12th March 2008

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12th March 2008
We were planning to leave early but as there was an internet connection available at the caravan site we decided to post the previous two days blogs before leaving our cabin in Fremantle. I took a picture of the aged bus opposite our cabin.
It was another hot day at 34 degrees and we needed to find as much shade as we could. We also had a long drive (almost 300 kms) south to Margaret River.I made a mistake in thinking the old coast road would be more interesting than the highay as it appeared to follow the coast but it ran through suburb after suburb and had 60 and 80 speed limits and endless traffic lights. The road was not far from the sea but it is very flat country so you could only see housing estates or trees. It took ages to get to Bunbury and then the countryside became more interesting and a lot greener.
We have checked into another cabin this time on the edge of the forest but within walking distance of Margaret River town centre. We do have an internet connection at the cabin but there is also a good internet cafe in town.
After some lunch we went to book a kangaroo safari for the evening. It seemed the best way to see some kangaroos living in the wild as there is such a lot of development around that there is not much wildlife unless you know where to go.
We were picked by Neil Mcleod who has a small business running safaris on his farm of about 75 acres. He inherited one quarter of his parents farm and has left it fairly wild just breeding a few horses. The kangaroos rather naturally like to live on his farm as he doesn't shoot them like the neighbouring wine growers. He drove us around his land in an aged 1962 four wheeled drive Bedford open backed truck which he has restored and put some benches in the back. It is how he went around as a child on his fathers farm and it is great to sit up high and look over the land. The kangaroos were resting in the evening sun or getting ready to start feeding on the rather parched grass. There were little groups of them everywhere, some of the males were very big. They call these “big boomers”. There were some females with their “joeys” in their pouches. Unfortunately another couple on the trip had brought their five year old daughter and her very tiny sister both of whom made such a racket we didn't get very close to the animals. However it was marvelous to see them leaping along with their tails acting as rudders or as an extra limb to sit down on. They have longer arms than the red kangaroo and jump and sit in a rather more upright position.
Neil used to run safaris up north in the Kimberly and Pilbury areas . He finally left ther to return to his roots and is building up his safaris around the Margret River area, and is well worth a visit. As with all the guides we have meet he is very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and aboriginal and settler history.
We had a short walk through the bush and Neil told us about some more flowers and trees. He stopped to show us an old grass palm which going by the girth of its trunk is at least 5000 years old! We also saw an old red gum tree which had fallen in a storm and Neil's son had used some of it to make the picnic table we used.
Half way through the tour we stopped at a dried up creek for a cup of tea and cake. The tea was brewed up in a traditional billy and in the winter wet season heated on an open fire but as it is the dry season and the bush is tinder dry lighting fires is not allowed so Neil used a petrol stove. We all sat around the beautiful table and admired the red wood. Red Gum is expensive and prized for making furniture.
After our tea we walked back to the truck and slowly made our way back to the bus. On the way we stopped to look at Neil's horses who got quite boisterous and didn't want us to leave especially Billy, the old man, who had taught all Neil's children to ride. He was a quarter horse used in polo playing but the mare is a thoroughbred Arab so the foal was half and half.
We finally got back to the cabin very tired after another really good day. Tomorrow we are taking it easy and going to see some caves.

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