Well - sorry if it seems we have forgotten you all :(

Hello everyone,
I know it has been an awful long time since we last wrote on our blog and we do apologise for that.
What have we been doing????
We you know that we travelled to Wagga Wagga for Christmas - where we also celbrated the 80th Birthday of my Mum on the 30th December.  Mum's birthday is the 31st December, but we celebrated a day early to allow those who had commitments on the 31st to attend..
She really didn't know what was going on but all the gathered family had a good time catching up and celebrating the event.

We then back to Jimboomba for a couple of days prior to the arrival of grandbaby number four - his parents are calling him 'Lucky Last' :)

 The night he was born.

He was 4100gm born and at 6 weeks of age weighs a whopping 6000gms.  He loves his mothers milk :)

His older brothers and sister have fallen in love and he is developing his own little personality already.

 



The Van

Before we went away at Christmas we were curious as to how much our van weighed (as we had an inkling that it was  heavier than it should be) - so we took it in FULLY loaded to the weigh-bridge and got the shock of our lives :) :D 

The scales said that we had 900kg over the TARE weight [according to the COMPLIANCE PLATE the fully loaded weight should be 2116kg and we had 2700kg fully loaded weight (or ATM)].  What the!!!!  There was no way that we had that much in the van.

 

We went off for our trip to Wagga and when we returned we had the van booked in for some alterations - so we decided it was the best time to take EVERYTHING out of it and get a TARE weight (empty weight) and ensure that it weighed the amount that was on the Compliance Plate.

WELL - NO it didn't weigh that much - it was 304kg HEAVIER than what it was supposed to.

We have weighed ALL the equipment that we have put on or in the van and YES - we do have too much in it BUT even with the solar panels, three batteries, rod holder, jerry cans, water, gas, food, clothing and crockery etc - it DOES NOT ADD UP TO 900kg.

Take off the 304 kg difference in what it does weigh and what it should weigh and we are getting closer to what all our equipment, food, clothes etc weigh.  so we have an idea of where we have to cull our belongings.  Now if we had a dual axle caravan - we wouldn't have to cull anything BUT as we only have a single axle-van - we have to leave some stuff at home :(.

 

We contacted the Builder in Melbourne and it has taken 4 weeks to get the thing sorted - hopefully!

the builder contacted the chassis builder and the suspension builder and they have recalculated what the weights should be and what the van can safely carry over all the terrain that we want to traverse.

 

We have recieved a new compliance plate with the new weights on it and we now have to take the van and the paperwork along with the new plate to the Roads Traffic Authority - where they have to inspect the caravan and allow us to put the new plate on the van and adjust the weights that are recorded on the registration labels.

We took the paperwork in today BUT because we are into our 15th day of rain, and there is no covered area for the inspectors at Cleveland - we have to wait for the rain to stop or take it 3/4 hour away to Kingston/Woodridge to get it inspected there.

Darryl has decided that we will wait for the rain to stop - could be a while before that happens......

 

Last Friday we had two lovely people join us for the weekend......

Nick Scaife (LifEuphoria - founder and Bicyclist) and his lovely fiancee - Claudia Breitbach.

Once Nick finished cycling around the coast of Australia (27000 km over 7 1/2 months) with Jimmy McGee, he was joined by his lovely girlfriend - who became his Fiancee two days later.

 

We had a fantastic time - and two VERY late nights.  Just after midnight on Friday and then 2am Sunday :)

They left us yesterday afternoon to make their way to the Gold Coast to visit an Uncle and Aunt of Claudia's and then today they were hoping to travel to Lennox Heads to visit friends.  they may have to detour via Casino to get to Sydney though as some of the coast roads are flooded and are said to stay that way for at least a week.

 

Ronnie and Graeme went for a trip down south in January - had to detour because of the fires around Coonabarabran and then on the return trip they had to be careful because of the damage caused by flooding.....

 

Australia Day we went to cousin Julie's place and had a fantastic time with about 20 other people.  Rain pee'd down all day BUT the company made the difference. :D

 

During Cyclone  Oswald - we loast a palm tree that was covered in Elkhorns, BUT we managed to saw it into quarters and have saved all the elkhorns for the future.  We re-attached one to another palm tree, gave one to our son-in-laws parents, Cousin Julie took one and we just have to work out how to hang the remaining one onto some wood and hang it under the Patio.

 

Once we have got everything worked out with the van we will really start planning our travels for 2013.  We will be heading up through Fernvale, to Nanango, onto Bullyard near Bundaberg and then we will see where we go - depending on the Weather.

We have friends at Kilcoy too and Maryborough (Qld) - you will never know where we will show up :)

 

Keep safe all.



busy time

Hi all,
We finished off November with the sad news of the passing of Darryl's Aunty Shirley Svensson.  So on the 29th Novvember Darryl and I headed to Sydney going down the New England Highway to Lithgow which took 13 1/2 hours, onto Sydney on the Friday for her funeral and back to Lithgow and on the Saturday we had the 15 hour journey back home.  It was a very tiring few days but it was good to be able to get to Sydney to represent Mum Walkers line of the family.

Well we have had many doctors appointments over the past few weeks and have got the clear from ost of them.
We have some blood tests to dao and some x-Rays/US scan to get done and then we will await the results.
We were to go away with our Caravan group this weekend but we had to cancel :(
We have got a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon and hopefully the XRays and  a booking for the US scan.
We will then have a busy week with preparing the van for our trip south for Christmas.  Buster is due in to have another haircut (so he will be lovely and cool in Wagga Wagga) and then Beckie and the family will be here on Thursday  Friday.
We have had word that our young friends from LifEuphoria (2 of them at least ) will be here - hopefully on Sunday.  Will have to put on a BBQ for them.  It will be good to Jimmy and Nick - last time we saw them was in Port Hedland WA.
Markus has returned to Germany to be with his family and Tommy is back in the UK with his family.
All I can say is -
Have a very Happy and Safe Christmas and may 2013 be very good to all.
Love
Barb, Darryl and Buster
corrected for a typo :)

Albany WA to Ceduna SA

The time is just flying by and I find I am getting very behind on my blog – sorry everyone.
Our last entry was from the 25^th August. WOW that is almost 2 weeks L
Sunday 26^th August.  Today we drove into Albany to check out the sights and the shops but no major shops were open L  They are only just introducing 7 day a week trade into some places in WA and Albany is NOT one of them L.  We had a good time wandering along the foreshore to the ANZAC Peace Park

 

and out to the “Brig Amity” a full sized replica of the ship that bought the first settlers to Albany from Sydney in 18-something J [Sorry I forget]. 

 

 

I then had a wander through the Museum with Faye whilst Darryl and Arthur were outside.

We then walked back into the town and had lunch at a café before heading to IGA to get some supplies before we head out tomorrow.  On the way back to the van we called into a Super Cheap Auto store that we found was open, and Darryl got oil and a filter to change the oil in the car.  Back to the van and a night inside as the rain started once we got back to the van.

Monday 27^th August.  Today we left Albany and headed Easterly and arrived at a free camp on Fitzgerald River near Jacup Station.  Darryl and Arthur changed the oil and inserted the new filter whilst Faye and I went flower hunting and we found a ‘White Spider Orchid’ in the grasses beneath a tree. 

 a White Spider Orchid

 

I believe this to be a swamp-donkey orchid

 a pink hakea

 

 a cowslip orchid

Whilst we were doing this another van pulled in and enquired if we were going to stay the night – yes was the reply so they said they would stay too.  We found that we had met Peter and Connie at Big Valley Campsite near Margaret River and whilst they were in Albany they had purchased a new van.  This one is a bit bigger than their old one and they seem quite happy with it. 

 enjoying our campfire in the free camp

 We had a great night sitting around the camp fire until about 10pm.  The rain stayed away and so did the mosquitos.  We were joined that night by a bus, a van and a large motorhome.

Tuesday 28^th August.  Today we drove into Esperance after a little debacle with the wheel chocks this morning L and will be staying at the Pink Lake Tourist Park. 

We are about 3km from Town and about the same from the pink lake – that is not pink at the moment.  This is a reasonably sized park and is lovely and clean and cared for.  We will stay here for 5 nights.  Faye and Arthur will be here for 4 nights before heading out to Kalgoorlie.  We settled in and had a quiet afternoon as we caught up on some household chores and marvel at the fact that the hot water service is heating water on 240V for the first time in 4 months!!!!!  We then sat back and listened to the rain fall constantly all night.

Wednesday 29^th August.  Today we headed into town to check it out.  There is quite a nice shopping precinct with all of the major banks and businesses. We found the Caravan supply stores to replace the chocks Darryl broke yesterday and to get a replacement electric switch for the hot water service as it was NOT heating the water this morning.  We then went to Bunnings and got some supplies for Arthur to fix a connection for the fridge in the car when we are on 240v.  It is good having an electrician travelling with you who offers to repair small things J.  Into town and the waterfront and stopped at the ‘Dome’ coffee shop for MT and they even gave Buster a bowl of water too.  Back to the van and all the little repairs done whilst I washed some curtains and cleaned the back window screen after Darryl cleaned the window.

Thursday 30^th August.  This morning Faye awoke feeling unwell and so has gone to the hospital to be checked out.  Darryl and I are going into the bank to change some coins for the washing and drying machines and then go to the Chemist to get his script filled.  We went to town and met up with Faye and Arthur whilst they were getting a script filled for Faye.  We then went for a drive up to the lookout and saw all the islands in the Esperance harbour – 21 in total.  The water here seems so clear and blue – various shades but lovely.  Whilst going for a walk along the cliff tops we found some more lovely wild flowers.  Back into the cars and travelled about 10 km along the coast checking out the various bays as we went and witness a fisherman haul in a lovely big salmon. Back to the car and hoping that the rain will stay away J.

Friday 31^st August.  We booked Buster into a ‘day-care’ so that we could go out to Cape Le Grand Nature Park for the day.  He is staying with Biddy and her dog ‘Freda’ and seems happy.

We drove the 59km out to the Cape Le Grand Park and went past the ‘Stonehenge’ that has been built on a property 8km from Esperance.  You have to pay to go in and see it but this is not available during August L.  The construction doesn’t look right to us but will have to check it out on line when we have reception.  You cannot pull up on the side of the road and take photos as they have built a fence along the road and the council have put up ‘no stopping, no parking’ signs.  Spoilsports :P.  We entered the park and drove to Lucky Bay.  Here it is reported that the kangaroos come and lie down on the sand and sunbake – not today though L.  VERY white beaches here and the water is crystal clear.  We stopped many times on the road into the bay to take flower photos.  It really is amazing how many you find when you stop and get out of the car.  We lunched at Lucky Bay after visiting another bay first.  We then went to Thistle Cove and whistling rock and then onto Hellfire Bay before going to Cape Le Grand Bay.  We then decided that we had better head back as Buster had been in care for 6 ½ hours.  When we got back to the van it was to be told that Buster was a very clever dog – after we had left and Biddy was called inside, Buster climbed her lattice fence like a ladder and was sitting on the top of it, just about to escape, when Biddy came back outside.  He then watched every car that came into the park to see if it was us L - but other than that he was a good dog but would not eat anything or drink anything.
Faye and Arthur have decided to extend their stay in Esperance so that she can go back to the hospital tomorrow and have her ear and throat checked again before they head to Norseman.

Saturday 1^st September.  Faye and Arthur heading off to the Hospital and Darryl and I went and washed the car and gave it a reasonable vacuum at the car wash.   The ‘super-sucker’ wasn’t so super L but at least the car looks cleaner than it did J.

We then met up with Faye and Arthur and went to old tanker Wharf and saw ‘Sammy the seal’ and a small one frolicking in the water.  We then went to the supermarket and got our supplies for the next five days (we will be starting to crossing the Nullarbor and free camping) and making sure that everything is full and in working order.  We then went to the Pier Hotel for lunch to celebrate Father’s Day and also the fact that Faye and Arthur have their 45^th Wedding anniversary tomorrow.

Sunday 2^nd September.  Darryl got a lovely call from Beckie and the children for Father’s day at 8am – prior to us leaving the caravan park in Esperance.  This was lovely.  We then made our way out and up to Norseman – heading north into a headwind – bugger!  A 200km trip took us 4 hours with the wind and our stops to take photos of the flowers!  We found some ‘Swamp Donkey Orchids’ in the grasses and also some ‘yellow trumpets’.  We arrived in Norseman at 1pm and finally found a service station and filled up before stopping in a rest area for lunch.  Unfortunately we both forgot the phone and we missed a call from Ben for Father’s Day.  Sorry love.  Will ring when we have reception!  We continued on for another 79km to our rest area for the night.  A great big area in amongst the trees and we had no sooner set up then the rain began to fall L bugger!  It rained on and off until about 7pm and then the skies cleared and we managed to sit and enjoy our lovely campfire.

Monday 3^rd September.  We headed out at about 9.30am heading towards Caiguna.  The wind was really starting to pick up this morning and we heard on the radio that Perth was expecting some terrible storms and winds up to 120km an hour.  Hope everyone over there has managed to baton down the hatches and keep safe.  We met up with Christine and Gordon whom we had met at Sullivan’s Campground and several times since.  They are going through to Nullarbor roadhouse, so will be in front of us from now on.

We have put our watches FORWARD by 45 minutes here as we are now in the ‘Central West time zone’ and are now only 1 hour and 15 minutes behind the rest of the family J :D
As we went along the wind became stronger and we called into two rest stops to check them out, but they were very open and unprotected, so when we were at Caiguna we decided to park at the next stop for the night.  Unfortunately it was again a very open area and we tried to park the vans to minimise the wind and dust but it just came up under the vans anyway L, even with us parking in behind some of the vegetation.  It was amazing how hot it was today – regardless of the wind – it got up to 34 degrees and we all changed into shorts and t-shirts for the afternoon and the shoes came off in preference to thongs…. By nightfall we had been joined by a whizbang and a caravan.  The wind finally dropped at about 7pm for us to enjoy a drink or two together before retreating to the vans.

Tuesday 4^th September.  Up at 6.30 this morning as Faye is not well with fevers and vomiting during the night. There are medical facilities at Eucla (uncertain as to the extent of them though) but Arthur has decided to drive back to Caiguna and if necessary park the van there and drive back to Esperance (600km) to the hospital to get her checked out.  They left the camp spot at 6.45am.  Hopefully they will catch up with us again across the track.  The winds are starting to blow again this morning, coming from the north or nor, nor, west.  That is not good for us as they will be pushing us in the side as we travel.  We left the camp at 8am and as we drove easterly (more north-easterly) we were being buffeted by the winds.  At 12md we decided to find a camp and park for the rest of the day and night.  We are now camped 10km West from Mundrabilla and the winds are gale force with really heavy blast in between the gusts.  We have got plenty of protection but the van is rocking and the dust ingress is terrible.  No point trying to dust things down as they will be just as bad in five minutes time L.  We have been joined by a camper, a small motorhome and three caravans in the past hour as the winds have really picked up.  The clouds are starting to roll in from the west – so hopefully we won’t get too wet tonight. Only time will tell.  By nightfall there were about 20 vehicles taking refuge from the wind and some rain and trying to wait out the night.

Wednesday 5^th September.  We were up and on our way by 9am and we were the last ones to leave the campground.  We had been debating whether to stay in our camp for another day and hope that Faye and Arthur catch up to us – or keep going until we are in phone range.  We decided to keep going.  We reached Eucla at about 10am, and we have full reception on the phone, and filled the fuel tank and then had a walk around the site.  We had a coffee and then decided to go down to the ‘Old Telegraph Station’ for a look see.  We were able to dive the van the 4km down the hill to about 50 metres from the old building.  This building is being slowly engulfed by the shifting sands and would have been an impressive building in its time. There were some more ruins about 25 metres away – closer to the beachfront but it was difficult to ascertain what they may have been.  There were no interpretive signs there to inform you as to the roles of the buildings etc. L.  We then decided to walk out to the ocean – this was about 1km away as the crow flies, but in actuality was about a 2km walk.  As we started this walk we got a call to say that Faye and Arthur were only 40km out of Eucla – so we will wait for them to arrive.  I continued the walk and Darryl went back to get his camera and lock the car.  I got all the way out to the beach and virtually walked straight onto it. :D.  I thought there might have been a bit of a drop off to get to it – but there wasn’t.  I found an old pier there that had quite a few Cormorants sitting on it and they seemed to be enjoying the windy conditions.  The day had started out cool (because of the wind) but walking across the sand and rocks it certainly started to warm up.  On my return to Darryl I got another call to say that Faye and Arthur had arrived in Eucla and were heading down to the old building now.  It was good to see them once we got back to the car and to learn that Faye was much better.

We decided that we would stay the evening in Eucla so that they could have a rest and catch up (they had travelled 1,100km over the past two days for medical assistance), so headed back to the service station to book into the caravan park.  $20 per night with power – but no water available to attach to the van, we were able to get buckets of water and pour into the van though.  Amenities were big and clean and a cost of $1 for 5 minutes in the shower.  The laundry facilities were also nice and clean but there were no clothes lines to hang the washing on – so our little rotary clothes lines came out.  There was A clothes dryer available but just about everyone wanted to do their washing and one dryer would not cope J.  By 7pm there were 29 vehicles in the park – so a good night at Happy hour.  We met another couple from the Australian Caravan Club (ACC) tonight.  Ray and Merle hail from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria and are travelling across to WA – so we gave them info on different places along the way.

Thursday 6^th September.  We were awake at 6.30 and found that about 6 of the vehicles near us had already left the van park – What The! – why do they have to leave so early????  If they are heading west they will gain 45 minutes about 200km up the road and if they are heading east they will have the sun in their eyes for the next hour…

So we left Eucla at about 8am and headed more Easterly.  13km across we had to go through the Quarantine station – amazingly we only had to drive through and apparently the real quarantine stop heading into SA is at Ceduna – nearly 400km away.  This is good for us as it will give us a chance to eat the rest of our fruit and the salad vegies before we get there.  We will also be able give Buster a good brush down and shake out his bedding etc. to make sure that there are no grass seeds and burs hiding in them and him. J.  We were amazed that there was no sign saying ‘welcome to SA’ and nothing signifying the fact that you were in a different state L  Apparently there is a sign on the side of the Quarantine building saying that we were now in SA (according to the truckie that was going into WA) but not one of us saw it.  We were hoping to stop and take a photo at the border L
We stopped at the next viewing stop and took some photos of the Bight and were nearly blown off the cliff top by the wind.  There were also some small squalls of rain coming in – so we went back to the van and kept going.  We stopped at another small viewing stop but had the same weather again, so we made the decision to keep going to the ‘Head of the Bight’ centre where hopefully the weather would be better and we might actually get to see some whales.
We stopped at the Nullarbor Roadhouse and had lunch in the van whilst it was being buffeted about by the strong winds.  A further 15 up the road we turned south and went to the centre.  Whales YES – we paid our entry fee and headed out on the walkway.  There is a wooden ramp along the coast with lots of viewing spots and the whales and their calves put on a good show for us.  We must have seen about 30 whales and calves in the time that we were there and hopefully got some good shots too. We then left the centre at about 3pm and continued a further 20km to the roadside stop for the night.  The wind is still blowing a gale and there are reports that we are in for some rain tonight.  There is lots of sand and dirt being blown around and it is difficult trying to find somewhere safe and warm.  We have now decided that it will be better to retire to our respective caravans until the morning as the temperature is about 12 degrees but with the southerly wind-chill factor – is about 6 degrees.  We have been joined by three other vans, a small coaster and a station wagon.  Being in amongst the trees is helping with the wind – in the fact that the van is not being buffeted about J - so we should all get a good night sleep tonight…
Buster is already snoring at my feet – so have tried to capture it on video.  Will see how I go.

Friday 7^th September. We headed toward Ceduna today after a night with some rain.  This morning was lovely and clear and only a very light wind blowing.  We headed to Nundroo for petrol (the cheapest in a long while at $1.589 per litre and then continued on our way.  We went through the town of Penong and there were windmills EVERYWHERE.  There was one cluster of about 12 windmills – all spinning madly in the wind (yes indeed, the wind had picked up again and it was really giving us a boot in the bottom as we travelled along).  We arrived in Ceduna just after 12 and the guy took our leftover salad veggies – he even took the onions Darryl had pickled in Vinegar as they were not allowed L.  There was no query about honey, and he wasn’t fussed about Buster and his bedding or mat in the car.

We drove into town and checked into the van park and then had lunch before heading up to the hospital to have Darryl’s INR done.  We then went to Foodland to get some fresh fruit and vegies and surprisingly they were NOT overpriced.  Back to the van and put everything in its place and by then it was time for happy hour.  We were joined by Sharon and Paul (who we first met at Sullivans Campground out of Katherine and then again in Esperance) and we all enjoyed a few drinks and chatter whilst sitting on the leeward side of the van.  Whilst taking Buster for a walk later I met John and Adrienne whom we first met at Robe River then Onslow and Denham.  This travelling fraternity really is quite small.
We have heard that the LIFEuphoria lads are currently separated.  Nick and Jimmy are cycling down the south west of Western Australia whilst Marcus and Tommy are in Perth.  Tommy was in hospital for four days with a [still] undiagnosed illness and is due in Adelaide next week for an exhibition of his artwork, and Marcus will cycle from Perth to Hyden and Kalgoorlie, where he will meet up with Nick and Jimmy again.

 

An up date of where we have been and what we have done.

Have managed to get really good internet access - so have uploaded photos for all blogs from Hutt River to today. YAY!!!!  Barb 12/9/12
We have had quite a few stops where the internet access has been fluctuating and pretty poor.  I have made notes for each day and this is where were are at now.  I will not be trying to upload the photos as it takes too long with the limited access.  Enjoy the diatribe anyway and when we do manage to get a good access I will go back and tryn and upload the relevant photos.
Sunday 5^th August.  Today we went to Alan and Julies place and spent a fantastic day enjoying their company.  We went for a walk around their neighbourhood and then spent the evening with them also.  On our way back to the house we noted that our front right tyre was going flat.  Darryl pumped it up but we will have to get it checked tomorrow.
Monday 6^th August.  Up at about 7.30 and off to Alan and Julie’s.  On the way we stopped in and had Darryl’s INR done and then went to the ‘tyrepower’ store to get the tyre checked.  It was very flat this morning and we had to reinflate it.  It turned out that it was just that the valve had worked loose and the guys tightened it and checked the tyre for punctures.  We then arrived at Alan and Julie’s at about 10.30am.  Into Alan’s car and off for a visit to the King’s Park [400 hectares of parklands, picnic areas and natural bush and includes the War Memorial]

Black Kangaroo paw

Qualup Bell

Banksia

 and is right in the middle of town.  We were able to take Buster along as well which was good.  We enjoyed rambling along the paths and checking out all the flowers and flowering trees.  Darryl and Alan went for a walk on the ‘skywalk’ whilst Julie and I took Buster down the Law Walk and then re-joined the guys as they came off their walk.

War Memorial

Eternal flame

We then stopped at the café for a coffee before heading back to their home and a BBQ tea.  As we arrived back at the house it started to rain and Julie said it was because she had said the BBQ words.
We had had a fantastic sunny day in at the park so we could not have asked for anything better.
Tuesday 7^th August.  Today we got the ‘housework done’ and then headed out to Hillarys boat Harbour to meet up with some Australian Baby Boomer [ABB] forum members.  It was really good to meet Vic and Carol, John and Irona.  We had a lovely 3 hours with them and then we got Buster out of the car and they also enjoyed meeting him also.  We will have to get together when we are next in WA.  Vic and Darryl had a good time talking about the RAAF and also finding out that they both know Brian – whom we are going to see tomorrow.  What a small world.
We left them so that they could get through the city before the afternoon peak hour traffic started.  We then headed back to the van park and I got the washing and drying done.
Wednesday 8^th August.  Up about 7.30 and then headed out to Tapping to meet up with Brian and June Hussey, whom Darryl had met on an exercise in Learmonth many years ago.  They are an over 50’s village and they have a lovely home.  They invited Buster in and he had a lovely time off his leash.  It is great having him with us, but it is sad that he has to be on his leash whenever he is out of the caravan or the car.  It is very difficult to find places that allow dogs to have an ‘off-leash’ free run.  We spent the full day here and got back to the van at 7pm.
Thursday 9^th August.  A free morning this morning and then we were joined by our friends Faye and Arthur.  They had arrived in Perth yesterday evening.  Was lovely catching up and trying to plan when next we would meet. J.
Friday 10^th August.  Today we went and did the shopping ready for moving on tomorrow.  We also bathed Buster. Our displeasure with this park has not dissipated. We KNOW that the cleaner goes into the amenities every day but I doubt very much that he mops the floors or sweeps them.  There are collections of grit in the corners of the toilet and shower cubicles and then laundry tubs have not been cleaned for the whole week.  At the cost that they are charging for us to stay here – they should be spick and span and gleaming!!!!!!
Tonight we went round to Alan and Julie’s and enjoyed a dinner at their home. photos of plants in their garden.......

It was great reminiscing about our childhood and Aunty Nancy and Uncle Billy. It was good to see Cameron again before we left Perth but sad that we could not see Erin or Michael and their partners/families – maybe next visit.  There is so much to see in this part of the country, that we will definitely be back.
Saturday 11^th August.  We headed south today to Mandurah and called into the visitors centre and waited to meet up with my crafting friend – Hanna. 

The original European settler of the Mandurah area was Thomas Peel who sold land, surveyed roads and imported stock.  He named the area Mandurah, derived from the Aboriginal word ‘mandjar’ which means ‘trading place’ or ‘meeting place’.

 The lake near the info centre

 a blossom at Pinjarra

We spent a lovely few hours in her company and she took us for a drive to Pinjarra and to her lovely home.  Buster got star treatment at her home.  Back to the caravan and then we headed south again.  At 5.30pm we pulled into the John Tognela Rest areas on the Forrest Highway and made our camp for the night.   It was coming over dark very quickly and Hanna messaged to say that there was a strong wind warning for the south-west.  Then the rain started. L.
Sunday 12^th August.  We were up at 7.30 and had breakfast listening to the rain that continues to fall.  We do not hate the rain – just thinking it would be nice if it wasn’t quite so heavy.  We headed south toward Bunbury and pulled into MacDonald’s.  We worked out how Darryl could get more books onto his Kindle using the computer – and just had to find a Wi-Fi hotspot to get them to download.  He managed to download two more before the connection kept dropping out.  That will have to do him for a while. J.  We then continued on our way to the south-east to Donnybrook and booked into the Transit Park for the next two nights.  We will spend the afternoon here in the van and then go sight-seeing in the morning.  We are going to go to Dardanup and visit Gnomesville.

Known as the Apple Capital of the South West, Donnybrook emerged from small beginnings as a goldfield to a giant in the fruit industry.  With thanks to an ‘Anonymous’ community benefactor and the great hearts of numerous volunteers, Donnybrook can now also boast about having the ‘Biggest Free Entry Fun Park’ in all of Australia.  The fun park caters to the young and young at heart; from the smallest feet to those whose boots we all strive to fit one day.

Monday 13^th August. Today we went to the visitors centre in Donnybrook and then headed out to the place called Gnomesville.  This started as 5 gnomes on the roundabout but grew and grew and grew.  Eventually vandals started to demolish the gnomes so a local farmer cordoned off part of his land and moved the gnomes.  They now cover an area that goes 600metres up one road and about 200metres down another.

Smurf Gnomes!!!

see the post of Gnomesville for more photos, please.

There are gnomes everywhere, up trees, in stumps, in the creek, on the banks, anywhere that you can think of.  It is absolutely fantastic.  Thousands upon thousands of gnomes.

We then went to the King Jarrah Tree but unfortunately someone has souvenired the sign that points to it.  We eventually found it and were a little disappointed with it but got photos anyway.
Back on the road to Dardanup and detoured to the Ferguson Falls Winery and tried their wines and jams and chutneys; hmmm got 2 wines and a relish and a jam. 

parrots know as '27's'

grass trees with 'drumsticks'

 Back on the road to Dardanup; then onto Boyanup, and got lovely pies and drinks for lunch.  Back to the Donnybrook and wandered the street and took photos of quite a few flowers in the main street.  Then Darryl went to the bakery and got Afternoon tea and dessert for tonight.

pea flower

grevillea

Back to the park and settle in with the rain.  Darryl then went and got Pizza for dinner.  Very well done Eagle Boys :)
Tuesday 14^th August.  Awoke to the sound of rain but then we had sunshine.  We connected the van to the car between showers of rain :)
Left Donnybrook at 10am and drove via Capel to Busselton and Margaret River.  This took just on 2 hours.  We had rain squalls on and off throughout the drive and when we arrived at the Big Valley Campsite we had a sleety rain.  Took us a little while to get set up for the five nights that we will be here and then we had lunch.

view from the van when we had set up

next morning

The settlement of Margaret River can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920’s, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.  The town is situated on the Margaret River approximately 10kms from the ocean and lies amidst lush green pastures and forests.  The area also boasts ‘Australia’s Most Magnificent Caves’ with over 350 limestone caves scattered. 
Wineries – Margaret River is one of the world’s great winemaking regions.  There are reportedly 200 wineries and boutique breweries in the Margaret River region.

I started to get a headache behind my eyes just after lunch (2.45) and then went to lie down.  It eventually went away.
Buster is enjoying it here as it is on a sheep station and he has a whole paddock where he is able to run free amongst the lambs and the sheep.  It is beautiful and green and lots of lovely lambs.
The showers look rustic but when you open the corrugated iron doors the amenities are spick and span and new.  There is a nice laundry and dryer and then a large BBQ area with gas stoves as well as BBQ.  Nice big tables to sit at and there is also a communal fire pit where you can have a fire after 7pm - weather permitting.  They also provide the wood for you to burn. 
We are only 11 km out of Margaret River and down a 2 km dirt road, quiet rural setting - lovely.
Wednesday 15^th August. Faye and Arthur contacted us to let us know that they too are in Margaret River.  We are to meet them in town at Yahava Koffee for morning tea.

a guinea fowl roaming around the paddock behind the van

a panorama of the view behind the van

We headed into town early to have Darryl's INR done and then to meet Faye and Arthur.  By the time we had the blood test done it was to find Faye and Arthur near the car.  They are staying at Gracetown Caravan Park about 10minutes NW of Margaret River.  We wandered the street and had a nice long visit at the visitors information centre and then we wandered back to the car - got Buster out for a wander and then stopped and had lunch.  We then headed our different ways and will meet up tomorrow at the Lake Cave at 10am.
Darryl and I then went for a drive up the road toward Busselton and through Cowaramup (we have been told it is pronounced core-am-up) where there are lots of lovely cow and calf statues throughout the town. 

Buster saying 'hello'!

Waiting, waiting......

MuKau (moo cow)

 Apparently all down this part of the country they had a ‘cow parade’ and these are some of the cows that were on display; we also took photos of Beckett's flat and Beckett Road :)

 

Yucka Lily

driving into Big Valley Campsite

 

and then we stopped in at the Margaret River Diary company and got some cheese for happy hour and tomorrows nibbles.
Back to the van and Darryl made a lovely beef and vegie soup for dinner whilst I did some washing and tried to get it dry in the dryer.  I will hang the heavy stuff out tomorrow whilst we are out - as it is supposed to be lovely and sunny.
We spent about an hour and a half chatting to the couple next door and enjoyed their camp fire.
Thursday 16^th August. We left home at 9.30 this morning and made our way to Lake Cave to meet up with Faye and Arthur.  They were already there when we arrived.
We went on our tour DOWN, DOWN, DOWN into the cave.  325 steps DOWN to be exact!!!!!!  It was pretty dark down there and I was thankful that I had taken my head torch with me just in case.  It was an interesting cave and the 'floating table' was amazing.

down, down, down.......

Lake cave, which recently celebrated its 100^th year as a tourist cave, has been entirely refit to fully show off its delicate formations and famous reflective lake, and the floating table formation.

Floating Table - can you see the reflection in the water under the 'table'???

Once the tour was finished we had to walk the 325 steps BACK UP to the top! :P
 Going down was bad for me because it was quite steep but coming back up gave all of us our aerobic exercise for the day. 

found this little critter on the way up

moss everywhere.........

We then went to the coffee shop for MT.  Back into the cars and headed to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin.  This 40 minute drive took us just on an hour.  Some very pretty Karri Forest through this area and lots of Yucca lilies growing wild in the forest.

Karri trees

Augusta was settled in 1830 and is situated on the banks of the beautiful Blackwood River and Hardy Inlet where it meets the Southern Ocean.  Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is 9kms south of Augusta on the most South-western point of Western Australia.  The lighthouse provides a vital link to the navigational and meteorological networks in Australia.

We called in to the old water wheel just before the lighthouse.  This old water wheel used to be powered by a natural spring that would turn the wheel and make power for the light house. 

Now the wheel has got so much calcium deposit on it that it looks like it is turning to stone.  We stayed here long enough to make our lunch, boil the kettle and eat lunch. 
Back into the car and up the short distance to the lighthouse.  Here it cost us $5 each to wander through the grounds to check things out.  We could have climbed the lighthouse and its 176 steps but our knees and hips were still letting us know about our earlier effort that we gave that a miss.  We found some lovely flowers here which we have yet to identify. 

?Orchid ?succulent ?????

They look like they are growing either from a bulb or from a succulent and they are black.  Lovely flower though. The ladies in the front office didn’t know what we meant until Faye showed them a photo.  The weather today has been very overcast and the occasional feelings of a rain spray but otherwise dry.

Faye checking out the cow

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Daz and Me - the wind was Bl--dy cold :D

 

Buster was left at the van with plenty of food and water but when we returned it was to find that he had NOT eaten or drunk anything.  A couple of the other residents said that he was a good dog all day and sat in his chair and watched them work the sheep and lambs.  He is now sitting in his bed at my feet and snoring loudly after eating dinner and drinking his water bowl dry – twice! :P :D
Friday 17^th August.  Today we up the highway toward Busselton and went to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. 

 red flowering gum

 

a grevillea

Lovely chocolate with a lovely price also – which was a bit disappointing. A small block of Chocolate was $12 – so we decided that our taste of their chocolate drops would be enough to suffice. J We saw some flowers growing along the path to the front door and are not sure if they were Kangaroo paw or Cat’s paws.

 Red Kangaroo Paw or Cat's Paw???

Busselton was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia in 1830.  The town is named after the Bussell family, and soon established itself as a leading port with the export of timber.

 Will have to try and work it out.  From here we went to the nuts and cereal farm and got some lovely biscuits and muesli.  We then went to another chocolate shop called Gabriel’s.  This was nearly as expensive as the first but dealt with specific chocolates from overseas and mainly dark chocolate. They had some lovely black Kangaroo paws growing in their front garden and in the field next door there were lots and lots of Yucca lilies.

Yucca lilies everywhere through the field

  There are fields of them all along the Caves Road down to Augusta.  We went for a drive to Yarringup and found it very disappointing – you follow the road down and around to the cove, there are houses sprouting all up the cliff face, and then there are buildings and – nothing!!!. 

So we turned around and headed back out to the main road and then towards Busselton.  It was at this time that we realised that we had ¾ hour to get back to The Berry Farm, near our campsite to meet up with Faye and Arthur for afternoon tea.  So off we went.  We made it with five minutes to spare.  The ‘cottage’ that houses the café had a lovely bush of Daphne growing out the front in a lovely pot. 

Daphne flower

 I stood in front of it and inhaled deeply several times and relived the aroma from my childhood, when Mum had a large Daphne outside my bedroom window.  This is one plant that I have tried to grow but have been unsuccessful.  The other is a vine called ‘pyrostegia’ and it is growing everywhere over here grrr…
When we finished AT we headed back to our campsite to show Faye and Arthur and we took Buster for a long walk up through the paddock with the orphaned lambs in it.  We had him running from Darryl to myself for about 10 minutes and really tuckered him out. J.
We then made dinner and joined the other campers at a campfire up near the BBQ area and found out that two of our new neighbours come from Beaudesert and Chambers Flat and then another couple come from Wagga Wagga.  It is such a small world.

Saturday 18^th August.  Today started out slow and there was a very heavy dew this morning.  The external temp got down to 3 degrees and we had condensation on everything – even dripping from the air vents in the van. L.  I got a couple of loads of washing done and then Darryl and I headed into town to do the grocery shopping and to get the gas Cylinder refilled.  Came back to the van and had lunch and Buster was quite happy to sit at our feet in the sunshine.  Yep - our first full day of sunshine in the past week. J.
Darryl and I then went for a drive to Prevelly – what a lovely piece of the coast but unfortunately it had been devastated by fire earlier in the year and there is only the new vegetation that has started to come up in the past fortnight. 

Prevelly

devastation from the fires

 We were lucky enough to see some small Mangles Kangaroo Paw on our trip though.  We then drove to Gracetown and called in and saw Faye and Arthur and had AT.  We will meet up with them again tomorrow when we start to head toward Pemberton.
We are having a quite night tonight sitting in and listening to the CD.  Buster is again in his bed at our feet and snoring….
Saturday 25th August.  We are now in Albany - we arrived today.  The park is one of the only ones that would take a canine and for the money that we have paid - it is not worth the money.  Overgrown grounds, trees need trimming so you can get to the sites and the amenities leave a lot to be desired. We were planning on staying here for almost a week but now we will move on on Monday and head toward Esperance.  We will probably have a free camp or two on the way and stay in Esperance a bit longer.

Since my last entry we have spent two nights at a low cost camp at Alexandra Bridge, 10km from Karridale in WA which was lovely. 

a friendly neighbour

the Blackwood River

Alexandra Bridge

native Wisteria

We had rain the two nights we were there but it was great sitting out in front of the fire under the tarp.  We had such a great fire burning that the warmth was lovely and Buster had a 'roasting' time sitting in his chair in front of the fire too.  We spent the time here with our friends Faye and Arthur.  This camp ground was right on the Blackwood River and had flushing toilets and one COLD shower. We could have fires and they provided the firewood.  Excellent.

nice hot coals coming here

us in front of the van

Our 'tent' setup so we can enjoy the fire

our fire

 

Buster enjoying the warmth :)

On the Tuesday we moved on to Pemberton.  We did not stay in Pemberton itself as the one and only caravan park does not take dogs.  Well their loss not ours :)  We did stop in the town and had morning tea with Vic and Carol whom we met in Perth.  They were spending the next two nights in the local hotel - after being given a gift voucher. 

 'Cabbages' :)

'Cabbages' and snapdragons

We then travelled another 27km to Quininup.  A very small village that made us and Buster very welcome.  The park has lots of kangaroos roaming around [and quite a few of them had joeys in their pouches] and some emus going through the park also. 

both distracted :)

hmm yes, thank you

hiding from the rain

education time

The amenities were very good and clean.  From here we drove to Manjimup and the Diamond Tree. 

the tree behind the fence is the Diamond Tree - a fire lookout

 Darryl climbing the rungs

A tree that has got rungs in it that you can climb the 50 plus metres to the fire tower at the top.  Back to Pemberton and out to the Gloucester Tree and another Climb if you want too.
We left here and headed toward Walpole - a whole 88km away :).  We actually stayed out at Peaceful Beach for two nights as they took dogs and the name appealed.   Well the amenities were very old and the water pressure almost non-existent, but we were comfortable for the two nights and the rain had actually stopped.   We went for a drive along a 'Flora Road' and found some lovely wildflowers

 

 and then went to Conspicuous Cliff, into the Tree Top Walk [up 40 metres in the air], onto the Giant Tingle Tree and circular pool before heading back into Walpole and then out to Peaceful Bay again.  Buster spent the day at the van as he was not able to go into the parks. :(.
We are now in Albany.  We found out today that the LIFEuphoria boys are back in Perth as Tommy got sick and has bee admitted to the Royal Perth Hospital.  They are awaiting blood test results to try and determin what is wrong with him.  The other three lads will wait in Perth until a diagnosis is made and Tommy is given treatment. GET WELL SOON TOMMY.