Sunday, October 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
EXPLORING MORE OF THE INNER WHEATBELT
The time came to move along - John had long held a desire to view 'Wave Rock' so we began travelling south east along more highways, sometimes with abundant wildflowers growing alongside, rather sandy looking soil, I suppose the desert is not all that far away, nevertheless there were still many wheat crops along the way, highlighting that fact that we were travelling south in 'The Wheatbelt'.
Travelling in Western Australia has highlighted for me its a vastness; and so through Wongan Hills, Goomalling, eventually we arrived at Merredin; I say eventually because I wanted to stop very often to look at and photograph, many, many different wildflowers along the way.
Our c/park was situated on the Great Eastern Highway - lots of trucks going each way but also the rail line passed outside the fence, long, long trains, 2 or 3 engines, sometimes some passenger coaches and lots of freight, other times all freight. I love trains and highly approve of that method of travel and enjoyed all of them except the one that trundled through in the dead of night. Merredin's main claim to fame was the Pump Station No 4 which fed the Golden Water Pipeline to Kalgoorlie also the remnants of World War 2 hospital which had been established there, and took the opportunity to view the famous "rabbit proof fence'.
Travelling in Western Australia has highlighted for me its a vastness; and so through Wongan Hills, Goomalling, eventually we arrived at Merredin; I say eventually because I wanted to stop very often to look at and photograph, many, many different wildflowers along the way.
Our c/park was situated on the Great Eastern Highway - lots of trucks going each way but also the rail line passed outside the fence, long, long trains, 2 or 3 engines, sometimes some passenger coaches and lots of freight, other times all freight. I love trains and highly approve of that method of travel and enjoyed all of them except the one that trundled through in the dead of night. Merredin's main claim to fame was the Pump Station No 4 which fed the Golden Water Pipeline to Kalgoorlie also the remnants of World War 2 hospital which had been established there, and took the opportunity to view the famous "rabbit proof fence'.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
CONTINUING IN MOORA
Besides doing more intense cleaning and minor repairs, one day we all drove to New Norcia, a monastic community founded in 1846 by a small band of Benedictine monks who came from Spain to establish a mission for the aboriginals. Despite being on a busy highway and obviously a tourist drawcard it had an air of peace and tranquility, in fact the motto of the monks is 'Pax' meaning peace.
There is a monastery surrounded by extraordinarily grand buildngs including a hotel, education centres,
an old convent, hostels, guest houses, a museum, church and chapel, art gallery, a gift shop and a bakery which used olives grown on site in some of the loaves of bread offered for sale.
We opted to walk around the area following a map and poked around in general, the cameras got a good workout once again.
After several days checking out Moora and surrounds the time had arrived for Kevin and Carolyn to part with us and travel to Perth and be involved with some family doings, and as John and I had more projects to do and Moora being a lovely little place we are still here.
One evening I lost a filling from a tooth, the local dentist only came 1 day per week and we were advised there was a dentist at Bindoon 95 klms down the Great Northern Highway and we made use of our journey to observe the beautiful Salmon Gums lining the highway.
Of course the weather was dry after the day of rain and we have now completed more wildflower tours of this area and checked out more of this cute little town.
There is a monastery surrounded by extraordinarily grand buildngs including a hotel, education centres,
an old convent, hostels, guest houses, a museum, church and chapel, art gallery, a gift shop and a bakery which used olives grown on site in some of the loaves of bread offered for sale.
We opted to walk around the area following a map and poked around in general, the cameras got a good workout once again.
After several days checking out Moora and surrounds the time had arrived for Kevin and Carolyn to part with us and travel to Perth and be involved with some family doings, and as John and I had more projects to do and Moora being a lovely little place we are still here.
One evening I lost a filling from a tooth, the local dentist only came 1 day per week and we were advised there was a dentist at Bindoon 95 klms down the Great Northern Highway and we made use of our journey to observe the beautiful Salmon Gums lining the highway.
Of course the weather was dry after the day of rain and we have now completed more wildflower tours of this area and checked out more of this cute little town.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
MOORA
We are in a little town called Moora, a thriving regional town, central to many farming communities and described as being in "the wheatbelt", nicely laid out parks, murals celebrating the history, it is quite alive and growing community.
On the drive here (inland from Cervantes) we were delighted at the kaleidescope of colours. There were rolling hills covered in large paddocks of wheat in various states of growth and so lush, rolling toward the horizon, as far as your eye could see. The main crops around here are wheat, barley and lupins, canola, also cattle (several types) and some merino sheep, dorpers (meat sheep) another farm had grape vines and a paddock with goats, my imagination fired up as to what they could produce!
Along the way we observed one of the largest wind power farms so far, WA was always ahead with that technology.
This caravan park is run by the local shire and they keep it beautifully, there are gardens with lovely roses and petunias amongst them. The sites are laid with bitumen and there is lawn for tents, and some chalets also. Imaculate barbeques and amenities and the laundry is free to tenants. Furthermore because we had so many chores to do around the van we decided to stay at least a week here, and thereby the price was reduced.
I immediately pulled out all the washing I had to do, which amounted to several loads, the next day John and I pulled down all the curtains in the van to wash out (by hand) the red dust and dirt accumulated on our travels
It is raining today whoopee! I have vowed never to complain about rain-ever again- it is toooo valuable
and even though today had been designated the day to drive along a noted wildflower route - no complaints from this girl.
Because of the rain we limited our activity to visiting a drying shed of a nearby wildflower farm, and were told how they dry, sometimes colour and pack and export all over the world. They also had displays and some products selling at reasonable prices.
On the drive here (inland from Cervantes) we were delighted at the kaleidescope of colours. There were rolling hills covered in large paddocks of wheat in various states of growth and so lush, rolling toward the horizon, as far as your eye could see. The main crops around here are wheat, barley and lupins, canola, also cattle (several types) and some merino sheep, dorpers (meat sheep) another farm had grape vines and a paddock with goats, my imagination fired up as to what they could produce!
Along the way we observed one of the largest wind power farms so far, WA was always ahead with that technology.
This caravan park is run by the local shire and they keep it beautifully, there are gardens with lovely roses and petunias amongst them. The sites are laid with bitumen and there is lawn for tents, and some chalets also. Imaculate barbeques and amenities and the laundry is free to tenants. Furthermore because we had so many chores to do around the van we decided to stay at least a week here, and thereby the price was reduced.
I immediately pulled out all the washing I had to do, which amounted to several loads, the next day John and I pulled down all the curtains in the van to wash out (by hand) the red dust and dirt accumulated on our travels
It is raining today whoopee! I have vowed never to complain about rain-ever again- it is toooo valuable
and even though today had been designated the day to drive along a noted wildflower route - no complaints from this girl.
Because of the rain we limited our activity to visiting a drying shed of a nearby wildflower farm, and were told how they dry, sometimes colour and pack and export all over the world. They also had displays and some products selling at reasonable prices.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
CERVANTES AND SURROUNDS
It was decided to take off along the Brand Highway passing through very pleasant scenery and to evaluate possible stopping places as we went, and it turned out to be the township of Cervantes-so named after a dutch ship which foundered on one of the reefs that run down the coast of West Aus. We booked into the Pinnacles C/park - $38 per night for very ordinary accommodation and $5 for washing machine
Not deterred, the next day we traversed along 16 klms to see the Pinnacles Desert in the Nambung National Park and what a sight!
We learned that these amazing structures are pillars of limestone created from ancient shells and over the millions of years any soil and bushland were removed by fire/wind etc. to leave just the creamy/golden coloured spires/pinnacles showing, sitting atop the desert sand. There was a beautifully constructed walkway to view them and also a designated drive through them. Using our imaginations they looked like ruins of an ancient city, or maybe a church graveyard. We gazed and marvelled and our cameras worked overtime - once again. There was a well appointed Discovery Centre and many metres of well built boardwalks.
Glimpses of pure white sandhills surrounded us as we checked out Lake Thetis and its ancient fossils called Stromatolites and Thrombolites once again walking along a very well constructed and no doubt expensive walkway over the lake.
There were some other lookouts and we checked out the wondrously beautiful sandhills and the ocean breaking over the reef. In one of the bays we had another contact with dolphin mother and offspring, cruising along look for "dinner".
Not deterred, the next day we traversed along 16 klms to see the Pinnacles Desert in the Nambung National Park and what a sight!
We learned that these amazing structures are pillars of limestone created from ancient shells and over the millions of years any soil and bushland were removed by fire/wind etc. to leave just the creamy/golden coloured spires/pinnacles showing, sitting atop the desert sand. There was a beautifully constructed walkway to view them and also a designated drive through them. Using our imaginations they looked like ruins of an ancient city, or maybe a church graveyard. We gazed and marvelled and our cameras worked overtime - once again. There was a well appointed Discovery Centre and many metres of well built boardwalks.
Glimpses of pure white sandhills surrounded us as we checked out Lake Thetis and its ancient fossils called Stromatolites and Thrombolites once again walking along a very well constructed and no doubt expensive walkway over the lake.
There were some other lookouts and we checked out the wondrously beautiful sandhills and the ocean breaking over the reef. In one of the bays we had another contact with dolphin mother and offspring, cruising along look for "dinner".
LOVELY GERALDTON
At the beautiful and historic Visitor Centre we decided to set up at Sunset Beach C/park for 8 nights thereby providing a base with good television reception for John to watch Bathurst next weekend.
The rain pelted down that night providing the opportunity to realise that our van is still watertight, and gradually receded through the next day.
We took an early opportunity to visit the Hutt River Province when it dried up on Tuesday, turned off onto a red gravel road, passing farms of wheat, cattle and some dorper meat sheep. After driving past the check point Prince Leonard himself saw us at the 'Post Office' issuing us with visas to enter - and the exit one at the same time.
We learned that West Australian Government brought in wheat quotas in 1969 and gave the Casleys a quota for100 acres of wheat, when in fact they had grown 13,000 acres each year. Leonard Casley was told that there would be no compensation and no appeals allowed, even though he had 13,000 acres growing at that time. Leonard Casley investigated the legislation and found that in fact the bill had not been passed in the WA Parliament.
Nevertheless Leonard protested and was told firmly by the Governer of WA Maj Gen Sir Douglas Kendrew "No alteration to the Casley Quota would be allowed". After further investigation of the laws Leonard decided secession was the only way to keep his land safe from resumption by the Government.
This occured on 21 April 1970 and became known as The Principality of Hutt River.
There were several brick buildings to be explored containing framed copies of official documents, artecfacts, collections of items, beautiful paintings. P Leondard had connections all over the world and our cameras clicked away.
Prince Leonard is now 84 and his family manage the farm but he is still very active.
As the day was progressing we called in to Northampton took a few photos of some beautiful old buildings and had lunch.
Throughout the rest of our stay we explored beautiful Geraldton City which had the Chapman River flowing through it, it was a real return to civilisation, prices were as we expected them to be in major centres instead of being affected by freightage costs. A lot of Geraldton is built up the hill and often as you turn a corner you can be confronted by the scene of beautiful blue/turquoise waters breaking spectacularly over the reef.
On one peak was a memorial erected to the memory of the 645 souls who died aboard the HMAS Sydney in 1941, very moving and beautiful including a statue depicting the many women who waited and looked in vain for their loved one.
We visited the RSL to view more memorabilia and were befriended by some of the members and advised about some drives to take around the area and some of the sights to look out for, invited to a barbeque the next night, very pleasant.
On Sunday - race day - I set off to visit a craft and quilting fair and enjoyed poking around in an area which I find very interesting - had been advised that there was Dragon Boat racing organised by the Geraldton Yacht Club, so drove around the foreshore again, on hearing the sound of the horn for the beginning of a race I hurried over to the beach and watched a few races.
The boats were all made of metal as were so many I had seen here on the mainland in the past, I learned that it was a once a year event and that explained to me the lack of discipline of the crew who admittedly were splashing around a lot and jumped into the water before the boat hit the beach - in other words a good time was being had.
I loved Geraldton, despite the 'pong' of the seaweed on the beach at the c/park, it was cosmopolitan in one way and also friendly, I could have stayed a lot longer.
The rain pelted down that night providing the opportunity to realise that our van is still watertight, and gradually receded through the next day.
We took an early opportunity to visit the Hutt River Province when it dried up on Tuesday, turned off onto a red gravel road, passing farms of wheat, cattle and some dorper meat sheep. After driving past the check point Prince Leonard himself saw us at the 'Post Office' issuing us with visas to enter - and the exit one at the same time.
We learned that West Australian Government brought in wheat quotas in 1969 and gave the Casleys a quota for100 acres of wheat, when in fact they had grown 13,000 acres each year. Leonard Casley was told that there would be no compensation and no appeals allowed, even though he had 13,000 acres growing at that time. Leonard Casley investigated the legislation and found that in fact the bill had not been passed in the WA Parliament.
Nevertheless Leonard protested and was told firmly by the Governer of WA Maj Gen Sir Douglas Kendrew "No alteration to the Casley Quota would be allowed". After further investigation of the laws Leonard decided secession was the only way to keep his land safe from resumption by the Government.
This occured on 21 April 1970 and became known as The Principality of Hutt River.
There were several brick buildings to be explored containing framed copies of official documents, artecfacts, collections of items, beautiful paintings. P Leondard had connections all over the world and our cameras clicked away.
Prince Leonard is now 84 and his family manage the farm but he is still very active.
As the day was progressing we called in to Northampton took a few photos of some beautiful old buildings and had lunch.
Throughout the rest of our stay we explored beautiful Geraldton City which had the Chapman River flowing through it, it was a real return to civilisation, prices were as we expected them to be in major centres instead of being affected by freightage costs. A lot of Geraldton is built up the hill and often as you turn a corner you can be confronted by the scene of beautiful blue/turquoise waters breaking spectacularly over the reef.
On one peak was a memorial erected to the memory of the 645 souls who died aboard the HMAS Sydney in 1941, very moving and beautiful including a statue depicting the many women who waited and looked in vain for their loved one.
We visited the RSL to view more memorabilia and were befriended by some of the members and advised about some drives to take around the area and some of the sights to look out for, invited to a barbeque the next night, very pleasant.
On Sunday - race day - I set off to visit a craft and quilting fair and enjoyed poking around in an area which I find very interesting - had been advised that there was Dragon Boat racing organised by the Geraldton Yacht Club, so drove around the foreshore again, on hearing the sound of the horn for the beginning of a race I hurried over to the beach and watched a few races.
The boats were all made of metal as were so many I had seen here on the mainland in the past, I learned that it was a once a year event and that explained to me the lack of discipline of the crew who admittedly were splashing around a lot and jumped into the water before the boat hit the beach - in other words a good time was being had.
I loved Geraldton, despite the 'pong' of the seaweed on the beach at the c/park, it was cosmopolitan in one way and also friendly, I could have stayed a lot longer.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
THE PINK LAKE
On our way we called in to Port Gregory and discovered 'The Pink Lake' which we were later to learn was "Hutt Lagoon". It was a delightful shade of Pink, due to its high salinity level and a naturally occurring bacteria which is trapped withing the salt granules providing a valuable source of Beta Carotine, which is harvested and used to colour foodstuffs.
Situated on the Murchison River is the holiday town of Kalbarri, once again it has many newly developed buildings, mostly along the coastline, and further back the homes of the fisherfolk, its original citizens.
From a vantage point we observed boats coming into the mouth of river toward the reef and the tortuous route they had to take to negotiate through the channels, to avoid grounding on that reef.
We started with a drive over unsealed roads of red, red dirt loving the wildflowers on route to the wonderful gorges of the National Park.
It was extremely hot and there was an enormous amount of flies, many, many times as they gathered in numbers around eyes, nose, mouth and ears I used the Aussie Wave, resolving to get the mossie/fly nets from the cupboard in van and keep in the car, so they can be used!
We took multi photos of all the beauties as we walked through the coastal heath to the lookouts to gaze and peep through 'Natures Window' framing the rugged course of the Murchison and marvel at the unforgetable breathtaking gorges.
This Coast is pounded by the unceasing waves coming from the Indian Ocean providing spectacular sandstone cliffs of great beauty and changing moods according to the angle of the sun, amount of cloud etc. and the camera worked overtime again.
One day we visited Rainbow Jungle a centre that breeds Australian Parrots; some live in large cages and some fly free past you as you scramble for the camera. Of course their colours are from the full spectrum of the palette and 'once again the camera worked overtime'!
We had great joy observing a little family of tawny frogmouth owls spending their day (sleeping) on a fence right in front of our van, there was a Mum and 2 littlies, and Dad was on a trunk of a nearby tree.
As I manoeuvred around to take an even better photo Mum raised and turned her head, opened orange and black eyes - wide - to check what I was doing near to her precious brood.
There was a tower to climb and we were rewarded with the sight of whales out in the ocean.
As it is school hollidays in WA we could only book for 3 nights and were soon to move on from this pretty haven.
From a vantage point we observed boats coming into the mouth of river toward the reef and the tortuous route they had to take to negotiate through the channels, to avoid grounding on that reef.
We started with a drive over unsealed roads of red, red dirt loving the wildflowers on route to the wonderful gorges of the National Park.
It was extremely hot and there was an enormous amount of flies, many, many times as they gathered in numbers around eyes, nose, mouth and ears I used the Aussie Wave, resolving to get the mossie/fly nets from the cupboard in van and keep in the car, so they can be used!
We took multi photos of all the beauties as we walked through the coastal heath to the lookouts to gaze and peep through 'Natures Window' framing the rugged course of the Murchison and marvel at the unforgetable breathtaking gorges.
This Coast is pounded by the unceasing waves coming from the Indian Ocean providing spectacular sandstone cliffs of great beauty and changing moods according to the angle of the sun, amount of cloud etc. and the camera worked overtime again.
One day we visited Rainbow Jungle a centre that breeds Australian Parrots; some live in large cages and some fly free past you as you scramble for the camera. Of course their colours are from the full spectrum of the palette and 'once again the camera worked overtime'!
We had great joy observing a little family of tawny frogmouth owls spending their day (sleeping) on a fence right in front of our van, there was a Mum and 2 littlies, and Dad was on a trunk of a nearby tree.
As I manoeuvred around to take an even better photo Mum raised and turned her head, opened orange and black eyes - wide - to check what I was doing near to her precious brood.
There was a tower to climb and we were rewarded with the sight of whales out in the ocean.
As it is school hollidays in WA we could only book for 3 nights and were soon to move on from this pretty haven.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
GLORIES AROUND MONKEY MIA
From experience we have learned to set up accommodation for our van somewhere central and drive to the various points of interest, and to this end we went to Hamelin Pool C/Park, just in from the turnoff to the Peninsula.
Situated at the now closed Telegraph Station and rusting away, the reception office contained a lot of clothing and nick knacks for sale plus a kiosk.
That afternoon we trecked off to the beach, firstly viewing the tiny shells on the beach moulded solidly together by a mixture of lime and water (coquina) and we learned that the early settlers, having a great shortage of wood for building, used crosscut saws to cut the coquina into blocks to construct many buildings including homesteads and churches - a brilliant use of natural product.
Continuing along the beach we came to the jetty out over the stromatolites or living fossils, and marvelled as their bubbles rose in the water.
The next day we headed off to Monkey Mia and were rewarded within 10 minutes by fins knifing through the water to the beach as the ranger talked about their habits and ways. Approximately 7 came, some were mothers and calves who frolicked and played while waiting. Others were pregnant, they do not feed on the proferred fish in case it may be contaminated and threaten their unborn.
I was interested to learn that the aborigines called pearl divers 'Monkeys' and 'Mia' means home, hence 'Monkey Mia' - Monkey's Home.
It rained while we were at Monkey Mia the first rain we have experienced since leaving Mackay.
On our return journey we explored and marvelled at the beautiful rugged coastline including Little Lagoon, Shark Bay the lovely township of Denham, Eagle Bluff, Eagle Island, and the fantastic shell beach an extension of the coastline from Hamelin. The statistic is that over all it stretches for over 120 klms of coast is 1klm wide and estimated to be over 10 metres deep, made up of trillions upon trillions of tiny shells. Detouring off the road to all these fantastic bays, the photos barely do justice to their beauty.
Shark Bay comprises 748,735 hectares, 1500 klms coastline-the largest marine embayment in Australia, containing, sharks, manta rays, dugongs, turtles, sea snakes, scallops, prawns, crabs, dolphins, and many more I disremember. There were red sea cliffs, white sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
Next Stop Kalbarri !
Situated at the now closed Telegraph Station and rusting away, the reception office contained a lot of clothing and nick knacks for sale plus a kiosk.
That afternoon we trecked off to the beach, firstly viewing the tiny shells on the beach moulded solidly together by a mixture of lime and water (coquina) and we learned that the early settlers, having a great shortage of wood for building, used crosscut saws to cut the coquina into blocks to construct many buildings including homesteads and churches - a brilliant use of natural product.
Continuing along the beach we came to the jetty out over the stromatolites or living fossils, and marvelled as their bubbles rose in the water.
The next day we headed off to Monkey Mia and were rewarded within 10 minutes by fins knifing through the water to the beach as the ranger talked about their habits and ways. Approximately 7 came, some were mothers and calves who frolicked and played while waiting. Others were pregnant, they do not feed on the proferred fish in case it may be contaminated and threaten their unborn.
I was interested to learn that the aborigines called pearl divers 'Monkeys' and 'Mia' means home, hence 'Monkey Mia' - Monkey's Home.
It rained while we were at Monkey Mia the first rain we have experienced since leaving Mackay.
On our return journey we explored and marvelled at the beautiful rugged coastline including Little Lagoon, Shark Bay the lovely township of Denham, Eagle Bluff, Eagle Island, and the fantastic shell beach an extension of the coastline from Hamelin. The statistic is that over all it stretches for over 120 klms of coast is 1klm wide and estimated to be over 10 metres deep, made up of trillions upon trillions of tiny shells. Detouring off the road to all these fantastic bays, the photos barely do justice to their beauty.
Shark Bay comprises 748,735 hectares, 1500 klms coastline-the largest marine embayment in Australia, containing, sharks, manta rays, dugongs, turtles, sea snakes, scallops, prawns, crabs, dolphins, and many more I disremember. There were red sea cliffs, white sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
Next Stop Kalbarri !
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