Hooray for WA Day 7. May 27th . Shelley Beach to Mandurah (via Tingle forest)

Although we were completely alone on our little beach with the waves crashing to lull us to sleep the wind had other ideas. Eventually at about 2 am we removed part of our awning, and then the complete awning due to the noise it was making. Eventually we got a bit of sleep, but Trev was awake before the sun was up again and it looked like rain, so we did a quick pack up, vacated the site, and ate our breakfast at the lookout overlooking our beach. Hang gliders use this spot sometimes, and the sunrise over Albany complete with windfarm certainly rewarded us for the early rising.

Shelley Beach from above. This park forms the southernmost tip of WA!

The first of our 600 odd km for today was spent getting us to the treetop walk between Denmark and Walpole. We had to wait for them to open, but enjoyed the fresh view of the huge tingle trees from high up, and then from the forest floor. The Red Tingle trees have hardly any root system and a huge butt at the base which are really sensitive to even walking on the ground around them. Their branches grow in strange eerie curves which make the tree look disformed and unbalanced.  They become hollow when there is a fire, but continue to grow.

They call this one grandma.  She is hollow and would rival the Herbig Tree near Springton for the space inside it. 

The next stop was at Fernhook Falls  where we checked out our original intended campsite from yesterday, and took a walk to admire the falls and the adjoining Rowells's pool where some drop their canoes in the Deep River (which apparently is not usually deep enough until June). The water at the pool was so dark you couldn't see a thing (coloured by tannins) -but you can step down into it!! 

Here there was another excellent camp kitchen and also a campers hut where walkers on the long distance Bibblemun track can rest their weary bodies overnight.

 Two little birds tried to join Trevor in the Prado, but decided not to stay after visiting briefly.

Next we headed through the tall Karri forest (large swatches have been burnt) towards the Margaret River where we visited Denise at the Maiolo winery.  We have long been a fan of their shiraz and it was great to meet her in person and to taste their latest wares (all good) . We blame our friends the Browns for this particular taste for their wines. The 2014 Shiraz is our particular recommendation.

We had a time limit today, so had to be on our way towards Mandurah and finally made it to our home for the next week at about 5.30 pm.  Mandurah feels so much larger than on our past visits. I guess we will get a feel for it again while we are staying here. We look forward to a comfy bed, lots of hot showers and sleeping in.

Footnote:
Today we  noted a high number of significant names amongst those that we saw. Among them were Shelley beach (where we started the day), Sues Rd,  Hay river, Deano's bar, Brittain road, Iffley road, Vasse (Vassi to us) highway and town.

Hooray for WA Day 6 May 26th Quagi Beach to Shelley Beach via Albany

We woke to the sound of birds. One of the birds was making a syncopated call. This is something I had never noticed before. If I had to I would give it a 6/8 time signature. The banksias were alive with the birds.

We were up early, watched the sun rise over the ocean, and had a walk along the beach before a cooked breakfast.

the start of sunrise.

Drove west towards Ravensthorpe, stopping along the way at the memorial to an aboriginal massacre.It seems that John Dunn (white) had committed some sin against the local aboriginals. A small group arrived and dealt justice by killing him. His 4 remaining brothers then massacred the local tribe in vengeance. The memorial has been put there so that it can be remembered and people can move on.

Trev picked out a memorial Bender look-alike on the side of the road surrounded by poppies and back tracked so that I could admire him, too.

We stopped at a mallee fowl information centre and cafe for lunch before driving on via the scenic route through Stirling Ranges National Park to Albany. We saw some interesting metal sculptures at the info centre.

We headed out to use the new viewing platforms and view the natural bridge and the gap south of Albany. The gap is a seething foaming mass of water far below as the waves crash through a narrow space onto the rocks. They have built the new platform anchored on to the rocks so that you are perched high above the gap and can look directly down into it.

We were hoping to make it to the tall trees near Walpole to camp tonight, but have opted for a beachside camp again at Shelley Beach (between Albany and Denmark) which will leave us with around 400 km to travel tomorrow to get to our home for the week at Mandurah.

Shelley beach is a lovely secluded beach reached by a steep track and we are the only ones here. We are camped about 50m from a lovey white beach with the waves crashing on to the sand. A distant lighthouse flashes regularly in the distance and the stars are a picture above us.

We've already been visited by 3 rabbits, a cat that refuses to leave, a kangaroo, and some sort of bandicoot type of animal which was not shy at all

Looking away from Albany from our campsite...the hills of West Cape Howe National Park sheltering us from the elements.

Looking towards Albany from our campsite

Hooray for WA day 5 Wednesday May 25th Balladonia to Quagi beach via Lucky Bay

As we headed out from Balladonia the bush was beautiful. The stunning balance of greens of varying hues, young red tips of gums and the greys of salt bush was stunning. It had all been washed clean by the evening rain and was shining brightly in the warm morning sunshine.

We had been warned that the track would be fine for the first 60 km or so, and would then become dodgy. With a bit of rain in the last couple of days, we wondered what we would find, but little did we realize...We did the responsible thing and let people know our plans (just in case)


At the 23 km in the track we came to the undies gate (open). What can I say?? How do people come through here with spare underwear?? Either they sacrifice the small amount they have packed or..... Some people,have signed their underwear, others leave them for posterity with no sign of the owner. They sit here and fade and rot and amuse..oh yes they do amuse.

Undies Gate

Another one at 36km. Yes! Another undies gate!! I know it is unbelievable, but believe it.

At 63 km we got the " Welcome to Esperance Shire" sign and another 4WD warning sign. But instead of the ragged 4WD track we were expecting, we found a graded road about 6 lanes wide!!! Unbelievable!!!

We sat in the middle and travelled at about 80 instead of the 20 ( if we were lucky) that we were expecting.

One of our loose plans had been to,spend the previous night at Deralinya Ruins (had read about this when researching the trip over) but when we came to check the location we couldn't find the information. Our memory was that it was about 40km in from Balladonia, but we had not seen it as we drove along, and had given up hope. Then, after we had long given up hope, there was a brown sign with an "h" (history? ) and a track off to the right. Sure enough, there before us was a roof! We had found Deralinya homestead at the GPS coordinates S33 03.150, E 123 23.019.

Just for you, Drew and Karen

This little hut has been lovingly restored and has a lounge room with 2 beds, and two other bedrooms. The pizza/wood oven out the front had been recently used, and there was a wood oven inside also. Stock of water and tea bags and a tea pot and bread mix were all available for whoever might pass by, and a stock of reading material including a visitors book. This was all wired with a 12v LED lighting system! Outbuildings included a long drop toilet with bush shower and another barn or similar which was being extended, and looked like storage. We sat on the front verandah and made a cuppa from our thermos and enjoyed the hospitality of generous people who have put so much effort into this spot. It would certainly be an ideal place to stay overnight.

The sign with the h was our only hint of the pleasures ahead, and this was about 10 km past the intersection of Balladonia with Permango Rd. Coming from the Esperance direction it would be about 2 km past the locality of

Buraminya on the Parmango Rd. (this showed up on our Garmin nuvi).

At 160 km the road went to narrow bitumen just at the Beaumont Rd intersection and we were back on blacktop! So much for the anticipated 4WD adventure.

Our next goal was Lucky Bay. Having heard about its beauty and seen stunning photos (thanks Marschalls) we were keen to see this spot for ourselves. We headed south-west, towards the coast through many native tree plantations (most of which appear to have recently been burned-with the tell tale epicormic shoots giving some of the trees a fuzzy appearance). We wondered about the quality of the wood after that. Many km of both the forest and the natural bush had been burnt, so it must have been quite a blaze. Some of it is owned by Kalima tree farm.

Finally we arrived at Cape Le Grand National Park, paid our entry fees and gazed in awe at the huge mountains still ahead of us including Frenchman's cap with the strange gap beneath the cap. Almost inpenetrably thick bush sent us thinking about the early explorers again. Imagine trying to cross this!

Finally we came around the corner and there was Lucky Bay. Our synchronized gasp of astonishment was genuine. Spread before us was the most beautiful sight. Pale blue turquoise waves crashed onto pristine white sand, in a lovely curved bay. The water rivalled any we have seen for its beauty.

Camp kitchen complete with hot water, BBQ,  sink and stove!!

The tide was right in, but we braved the sand between the big ones to walk on this stunning beach, and to hear the squeaking of the sand beneath our soles as we did so. We enjoyed lunch by the beach and I mused about how the parts of our life come together. We sat at a beach one set of friends had told us about, eating delicious honey log cooked by our friend Belinda and generously gifted to us and drinking from a can wrapped in a holder from Emma and Mikes wedding!

Eventually we decided we had better move on, and pulled ourselves away. A quick trip into Esperence , and after admiring their neat new esplanade we decided not to stay , but to add another 80 km or so and to head for Quagi beach for the night. This ended up being a great choice, with small designated campsite surrounded by the huge banksias we had been driving past for the afternoon , with their flowers sticking skyward like the flashing lights on top of service vehicles. A windmill supplies water for washing up, and flushing toilets are available. It is just a short walk to the beach with a steep drop off of the dunes to a windy rugged beach with noisily crashing waves. So we slept to the sound of waves.

Hooray for WA day 4 May 24th Nullarbor to Balladonia

We woke to a fresh wind and the sunrise this morning and opted to forego our planned cooked breakfast due to the wind.

This meant we had a quick pack up and breakfast and were on the track early.

We saw our first signs of other life (other campers) about 30 km along the old Eyre Highway, which is really a rough dirt road now in this part. Those who opted to make this trek without the benefit of support many years ago were indeed adventurous souls.

what sort of car was this?

the old Eyre Highway

About 70 km along we came to the old Koonalda Homestead (now abandoned). We were impressed by the fact that you can still walk in to the homestead itself complete with windows and doors so the pests haven't taken over and made it horrible. It's not hard to imagine what a difficult life it must have been out here. It seems they sold fuel from the old pump and possibly towed vehicles off of the highway (lots of wrecks rusting in the area around the homestead). The shearing shed and yards look pretty rough on the outside,but you can still get a feel on the inside with the shearers stands and holding pens.

old bowser

Some of the old car bodies

 F

old shearing shed

Inside the shearing shed

A 12km added trip out to the caves (where they go their water from) revealed a huge cavern in the rock (dry at the bottom).

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We took the newly graded track out to the new highway from here, Saving the rest of the discoveries along the old one until the trip back.

A short trip out to the cliffs showed no whales, but beautiful blue water and the ever impressive cliffs reaching up from the water. Pity help anyone shipwrecked around here. These look unscaleable.

The Border Village roadhouse offered very expensive fuel ($1.54/litre) , hot and cold (regularly) showers and hot, ordinary food. The long awaited cuppa was appreciated.

The fruit fly inspectors took our half zucchini and spring onion, but let us keep our roasted almonds. We are down to bottled, canned and dried food until we hit a decent shop.

We hadn't remembered the step down onto the plains just beyond Eucla through a rocky pass, but enjoyed detouring on to the same "table" to look down over Madera 150 or so km later.

Despite the fact that we kept on driving the hour got ealier (twice!!) with the time changes heading west, so we were able to put in over 700km today.

With rain becoming steady and threats of storms overnight we decided to ring ahead and booked a room at Balladonia Motel. The weather immediately improved, and as we drive the last 80 km the kangaroos are starting to make their presence felt in the dusk as they grab a bit of moisture from the road and saunter casually on their way.

We've seen a dozen or more wedge tailed eagles today mostly feasting on roadkill. They take a while to get their heavy bodies moving, but then look amazing in the air.

We finished off the day with a little jaunt into the back blocks of Balladonia, trying to find the Afghan Rocks campsite in off of the road that we had read about.   Well, we found some unusual rocks and a bush track, which we followed for a few km, and eventually came out just out of town through a gate with a station name Noondoonia. Not really sure if we should have been on this track, but no harm done.

Hooray for WA Day 3 May 23rd 2016 Minnipa to just past Nullarbor.

I woke up to the sound of dripping - condensation from the cold night dripping off of the shed and car. Since I had some light now, I walked up the hill, to inspect the impressive boulders on the top, the attractive rock pools and the catchment dam and channeling walls on the hill. You would have seen some of these pictures in the last post.

The fridge has not been working, so Trev hooked it up to run off of the ignition power instead of the spare battery. At least it is running when we are driving, so will stay cool. Otherwise we were looking at a bit longer in Ceduna and trying to find an auto electrician.

On the way out of Tchurkulda campsite we had a bit of a look at the dam once used as a reservoir for the town water supply. There is an impressive spillway, and you can drive around the edge of the dam.

We had lunch on the foreshore at Ceduna, with memories of my first year after school when I worked here for the local Dr. I told Trev some of that part of my life we maybe have never talked about before (and that's hard to find after all these years)

We stopped and inspected the windmill museum at Penong, where some of the locals are doing a remarkable job of putting together an example of every windmill which was used in the area. They have some real beauties and I get the impression that this "town of windmills" has well and truly secured it's place.

We drove on to the road in to the head of the bight, thinking that we would check whether any whales were showing yet, but found it closed and gated off as it was past 4 pm. Half a dozen or so vehicles were making camp on a flat patch of dirt by the old tank. No trees in sight. We figured we could find a better spot with less company

Sure enough, about 40 more km down the road we picked up the road to Cook, and then turned off onto the old Eyre Highway. A flat patch of dirt has become our camping spot, with a few scattered trees and one of the classic old covered tanks, and dams which must cross the whole area.

With a few old crates which we could collect, we had the makings of a nice fire, and , with an excellent sunset, we have settled down to a peaceful night on the Nullarbor Plain

Hooray for WA day 2-22nd May Pirie to Minnipa

Left Pirie at about 10 after Taking advantage of hot showers.  It might be the last ones for few days.

Quick shop for last minute supplies.

Stopped in at Port Germain, checked out the jetty closed due to storm damage,but not dramatically so.

Tide indictator for the ships

Bought hot donuts at the market.

On to pt Augusta to top up on fuel before heading outwards.

We came across long km between here and Iron Knob with red flag flying indicating firing and signs on the fence warning of live bombs and laser use.  Obviously the army have expanded their area somewhat.

Stopped at Iron Knob for lunch where we boiled the eco billy. This excellent  camp site in town has rain water, disabled toilet , shower (cold) and a roomy camp kitchen partly enclosed. Not a lot of room for tents (softer space to allow for tent pegs) but lots of flat space to pull in . There are fire drums and bins and it only costs a donation to stop there.

On towards the west, stopping for our first 2 caches for the trip

2nd one was at Carrasco tanks, in the Lake Giles Conservation Park. Lots of good mallee scrub in behind these tanks to camp. The cement is slowly breaking off of the old tanks.

On the edge of the park on the other side of the highway we found the park sign and road in and followed the road for about 10 km to the edge of Lake Gilles (a salt lake). Here you can find dinosaur ants (we didn't see any), with huge eyes. There is supposed to be a campsite in here, but we didnt find it - only tracks that you could possibly pull in on.

Lake Gilles

Nearly had to render first aid to a driver who we think needed to rest. He missed the end and cleaned up a white post right in front of us, but never stopped! Don't know how he managed not to roll the vehicle.

Finally, after lots of wind and rain we decided enough was enough and headed for a spot the Trevor remembered from a previous trip, just out of Minnipa. Tcharkulda Hill is typical of the Gawler Ranges. Early settlers built a wall around the granite outcrop to catch water into a large tank. We had a shelter shed to cook and set up our swags out of any rain. This morning  I had a chance to look at the tank and we found the old reservoir which used to hold the town water supply.

You can see the wall which channels the water.

The holding tank.

Hooray for WA-day 1 Adelaide to Port Pirie

Due to lack of planning time we were rather under-prepared for taking off early, which didn't really matter.  We had figured we would be, and were loosely planning to make it to Pirie by dark. This was achieved!

the loose plan for the trip over.

Eventually, following a sleep in, cooked breakfast, bag packing and throwing together what food we had, we headed off at about 2pm.

The only stop was a short one at the Pirie foreshore to inspect the area.  We were interested to see if there was any evidence of the recent king tide.

The stack (Lead is the mainstay of Pirie)

"The bridge to nowhere"

We spent the evening with Peter, Belinda, James, Isabelle (and Matthew for a while). As always it was good to catch up.

The swags set up nicely on their side lawn on a very mild night.  It sounds as though we might be driving into some weather , so it will be interesting to see what future nights are like.  I'm sure that the company, price and toilet facilities were as good as we will get anywhere.   Even a free breakfast !