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Published: November 23rd 2007
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After four years and eight months of travelling around the globe I was more than ready to touchdown on Aussie soil, and bringing Sam home as my live souvenier was just the icing on the cake!
We decided to fly into the west side and catch up with a good pal from London, Craigo. Craigo being the stellar host that he is, put us up for a few days in his pad in Victoria Park just outside the city and showed us around the traps. Perth being the sunniest capital in Oz boasting an average of eight hours of sunshine per day, we got to spend one of these lovely days sunbaking on Cottesloe Beach amongst the hundreds of flies and then later went for a stroll down Scarborough. We were so impressed with the western beaches and found it hard to believe that such a lovely coastline lies so close to the city. Being here also meant we could catch up with another lost mate from London, Lisa and her fella Phil....we did so on a big night out, so there were a few reunions going on in the west side!!
We just happened to fly into Perth
The Gap
Torndirrup National Park, Albany right in time for the Red Bull Air Race which was held over the Swan River, and in the searing heat (and nursing hangovers) we ventured down to the river with the rest of Perth and were entertained by some freakin fast aircraft ripping around a course set on the Swan.
Wanting to make the most of being here we hired a car for a week and drove from Perth straight to Albany, here we stayed only one night and got up early and drove to the Torndirrup National Park. Torndirrup is home to The Gap, Natural Bridge and the Blowholes. The Blowholes weren't in action that day as the swell wasn't big enough but the rocks that form the Gap and The Natural Bridge are said to have been attached to Antarctica some 40million years ago when it was known as Gondwana Land, a stunning place on earth - a lot of energy here.
Still in The Great Southern Area, we then set off to the Valley of the Giants, a unique wilderness area and home to the great Tingle Tree. These impressive trees live for up to 400 years and can grow to 60m tall and
Vineyards
The Watershed Winery, Margaret River as wide as 16m around the base!!
Here we ventured out on a 600m long tree top walk which at one point reaches to 40m above the ground with spectacular views of the forest. From there we had to motor on to the nearest town 14km away to a place called Walpole where we hung out with some bumpkins and put a bet on the Melbourne Cup (the race that stops the nation). Luckily we backed the winner and made a bit of coin to put towards fuel for our road trip.
That afternoon we arrived in the lovely Margaret River in the southwest. not only does 'Margs' boast some of the best surfing spots in the country, the vineyards in the region produce some pretty fine vinos, so we spent no time in booking ourselves on a wine tour the following day.
"Wine For Dudes" was our choice for the tour and we highly recommend this company to anyone considering doing a tour in the River. Our day out included stopping at four different wineries, one in which we got to blend our own glass of red for a yummy picnic lunch of cheeses, breads and meats followed
by a trip to the local chocolate factory where we made pigs of ourselves on the free samples (well you would wouidn't ya!!). Not really a fan of the expensive ones we were tasting (love the stuff you can guzzle) we purchased a cheap bottle of red that we had on a picnic on Gnarabup beach right out front of our hostel.
A little hungover the next day, we rose early to check out the beaches. stopping at Yallingup which apparently gets some pretty big waves, it's also the home break of Aussie surfer Taj Burrows and the place most of the Aussie Cricket Team have their holiday homes, not hard to see why!!
On our way back up to Perth we stopped in at Busselton for a peak at the 2km jetty - the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Covering quite a lot of ground we made it back to Craigo's house that night then set off north the next day bound for The Pinnacles Desert. The Pinnacles can be found in the Nambung National Park and resemble something like you would find in the solar system on an estranged planet. They are made up of
Outback Australia
Somewhere between Bunbury and Perth thousands of peculiar limestone pillars that look like termite's nests jutting out of the desert floor, some towering up to 5m. we spent a good half hour exploring the desert and Sam topped the trip off by doing a "Billy Connolly" through the Pinnacles (too funny - see pics).
In five short days we covered about 1750kms in the west and absolutely fell in live with Perth and it's surprisingly laid back lifestyle not usual in most capital cities. It was hard to leave but that's the end of our ventures, If you're still with us and endured all 25 of our tiring travelblogs, ta for staying tuned. We would love it if you left us a comment (thanks to all those who have left us comments - feelin the love). But for now the east is calling, time to get back to the Sunny Coast of Queensland - Bring it on!!
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David and Niks
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home sweet home
Hey guys heard you were back home, well done ona a fantastic adventure and thanks for the updates, hope you had a great time cheers David and Niks