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Published: February 22nd 2010
After spending a delightful 10 days …yes 10 days, the longest we have stayed in any one place (with the exception of the raspberry farm) …. we thought it was about time to leave Glen Mervyn Dam and to start making our way towards Perth in preparation for our flight and short trip back to Brissie at the start of Feb. After Australia Day, all the other campers had started to head home anyway so we were the last to pack up and leave. Of course, after spending so long in the bush (back to nature as you will!) you can’t rush things and so we decided to ease our way back into civilisation by spending 3 days at a beautiful reserve called Lane Poole. Although only populated with about 10 other campers and a few freshwater crayfish, being at the reserve did allow us to take day trips into the busy town of Mandurah to enable us to adjust to town/city life once again!
On the way up to Lane Poole we passed through a small town called Harvey, the home town of the Australian author May Gibbs who created the characters called the Banksia Men and wrote about
the adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. She was born in 1877 and as far as I can remember, lived her whole life in a lovely little cottage in Harvey. Just 500 metres from where the original used to be, there is now a replica of her cottage which is used as a tearoom/café. At the back of the cottage there is a terrace overlooking the beautiful gardens, surrounded by a little stream with a fruit orchard at the bottom of the garden …very idyllic I must say! They say that the inspiration for her stories came from her beautiful Australian garden … I suppose she could maybe be seen as the Australian Beatrix Potter!
Lane Poole Reserve is a fantastic camp spot located on WA’s Murray River and situated in the midst of a Jarrah Forest (even more huge trees although we didn’t attempt to climb any this time!). The camp ground we chose to stay at backed right on to the Murray River and the water was so tempting that it wasn’t long before Rich and I had donned our togs and were testing the cool waters just upstream of the waterfall. It was beautifully refreshing and completely
safe provided you didn’t put your big toe in the rock crevices where some of Australia’s biggest freshwater crayfish (the Marron) live!!! We did see a couple of them but I find my big toes quite useful so I kept my distance!
From Lane Poole we took a couple of day trips down to the coastal town of Mandurah to indulge in some shopping, fine wine and lunching at the Mandurah Ocean Marina. Richie had been involved in building a catamaran for a guy who lives in Mandurah and so we had a walk around the marina in the hope of spotting it. Unfortunately, we didn’t see it and as it turns out, the owner has his own private jetty off his canalside home … ah yes, we can dream eh?!!! So after failing to spot it we decided that it might be fun to go and sample the “Hairy Marron” at the dockside bar instead!
As we finally made it into Perth the day before our flight, we said goodbye to Woody (in kennels again!!!) and spent the day taking a walk down memory lane! It was lovely to visit all of the places we visited 9
years ago. We started in Fremantle Harbour and watched the huge container ships lining up and coming into port (we could just imagine you waiting in line, Roy!). We watched the little tugs guide in the “Northern Victory” and sail passed the brand new Maritime Museum which we thought was big until the container ship passed it!!! We also watched the fast ferries departing for Rottnest Island which we visited and loved in 2001. The old maritime museum in Fremantle is now called the “Shipwreck Galleries” and is still a great place detailing many of the West coast shipwrecks and the ventures of mariners as early as 1601. It houses part of the shipwreck the “Batavia” which was discovered just off the Abrolhos Islands (west of Geraldton) and as if being shipwrecked off the West coast of Australia in the early 1600’s wasn’t enough, this Dutch ship also has a horrendous tale of deceit, torture and murder for it’s passengers after being shipwrecked! Not very nice at all!!!
Anyway, fortunately for us, our venture is nothing like that of the Batavia and we have been spared the deceit and torture …. and it’s also pretty hard to be shipwrecked
in a landcruiser! After driving past the old firestation backpackers (our 1st class accommodation back in 2001 … I wonder whether we have actually gone up in the world???!!!!), we made our way up to the famous Cottesloe Surf Beach for a pint at the Beach Hotel before finishing off with a sunset walk around Kings Park and dinner at our favourite Perth joint which I am very glad to say it still there. In fact, it is now 24 hours!!! … yes, another classy establishment!
For the next 12 days we took a brief trip back to Brissie where we proved that we were still capable of doing some work! Of course we had a fabulous time but it made us realise that in no time at all we will be back in Brisbane … back to work! Ah, no … I dared to say it …WORK! Anyway, we have come back to the West coast with an even bigger appetite and appreciation for this opportunity than we did before! So on we go ….
Our flight back to Perth was delayed into the early hours of the morning and then we had over an hour wait
in the taxi queue so we decided against the hotel / hostel idea and chose to go to our favourite restaurant instead (24 hours remember!!!). After a early leisurely breakfast … and I mean a VERY early and a VERY leisurely breakfast … we decided to take a walk around Perth to watch the sunrise and then wait for the bus to take us to pick up the trailer etc. After a lack of sleep since neither of us slept on the plane, I was starting to get very tired and grumpy … however, imagine this… “Perth city is deserted, no sign of any life around, darkness still lies, not even the birds have risen yet … Richard tiredly stumbles in the dark towards a grey metal block which advertises toilets inside …he presses the button. The automatic door slides open slowly, he enters and the door closes behind him. Then all of a sudden, the most awful 80’s music comes blasting from the toilet filling the night air!!! What an unexpected surprise …it was so hilarious, I nearly fell of the wall laughing! There is nothing like a singing toilet to brighten your day!!!
After finally getting the
car, trailer and The Woodster back (although a little thinner and we’re now on a mission to fatten the little guy up!) we headed to Noble Falls where Rich managed more successfully than me to sleep off his “jetlag”! After trying to find the nearest supermarket, we were quickly reminded that the northern suburbs of Perth do not believe in Sunday opening so we had to make do with a romantic valentines meal of the good old camping food “beans on toast”!!! Hey, I can see a pattern developing here … Christmas was broccoli and cauliflower, valentines was beans on toast …wonder what Easter will be??!!!! At least we got to spend Valentines day on a day trip to the Swan Valley!
After a few days of recuperation and stocking up (food as well as updating our snorkel gear in preparation for up north … getting excited now!) we started to work our way north again. We explored the coast between the lovely towns of Guilderton (where the Moore River reaches the coast) and Lancelin which are small but pretty places, only just starting to be developed. In Guilderton we found a lovely doggy beach where we took Woody
however, on arriving at the beach we found that we didn’t have a ball with us. Woody was very disappointed as you can imagine, so looking at his sad face Richard used the only other thing we had with us … a plastic water bottle! Being the silly animal he is, Woody found this just as much fun as a ball …. if I’d known earlier them maybe we didn’t need to spend $20 on Wilson tennis balls!!!! The coast around here, once again, is all pretty much limestone which of course makes beautiful beaches and clear waters. There are also a number of natural rocky shelves and reefs dotted around the coast as well as some small islands which is obviously great rock lobster territory. As a result, there are a lot of crayfish boats on this coast and from what we have seen, their fishing season is well underway!
After spending a couple of days camped next to the Moore River, we headed inland to explore the only Monastic Town in Australia, New Norcia, named after Norcia in Italy. The town was established in the 1800’s by two Benedictine Monks who came to educate the natives of
Northern Victory coming into Fremantle
with the new maritime museum on the right handsideAustralia about Christianity. They set up Australia’s only Benedictine Monastery, made contact with the local Aboriginal people and over time, they built / set up schools for both European and Aboriginal children. The town is small but all of the businesses and almost 20 000 acres of land all belongs to the monks, of which there are 8 left. They still work on their own land and have orchards growing olives, citrus and stone fruits. They allow visitors and tour groups into their prayer rooms / chapels and churches but of course, you are not permitted to see their living quarters. It is very strange as this settlement obviously has many different cultural influences making it not quite European and not quite Australian/Aboriginal. It is difficult to describe and is certainly not what you expect to be in the Australian bush! Worth a visit though!
From New Norcia, we headed back to the coast to the town of Cervantes where the world famous limestone pinnacles are. Thousands of pinnacles stand in a very yellow desert surrounded by coastal vegetation. Rich and I were quite excited to be here as the last time (in 2001) when we were here we
got to Cervantes in the dark and had to leave in the dark without seeing the pinnacles as we were pushed for time. All we remember of being at Cervantes is the caravan park and even that was difficult to picture since it was in darkness. This time we managed to see it all in the beautiful bright sunshine when we weren’t pressed for time. We drove out to the pinnacles desert and had a look through their discovery centre. They know that the pinnacles have been there for thousands of years but they only have theories as to how they were formed, they don’t know for sure. The aborigines have their own dream time stories about them. Thousands of years ago, the elders used to tell the young boys not to walk into the desert as they would get lost and sink into the sand and disappear. Many boys did not listen and never returned and one of their beliefs is that these are the fingertips of those boys. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but I like to hear the stories and learn of the aboriginal culture however I have yet to hear a “nice” or “good” dream
time story… this is just another horrible one!!!
At the pinnacles we did the 1.2km walk around these big limestone pillars and then took the drive around the park. They are very unusual to see in their bright yellow sand while the dunes in the distance are a very bright white colour, very different. The pinnacles range from being a few centimetres tall to some which could easily be close to 10 feet tall. Of course I’m no expert but I like the theory about them developing from a petrified forest. An amazing number of wildlife also lives around the pinnacles including carpet pythons (believe it or not), owls and even possums! Close to the pinnacles there are also living fossils called stromatolites and thrombolites (in Lake Thetis) which are built by cyanobacteria and are over 3500 years old. Apparently the ones in the Pilbara are about 3.4 million years old and are still living!
Today we left the Cervantes and headed up the coast stopping to take a peak at Jurien Bay and Green Head. We had fun trying out the snorkelling gear in Dynamite Bay although it’s been really windy here lately which has stirred everything
up so visibility wasn’t great. At least we know we can still snorkel though. This place is apparently popular with snorkellers as it is frequented by dolphins and the sea lions that breed on the islands just off the coast. We didn’t see any today though! After our snorkelling spell and a coastal walk we headed into Stockyard Gully National Park to see the limestone caves that have been carved out by underground, inland rivers. We had to travel down a 5km very soft sand track to get there (leaving the trailer at the end of the track just in case we got bogged down!) but it was well worth it. It is a self guided cave meaning you take your own gear with you … including a very good torch as it is incredibly dark in there! We walked down the dry, sandy creek bed to the opening of the cave being careful not to disturb the “feral bees” as they can apparently get rather aggressive and into the cave. You can walk for quite a way into it and there is a sandy bottom all through it. It is definitely impressive but we didn’t see (or smell!) any
creatures living in it! Apparently it still floods too and the last flood was in 1999! I wouldn’t appreciate being in there when it flooded, wouldn’t be a very nice surprise!!!
Well, as you’ve probably guessed we’re now starting to make our way north, being careful not to go too quickly, I still don’t fancy the idea of living in this trailer in a cyclone! We’ve just found the perfect little spot right at the waters edge south of Geraldton and have just watched the sunset over the sea … something we’re not used to in Brisbane!!! Who knows what tomorrow brings ……
Til next time, take care
Hay x
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Roy and Linda
non-member comment
Fremantle nostalgia.
Hi, Richard, Hayley and Woody This blog brought back lots of memories to me. Fremantle was the first foreign port I sailed to during my career at sea, (thanks for the thoughts of me and the ship photo). It would have been September 1972 and we had sailed out directly from Tilbury on 'S.S. Encounter Bay' , the world's first new built fully cellular containership. The passage being 21 days at 21 knots, with just a brief reduction in speed to pick up mail off Cape Town (also middle of the night). We anchored off Rottnest Island early hours of the morning, to see lights twinkling onshore, first sight of land for 10 days (last being Cape of Good Hope). Sarcastically marvelled at the Navigation Departments ability to find Australia yet again. We moved alongside at about 0700hrs, quite normal in Australia to catch the start of the day shift, probably left that evening for Melbourne. In those days the berth was at the top of the harbour by the road bridge. It rained warm water, another new experience. Fremantle was always a favourite port, (Linda likes it too), weather always pleasant, everything a short walk away, including the nice port beach. Easy access to fresh bread and milk which we did not have onboard during those early days. Also the only port in Australia where we never got stuck in strikes. I remember the old maritime museum, there used to be pictures of some of our ships there. Always fancied a trip to Rottnest Island but never had the time, seem to remember it was the home of the world's smallest marsupial, only ever seen a stuffed version of that. Over the years the town slowly ran down but turned a big corner when the America's Cup races were held there and has never looked back since, now very nice again. They have also made good use of the older buildings. My last call there would have been about April 2002, I cannot picture the new maritime museum but suspect that it has been built on the site of a small shipyard where in the 90's they built a replica of Captain Cook's 'Endeavour'. Remember the Port then had a female Managing Director, referred to by the 'wharfies' (dockers) as 'that bloody Sheila' probably quite respectful for a wharfie. interesting about Norcia, after the British the Italians were I believe the next most numerous settlers. Looking forward to more of your adventures, watch that heat. Take care, lots of love, Roy and Linda xxx.