Friday, 7 November – Ceduna

We have crossed the Nullarbor and reached Ceduna in South Australia. Hooray.  After we started our crossing the headwinds grew stronger and hotter. The temperatures were in the 40s, the fire rating was ‘catastrophic’ and plagues of flies were everywhere.

One of the nights we free camped the water in the caravan tank was so hot we did not need to heat it to wash the dishes or ourselves.

Six of us celebrated the end of our adventure with a dinner at a Ceduna pub. Now all we have to do is get home safely.

A big thanks to our wonderful travel companions and also everyone who checked out our travel blog.

So ends the blog. See you back home.

Monday, 3 November – Esperance

This is the last town of note we will visit in WA so we used it as an opportunity to stock up food and fuel up.  The sprawling museum proved interesting with lots of local exhibits, including one on Skylab which fell to earth in a fiery mess near enough to Esperance to make the locals a little nervous. 

Many of the locals, as we did, celebrated Cup Day on Tuesday. We had the champagne cooling for days in the fridges and were first people at Woolies on Tuesday morning to pick up the newly roasted chickens.

Cup Day Lunch

The Fascinator Ladies

Saturday, 1 November – Lucky Bay

Cape Le Grand NP, near Esperance, is very popular, as we found when we tried to get a camp spot at Le Grand Beach.  It was full.  We ended up down the road at Lucky Bay which is also popular and where, before lunchtime, we got the last vacant campsites.

The almost pure white sand of Lucky Bay and the nearby bays makes the water appear a beautiful turquoise colour. The sand is very firm and squeaks as you walk along the beach.  The beach is easy to drive on and even the coffee caravan has its own parking spot along the beach. 

Matthew Flinders anchored in the bay in 1802 and discovered the many and varied wildflowers we saw on our walks over the last couple of days. 

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay With Campground On The Left

Hellfire Bay

Friday, 31 October – Stokes Inlet

After a fairly long days drive (for us) we arrived at Stokes Inlet NP.  We were lucky enough to get a group campsite to accommodate the 3 cars and vans in a wagon circle.   The inlet is a pretty spot and judging by the resident pelicans, it has some fish.

Life Is Such A Laugh

Stokes Inlet

Round Up The Wagons

Tuesday, 28 October – Denmark

It was a very short drive to another pretty campground beside the Denmark River. We spent the afternoon looking around town before we ended accidentally ended up at a coffee stop.

Next day was a tourist trip to Albany where we visited Whaleworld which is located on the site of Australia’s last whaling station.

During our last day at Denmark we sampled the food and drink side of things. We visited makers of chocolate, cheese, ice cream and mead.

Albany and the surrounding towns are totally booked out for the weekend due to the centenary celebrations in Albany. The big event celebrates the departure on the troop ships to Gallipoli 100 years ago. Albany has a population of about 35,000 which is expected to swell to up to 80,000 over the weekend.

We decided Albany was going to be very crowded and it would be difficult to see many of the activities because they were sold out long ago. So we chose to move on and get away from the crowd.

Australia's Last Whaling Ship

The Head Saw - Whales Were Cut Up And Fed Into Cookers Below

Whale Skeleton

Monday, 27 October – Walpole

After an up and down drive through the hills we arrived at the pretty seaside village of Walpole. We set up camp then set off on the obligatory tourist drive in the hills to see the Circular Pool, the Giant Tingle Tree and the Art Walk. 

 

A Giant Café Latte At Circular Pool

Art In The Forest

Here's Some Of Us At The Giant Tingle Tree

She's No Angel

And some wild flowers in the area .....................



Sunday, 26 October – Manjimup

The very pretty Fonty’s Pool campground was our base for looking around Pemberton.  During the afternoon we checked out the huge Gloucester Tree and the old Pemberton railway station before returning to the camp. Over the chilly evening we traded stories with fellow travellers by the big fireplace in the camp kitchen.



DJ On A Seat Made From Bicycle Parts

Derelict Steam Loco At Pemberton

Fonty's Pool

Friday, 24 October – Cowaramup (AKA Cowtown)

We must have set a new record for the shortest distance from one camp to the next – 31Km. We didn’t even stop for coffee but certainly had one on arrival.

The Blackboard Says It All

Lunchtime At A winery - Platter and Rose

Next was a look around the area with a walk to the cheese factory next door and then a another walk to the winery next door on the other side. The big platter lunch put an end to our exploring on two legs for the day. After a well earned nap we had a look at Margaret River township before heading back to camp.

The last big ticket tourist item for the area we visited was Ngilgi Cave. This cave has been open to tourists since 1903 and is well worth a visit with many spectacular formations.

Ngilgi Cave - Descending Into The Labyrinth Of Chambers

Ngilgi Cave - Looking Up At The Ceiling

Ngilgi Cave - Entry To The Main Chamber

Tuesday, 21 October – Holy Mile

Busselton claims to have the longest timber jetty at 1800 metres. After a stroll to the end of the jetty and back we agree it must be the longest jetty of its type in Australia.

Later we set up camp at one of many beachfront church camps along the ‘holy mile’. From here we explored the Cape Naturaliste area and the wineries north of Margaret River.

Busselton Jetty

Busselton Jetty

The One Gordo Didn't Catch

Fish and Chips For Dinner

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Bunker Bay Near Cape Naturaliste

Saturday, 18 October – Mandurah

Overnight was our first rain, albeit only a few light showers, in nearly four months.

Today was an easy freeway trip from a suburb north of Perth to another suburb south of Perth. The afternoon was pretty relaxing with a stroll around a few caravan yards and several retail outlets. And then the rain started. We got off light but northern Perth, where we were yesterday, got a big dump of hail.

The rain kept up its drizzle into Sunday morning but that didn’t stop us playing tourist. Today we set off for Dwellingup in the nearby hills where took a steam train ride. Afterwards we huddled in a rotunda trying to get away from the rain and cold wind while we had a quick picnic lunch. At least the afternoon cleared up in time for walkies.

Wednesday, 15 October – Karranyup (Perth)

The weather is cooling down as we work our way south.  Even though it is nearing the end of the season we saw many wild flowers along the roads.

Thursday we tried out Perth’s public transport by going down to Fremantle where we visited the Heritage listed Fremantle Prison and wandered the streets looking at the old buildings. The public transport proved cheap, modern and efficient.

Next day we got back in our cars, met up with David’s brother in law, Bryan, and went out to the historic village of New Norcia. This village which has many heritage listed buildings was built by the Benedictine Monks to originally convert the Aborigines to the Catholic faith and later used as a boarding college.

Fremantle Prison

Inside Fremantle Prison (It's alright, they're just tourists)

One Of The Original Prison Cells

The Double Doors Of A Solitary Confinement Cell

Fremantle Prison Gallows - 41 People Died Here

New Norcia

New Norcia

New Norcia

New Norcia

New Norcia Again