Yallingup

We had originally planned to stay at Yallingup for a couple of nights but packing up and  moving to three locations over 4 days proved too much so whilst I was out trying to keep up with the youngsters riding over hills, through bush, etc, Rose was exploring some of local attractions.

Today she visited Cape Naturaliste and walked a large part of the coastal track between Yallingup and the Cape.

 







We'll likely remain in the Margaret River area until Tuesday morning then start making our way towards Albany. We've been invited to stay on a property just outside of Albany for a few days timed so that we're in the area for some centenary celebrations (it's been 100 years since the first naval vessel departed Albany). After Albany we'll likely head back towards Pemberton, Walpole, etc and into the forrests.  

Cape to Cape Mountain Bike Race

Looking back I still can't fathom what drew me to this event. Maybe because I hadn't done an off-road event like this before... I don't know!

Nevertheless it's now done and dusted and an experience that we'll never forget. Rose played her role to perfection with the right food and encouragement for each of the 4 days.

Day1. 42km's Augusta (lighthouse) to Hamelin Bay.
I've never seen so many hills. We walked all of about 5km I believe, 3km of those up hills that were so steep and 2km along a soft sand beach. It was either soft sand of rock all day.

Day2. 60km's Hamelin Bay to Xanadu Winery (Margaret River). More of the same but a little less walking. The hills today were not as steep, but they added 20km to compensate. The sandstone "rock gardens" down to Conto Road (beach access) and the long climb away from the beach were my nemisis.

Day3. 57km's Xanadu to the Colonial Brewery. Today we started to move away from the sand in into the forrest and pine plantations. There was about a third of each single lane forrest tracks, jumps and berms, river crossings, and fire trails. Throw in some rain too. I broke a spoke about 20km in and rode home on a "wobbly" wheel.

Day4. 64km's Colonial Brewery to Dunsborough Golf Club. All fire trails, old rail trails and some bitumen. Very fast. There was 6km of jumps and berms about 15km into the ride. Some of them nearly sorted me out.

The start of day 1.
Very nervous. New "tubeless" tyres and new jersey... definitely look the part.

End of Day 1.
Knackered....

End of Day 2.
Knackered....

End of Day 3.
Very knackered....

End of Day 4.
10kg's lighter.

Rose and I towed this guy out of a bog prior to this, and he offered a free massage...

My results.

Margaret River

Prevelly (where we are staying) is a couple of k's West of Margaret River. It's gone ahead in recent times, but the camp ground is still pretty much as it's been for years. In fact Margaret River is a hive of activity. It's in the middle of a region between Cape Leewin and Cape Naturaliste that is full of sensitive development. The national parks are everywhere and well cared for.

On the foreshore at Prevelly. The sandstone rockwork is excellent. This is an example.

We bought a new Camera and took our first "zoomed" picture of this surfer a about 500mt.

 Rose getting into the "groove"..!

Hamelin Bay

We're committed to competing (loose term) in the Cape to Cape Mountain Bike Race which has 4 stages, each stage run on a different day. We've decided to base ourselves at Hamelin Bay for the first 2 nights then move to Prevelly (near Margaret River) for the remaining days.

I first went to Hamelin Bay about 45 years ago, dad had a green HD holden wagon with a Kenlow car camper on top. We did a bit of diving and exploring during that trip. We didn't do much diving this time around, but the remains of the old jetty is still there and the camp ground hasn't really changed that much.

Hamelin Bay is about 20km from Augusta where the Race starts.

Augusta lighthouse. Where 2 oceans meet.

Lake Wellington

It's Tuesday and we're finally on our way south. The van has a new bill of health and we hope we'll not have too many more issues as major as this one. JB have arranged through their tyre supplier for some new tyres to be fitted. That's going to happen in Margaret River pretty soon.

We also had a minor oil leak on the car. It seems VW in Darwin replaced the sump plug gasket with the incorrect one. VW in Perth fixed that. We've also changed out the car tyres using some contacts that our brother in law had in town, thanks Peter. It's early days but they are performing well.

Rose suggested a "free camp" site on the way down at a place called Lake Wellington. It was off the beaten track a bit, but we're not due down in Hamelin Bay until Wednesday so we swung by.

What a place, and it was free. The ranger apparently had decided it was the end of the season and was not collecting fees, no honour box, no nothing. We drove in, stepped out and immediately were invited over to the fire, grabbed our only bottle of wine and some nibbles and joined in with the other Queenslanders (..yep that's right, they were every last one of them!)  We're told there's a lot of trout in the lake, bike and walking trails everywhere.. we might go back for a few days... we'll see.

Fremantle

Monday Rose and I went down to "Freo". It hadn't changed much but still has a certain charm to it. It's a city that had grown up around a port. The gaol remains, as do the wool stores, and it's pretty trendy.

York

It raining pretty much all day Sunday. The hail hit on Saturday. We took a drive to York. It's about 70km East and slightly north of Perth. It rained all the way up. York is famous for a couple of things, most recently though for it's motor museum. It was also the site outside of Perth chosen by the early settlers as most desirable to graze cattle.

 A couple of old 3 wheel beasties in the corner!

 What they were driving in Europe not so long ago... very sheik!

This little Kart is rocket powered and was driven in the USA by Rossco McGlasson at 253mph. It is powered by a nitrogen peroxide rocket. It couldn't be run in Australia because the US determined the the fuel could be used by terrorists to propel their armaments. 

Perth Pt2

We're still in Perth and enjoying the sunshine. The cycle tracks around Perth are great. I caught up with some "old" cycling mates and we went for a ride. Rose and I have been pretty active. Our old ski club met at the river this weekend so we went down.

We were caught in a hail storm On Saturday. It came upon us in a rush. Rose asked me to go out and put our doona over the car... all this whilst we were being pelted... the things we men are asked to do! Note the doona is over the car. The caravan sustained some damage mainly to the protective screen over the front window and thereabouts but we'll deal with the fallout from that when we return.

Nearly all the vans in the park sustained some damage. Several had awnings shredded. Seems awning material doesn't last anymore than a couple of years. Ours is new and perhaps a little more resilient.

Rose got comfy in the boat and I got wet. A it like riding a bike really... up first time after 17 years.

Showing off. Note puffed cheeks. I must do that when I'm concentrating. Arms stretched to the limit. Couldn't hold on more than 10 minutes. I was sore for days afterwards.

One for the boys. Adrian/Dave, the guy on the left is Ash (Gary's son), he would have been about 8 when you guys saw him last.








The van is back with the repairer to have the new suspension parts fitted on Tuesday, then we'll be hightailing it south to Margaret River. 

Perth

We planned to be in Perth for about 5 days. Our caravan needed some work that we'd planned together with the manufacturer to occur during our stay. Our 5 days is now looking like it's going to be likely 2 weeks as some parts we need are being flown from Melbourne and won't be here until early next week. The caravan manufacturer (JB) are looking after us pretty well.

We're staying at a place in Karinyup just north of the city. The school holidays are over and parks are a little more quiet. We've been doing a lot of cycling, walking, catching up with relatives and friends, etc.

We belonged to a waterski club 17 years ago and we all got together last weekend for a couple of beers and nibbles (thanks for teeing that up Kerry J).... it was great.

The lap pool is heated and the Spa is hot.... I suppose someones got to use them!

My cousin (Rose's shopping partner) Kerry. They actually spent 3-1/2 hours in one dress shop a couple of days ago... Dave (Kerry's husband) and I agree that 3-1/2 minutes would be the limit of our tolerance!

Jock, Margie, their son Andrew, Rose and I at lunch in Bunbury. We knew Jock and Margie in Gove and beyond. They are just back from a bike ride from Lands End to John-O-Grotes in the UK, about 900 miles.






We'll likely be out of Perth around Wednesday next week, driving straight through to Margaret River and the start of the Cape-to-Cape MTB ride we're entered in on the Thursday..... a bit rushed really, but we've got about 6 weeks to make our way back over east thereafter so we can slow down a little then.

Pinnacles (Cervantes)

What a place. Thousands of sandstone monolithes in the middle of nowhere. We were on out way to Lancelin and swung by.

Jurien Bay

A nice little seaside stop. Towns like these all the way to Perth were getting a little dusty until the Indian Ocean (coastal) Drive was completed. Now they're experiencing a new lease on life. Whilst we were in Jurien Bay some people had called the "snake catcher". He arrived, walked straight into some long grass and pulled out a red bellied brown snake. Apparently, once bitten, the patient is flown to Perth for treatment. This happens upwards of a dozen times a year.

You can't see much of him, but he's about a metre long, and agitated.

Greenough

On the way south of Geraldton we came across this little gem. This 1800's town is being reconstructed. Many of the buildings are constructed of local stone, they have a few Llama's walking around keeping the grass down. Whilst it's not a camp ground, they will let you camp on the shaded car park provided you're self contained.

 The local's

 The greenskeeper

Kalbarri

Rose and I have been here before, about 35 years ago, on motorcycles. It hasn't changed much. A little more developed is all. The walks along the cliffs in the National Parks are great.

There is a walk just south of Kalbarri It goes for about 8.5km and is right on top of the cliffs. We walked half way and back. The scenery is great.






The National Parks, and particularly some of the lookouts are pretty busy, but are worth going to see.  

Hamelin

It was a long drive from Carnarvon to Denham, so we stopped at Hamelin. There's a Station stay there, just off the highway, and to our minds this place is the benchmark to which all station stays should aspire. The facilities, camp kitchen, common rooms, etc were all made of solid local stone that was professionally laid. A different type of person stays at these places. No power, no water to hook up to, but everyone who was there came out at 5pm with a plate of nibbles, there drinks (including the owners) and everything just flowed. We'll be back again no doubt at all.

The sites are all crushed shells (no dust).

In the early 1900's local builders used "shell bricks" to construct buildings. These were quarried at Hamelin Pool using large rip saws similar to those used for logging in year gone by. 

These Stromatilites are living organisms. Hamelin Pool is one of 2 sites worldwide. They have been around for 3 billion years.

Carnarvon

"Hi Scotty",
"Who's this?"
"Bryan and Rose"
"Oh, Aunty Rose and Uncle Bryan?"
"Yep, how are you".
"Fine, I heard you were off traveling"
"Yep, around Australia. We're on the WA coast".
"Great, you've gotta drop by when you're in the neighbourhood. I'm in Carnarvon. You can park up at my place, OK? Where are you now?
"About 5 minutes north of Carnarvon.....!"

We caught up with Scott, had a great pub lunch, a couple of beers, washed the van, the car, and anything else that was standing still. Thanks heaps for the hospitality Scott catch you in Melbourne in December no doubt.

Carnarvon impressed us. We didn't realise it was such a food bowl. The city centre is modern and open. Scott suggested we head out to the Quabba Blow Holes about 70km north. We spent the afternoon there.

The blowholes were working well, and the noise when they went off was awesome.

Just around the corner was a little bay next to a free camp. It was rustic, and had we some more time, we would have spent a couple of days there.

The campground was right behind the sand hills, 20m from the beach and the water was clear and the reefs were still full of fish.