Blogs from Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 2

This morning, we had a later start as we had decided that we would do the 10.30am Pemberton Tramway ride out to The Cascades. Bernie has been wanting his hair cut for the last few days, so our leisurely start today provided the perfect opportunity. He put his boxers on and went outside to sit on one of the outdoor chairs on our small verandah at the back of our room. Tracey proceeded to execute the No. 1 clipper cut on his head and the No. 2 clipper cut on his beard. All of this under the beady eye of the motel’s resident kookaburra. Luckily the kookaburra didn’t laugh at the old bloke having his hair clippered out on the verandah!! After breakfast we headed down to the Pemberton Tramway. We hadn’t booked ahead online but ... read more

It was warm overnight, still warm this morning and continuing to warm up as we were getting ready to head down into town to see some of the sights closer to ‘home’. Since it was warm, and we were going to be in town rather than bush walking the gals put on their summer dresses. Our first stop was at the Visitor Information Centre to make sure they didn’t have anything else to add to our list for today! We were also after a map like our Esperance to Albany map that would take us from Walpole to the west coast. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything like that in the series, but we did pick up the Dunsborough and Busselton street maps. It was very warm but howling a gale as we walked down to the ... read more

There has been so much discussion about the route we should take between Hopetoun and Albany. The notes on our original itinerary stated: ‘Drive to Albany via (Bremer Bay +120km), Cape Riche, Cheyne Beach and Gull Rock NP’. However, the staff at the Visitor Centre in Esperance advised against this route taking the South Coast Highway declaring it boring and recommending the Chester Pass Road through Stirling NP. Then one of Cathy’s friends extolled the virtues of the Killer Whale experience out of Bremer Bay. We looked that up and baulked at the price … and the amount of time that we would be out on a boat in the Southern Ocean. OK, we don’t feel compelled to go that way just for the Orca spotting potential. Yesterday, we mentioned to our friendly Community Paramedic, Gareth, ... read more

This morning … we all had a hot shower to start our day! After eating breakfast and re-packing the vehicles our first stop today was at Aurelia’s Ice-creamery & Café to buy some rolls for lunch. The hot bread bakery is closed on Sundays, but we noted yesterday on our ice-cream run that they had a variety of filled rolls for sale at the ice-cream shop. Today’s itinerary was to drive 192 kilometres to Hopetoun via Stokes National Park and while in the park to attempt the 6.4-kilometre return Stokes Heritage Trail. However, on our ‘Esperance Wonders’ information sheet we had learnt about Lake Monjingup just 15 kilometres west of town. With the promise of a brand-new boardwalk trail and the opportunity to do some birdwatching, wildflower spotting and trail walking we decided we could spare ... read more

Oh, dear, another small drama at the house this morning – NO HOT WATER! The couple late to rise were cursing the early birds for using up all the hot water but discovered when they ventured downstairs that the couple out of bed first had not enjoyed showers with hot water either. So, we had another round of looking in fuse boxes and trying to resolve the problem ourselves before calling the owner. Bernie thought that he recalled the hot water switch in the fuse box being in the opposite position to the rest of the fuses in the box so switched it downwards. Tracey opted for a sponge bath and Bernie decided to brave a quick cold shower. We boiled a kettle to wash up the breakfast dishes but, after an hour and a half, ... read more