From the Porongurup’s we headed off to Albany for a few nights.  This was another short 37km trip for the day.  Love these short drives.  My Bunnings list was quite long so that made the trip even more necessary.  Albany also has a Dan Murphy’s so that was also high on our list of places to visit.  We really enjoyed our last week in the Stirling’s and Porongurup’s and definitely would like to come back one time.  We checked into the Happy Days Caravan Park and were very lucky to get in.  They gave us the last powered site they had left.   Apparently there was a big croquet weekend coming up and Albany was booked out.  I didn’t realise that croquet still had such a large pull of players, good to see.  I think we ended up with the best site of all, our space was huge and no neighbours.

It had also been a long time since we had been in Albany so we were both looking forward to seeing what new sights there were to see.  We had heard quite a bit about the Field of Light display and also the new National Anzac Centre so we were looking forward to visiting both of them.  We weren’t disappointed.  The Field of Light display was very popular with many visitors there on the night we went.  We also did a great walk while in Albany called the Point Possession Heritage Trail.  This was on the southern side of Albany around past the Whaling Station Museum.  A nice easy 3km walk that took you along some coastline and beaches and through some nice coastal bushland.  It also provided some great views back towards Albany harbour.

We had a nice stopover in Albany but was on the road again and next stop Bremer Bay.  Bremer Bay was the only commitment we had made so far on this trip.  We were meeting Steve and Carol, our next door neighbours from Perth and also my sister Jan plus Chris and Ellie the dog.  Steve and Carol had already been in Bremer for a few days and Jan and Chris were arriving the same day as us.  We had booked in for 8 days so it time to chill out for a while and slip into Bremer time.  We were all in the Bremer Bay Caravan Park and boy was it busy.  Now all the kids are back at school it’s time for the grey nomads to travel and enjoy themselves.  The caravan park had the “sorry we are full” sign most days.

We were very lucky weather wise for our time in Bremer with fine days for most of our stay.  The wind seemed to pick up a bit each day but died down at night where the nights did get a bit chilly sometimes.  It was good to see Steve and Carol again and they both seemed to be enjoying there stay down in the south.  Jan and Chris arrived a couple of hours after us and once set up it was time for start of many sundowners. 

Chris and myself did try fishing off the rocks not far from the caravan park.  I had got a new rod for Christmas and was keen to see if it worked.  There definitely is a difference between fishermen on what you class as a big fish.  I threw most of mine back as I thought they were too small to keep while Chris thought all his were “big” and kept most of them.  It was all good fun and we did have a couple of good feeds of fresh fish.

The Wellstead Museum is also well worth a visit.  The displays are excellent and well presented that shows a good history of the early pioneer days around the area.  The displays of vintage cars, motor bikes and tractors is as good as you will see anywhere.  The café at the museum also does great pizza’s.    Chris also had his birthday while in Bremer Bay so that was a good excuse to celebrate and go out to the local pub.

Well our eight days were up quicker than we wanted but it was time to go.  Steve and Carol were staying on for a few more days, lucky them, Jan and Chris were meandering slowly back to Mandurah and we were continuing on towards Esperance.  We all said or goodbyes and it was on the road again.

We were keen to visit the Stirling Ranges and in particular climb Bluff Knoll, so from Walpole we drove to Moingup Springs Campground which is inside the Stirling Range National Park.  It is a well set out campground not far off the road and has gas bbq’s and flushing toilets, a real bonus.

The day after setting up camp and just relaxing a bit we got up early and prepared ourselves for the climb to the top of Bluff Knoll.  The climb is a Class 4, so hopefully wasn’t going to be to bad.  The start of the climb was quite easy then it started to get a bit harder and after about an hour we were starting to feel every step.  It is only a 3km walk to the top but by halfway we were really starting to see how much we were out of condition.  We ended up having quite a few “rest stops” on the way up and the view was worth the effort.  We had a clear sunny day that ended up getting fairly warm so we felt we earnt our long rest at the top.

The following day after climbing Bluff Knoll was quite warm so we just did an easy day drive along Stirling Range Drive that took you past a few lookouts.  The road also took you along a few high points that let you take in the nice vistas.  I think the best time to visit the Stirling Ranges would be in spring when there would be a lot more flowers out, might be a bit cold though so bring your thermals.

From the Stirling Ranges we travelled down to the Porongurup’s for a couple of days so that we could do a few walks around the area.  This was a massive 40km drive for the day.  We stayed at the Porongurup Range Tourist Park, a small little park but well run with good facilities.  It was also raining when we got there so our planned walks for the afternoon were looking grim.  As luck would have it the weather cleared by about 1:30pm so it was on with the walking shoes and off.

Our first walk took us past the Tree In The Rock, up to Hayward Peak then around to Nancy Peak and Morgan’s View.  It was listed as a Class 4,  5.5km walk but seemed a lot easier than a Class 4.  One thing that really stood out was the difference in landscape between the Stirling Ranges and the Porongurup’s.  From a distance of only 40km between the two the change in flora was very striking.  The Stirling Ranges were a lot drier with low greenery and the Porongurup’s were quite lush, almost tropical with moss on rocks and tall trees. As we got closer to the top of this walk the clouds were coming over again and at the top we did get a little wet as well as on the way down.

Day two in the Porongurup’s and we were going to do the Granite Skywalk.  Apparently at the top of this walk/climb there was a skywalk that you could climb up to.  This was also listed as a Class 5, 4km return walk so we were preparing ourselves for something similar to Bluff Knoll.  If you compare the two walks we both felt that the Bluff Knoll walk was a lot more strenuous with more rock climbing compared to this one.  We weren’t complaining mind you.  The only bit that we thought could have been classed as difficult was the last bit of access to get to the skywalk.  We felt that this last bit was what made it a Class 5.  The Skywalk is very impressive when you get to it and a very clever piece of engineering.  The views are worthwhile to.

Both the Stirling Ranges and Porongurup’s were great trips and we really enjoyed our time at both places. The difference between the both of them when they are only about 40 kilometres apart is amazing.  The Porongurup’s must get a lot more rain that the Stirling’s.  Would definitely come back here again, I think spring would be a good time.

Well its 2019, Christmas and New Year are behind us and its time to head off on our next trip away.  The plan at this stage is to head down to the south west of WA for the summer, then across to the Eyre Peninsular and then onto Queensland with no real time frame.  Hopefully all goes well.  We seemed to survive our last update with the changed format for the blog. The photos seem to download differently, slightly bigger and the caption also slightly different.

The caravan has been sitting idle for a few months so hopefully everything will still work when we head off.  Our first stop when leaving Perth was down to Australind for a week.  We were planning to catch up with Robyn Garwood, but when we got here Robyn was away on a cruise, lucky her,  and wasn’t coming back until after we had left.  We booked into the Australind Tourist Park which is on the Old Coast Road into Bunbury.  We were very surprised how busy the road was all day and night.  Its a nice park though we wouldn’t stay there again because of the noise.  It is very constant.  A big surprise to us as well was that after we had been there for a couple of days our new neighbour pulled in next to us and it was my Aunty Judy.  Judy and Ray had come down for their annual golf get together and always stay at this park.  It is a small world at times.

We had some excellent weather while in Australind and even managed to go to the beach a couple of times for a swim.  That was interesting learning how to body surf again.  We did a couple of drives and walks that included Crooked Brook Forest, Leschenault Peninsular Conservation Park, Wellington Dam and the Collie River.  Kaye has slowly got me back into walking lots and keeps telling how good it is for me.  Unfortunately for me she doesn’t have the same aches and pains that I do.

Our week seemed to go quite quickly in Australind and before we realised we were on the road again heading a bit further south. We stayed at a small camp site called Karri Gully Picnic Site. This is not far off the road but road noise was virtually zero after about 6pm. You can walk a small section of the Bibbulmun Track, which we did of course. This was a very neat little camp site that you can very easily miss if your not aware of where it is.

Our next stop was a camp site called Sid’s Campground.  What a gem of a place.  No power or water to hook up to,  but there are hot showers and flushing toilets.  The sites are huge and clean.  While camped here we were very lucky to see a Splendid Blue Wren that was as blue as blue.  Absolutely magnificent and we both felt very lucky to have seen it.  We did one of the small walks around the property that showed some of the diversity of the place.  Would definitely recommend a stay here if ever passing by.  At only $10 a night very good value.

Walpole was our next stop and this was for a week.  We had been to Walpole with our previous van so this time we decided to stay in the other caravan park, the Walpole Rest Point Caravan Park.  We arrived a couple of days before Australia Day and it was probably a good thing we had booked.  Generally we don’t book ahead but for some reason we did.  Lucky because over the Australia day weekend it was jammed packed. 

There are quite a few things to do and see around Walpole with probably the most well known is the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of The Giants.  There are some nice drives that include Mandalay Beach, Conspicuous Cliff, Peaceful Bay plus a few walks that included Mt Clare and Mt Burnett.  Mt Clare also gave us another opportunity to walk a small section of the Bibbulmun Track.  This was also where we saw our first people walking sections of the track, a couple and a girl on her own.  By now I was starting to get my walking feet back in the groove and Kaye was having trouble keeping pace with me.

After a week at Walpole we seemed to pack quite a bit into it.  It was great to be able to do some short sections of the Bibbulmun Track, who knows maybe one day we might get inspired to do a longer section of it one day.

What a long time it has been between posts.  Have been very lazy and fallen way behind in all posts.  With my memory the way it is now it will be interesting to see how much I can remember and how much I have to make up.  They have also changed the blog home page format so we have no idea how this first one will turn out.

We had arranged with Jan and Chris to go to the Kulin Bush Races as they had just purchased a new caravan and were keen to try it out.  What better way than to go to Kulin and free camp in a farmers paddock.  We decided that we would leave Perth a bit before the race weekend and do a bit of a slow travel towards Kulin and meet up with Jan and Chris in Kulin a couple of days before the races.  As the weather was still quite cool we also decided that after the races we would head a bit further north and go to Steep Point for a bit warmer weather and also tick off going to the most western point of the Australian mainland.

Our first stop on leaving Perth was at the Oak Park and Gnamma Holes at Walyomouring.  This was a nice easy 150km trip from Perth and being in September the area was still nice and green.  We had stayed here once before a few years ago with Rob and Vicki Riebe and the contrast between each stay was very different.  With Rob and Vicki is was very dry and this time lush and green.  There was even some water around in the gnamma holes as well.  Lovely spot to stay in September.

The next day when we left Oak Park we had quite a bit of rain so our plans for some more bush camping were put on the back burner.  We did look at the place we wanted to camp at but the road in was covered in water so we decided then to go to Nungarin and stay at the Sports Complex Caravan Park.  This is a very neat little park and the facilities at the sports ground are excellent.

Next stop was a small camp on the Bruce Rock – Quairading Road called Kwolyin Camp.  Kwolyin is a old abandoned town that the Bruce Rock Shire has turned into a camp ground.  They have done an excellent job of setting it up.  Not far from the campground is Kokerbin Rock that has a couple of walks around it.  Kokerbin Rock is also the third largest monolith in Australia.

Our next stopover was at Tressies Caravan Park just out of Hyden.  This is on a farm and they have a nice big area with power and water set up for caravans.  This was a one night stopover before catching up with Jan and Chris at Kulin.  There were a few of us staying at Tressies, it was more popular than I thought it would be. 

Next day it was a short drive to Kulin only 60km away.  On our way there we called into a place called Buckley’s Breakaway for a look and morning tea.  After all 60km is a long way and fatigue management is an important factor when caravanning.  Buckley’s Breakaway is a small area of country that is quite stunning in its colour and formations.  It was interesting to walk around and be able to see it up close.

We arrived in Kulin and it was a little bit wet.  There was a steady rain falling and it didn’t auger well for our bush camping in the paddock at the race track.  We waited in Kulin for Jan and Chris to arrive as they were travelling from Mandurah.  Luckily when they did arrive the rain had stopped and things were looking better.  The race track is about 15km out of Kulin and the road into the camp area was quite muddy.  When we did arrive at the camp area we were surprised at the amount of vans already there.  Probably over 500 and it was only the Thursday before the races on Saturday.  We managed to get a pretty good spot not far from the toilets so the girls were happy.  We pulled in about 2 0’clock in the afternoon and vans were still pulling in at around 7pm.  A lot more even came in on the Friday and Saturday morning, but the camping area is huge so there was plenty of room for everyone.  This year apparently was a record crowd for the event and they did say there was over 1000 caravans at the event.

Although we didn’t win anything on the day at least the weather held off and we ended up with fine weather for the days we were there.   It was a great few days and the organisers really do put on a good show.  The Friday night they have entertainment and on race day there is heaps happening.  We would definitely go again and probably do the same and get there on the Thursday at least.  When we first read the “do’s and don’t” list we did think it was going to be a bit boring.  The list says you cant have fires, bring alcohol or have gen sets.  When you get there and set up there are people drinking around their vans. everyone has fires going and there would be enough gen sets going to power half the state.  It was a well run and organised event and a credit to the people involved in the weekend.

After our goodbyes at Kulin it was off on our trip further north to get a bit of warmer weather at Shark Bay.  Our first stop over after Kulin was Wongan Hills Caravan park for a couple of days for some washing and shopping.  They also do quite a good pub meal there as well.  Its always good to sometimes sit with the locals and chat.  From Wongan Hills it was a couple of one night stops at Tenindewa Pioneer Well near Yuna and Nerren Nerren Rest Area before arriving on Tamala Station near Useless Loop for a week.  Tamala Station has a few camp areas you can stay at and we chose Prickly Point.  There were a few campsites close by and we were glad we chose Prickly Point.  We were a bit better protected from the wind and able to be a bit closer to the water.

We did a couple of short drives from our camp area and one thing that did stand out was the amount of goats in the area.  When we booked into the camp ground one of the signs you read is to stay on the marked roads and paths so that you minimise your impact on the environment.  I think they need to assess how much damage is being done by the goats, they are completely eating and wrecking everything.  A lot more than what people are doing to the area.  The drives took you to some bays and islands around where we were staying but quite windy.

We decided to do an overnight trip to Steep Point and leave the caravan at Prickly Point.  We hadn’t used the roof top tent for a while and our van was to big and heavy to get into the Steep point camp grounds anyway.  As luck has it the night before we left to drive into Steep Point we had quite a bit of rain so the road from our camp to the main road was very wet and also out to the Edel Land National Park where Steep Point is.

The roads in the national park are all sand and some sections were very corrugated so low tyre pressures, around 25psi was the go.  It wasn’t to busy while we were there so traffic on the narrow sand tracks wasn’t a big problem.  We had booked the night at Blackie’s.  There were only two spots at this camp so we weren’t going to be bothered by too many neighbours.  We were well protected by the wind as well which was a bonus.  

There are a few things to see here besides Steep Point.  Dirk Hartog Island is only a few kilometres across the bay and there are a few lookouts and blowholes you can drive around to.  All the tracks are easy to drive around on, though most a single lane.  School holidays would be interesting with all the extra traffic.  While at Steep Point we were lucky enough to see a whale and her calf and as we travelled south along the coast she was also heading south.  Great to see.

After a great week at Tamala Station and Steep Point we packed up and headed into Denham and the Shark Bay Caravan Park for a few days.  It was time for some washing, fresh food and a pub meal.  We still had a bit of wind around but at least it was sunny.  We did a day trip out to the Francois Peron National Park.  This takes you to Point Peron at the tip of Shark Bay.  This had some very soft sand and we actually got our vehicle bogged.  It was all my fault as I didn’t let enough air out of the tyres.  Our car has this function in it that you set while in low 4wd, so we set this and waited to see if it worked.  It basically takes over control of the vehicle with wheel acceleration and all you do is just steer.  What a great feature, the car just literally pulled itself out of the sand. We then set the tyre pressures a bit lower and carried onwards determined to reach our goal.

Well it was time to start heading south again.  The weather was warming up enough for us to brave the elements further south.  We stayed our first night at a camp site called Galena Bridge North.  Heaps of room and not close to anyone on the north side.  The south side was more set up but was also a lot more crowded.  Good for a night stopover.  Next day it was into Kalbarri.  We hadn’t been to Kalbarri for many years and were looking forward to see how much it had changed.  It hadn’t changed much at all really.  The big thing in Kalbarri is the national park and some of the coastal views.

From Kalbarri we drove down to Geraldton hoping to catch up with some friends from our days in Wickham.  We stayed at the Geraldton Caravan Park and had one of the biggest sites we have ever had. It was good see Debra again and we also caught up with Demetri and Fiona who came up from Dongara for the night.  Our next stopover ended up being in the vacant block next to Demetri and Fiona in Dongara for a few nights.  Great thing about a caravan, you can nearly pull up anywhere.  It was good to see that all were doing so well

Well our short trip was just about over.  From Dongara we stayed one night at Nambung Station Stay then it was back into suburbia and home to Bayswater.  We had a great little trip away and will now spend Christmas and New Year with family and friends before heading off again in January 2019 for another adventure, though a bit further this time hopefully.