Horrocks Beach & Northampton 26th to 28th April Our next planned stopover was to be Horrocks Beach, 52klm North of Geraldton. Setting off from Geraldton the first thing we noticed since leaving Perth was that we were not travelling through sand dunes and coastal scrub which was predominantly bottlebrush. This country was farming country, albeit still sandy loam soils, the country supported pasture and crops, it was also undulating and we saw gum trees! The first and only place we came to between Geraldton and Horrocks Beach was Northampton and one of the oldest settlements outside of Perth. In 1839, Lt George Grey reported ‘favourably’ on the area. Northampton was declared a town site in 1864 and the first railway in WA from Geraldton to Northampton was laid and completed in 1879. Lead and copper mining ... read more

Greenough 24th April Greenough is 27klm south of Geraldton and deserving of a Blog in its own right (I feel!). Sitting on the Greenough Flats a flood plain close to the mouth of the Greenough River is the Central Greenough Historic Settlement which comprises 11 original buildings. At its peak in the 1860’s and 70’s, Greenough (pronounced Grennuff), was a highly successful wheat growing area. However from 1900 the combined effects of drought, crop disease (wheat rust), and floods led to the areas dramatic decline of the population on the “flats”. The once bustling centre of this farming community became a ghost town and today with funding from the National trust in particular 11 restored buildings survive. Dating from the 1880’s these buildings include a school, the police station, courthouse and jail. Two churches, a community ... read more

Cervantes 19th and 20th April Leaving Perth we headed north on the Wanneroo Rd towards Lancelin, our first ‘scheduled’ stop (coffee!). A small seaside town, that is made up of holiday homes and a small fleet of local WA Rock Lobster fisherman. The community is serviced by a few basic shops including a bakery (of course) but coffee shops were not to be seen. A vanilla slice and a milkshake had to suffice this morning and after a walk on the beach and jetty and with morning tea partaken we set off again for Cervantes along the newly constructed section of the Indian Ocean Drive. The drive itself was uneventful and despite its grand name, the road did not allow us continued views of the ocean, rather we saw countless hectares of sand dune country go ... read more

Busso – an update and getting ready to get back on the road again! Sunday 1st April 2012 It has been a while since our last entry and now we need to fill you in on a few more happenings here over the past few weeks. Apart from my exploits to help get the 2012 vintage in from many of the Margaret River Region Wineries which will ensure a successful vintage for all you wine lovers, we have been busy attending and doing ‘other stuff’ as well. One of the really good events we went to was the Dunsborough Festival where we attended both of the night concerts, the first being “A Night of Classics” with The Cape Divas. The Cape Divas are an exciting vocal duo made up of Sussane Siegrist - a graduate of ... read more

The farmers markets are held every Sunday and we always shop here for our fresh fruit and veges, mostly salad items. The stonefruit has been fantastic and we are eating so much stonefruit at the moment, nectarines being top of our list. Always a good morning to meet other happy travellers from the park and share a few stories of where they have been and what to see. The beach has to be the highlight for us though and Jackie just cannot get enough of it. Every day a trip down to the beach is on the agenda, if only for a walk. However lately she is getting very brave being led on by another freind of hers a black Lab cross that dives in the water to fetch a toy, Jack thinks this is great ... read more