ESPERANCE

Talk about beach and turquoise coloured sea overload. If you want beaches this is the place to be, fine white sand and gorgeous sea, apparently the colour is due to the lack of nutrients in the water.

Cape Le Grande continues with the high standard of glorious views. We did a boat tour out to Woody Island which is one of many islands in the Recherche Archipelago, and saw sealions, sea eagles, dolphins, cape barren goose etc etc.

 

There is a resident sea lion near the Tanker pier called Sammy who is happy to pose for photos.

There is also a pink lake but this time of year it isn’t pink.

ALBANY – 19TH NOVEMBER

Once again the drive in Albany was one of the loveliest on our trip, very chocolate box views. There is a lot to look at in Albany with its scenic walks and drives, monuments and lookouts. Albany was the first area to be settled in WA.

Whale World is about 18km out of Albany and was an old whaling station now turned into a museum complete with one of the whaling ships to roam over. It took us nearly three hours to go through the place and it would have to be one of the best museums we have every seen. Very well done with several of the whale oil holding tanks turned into theatres, whale skeletons , machinery a very informative tour, the list goes on.

One of the whaling ships from this area was wrecked just off shore in Albany, one lost at sea and the other on display.

There is a ‘to size’ replica of the brig Amity on the foreshore, which brought soldiers and convicts to the area in 1826.

Nearby is the local goal where you are permitted to wander freely, in the goal there is also an exhibit of miniature houses complete with figurines etc.

WALPOLE TO DENMARK

Nornalup Valley of the Giants Air Walk was well worth looking at the platform rose to 40metres in the treetops of the Tingle trees which grow to great heights but with very shallow roots, one of the characteristics of these trees is that the trunks eventually hollow out at the base to quite large caverns. One of the trees was over 400 years old.

There is also a nature walk through the forest which is very well done, it proved to be an extremely enjoyable stop.

BUSSLETON TO AUGUSTA

 

This area must be one of the most picturesque in Australia. Rolling green hills, vineyards etc. Margaret River is quite lovely.

We visited Jewel Cave for a 45minute tour and found the caves very interesting with lots of fascinating formations.

There were 500 steps in all and added to the 176 in the Leeuwin lighthouse we did our exercise for the day. The lighthouse is the tallest in mainland Australia and very windy at the top but with glorious views. This is the spot where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern which creates quite rough water. Again the lighthouse tour was most informative.

BUSSLETON – 14th NOVEMBER

On our way to Bussleton we stopped in at Mandurah and Bunbury both really nice places. One of our RA stops was at Buffalo Road RA just short of Bunbury, although it was a little noisy being near the highway there was a lovely walk through the paddocks to a billabong over a couple of styles where there was lots of birdlife, very pleasant. The next RA was in the only remaining forest of Tuart pines in the world.

Bussleton itself is a really beautiful place right on the ocean, one of those towns where you would say it would be nice to live. They claim to have the longest remaining wooden pile pier in the southern hemisphere it is 1.8 km long. The local townsfolk fought to keep the pier after the town was no longer used as a port and raised enough money to restore it.

There is an underwater observatory at the end of the pier 8 metres down ,which is fascinating, where wild fish can be observed, there were huge shoals of yellowtails and lots of other varieties. The ticket for the observatory includes a train ride there and back and a tour.

ROTTNEST ISLAND

The day we visited Rottnest Island was quite wild and in fact one of the ferries was cancelled – I almost made it to Rottnest but succumbed to seasickness just minutes out. Once recovered we walked and did a bus tour around the island. There are lots of water activities to do, snorkling etc. And many private little beaches, we didn’t see anyone in the water though due to the weather.

The island was named Ratsnest originally by the Dutch due to the Quokkas on the island which do resemble a large rat.

FREMANTLE

We are now camped at Coogee Beach right on the seafront. Fremantle is a very quaint place, a great many of the old buildings have been retained and the majority of the facades creating a nice ambience to the CBD. The weekend markets were packed out and buskers kept us well entertained.

Fremantle have a free hop and off bus service which enables you to get about quite easily. There are many imposing older buildings still standing in the suburbs, the prison being one. We did the tour of the prison but have to say the tour itself left a bit to be desired compared with say Dubbo Jail or Port Arthur, far too controlled.

The Maritime museum is brilliant, there are several displays of various shipwrecks in the area. The one of the Batavia is especially good with part of the hull on show, this wood had been in the ocean for 354 years. The archway shown in the photo was part of its cargo.

The Roundhouse is the first building built in WA. It was built as a prison for local felons not for convicts.

PERTH

PERTH

We have found Perth to be a lovely city, lots of parks and lakes, rivers etc and very leafy.

We have been to the Zoo which although not large is in a beautiful setting. We watched an elephant taking a bath and saw a few different animals.

The Botanical Gardens are also in a beautiful setting on the top of a hill overlooking the Swan River and very nicely set out.

There is a Bell Tower in the city where they installed 12 bells which were the old Bells of St Martins in London, which were given to WA for the Bi centenary. We were permitted to ring the bells along with several other people, after first having been given a lesson in bell ringing. In the building there is also a 460 year old bell which is the oldest bell in Australia.

FREMANTLE

We are now camped at Coogee Beach right on the seafront. Fremantle is a very quaint place, a great many of the old buildings have been retained and the majority of the facades creating a nice ambience to the CBD. The weekend markets were packed out and buskers kept us well entertained.

Fremantle have a free hop and off bus service which enables you to get about quite easily. There are many imposing older buildings still standing in the suburbs, the prison being one. We did the tour of the prison but have to say the tour itself left a bit to be desired compared with say Dubbo Jail or Port Arthur, far too controlled.

The Marine museum is brilliant, there are several displays of various shipwrecks in the area. The one of the Batavia is especially good with part of the hull on show, this wood had been in the ocean for 354 years. The archway shown in the photo was part of its cargo.

The Roundhouse is the first building built in WA. It was built as a prison for local felons not for convicts.

ROTTNEST ISLAND

The day we visited Rottnest Island was quite wild and in fact one of the ferries was cancelled – I almost made it to Rottnest but succumbed to seasickness just minutes out. Once recovered we walked and did a bus tour around the island. There are lots of water activities to do, snorkling etc. And many private little beaches, we didn’t see anyone in the water though due to the weather.

The island was named Ratsnest originally by the Dutch due to the Quokkas on the island which do resemble a large rat.