December 10th-12th, 2011- Perth

Saturday morning saw us up early and on our way to Perth minus the caravan of course. Said our goodbyes again to Di, Terry, Phil, and Donna at the Sunset Caravan Park. Donna had written us a poem which was cute. Di and Terry were moving on to Greenough just South of Geraldton where they are planning to spend the month until we return in January. We got away by 8am and had a good trip. Stopped a few times to get photos of wild flowers which are beautiful even though we are at the end of their season.

Stopped again for a quick lunch at a roadside rest stop. Met a family there from Karatha but originally from Newcastle area. Got a call from Di in the afternoon to say Greenough S Bend Caravan location was not very good and they were looking for an alternative accommodation over Christmas. Too bad! They called later to say they will stay one week there but then can move to the Belair in Geraldton where we stayed previously. Nice park. We arrived in Perth around 2pm and checked into the Best Western Ascot for one night. It was an apartment style accommodation and very nice.

I contacted the Bushman Fridge agent when we arrived to arrange a time to bring the fridge/freezer to him and he said we could bring it over right away. Back in the car and off to South Lakes in southern Perth. Len from Bushman Fridges WA, was excellent and checked out our car battery and charging system before acknowledging that there was indeed a problem with our fridge. When he started looking at the fridge he quickly identified that the original people that we bought it from were full of crap! We had taken it back twice to Country Gas Fridges in Gosford who had assured me that they had adjusted all the settings and the fridge was working properly. Turns out my fridge didn't even have the right drive unit to be connected to and/or adjusted by a computer. Len  told us if we could come back in an hour that he would have the parts changed out and adjusted. We went for a quick trip to a local shopping centre. When we returned an hour later he had replaced the drive unit and the control panel. He fully demonstrated the new settings before replacing the transformer and testing again in our car. What a refreshing experience! We have since tested the fridge and it works beautifully. Kudos to Len and Bushman Fridges! However the exact opposite for Country Gas Fridges in Gosford. Don't buy from these people; and certainly don't expect honest professional service from them!

We returned to our hotel where we had a nice pasta dinner before retiring early after a long day. A quick plug for Perth roadways. Lots of freeways (which are actually free), free flowing,  and quite easy to get around on so far. We did get lost on the way in to the hotel; but that was more of a navigation problem. We had miscalculated the road we were entering Perth on from the North.

Sunday morning we stopped at a shopping centre for some retail therapy and lunch before arriving at Karen and Davids around 1pm. Had a bit of a catch up before they took us on a scenic drive along the waterfront at Sorrento where they live. Stopped at the lighthouse at the Marina near where they live and got a few pictures. Had a nice visit, a few cold drinks, and a lovely BBQ steak dinner.

Monday Karen and David both worked so we did a bit of shopping before venturing off to King's Park. Got a bit lost again but made it eventually with no major incidents. Was a bit cloudy but still quite warm. Had a nice walk through the Botanical Gardens and the War Memorial. Got some nice wild flower photos! We will go back again and spend more time when we return to Perth.

Drove back to Karen and David's for lunch before having a nice walk along the Sorrento Beach during the afternoon. Still cloudy and windy but quite comfortable. We could see a storm over the ocean but we missed out on it. Had another great visit and dinner that night.

Said our goodbyes to David before he went to work Tuesday morning. Sandra, Karen, and I were having a relaxing breakfast when we got a call from Virgin seeing if we could make the 9:30am flight instead of the 11:30am. We said yes and made a quick exit from Karen's via taxi just making the flight. Karen and David kindly let us store our vehicle at their place until we return in January.
I will say goodbye now as we will be at home in Newcastle until our return in early January. Have a great Christmas and we look forward to rejoining our travels in 2012.

December 8th & 9th, 2011- Sunset Caravan Park (Big 4)- Geraldton

Thursday morning saw us checkout of Horrocks and head back towards Geraldton for our second visit. Sandra and I stopped at a few old buildings along the way for photos before we met up with Di and Terry in Northampton. Here we toured the old Catholic church and walked the main street. Found a store that had its original furnishings from many years ago that stocked a bit of everything.

Checked into the Sunset Caravan park, Big 4, about 10am. Unfortunately our cabin wasn't available until 1pm so we visited with Di, Terry, Phil and Donna; who were in the spot next to Di. Had morning tea with them before the girls all went shopping for the ingredients for a baked dinner. Terry and I went for a quick shopping trip later for beer and a couple of things the girls missed. The cabin was quite nice. Fairly basic and not as big as some; but more than adequate and clean.

We took over the camp kitchen about 3pm and set up for our baked Christmas dinner for the six of us. The camp kitchen had just been built and was huge and like a designer kitchen. Corian Bench tops, self closing cupboards, every cooking utensil imaginable. Had a 60 inch flat screen and a huge island with 6 leather bar stools that we took over. Had a wonderful baked dinner with lots of drinks and laughs. Had a lovely homemade Gluten Free Apple Pie to top off the dinner. We were all stuffed by the end of our feast. Sandra ended up draining her wine straight out of the bottle and wearing her Christmas hat home. Great time!

Went down for a quick walk along the beach after dinner to try and ease the pain in my stomach. Saw a lovely sunset and the lights of Geraldton over the water.

Friday morning saw us stop in at the caravan place and check on the progress. Wheel and axle have been replaced so is back on four wheels. The side panel was off and we got to see what a quality job Retreat did of the insulation. None were cut properly to size and a number of insulation panels were just simply not there. Disgusting workmanship but unfortunately, the repair guy, reckons they are all the same. Approval from insurance only came through today after another phone call to QBE. Approval was finally received and the remaining parts have now been ordered. We will check back with them to make sure caravan is completed before we fly back in January. Looks like it should be OK unless problems with part orders. We transferred a few things back to the caravan and took a few that we need to take home. Said our goodbyes to our caravan and the good people at Batavia Coast Caravans.

The afternoon was busy packing and sorting. Leaving the Waeco fridge/freezer and our Tech Ice Esky with Di and Terry. Taking their smaller esky back to Newcastle (filled with sea shells etc). We have successfully depleted our food supplies so had very little to leave with Di and Terry. The six of us got together after dinner to finish off the Apple Pie and Ice cream. We said our goodbyes to Phil and Donna after. Hope we get to meet up with them again after Christmas as we have really enjoyed their company. We are off tomorrow morning for Perth where we will be staying with Sandra's cousin Karen and her husband David.

December 6th & 7th, 2011- Horrocks Beach Cottages- Horrocks

Tuesday morning we packed up and said our goodbyes to Kalbarri about 9am. Very nice place and we would definitely come again. We travelled the short distance South along the coast to Horrocks. We stopped at the Lynton Station for a quick tour of the homestead and mill. Built in 1853 and somewhat restored. Also had a memorabilia collection in a barn which we enjoyed. Had a beautiful view of the ocean and Pink Lake. Checkout the angle of the trees on the driveway into the Station. Think they get a bit of wind from the West on a regular basis??

Arrived in Horrocks before lunch and checked into the Horrocks Beach Cottages. Fairly basic but roomy and clean. The owner Colin surprised us with a couple of local crayfish that he had caught this morning. Lovely surprise and a great customer service. We met up with Di and Terry who were checked in at the caravan park across the road from our cottages.

 

Di, Sandra, and I went for a nice walk along the beach. Horrocks is a fairly small place with limited facilities and primarily designed for fisherman and holiday getaways. After lunch we took a drive down to the mouth of the Bowes River. The river was currently cutoff from the ocean by sand but looks like will be a good fishing spot. We will give it a try tomorrow. Terry and I had planned to go down to the wharf for a fish late in the afternoon but when we got there half a dozen others had already had the same idea. Pretty windy and pounding waves so we didn't feel the need to jostle for space on the small wharf. Sandra and I enjoyed our two lovely crayfish for dinner with salad. They were wonderful!. Thanks again Colin.

I was up early on Wednesday morning (5:30am) to meet Terry down on the wharf for a fish. Terry must have thought better about getting up so early as he was no where to be seen. I came home and crawled back into bed. Can't say I was that disappointed. After breakfast Terry and I took a drive back out to Bowes River to have a fish. You wouldn't believe it but two people were fishing in the exact spot we had picked out the day before. It was a nice deep channel with less wave activity. Terry cursed a bit before we tried our luck a bit further down the beach. Eventually the other two packed up and we took over the spot. I caught a decent size Taylor which we will have for dinner. We spent a couple of hours attempting to catch a few more with no luck. The surf was quite inconsistent and we both got caught with a big wave a couple of times. Girls did a bunch of laundry and Sandra dyed Di's hair.
We had a relaxing afternoon before Di and Terry came over for dinner. Used the fish I had caught and had a bunch of garlic prawns we had been saving along with salad. Yum!

All in all Horrocks wouldn't be my first choice for a vacation as limited facilities and very expensive at grocery store. Would highly recommend Kalbarri over Horrocks for all but the most dedicated fishermen.

December 1st-5th, 2011- Kalbarri-Tudor Caravan Park

Thursday morning saw us up early and checking out of the Belair at Geraldton for now. We fueled up with Diesel and headed back North towards Northampton. At Northampton we turned West on the Coastal Road to Kalbarri. Stopped at the Lynton Convict Depot and Station briefly. Got a few pictures but will return for a better look with Di later.

We then carried on to Port Gregory and The Pink Lake. Well much to our surprise the lake is actually Pink. Not a light Pink either! Amazing! The pictures actually don't do it justice.

We then took a quick look at the Port area and a few more pictures. Not too much to the town of Port Gregory but looked like a nice place to spend a relaxing vacation.

 

Back into the car where we drove back around the Pink Lake and North towards Kalbarri along the coast. Lots of places to stop and view lookouts but we carried on past them today. We will return later during our stay at Kalbarri. Arrived at the Tudor Caravan Park and checked into our Villa around 10am. Di had kindly checked out a few of the cabin options in Kalbarri for us along with our friend Donna. The Villa we checked into was beautiful, clean, and very modern. Have two separate bedrooms, a full kitchen and living area, and a lovely bathroom.

After we checked in we had morning tea with Di, Terry, Phil, and Donna. Great to see them all again. Donna took Sandra, Di, and I to the Rainbow Jungle Bird Sancturary. She had been there already but loved it and was happy to go back again. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as her first visit. It was a very hot day ad the birds were mostly hiding and trying to keep cool. Donna had been there on a cool day early in the morning and the birds had been much more plentiful and active.The ones we saw looked pretty wiped out by the heat. Got some good pictures of a few though. A couple have real character. Check out the bad hair day on the red head and also the world's ugliest parrot.

Had a relaxing afternoon. Sandra and I both had a lay down but didn't really sleep. We spent an enjoyable hour at the park swimming pool which is lovely, clean, and large. Biggest one we have seen on our trip and the water temperature was perfect. We hosted happy hour for the 6 of us at 4pm. Showed Phil and Donna the photos of our caravan. They were shocked by the damage. We had a nice visit with a few cold drinks before we all returned to our own homes for tea. Sandra and I had a lovely salmon & salad dinner. I used a BBQ located out the front of our cabin and  had a raging fire going. Must have been a lot of grease or something left on/in it from previous use. I turned off all the burners and the gas bottle and still burned for another 30 minutes. Cooked the salmon on the hot plate while the fire eventually died down.

Friday morning we had planned on the boys going fishing early. Terry called us off about 5am as was too windy. Funny thing was about 5 minutes after he cancelled the wind dropped completely. I enjoyed the extra hour and a bit of sleep anyway. Sandra, Di, and I went on a driving tour of the National Park about 7:30am. Our first stop was Meanarra Hill Lookout which is just a short distance East of the town. From the lookout here you have a great view of the Kalbarri coast line, the township, and the Murchison River mouth.

Continued travelling East until we took a 25Km gravel road into the Kalbarri National Park. Lots of stops along the way for Di and Sandra to take pictures of different wildflowers we came across. Road was very corrugated but we have been on much worse. Our first major stop was the Z Bend. We took a 1.5Km round trip walk from the car park down to the lookout. It was already very warm and lots of steps so more than enough workout for us. Flies were bad as well so our fly nets got a workout. Got some lovely pictures from the lookout of where the Murchison River does a number of ninety degree turns to form a Z shape. Struggled back up the stairs to the car and headed off for our next stop.

Had a couple of lookout points before we got the the next major stop which was Nature's Window. Again we had about a 1Km return walk down. Very hot by this time but well worth the effort. Nature's Window was beautiful and we were lucky enough to have it to ourselves for about 15 minutes. Di almost chickened out but finally made it down to the window. Not that bad of a climb but looks daunting from the top. The Window itself was beautifully cool as provided shade and had a lovely breeze blowing through it. Got lots of pictures before hiking back up the hill. We all decided that was enough walking for the day as temperature was approaching 38 degrees. There is an 8Km loop walk from Nature's Window that looks lovely as well but really shouldn't be attempted in this type of weather. Saw some people doing it and hope they had lots of water as temperature hits 50 degrees in the Gorges.

Headed off home where we arrived about 12:30. Dropped Di off at her caravan before returning to our Villa and having a salad lunch. The afternoon was fairly laid back with a bit of resting and another swim for Sandra and I. Only a quick swim today as limited shade provided at the pool and was all being utilised when we got there. A group of 12 of us went out to dinner at Finlay's Fish. What an experience as is an open air restaurant with very rustic trimmings. A lot of history is preserved on the walls. They provide a roll of toilet paper for your table to use as napkins. The fish was beautiful and they served Sandra a lovely gluten free fish and prawns with chips. The prices were very reasonable with BYOB, and definitely is a must do while in Kalbarri. Had a great meal, some cold drinks, and a lovely visit before returning home at 9:30pm

Saturday is a bit of a catch up and rest up day. Sandra is doing some laundry and I am doing some work on the Blog. Another hot one with 39 degrees expected. I believe it is supposed to cool slightly by the beginning of the week. We had a relaxing day with a swim in the afternoon.

The evening saw a group of us journey out to the Murchison River Station for a BBQ and concert. Well what an experience. The Station was very interesting as the original homestead is from the mid 1800's and one of the oldest in WA.

The woolshed was the location for the BBQ and concert. The evening was BYOB and the BBQ was hamburgers. Not bad but fairly basic fare. The music however was what made the evening what it was (and not necessarily in a good way) First they had a fellow that played acoustic/classical guiter. With some effort you were able to recognise some of the songs but it definitely was not toe tapping material. Eventually a man and woman joined him on stage to do a couple of numbers. Finally we thought things were going to pick up. Well when they started to sing; the woman had probably the worst voice I had ever heard and they totally butchered a couple of songs. We all just looked at each other when she started to sing and Donna headed straight for the door before she made a scene with her laughing.

Our next treat was a young Pommy Bloke who had never sang in front of an audience before (with good reason). Totally trashed a couple of songs before the "Band" finally took the stage. It was the original couple and another couple. Well at least the other guy could play guitar and the other lady could hold a tune. Some songs were better than the worst I ever heard but most were slow sad songs. Donna went up and asked for some rock and roll so we could dance. They said they would play some later but wanted to play their best material first (Shit! This was their best) They actually sent the Pommy back on for another few songs after their break! He sang Wild Thing which no one recognised until he yelled it out at the end of the song. He then had a young girl join him on stage and sang Lying Eyes by the Eagles. So bad that Sandra didn't even recognise it until I told her what it was on the way home. The band played another depressing set before finally playing one rock and roll song. Donna and Phil had their dance. While definitely not a great night of entertainment we had a lot of laughs. We headed home about 10pm, laughing all the way.

Sunday morning Sandra and I went exploring the Coastal Cliffs of Kalbarri National Park. What a wonderful morning. The wind had actually subsided for a few hours and we managed to see some beautiful sites. The water is so clear and blue that you could see so much detail even from the cliff tops. Our first stop was Rainbow Valley where we did a walk to Mushroom Rock and back. About 1.5Km of quite uneven ground. Lots of steps, rocks, and hills. Luckily we did it early as it was hot enough even then. Saw some amazing rock formations and colours.

From here we headed to the Southern end of the Coastal Cliffs to Natural Bridge, Castle Cove, and Island Rock. Beautiful views! The coastline here is very rugged and different to what we have experienced in Northern WA.

Other stops were: The Grandstand, The Shellhouse, Eagle Gorge, Pot Alley and Red Bluff. Wonderful cliffs with secluded beaches at a number of locations.

We also toured a couple of new subdivisions near Red Bluff. Had some lovely properties overlooking the coast. We headed home shortly after noon for some lunch. Had an easy afternoon before we hosted Di and Terry for happy hour. Sandra and I had a nice BBQ steak dinner. BBQ didn't burn out of control this time.

Monday morning the four of us were planning to return to Pot Alley for a secluded swim on the beach before having a snorkel and a fish at Blue Holes. Unfortunately the wind had picked up and was blowing directly onshore. All the areas we had hoped to swim/fish/snorkel at were too rough. We stopped for a bit at Red Bluff Beach where I managed to catch some crabs for bait. We threw the line in for a while without success. Too windy to really enjoy.

Stopped on the way home at IGA for some groceries. Afternoon is a cleaning/organising one as we are moving on to Horrocks tomorrow morning. I called the Caravan Repair place and while they are making good progress the caravan won't be ready before we fly home next week. We will leave the caravan there over Christmas. We plan on heading down towards Perth on Friday or Saturday for our flight on Tuesday.