Up the West coast

19 June

To Busselton

We were late leaving Big Valley as there were so many people wanting to chat and give us some tips on where to go and what to see. A really lovely feel about the place and somewhere we will recommend to others as we travel. One of the nice ladies who we had spent time with around the fire did some home baking for us. Yummy Anzac biscuits and fruit slice which reminded me how much I have missed TJ's baking on the trip as we don't have an oven in the van.

Drove through to Busselton without hassle and grabbed a coffee from the beautiful Old Courthouse Gallery. This place has been transformed into a gallery/cafe. You can wander through the court room, exercise yard and even the cells, really well done.

(Gangham Style)

 

Then over to the 2km long jetty for the train trip out to the Underwater Observatory. The day was magnificent with the sun shining and although the breeze was a bit cold the trip out to was lovely. The observatory was fantastic, you got to walk down three levels with windows all around watching as you slowly got deeper and deeper. It was an unusual feeling as you looked up through the water to the sunshine above. There was about 10m of vision which made it even better, We saw many lovely fish and even an octopus swimming by. There was the remnants of pylons from the old jetty and off cuts that had been left when the jetty caught fire a number of years ago. The young girl who took the tour was really informative and was excited to tell us that she had done the around Australia trip when she was 10.

Then back on the train for the ride to the other end of the jetty. Great tour.

Stayed in Busselton that night and got ready to head up to Bunbury via Donnybrook.

20 June

To Bunbury

Woke up to rain and were not sure if we should go via Donnybrook. Why would we want to go via Donnybrook I hear you ask??? Well when we were in Albany at the Vancouver cafe a young lady who worked there was from Donnybrook and told us about this huge outdoor playground they have there, apparently it is huge so we thought we better have a look and it is not really out of the way.

We decided to call up a shop in the area to find out if it was raining which it wasn't so off we went.

This playground was huge and they are extending it.  The kids had a ball, we had a coffee and lunch and it wasn't raining. Fantastic. Then back in the car and off to Bunbury. 

 

The caravan park had a mini golf course and lovely facilities but as it was on the Bussel Highway it was really noisy which was a shame.

History lesson time

When TJ was in hospital having Milly there was a woman in the bed next to her who had her little boy on New Years Eve just before Milly was born who was also 10 weeks early. So there was a few common themes going on there and we got to see them a lot over the next 4 weeks while we all remained in North Shore Hospital. We have kept in touch with the Landrigan's over the years visiting them in QLD when we were up there for  a holiday a few years back but they moved a while ago and we hadn't spoken to them for a while. Anyway they moved to  Bunbury 18 months ago and TJ contacted Cathy to arrange a catch up. Unfortunately she was in Brisbane but we went and visited Matt and their two boys Hayden and Reece who was born just before Milly. We had a great visit. Saw our first WA sunset over the ocean from the lookout near their place and just had a good natter. So much so that we decided to go back the next night for dinner.

 

Spent the day around the park playing mini golf, trying to arrange a service for the car and van and just catching up, the sun was shining which made for a nice day. Trying to work out what to do for accommodation in and around Perth. What a hassle and very expensive.

Had a great dinner with Matt and the boys that night.

Had the mechanic out to service the van in the morning, played some tennis which was great fun then took the kids to the big swamp playground. Great big park which was paid for by the mining companies. Patrick was meant to be following us down to the camp kitchen that night but got caught up when he heard some motor bikes. He went over and introduced himself and found out that the guys was racing the next day in the State motor cross championships and told Patch to come down to the pits and have a look around if we got to the races.

That afternoon  managed to back the car into another car in the rain at a shopping centre carpark. Not quite sure why she decided to stop directly behind me as I backed out but she was there in my blind spot and I got her. DOH!!!!!

We decided to take the kids to the Motor Cross racing the next day as an outing for Lincoln's birthday. Unfortunately it was bucketing down. TJ decided she would drop us off and go and do some shopping for L's birthday. The four of us got on our rain gear, took two umbrellas and packed a snack. It basically poured the whole time.  The ground was one big muddy puddle and the bikes were throwing up dirt everywhere. We had a blast. The only downside was that it was too wet to get to the pits for Patch to see his mate but we did get to see him race and wave to him as he came off. We were standing close to the track and the kids were high fiving the riders as they rode off after each race. Very muddy. Very loud. Very cool.

Then we chilled for the rest of the day and then had a very quick visit back to the Landrigan's as Cath flew back in from QLD. Really nice to see her and they have a really nice place there although Cath is looking forward to getting back to QLD when Matt's work allows.

Back to bed and ready for our next stage as we get closer to Perth. Fremantle in the morning.

Finally back on line....Margaret River

16 June

Leaving Albany

We left Albany and headed towards Margaret River although we weren't sure how far we would get. First stop was just the other side of Denmark at the Valley of the Giants Tree top walk. This is a bridge that is suspended 40 m above the ground. The bridge is built to ensure minimal impact on the trees, with very few footings  which means it moves around a lot. A little bit freaky but lots of fun.

 

 

We then walked around the other part of the park through the "Ancient Empire" walk which takes you through some amazingly huge trees. These red tingle trees grow very quickly and are just huge.

There was one here that they used to allow people to park their car in but as the constant packing down of the ground eventually killed the tree this was stopped and you get to do what Patchy is doing and pretend.

Linc was very excited about this tree that he thought looked like a flower.



What a great place to look through and something we all enjoyed.

 

 

Next we headed to Pemberton but it was too wet for the Diamond and Gloucester tree climb which are more of these amazing trees that have been used to climb up as bushfire viewing platforms. They have steel poles knocked into the tree and a wire mesh fence around the outside and you can climb 50+ metres up these trees. Unfortunately this is not allowed in the rain so we had to move on.

We drove all the way through to Margaret River and stayed about 10 kms east of the township at Big Valley Farm. It is a lovely place which is an active sheep farm. The young woman running it was Kylie 29 who lived on the farm but was managing t on her own as her parents were away in Europe. We drove in down 1km of dirt road that passed through the paddocks where lots of sheep and lambs were running. We were given a bucket of food and went down to feed the sheep once we had set up.

We had a section of the park to ourselves with a lovely big open area camp kitchen and family bathrooms, what a luxury.  

 

 

We want to cover the 110 kms that go from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste and as much as we can see in between.

 

The next morning we headed to the southern point of WA. Cape Leeuwin lighthouse via Augusta . This is where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. Although it was rainy, cold and windy the view was magnificent and the lighthouse keeper had lots to tell about the history of the place.  

 

Then we made our way up the coast and stopped in at Bonranup maze for the kids to have a play, they were very quick and it wasn't till we left that they told us they had found a cheat passage for those who couldn't make it. Hmmm I don't think they tried all that hard as they seemed pretty pleased with themselves.

Something I have to say is that TJ and I were both surprised about other  people's behaviour. This maze was on someone's property and was clearly marked and signed to say that it was an honesty system and listed the costs for each person and child to enter. We gave the kids the money which they put in the box before entering. While we were standing there three cars pulled up with foreign tourists in them, we had seen and heard them at the tree top walk the day before. All 14 of them walked into the maze, right by us with only a couple even stopping to acknowledge that there was a box there with one even going as far as patting her pockets but not one of them paid. Oh well each to their own I guess!!!

I was really keen to go to the mouth of the Margaret river and see where it meets the ocean. Unfortunately there was some road works going on and the road to the mouth was closed but we got to see it from the hill.

Then into the Margaret River township which had a definite Byron Bay vibe about it but not as spoilt.

We also stopped in at the Fudge factory, yum. TJ and I had a our first coffee taste testing at Yahava Koffee works then we all ducked in next door to Cookies galore, yummy melting moments.

Back to the farm to feed the sheep and Patch was a lot more confident and got involved a bit more by himself. That night while cooking dinner we met two older couples who helped the boys light a fire and we cooked  marshmallows together.

The next morning we headed off to see the other half of the Cape to Cape drive. First stop "Cow town" which was really cool with all these statues of sheep everywhere. We went into the Lolly and Fudge shops and the up to the Cheese shop for a tasting or two.

 

Then through Dunsborough to Cape Naturaliste and the northern point of the Margaret River coast. A real contrast to the ruggedness of the southern point as this end is the start of Geographe Bay. Very pretty. we managed to lose Lincoln on the walk out to the lighthouse but found him 10 minutes later, not good.

Back in the car and back to Dunsborough park for lunch. We managed to get caught in a very quick arriving storm but had finished eating and moved on. Went through Yallingup beach which was a great looking surf spot.

Then onto Canal rocks which was fantastic. A wooden bridge over the water that would have been washed away in a big wave. Some beautiful photo's and a lovely spot.

 

 

We then finished off with a stop at the chocolate factory, silk farm and nut factory. So much to see and do.

We then went back home and cooked marshmallows around the fire after dinner with the lovely couples we had met the night before. Tomorrow we are heading up towards Bunbury and Perth via Busselton, not sure how far we will get.

TJ and I both agreed that we are finding some lovely caravan parks and farm stays but because we are so busy sightseeing we are not getting the time to enjoy them. Mental note to try and change this but are not sure how to do it.