovely town that doesn’t live up to its pugilistic reputation. We found that wildflowers are likely to be found on the golf course, so who needs more excuse than that to play an unexpected nine. There were some flowers but the golf was better, even with the changeable warm, cold day we were experiencing. There were a swag of “leghorn cleghorns” playing a bowls tournament, which means, a cake stall. Yummo.
Further down the track Kirrup afforded a suitable cuppa stop. The best part was a local produce shop across the road where we got a swag of fruit and vegetables for less than $10. Cheap as chips, but a lot healthier. His best purchase was some fennel, so Sunday night delight from the chef is going to be a fennel and cheese stuffed sweet potato dish.
At Balingup ( you guessed the trend of WA place names in the south - up appears a lot) we had to ask directions. After turning down the same road three times and rejecting it, we had to ask a local. It was right. You who know us may be scratching your heads and ask why Tom Tom has not given advice. Well, he became overheated while we played golf and wouldn’t respond until he had cooled down, then had laryngitis and couldn’t shout instructions to go back or whatever. At the end of it all, we returned via a wooded, windy drive worth the effort.
We decided on less driving and more exercise as a Saturday treat. We headed back to Bunker Bay and walked the coastal track near Cape Naturaliste again. We were rewarded with whale sightings and a relaxed seal colony relaxing in the sunshine. A great day, especially a picnic by the beach. Brian’s latest lament is that he doesn’t have a wicker picnic basket so it doesn’t meet his ideal of the perfect picnic unloading from a blue freezer bag. Can’t have it all, can we?
Guess many of you will have been dancing this weekend. The nights have been too cold to consider socializing too much in the wee hours. Guess it will be something to look forward to on our homecoming.
Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine (sorry about the Melbourne connection).
Cheers once again
The Nomads
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