Blogs from Walpole, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

BIG day yesterday where I didn't stop driving until it was cooler. For a week the plan had been simple. Christmas in Perth and then point the Getz towards the South Coast Highway. I am here! Today I will go to Albany as it is even cooler and it will still be hot here today. I come in to town for dinner last night after finding the Crystal Springs Campsite which is just west of here. It's a great campsite but of course thje crowds are down this way at the moment which makes things interesting. It was very busy last night but I will definitely keep it in mind as an excellent option. I had dinner at a bar and bistro in town which is exceptional. It was only that and the pub that were ... read more

Day 43 Long Point Shelter to Mt Clare Shelter 13.6km (!!! short day!!!!) A 4 hr walk today, getting in to Mt Clare at just after 1:30. Wrote this diary entry at 6pm inside my sleeping bag, inside my tent, inside the shelter in a storm. The day started kind of badly after a really, really bad sleep. One of the group from last night had gone to bed at 6pm, the reason for this I guess was that he liked to get up at 4am and spend 2 hours getting ready for his day. Flossing, brushing, breakfasting, crinkling, unzipping, crinkling, packing, zipping, crinkling... we heard every single thing... really frustrating. Anyway, such is life on the track, each to their own, etc- I just wish he'd camped and gotten up at 4am and spent 2 ... read more

Albany - Granite Peaks State Forest The sun was streaming through the windows this morning, what a lovely lovely start to the day, I think I must have slept through all night and woke up feeling refreshed it was 7am. Although there is much more here in Albany to explore, we decided to move on, today is going to be nice but we think there are storms coming, that said, we will get them anyway as we are still travelling along this coastline, one of the locals has told me that they don't normally get the rain like this at this time of year, it is usually a month or so later. It was a slow start to the day, Andy disappeared for a shower whilst I got Gypsy ready, I left all the shutters open ... read more

Heute bin ich um 6h aufgestanden, weil die bisher längste Etappe auf dem Plan war. Wobei Plan zu viel gesagt ist. Der Weg führte mich knapp 400 Kilometer Richtung Süden ans Meer, genauer gesagt nach Albany. Die Fahrt dahin war ereignislos, zuerst noch Regen, im Lauf des Vormittags wenigstens nur mehr bewölkt. Die Landschaft auch eher unspektakulär, vor allem eher farblos ohne das Licht der Sonne. In Albany hab ich mir beim im Department of Environment and Conservation (Behörde für Umweltschutz) meinen Holiday Pass für die Nationalparks geholt. Damit kann ich um 45 Dollar im nächsten Monat mit dem Auto in alle Parks fahren. Nach einem guten Mittagessen im „Dylans on the Terrace“ stand ich vor der Wahl, was ich als nächstes tun wollte. Im Radio waren für Perth und die Gegend bis Albany Thunderstorms (Gewitter) ... read more

The big trees were constant as we travelled east the short distance to Walpole. They continue to WOW us but we also pondered the potential for bushfire and loss considering the closeness to homes and towns. Walpole is set amongst a number of National Parks and though everything is wet, green and lush at the moment, we were left wondering just how much it dries out in the summer months. We stayed in a caravan park within the National Park located on an inlet where the Deep and Frankland Rivers meet the sea. There are two sections to the inlet with the first bay much smaller than the second. The salty but still water tempted those wishing to catch a fish, whilst the shoreline and forest tempted others into bush walking. The views were stunning. A ... read more