Week 13

Day 85: We left Perth today and headed towards Jurien Bay. On the way we stopped off to look at the Pinnacles. No one is 100% sure how the pinnacles were formed, but they are a pretty awesome sight. One theory is that they were Termite mounds and then the ocean covered them and yadda yadda yadda, they turned to stone. Around the sand dunes there are thousands of these rock formations sticking out. Some are tomb like and some are pointy, they're all different and interesting. We headed from here to our camp just outside Jurien Bay. The camp was only a short walk to the beach and is surrounded by sand dunes. It wasn't long and we had two boys over near our camp wanting to hang out with Charli and Declan. Sam and Jack were doing the big loop around Aus with their parents. The kids got on great and they spent their time setting up a trap for the dingoes in the dunes, playing cars and riding bikes.

 



Day 86: After spending the morning at the beach we went for a drive into Jurien Bay for a look around. On the way we stopped at Lake Thetis to view the Stromatalites which are living rocks that grow extremely slow at 0.3 of a millimetre per year. They weren't that pituresque to look at but very interesting. Jurien Bay itself was a typical beach side town with all the necessities. Other than relaxing at the beach or fishing there isn't much to do.

Day 87: We left Jurien Bay and headed for a natural tunnel that has been formed due to an underground river that flows when substantial rain has fallen. Getting there we had to tackle a narrow 4wd track that included sharp rocks and soft sand. Al was concerned about the camper as it was attached, but Housie assured her that they would make it ok. After a slow trip in they had arrived. As they got there Luke, Dee and the kids were just leaving with their caravan attached. Luke had commented how they took a different track in and that it was rough and that they had been bogged. Housie advised them that it sounded like the track we had just taken. We walked down to the tunnel and we were all amazed how big it was and that it had been made by water. At about 150mtrs into it, we turned off our head lamps and it was pitch black. We were unable to see our hand in front of our face. Housie tried to hide and scare us all but the kids knew he would do something like that, and switched their headlamps on, and caught him trying to hide. The tunnel was about 300mtrs long all up, and there were little tunnels that had formed inside this big one as well.
 

 

 

As we left and headed back along the track, we hadn't made it halfway and we had caught up to Luke and Dee, Housie talked to them on the UHF and they had commented that the track they had tried to avoid was no way as rough as this one. Apparently they had been bogged twice, and had to dig out both the car and caravan. Housie and Al commented that this track wasn't actually too bad, compared to the ones they had been on before this.

After we were out we headed off to Geraldton, and we were going to be staying at Al's cousin's place. We were camping but had all the luxuries of home, as we set up the camper in her backyard. The kids were excited again as they had television. That night we went out with Bess for dinner.

Day 88: Bess had advised us that there was not much to do in Geraldton, so she suggested that if it was a nice day the kids could play at the council run water park on the foreshore. First thing in the morning we went to look at the iconic (for Geraldton) lighthouse, then it was off to the water park. The kids had a ball playing all morning there. After lunch we headed up to the memorial that has been built for the HMAS SydneyII, that sunk off the coast of Geralton in 1941, 645 Australian men had died, which is Australia's worst Naval disaster ever recorded.
 

 

 

 

Day 89:We set off for Kalbarri which has great outback walks and scenery and also great beaches and coastline. When we arrived at Kalbarri it was about 3pm and pretty overcast. We pretty much set up camp and sat around for the rest of the arvo relaxing.

Day 90:This morning we headed south of the town to see a few of the many lookouts along the coastline called Red Bluff.

The afternoon we headed north for the inland gorges that have been formed by the Murchison river over thousands of years. They were awesome to see. We all had our photo taken at 'Natures Window" which is a natural hole in a rock overlooking a gorge. We soon worked out that Kalbarri must be Aboriginal for place of flies. This is the worst any of us have ever experienced. We had all had showers that morning so it's not what you're thinking! Apart from the flies this was a great place to visit.

Any opportunity to play cars

91:Today we headed for Shark Bay and were going to be staying at the Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort. Sounds pretty good huh? Well there was some nice accomodation and then there was where we were, in the caravan and camping area. Put it this way, the place needs an overhaul. The kids were happy to see emus walking through the camp area.We went for a walk to look at the water and were suprised to see that it wasn't as blue or clear as all the pamphlets that we had seen on the place. We just put it down to being overcast. Al and Housie were happy that this place had happy hour, and enjoyed a few beers watching an awesome sunset.
 

 

 

Week 12

Day 78: We went to the Dolphin Park again and the kids played on the park while Al and Housie layed on the beach. We didn't see any dolphins this morning. There was a great look out over the town and beach that we visited and then we headed to have lunch at an awesome playground. From here went to the local acquatic centre for a swim and shower.

 

The first 40yrs are the hardest!

 

Day 79: First thing we had to do was go back into Bunbury to get Charli's swimmers which she left in the showers at the aquatic centre, she was very relieved that they where still there. Now we were off to one more detour before arriving in Perth. Housie had organised to meet the owner of Scoop Deluxe Beard Balm at Mandurah. With 2 tins of balm in his hot little hands, Housie was excited to get to Perth to give it a try.

Charli and Declan were very excited to get to Perth too as we were staying with Al's Aunt and that meant a house, TV and Foxtel. Once we arrived and settled in we hung out just relaxing for the afternoon. Aunty Lindy had organised Al's cousin Steven and his family to come over for dinner. It was great to catch up.

Day 80: Today we went into Fremantle Markets. We had lunch while wacthing some very interesting people. Housie thought Fremantle was the Kings Cross of WA, that'll give you some idea as to what we were seeing. After some more TV watching we all went to Cottesloe Beach to check out The Sculptures By The Sea and watch the sunset. Some of the sculptures were unusual to say the least but there were a few good ones. Housie and Kaddy went off to get us fish and chips to eat while watching the sun go down. The sunset was stunning and the food wasn't too bad either.

Al with her Goon Bag on the beach

Day 81: Aunty Lindy took Charli and Declan out for the day so Housie and Al could have some time on their own. The kids went to the acquarium and the zoo. The three of them had a great time. Housie and Al decided to do a tour of the tunnels under neath the Fremantle Goal. The tunnels were made by convicts digging them out by hand so the town could have a supply of water. No one escaped through the tunnels as there was only one way in and one way out. The tour involved walking and rowing little boats through 1.5m high tunnels. Al was laugh'n, she hardly had to bend over! The tour was great and when they finished the guide even let them look through a couple of cells as they were the only two on this tour. For lunch Al and Housie decided to try Little Creatures Brewery on the Fremantle Wharf. The restaurant was very cool in a warehouse with the stills in the brewery visable from the tables. They enjoyed the beer and the food was great too. Since today was St Patrick's Day they decided to go and have a few beers at Rosie O'Grady's. The atmosphere was awesome with lots of happy faces and great Irish music complete with Irish dancers!!! Of course Al drove them back to Aunty Lindy's.

                                                                     Tunnel attire

Freo Gaol

 

Everyone had planned to go to the Camelot open air Cinema at Mosman Park but Aunty Lindy was exhausted from the big day with the kids and decided not to go. Kaddy had had a tough day at work and was also exhausted. Declan did not want to see 'Saving Mr Banks' so Housie suggesteed that he and Decs would drop off Al and Charli at the cinema and they would go to Timezone. Al and Charli enjoyed the open air cinema watching the movie on bean bags, eating malteases and drinking hot chocolate.

Day 82: Charli had mentioned at the start of the holiday that she wished we could go to Wave Rock so, today we did just that. It was a 3 hr drive to Hyden where Wave Rock was and we got an early start. The rock is very impressive and we all had a turn pretending to surf the wave. The wave is only one side of the much bigger Hyden Rock so we decided to walk up to the top to check out the view. Hyden Rock was massive and you could see where the water had run down and over the edge to form the 'wave'. It was a very hot day so we didn't stay up there too long. We drove on a little further to Hippo's Yawn which is a formation of rocks that looks just like a hippo yawning! We got some photos and we were back in the car. Next was a cave with some Aboriginal hand art. After lunch we walked over to look at some metal art that was done by a local. There were people, dogs and machinery all made from metal. Now it was time to head back to Perth.

Dropping in at Wave Rock!!

A Hippo and a rock

Day 83: Housie had finally decided to get a hair cut and a beard trim. After lots of internet research he found a place in Subiaco that looked like it was up to his standards. When the guy was finished with Housie, Al was very impressed and thought Housie looked pretty damn good (well compared to how he did look below). From here we went into the city for a look around.

Day 84: After much deliberation it was decided we would stay another day as the kids really, really wanted to go to Adventure World. Everyone had an awesome time on the rides but the highlight was the waterslides. It was a very fun day.

 

Week 11

Day 72: On the recommendation of the Belgium couple we decided to head to Warren National Park for the night. The Greens Pool was along the way so we stopped in to check it out. It was awesome with big rocks about 100m out from shore that the waves crashed over making the water from here to the shore lovely and calm. It was a very hot day and the pool was packed with people. We drove through the Valley of Giants, which is a forest of huge Karri trees. We stopped to do a short walk through the forest where one had a circumference of about 24m and 16m wide, big enough to park our car in!! We stopped at The Bicentennial Tree which you can climb if you're game. It is 70m high and only has metal rungs sticking out of it to use as a ladder. Well Decs' legs were too short to reach the rungs, but Charli was fine and very keen to climb it. Al said she would go up with Charli and Housie was nearly sick just thinking about it. Once they started the climb they soon realised that thongs were not the best footwear so decided to try it again tomorrow with joggers on. From here we went to the camping ground to set up for the night. Declan went down to the river to do some fishing. After a while Decs gave up and Housie took over, but still no bites.

 

 

Greens Pool

 

Valley of Giants

Park your car in here

 

Bicentenial Tree

Campsite Warren NP

 



Day 73: We were on our way to Conto Fields camping Ground, near Redgate Beach, where we would meet up with Al's cousin Kaddy. After deciding what way we were going to get there we were off. Housie took us through another 4wd track that started at the D'Entrecasteaux National Park. Along the way we stopped at Lake Jasper, which is the largest permenant fresh water lake in WA. We were on our way to see the amazing black basalt cliffs when Al saw a big sandy incline up ahead, she said 'please tell me that's not the way we are going'. Housie kept quiet and just shrugged because he was pretty sure that the road did go that way and didn't want to freak Al out. Around a few bends and there was the incline that we were going to have to go up. After a few attempts and getting stuck Housie decided to go back around the last bend to get a bit of a run off. Well this did not help at all, we were bogged, again! Everyone got out to help dig out the tires but the sand just kept falling back in. Housie decided to go look for a large tree to tie the winch to, he found the biggest one and it was about as round as Al's thigh, this was going to be interesting. The max tracks were down and the winch ready so Housie gave it a go but nothing happened, tree too small and car/trailer to heavy. As Al was untying the winch from the tree another car approached form over the hill. They got out and gave us a hand. The Guy suggested we unhitch the trailer and winch it up with the car, I'm sure we were all thinking this was the only option but really not wanting to go there again. It was all set up and the trailer was slowly winched up the hill, while Al and the kids took care of the max tracks .We had to winch the trailer up about 60mtrs, so the winching had to be done in three lots as the cable is not that long. We finally got the trailer up and the other people waiting were able to get past us on the track. We hitched up again and we were all pretty relieved to get off the sand. It wasn't too bad really, only lost a max track to the sand and another leak in the water tank. We drove to the camping ground and set up and Kaddy arrived not long after. We decided to go to the pub in Margaret River for a well earn't beer and some dinner.

 

Lake Jasper

 

Redgate Beach

Housie's bed for the night



Day 74: Today Kaddy showed us around the Margaret River Winery area. First stop was the Chocolate factory where we sampled plenty of chocolate and then some of their chocolate liqueurs and condiments, it was all very delicious. We went to another winery that also had nougat tasting. Kaddy tasted it all but Al,Housie and the kids just tried the nougat. The kids did not like the nougat! We went to The Cheeky Monkey Brewery for lunch which was great as the kids could play on the playground while us adults relaxed. From here we decided to tackle a maze. The maze was great fun with water pistols adding to the excitement. Kaddy needed to head back to Perth and after saying bye the rest of us stayed for awhile doing some puzzles.

 

 

View from our table at Cheeky Monkey



Day 75: We drove through the Boranup Forest, filled with beautiful trees and shrubs. From here we headed to Augustus, where we visited the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. This is where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. We decided on an audio tour which was very informative. Charli, Declan and Al went up the lighthouse. The views from here were amazing. The kids liked the spiral staircase and the small balcony that wrapped around the top. We were very lucky as the weather was perfect with a slight breeze and plenty of sunshine. At times the wind can be very strong here at about 100kmh!

 

 

 

 

After lunch we decided to revisit the 4wd track to Black Point which of course was where we were heading when we got bogged a couple of days ago. This much time lighter without the camper. We made it easily and were rewarded with the views of black basalt cliffs that plunge into the ocean in brick like formations. At another lookout the black rocks were a great contrast to the white sandy beach. The sea was pretty wild here and an awesome sight.

Day 76: Today we went for a drive to Busselton, north of Margaret River. We really liked Busselton especially the foreshore where we went for a swim and had lunch. Heading back to camp we went via Yallingup to check out the beaches but unfortunately the westerly wind had picked up and it wasn't pleasant enough to stay. Down further Prevelly beach was much the same although we did enjoy watching the kite surfers. We headed back into Margaret River to have a look around and after visiting the Information Centre Charli spotted a 50 dollar note lying on the footpath! She immediately said we should take it into the shop in case anyone there had lost it. Housie and Al looked around and there was no one nearby and no one looking for anything so they reassured her that it would be fine for her to keep it. Charli then decided she would buy us all an ice cream and share the change with Declan, what a thoughtful young lady. It was late now and the ice cream shop was closed so we would have to wait til tomorrow.


Day 77: Once we where packed up we were headed off to Bunbury. Along the way we stopped at Mammoth Cave and did an audio tour through this massive cave. There were stalactites, stalagmites and fossils. Overall it was very impressive.

We liked Busselton so much that we went there for another swim, shower and lunch before heading to Bunbury. We set up camp in the Leschenault National Park about a 15min drive from Bunbury.

Day 78: Today we ventured to the Dolphin Discovery Park where wild dolphins visit a few times in the morning. While we waited we checked out the other marine life that the park kept in aquariums. During our morning tea the bell sounded to let us know that the dolphins had arrived. We went down to the water and there was a dolphin named Eclipse swimming around. We stood in knee deep water and watched her swim back and forth only about a metre away, she was beautiful. After she had checked us out she decided to put on a little show for us. Eclipse would swim past us take off and do some jumping out of the water, we could of watched her all day. We then saw star fish, cray fish, flounder and port jackson sharks being feed.

After lunch we headed about 30 ks out of Bunbury to 'Gnomesville'. This is a rest area that has thousands of gnomes just sitting around. You can walk through them and leave a gnome there too. We left our gnome 'Doc' amongst them with our name and the year on it.The original gnomes were put there in memory of a group of people who did a bike rally to raise money for a charity in 2002. Then others decided to add their own gnomes, it was pretty mind blowing.

Our "gnomie"

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