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December 17th 2009

Published: December 17th 2009

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flying kiwis

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas lights on canal house in Mandurah

Exmouth, on the top left hand pointy-out bit of WA, was no sweat - it was a relief to have a shower and be able to dry yourself before starting to sweat all over again, it was a joy not to have the van aircon on and an unexpected pleasure to pull up a blanket half way through the night.

Fish are the main attraction at Exmouth, either catching them, eating them (thanks again Ian for the wonderful mahi mahi) or watching them in their natural habitat around the Ningaloo Reef. This is the second largest reef in Aus but the best thing is that it’s so close to the coast, sometimes only 100m offshore and we could stand on the rocks and watch reef sharks gliding around just below.

But the best was the sightings of whales on their way down south after breeding in warmer waters. Rhys saw the first lot while at a lookout 11 km inland in the spectacular Charles Knife Gorge. From our height above the Exmouth Gulf he noticed their plumes of spray, then we saw more just metres off the coast from the vantage point of Vlamingh Lighthouse. All this

Ningaloo Reef

the crystal clear waters of the Cape Range National Park near Exmouth

from our preferred element of dry land.

In the tiny settlement of Coral Bay, developed by one family as a fishing and snorkelling heaven, were more turquoise bays where the fish (this time large gold band snapper) came up as you waded through the warm waves to see if you had any food to hand feed them.

At Carnarvon the wind was still howling, but we made the trip out to the blowholes, prepared to be underwhelmed, or - our usual trick - to be there at the wrong tide, but the sea provided yet another spectacular show of nature.

With a mission to be south of the Tropic of Capricorn before November and the start of the cyclone season, it was ironic to get our first storms just south of the line. At Monkey Mia there were regular lightning storms out at sea and at night we were treated to amazing laser light shows of all kinds of lightning - fork, knife, sheet and duvet lightning, accompanied by rolling thunder and the occasional huge clap that made you jump. Hardly any rain, just a constant light and sound show.

Very unusual

Sandy Bay

Ningaloo marine park

for Monkey Mia everyone said, including the captain of the Shotover yacht who cancelled the sunset cruise because the static electricity was making the boat hum.

There are no monkeys at Monkey Mia (mia is an aboriginal word for place) but heaps of tropical sea life including dolphins, turtles and dugong. I’d wanted to see dugong since reading as a child that sailors mistook them for mermaids.

Even at a tender age it occurred to me those sailors must have been pretty desperate. The dugong-spotting catamaran promised a money back guarantee for anyone who was sea sick on the trip, which seemed too good an opportunity to miss with Rhys’ propensity to go green just standing on a wharf.

The Shotover was a racing catamaran, once owned by NZer Sir Doug Myers and it was beautiful just to be out in her with the wind trying to remove your scalp. To sight about a dozen dugong, blobbing around randomly like ginger cows snorkelling, was brilliant, but to have Rhys not throw up all over fellow passengers was a bonus.

He was very brave as the photo will attest, although he was rather

Exmouth local

a welcoming visit at the Exmouth caravan park

quiet and had to have a cup of tea and a lie down afterwards.

Although we had storms, cancelled boat trips and windy weather, I thought Monkey Mia was one of the most wonderful places we have visited - and not just because there was a chance you could be picked for the privilege of feeding the wild dolphins who gather by the beach every morning. I didn’t get picked, but you can see a dolphin or two at any time of the day somewhere along the lovely curve of beach.

Just step off the cheesecake crumb sand into the turquoise water and you can also see manta rays, huge crabs, the odd turtle and fish of all sizes - and that’s just walking in up to your knees.

The Kalbarri National Park gets good press, having the prerequisite river gorge to be awe-inspired by, and also a coastal strip with a series of scenic lookouts along the lines of the Great Ocean Road. The 8km gorge walk had a sign at the start with a list of warnings, all of which I could tick - are you; scared of heights, lacking balance, dislike

a whale of a view

Charles Knife Gorge, Cape Range, near Exmouth

rock scrambling, a complete wus, etc etc.

We looked down at the glistening river curling into the distance and agreed if it got too tough we’d turn back. Well, it was a breeze and gloriously scenic, right to the furthest point where the track came down to the river, went along the sandy bank for a while, then disappeared alarmingly up a jagged cliff face.

It was only when we saw an elderly German couple retrace their steps and the man help drag his rather large wife up the rock face, we realised that was the only way to go.

If I hadn’t watched her ample Arian bum disappear round the corner I think I would have turned back, but Rhys climbed up and coaxed/dragged me up, while I tried not to look at the nothingness between my feet and the river below. The rest of the walk was easy and scenic and I stopped shaking after a while.

Kalbarri township was charming, and our first sign we were on our way back to civilisation, with trendy new holiday apartments and subdivisions. Further south, Geraldton was the venue for the first in a

Coral Bay

amazing clear turquoise water - no need to snorkle!

series of family rendezvous.

We had relatives in WA on mum’s side who I’d never met, but had contact details through a cousin we’d visited in England, so we met up with cousin June and her husband Barry and had a delightful time with them.

We then went inland, as there is a lot of inland in Australia, but up till now most of it had been desert. Now we were in wheat belt and wild flower country, and although the vast displays of everlasting daisies had finished, there was a fascinating variety of flowering shrubs on the roadsides. From a speeding car the vegetations looks pretty boring, but if you stop and look closely the flowers are colourful and delicate - you just have to be mindful of bull ant nests, snakes and bored husbands.

We visited New Norcia, www.newnorcia.wa.edu.au a working Benedictine monastery town with stunning European architecture, plonked seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Its history is fascinating and we did see a monk, but wearing ordinary clothes - no bad habits.

Continuing the theme of lavishing hospitality on long lost relatives, cousin Brenda and Rick in Mandurah, south

Phew!

safely over the Tropic of Capricorn without any cyclones

of Perth, took us out on their boat around the fabulous canals, out to dinner and to meet daughter Kim and her husband Trevor who ‘killed the fatted calf’ for a great family barbecue.

It’s been wonderful to share stories and connect with others in the family who took the brave step to sail to the colonies for a new life - and what a great life they have here in WA. Thanks again guys - and we’re looking forward to repaying the hospitality when you all make it to New Zealand!

We also had family come to us, as we won’t be making the trip back to NZ this festive season. Our mission had been to be in the Swan Valley, on the north-eastern outskirts of Perth, by the end of November to meet Moya and Bill who had managed to nab irresistibly cheap airfares which made the dauntingly long trip from Auckland to WA worthwhile for a week’s holiday and pre-Christmas get together.

After persuading them there would not be enough room in the caravan for them, as there is hardly enough room for us, we booked with our timeshare group at

Carnarvon coastline

The Vines Country Club - a week of luxury overlooking an international 36-hole golf course in the heart of WA’s second biggest wine region.

Perth is a similar size to Auckland but much more laid back, casual, easy to get around and friendly. On our first day in the city taking advantage of the free buses which transport people around three different routes from 7am till 6pm, we were asked by three different people if we needed any help as we consulted our route maps and gazed at the surrounding buildings in that gormless way tourists do.

The central city is a grid with two major pedestrian street malls and several connecting undercover malls as well as the stunningly kitch London Court - the zenith of a city wide fascination with Tudor style architecture.

The railway station forms a hub in between the trendy/cultural half and the shopping/commerce half, which is only a block or two away from the beautiful Swan River waterfront area.
This makes it a brilliant city to walk around - and there’s always a free bus when the feet say you’ve shopped too much.

Our van park in

Blowholes

at Point Quobba near Carnarvon

the Swan Valley was 15km out, but we drove 5 minutes to the nearest train station, parked all day for free and took the train into the CBD - $3.60 and 20 minutes.

Moya and Bill were suitably impressed with this brilliant public transport system - “This is what Auckland needs...” as we stepped onto yet another free bus. Unfortunately Auckland doesn’t have seemingly unlimited mineral wealth beneath its hilly terrain.

As well as the harbour-like Swan waters, Perth is also blessed with sandy beaches and seaside suburbs for miles both north and south and the Perthans playground - Rottnest Island. The island is run by the Rottnest Island Authority with no private cars allowed - most visitors use bikes or the (not free) bus.

Despite the exorbitant cost to get there by fast ferry and pricey accommodation, it’s constantly teeming with visitors and if you want to stay during holiday periods you have to go into a ballot for accommodation!

Rhys was a grumpy-old-man and refused to part with money to feel sea sick, but the three main objectives for the Rottnest trip were achieved - 1. Moya - to lie

loo with a view

outback convenience near Point Quobba

on a beach and get a tan, 2. Bill - to snorkel, 3. me - to see a quokka.

I wasn’t holding my breath as they are marsupials (cat-sized wallabies) and generally nocturnal, but there they were - in fact we saw our first one just off the ferry at the cafe! And to prove it wasn’t a robotic one just for the tourists, we saw several more just hopping around in the shade by the side of roads. Cute!!

For a taste of the Outback we took a day trip to the Pinnacles, a forest of limestone pillars of various sizes and shapes, the origins of which are still being debated by scientists, but involve erosion by the harsh coastal climate. At 250km north of Perth, it also gave the kids and idea of how long it takes to get more or less nowhere in this big country.

It may be the world’s most isolated capital city, but Perth sure has got the Aussie lifestyle sussed and you can understand the self-satisfaction that has prompted Western Australians to want to become independent from the rest of Australia. They reckon they have the commodities

Stromatolites!

only of interest to fans of Bill Bryson...and me.

to be able to go it alone and the GFC barely made a dent in the mining boom. Falling property market? Clearly not around Perth.

We’re now off to the South West for the next month or so, braving the holiday crowds but making the most of good weather in a region that we’re told can be wet, windy and chilly. We’ll spend Christmas in Margaret River, hub of the wine and gourmet food region. How will we cope??? Read about it in the next, no doubt bloated and hung over instalment!

SEASON’S GREETINGS TO ONE AND ALL!

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