Milestones and landmarks – and more lovely people

Here we are in the quaintly-titled Robe, SA. Not sure why it’s called that, but it has a lot of history and very attractive stone buildings. Perhaps you could Google it and let us know!

We have progressed over 1500 km since the last post, but in a kind of up-and-down, zig-zaggy way and have once again been fortunate enough to experience the kindness and hospitality of people in this spectacular country.

Two days after leaving Ceduna, we arrived in Port Lincoln and liked it so much we decided to celebrate our two month – from leaving England – anniversary by having lunch there on the Friday. While we were there we went for a walk along yet another jetty and encountered a sea lion swimming nonchalantly very close to shore, so we followed it for a while before it decided to continue its frolics further out to sea!

We also came across a couple we have been tracking unintentionally since Norseman. They are in their late 60s and have been touring from Tasmania for about four months, taking in Alice Springs, Uluru, WA and more. They are travelling by motorbike. By motorbike, with a small tent and just enough storage space for a few clothes and daily rations. Every time we met them, they had friendly words and were permanently cheerful. When we last met, they were off the next day to swim with tuna!

The day we left Port Lincoln, Saturday 22^nd, we passed our 10,000^th kilometre for the trip to date. There’s a picture of the very spot below. It’s much like 9,000 others. (joking).

Lowly Point was our next stop, just past Whyalla. Both areas are stunningly beautiful looking one way and blighted by massive steelworks and power stations looking the other. Lowly Point was more or less a free site ($5) and had a beautiful sunset. The power station looked spectacular at night, but the wind was fierce! We also saw our first snake, crossing the road near where we sat enjoying a glass of wine. I’m reliably informed it was probably a Brown Snake – not to be messed with…

Auburn, in the heart of the Clare Valley wine region, clearly had a lot going for it, but we met it on a quiet Sunday. The campsite was the friendliest we have come across, with a ‘Happy Hour’ when all the campers (or most) gather for a drink and a yarn about 5 pm – earlier if the men have their way, apparently – around a table. Main topic of conversation – the price of fuel. We got lots of very helpful information from the travellers – some of whom had been ‘on the road’ for four years!

While we were on our way to Auburn, we got a phone call from our friend Sally’s step-brother Peter, who lives in Adelaide. He and his wife Nora very kindly invited us to stay with them in their beautiful house for a couple of days while we had a look round the city.

Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity and drove up to their place on Mount Osmond on the Monday. To say the house is lovely and the views are spectacular would be an understatement. It’s right up near the top of Mt Osmond and from their balcony you can see across Adelaide to the sea.

Our eternal thanks to Peter and Nora, their son Lockie and daughter Pip, who gave up her room while we were there, for their kindness and friendship, lovely food and general wonderfulness, not to mention washing machine, sparkling shiraz and eggs from the hen coop at the bottom of the hill!

We stayed with Peter and Nora for two nights and had a look around Adelaide, which is a charming city that we will certainly want to come back to when we do our trip into The Red Centre…

We took our leave reluctantly and moved on to another free site – Frank Potts Reserve in Langhorne Creek, before moving on to Robe, where this post started.

PS. It’s been noted that there’s been an absence of ‘Gillie” in the blog, so here I am!! (I’m still here!)  I’m going to be doing a regular PS to let you all know what’s REALLY going on. 

Needless to say we’re having a wonderful time and still can’t believe we’ve been allowed to do this!  We feel as free as birds and wake up every morning looking forward to our next adventure.  I’m mostly navigating, which so far has been easy as there’s really only been one way to go, except for Perth and Adelaide.  Melbourne next week and then Sydney will tax my skills, however a few yoga moves from Emily and Holly will relieve the tension. 

Yes we are still talking to each other, about what, I don’t know, seeing as we’ve been joined at the hip for over 2 months.  However in our quieter moments I zip out the crossword book and the kilometers fly by while engrossed in the cryptic clues.  We are sooooo looking forward to seeing the girls, rumour has it I’m using my ‘count down to Christmas’ Good Housekeeping knowledge to whip up a turkey and all the trimmings on Emily’s balcony overlooking Bondi Beach.  (We’ll see about that!!) 

Well ,that’s enough from me for now, it’s Friday, so it’s down to the local bookshop, where we’ve discovered they have a garden and sell wine and beer……just like the Oatsheaf……bye for now xxxxxGilliexxxxx

Some pelicans

10,000 kms - much like 9,999 others!!!

Peter, Nora, Lockie and Pip Willis - thanks so much

A snake - honest!

Ok, so we got a bit lost...

pigs in the city!

Nullabor - no trees and very plain

I’m listening to the latest Pink Floyd album – ‘Endless River’ as I write this, sitting in a lovely little campsite in Ceduna, SA after crossing the Nullabor Plain in just over two days. It really is the great Australian Road Trip.

After the magical Valley of the Giants mentioned in previous post, we went on to Albany – not much to report there except it’s probably much nicer when the weather is kind!

Then we decided to be brave and camp in one of Australia’s many free camps. Basically a spot off the road, possibly with a toilet (use at your peril), where you can camp for nothing. OUR FIRST FREE CAMP! It was a bit spooky, but we survived, hardened and keen for more similar adventures. Weather was pretty cold, so we had meal, watched another episode of The Sopranos and went to bed.

Woke up Wednesday morning to fierce winds and rain and our hopes of seeing the beauty of a much-hyped Hopetoun (sic) were dashed as out little camper nearly got blown off the jetty! So we gave up on that idea.

Set off for Esperance in high hopes (sorry about all these puns – couldn’t resist them!) in driving wind and rain and were buffeted all the way. Countryside varies here between small mountains (hills), trees & fields & agriculture & outback. Cut through Jerdacuttup to get to Esperance and it’s a pretty hopeless sort of place. But we needed to touch base with laundry etc and there was a cinema there!

Had two quiet days, wind blew a bit but it stayed dry so we could wash stuff and went to see ‘Gone Girl’ – very true to book (except bits that were cut for length), but ambivalent about it generally as I’d only recently read the book. Quite enjoyed it, he said, damning with faint praise.

Must say something about the museum at Esperance. It’s a jumble of all sorts of antiques and random junk – some of which was probably donated from people’s attics. But the big attraction hereabouts is that in 1979 Skylab crashed in these here parts, so every ‘Museum’ in a 400 km-sq area has bits of bent metal – remnants of the historic event. Apparently, the WA government gave NASA a $400 fine for littering!!

Before leaving Esperance on the Saturday morning, we drove the 40 km loop road – Great Ocean Drive (everything’s ‘Great’ something here) and it was a pretty spectacular series of beautiful bays and cliffs as well as a not-so-pink–anymore lake (come on BASF, get your finger out!)

Hit the 8000km mark reaching Norseman – a nothing sort of town at the start of the Nullabor and spent the evening fending off the flies.

The next day we started on the Nullabor Plain. Nullabor comes from the latin Nullus – none and Arbor – trees. The Aboriginals call it ‘Endless Plain’. Both descriptions are accurate.

A little-known fact is that about 400 km before the SA border, the clocks go forward – by 45 minutes – so we arrived at our next stop, another free site, Moodini Bluff and watched a spectacular sunset – a bit later than planned. But all good.

On Monday we set off early and arrived at the border, at what was to be our next stop – Eucla – by 11. 30, so pressed on into South Australia and put our clocks back by another 1hr 45 mins. Bet you didn’t know that did you?!! Stopped at Colina, with the sun still high in the sky at 7.00 pm. Nice change. Hit 9,125 km by the time we stopped.

Another rather odd thing is that the fruit fly fruit n veg quarantine checkpoint is not at the border, but at Ceduna, where we are now, 300 km into the state. Go figure…

Anyway, on Tuesday (today) we arrived in Ceduna, having crossed the mighty Nullabor. Sorry if I’m making a bit of this, but it is quite a remarkable road and it fills you with awe when you realize that this was originally crossed by foot over four months. It’s a hell of a road and definitely something to cross off the bucket list.

Waiting for sausages to ripen in this charming little campsite by the sea. Just seen another spectacular sunset. More next week.

Nullabor...

Sunset

need I say more?

Plain...

Skylab, honest

note the corks - see they do wear them!

Lifelike exhibit at Balladonia Roadhouse museum

Derick & Beth Johnston – The travellers’ friends

I’m writing this sitting in a leafy site at Walpole – near the Treetop Walk referenced by Bill Bryson in ‘Down Under’. Since leaving Perth we have stayed in Busselton, Hamelin Bay (not to be confused with Hamelin Pool – about 1000k further north where we saw the Stromatolites) and now here.

But I shall devote much of this blog to our stay in Perth and the awesome hospitality shown to us by Derick & Beth Johnston, who we met for barely 10 minutes at a swimming pool in the Kakadu on the first full day of our trip all those weeks (6) ago!

After stopping for a photo shoot at Scarborough Beach on Sunday 2^nd November, we turned up at Derick and Beth’s with the dust of the outback in every pore as well as coating Molly and filling every nook and cranny!

Their house, which they built themselves, lies about 25k east of central Perth, in a suburb called Kalamunda. It is a lovely sprawling 7-bedroom building with a fantastic garden – clearly their labour of love – and boasts a beautiful creek and several fruit trees and ornamental plants and shrubs. While we were there Derick was waging his perennial war against the creeping oxalis (?!) in the lawn, which required him to  burn off the lawn wherever he saw this menace, then spray everywhere with some fiendish substance. Hope it works this time!

Without going in to minute and probably tedious detail, suffice to say that we were treated royally during our stay. This was originally intended to be two nights, then onto a hotel in Perth and Fremantle (‘Freo’!!!&^%£@@£!!) for a couple of nights before heading south. As it happened, Derick arranged for Molly to have a service on the Monday and took us for a tour, during which we were invited to return to their house after our sojourn in the city and stay another couple of nights. We could hardly resist such a generous offer!

On the Tuesday – Gillie’s birthday – we went into Perth and booked into our hotel – thank you American Airlines! – with a lovely view overlooking the city (bit like a juvenile London skyline). We wasted an hour trying to collect our NAB bank cards, which were still in Darwin, then went into the city. It was Melbourne Cup day and this is the signal for people all over Australia to put their fascinators on (ladies) and get pissed, basically for a race that lasts about 2 minutes. It started at midday in Perth, so by the time we reached the centre everyone was in a very good mood…

That evening we ate at Jamie’s Italian, which the girls had booked for us and secretly arranged to pay the bill – without us knowing! What a wonderful surprise!

Pottered around bits of Perth on Wednesday, then went to Kings Park on Thursday. This is a beautiful 1000 acre park right in the middle of the city. Had a fabulous time there – very interesting and found out lots of history.

We took our leave of Derick and Beth on Friday, laden with an array of fresh produce from their garden – lemons, grapefruit, avocados, silver beet (look it up) – all of which has to be eaten before we reach the South Australia border, scheduled for next Sunday – shouldn’t be a problem.

The Johnston’s rationale for opening their home to waifs and strays like us and plying us with food, drink and wonderful hospitality, was simply that they had been treated well by people in the past when they have been travelling (and they’ve travelled a lot!), so are just paying some of it back to people they meet. As we parted, Derick said: ‘just do it for someone else sometime!’ A philosophy that would make the world a much friendlier place if more people adhered to it.

Thank you Derick and Beth for your kindness and hospitality. We won’t forget it.

After Perth we moved on to Busselton, via lots of interesting places pointed out to us by D & B. A really pretty area. Busselton lead on Yallingup – possibly the most awesomely beautiful place we have visited. We had lunch overlooking the bay with surfers riding huge waves (actually, mostly sitting on surf boards and watching the huge waves roll past. That’s what surfing seems to be largely about).

Saturday to Cowaranup, near Margaret River on a farm. Has to be said that this area is known for the excellence of its wines and almost every winery has ‘Cellar Door’ tastings, which are free tastings of several of its wines…

We also sampled one of the local breweries – Bootleg Brewery – billed as ‘An oasis of beer in a desert of wine’. Quite good, I thought. Beautiful spot with blues guitar being played as we supped. We decided to save the Margaret River Chocolate Factory and its wares until Sunday and were rewarded with a free tasting of a variety of chocolate liqueurs. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

Strangely enough, we weren’t too bothered about lunch that day.

We camped Sunday night at a beautiful spot right by the sea in Hamelin Bay. Beautiful until we got out of the camper and were relentlessly assailed by flies, flies and more flies. You kind of expect it up in Northern Territory, but SW Australia with the temperature struggling to push 24C?!

(Blimey this is a long one!) We were woken on Monday by gale force winds buffeting the camper and sending our chairs literally flying to all parts. After rescuing our possessions, we set off, through some of the most luscious countryside, a bit like a giant version of the New Forest without any towns and with much bigger and more trees. Miles of beautiful forest. This part of WA is in stark contrast to anything north of Kalbarri. Verdant and with an abundance of life and livestock.

We are currently sitting in a very quiet spot. It’s dark, very dark and everyone seems to have gone to bed. It’s 8 o’clock. At least the wind has dropped.

Today we went to somewhere completely magical – The Valley of the Giants near Denmark (we got a bit lost). On the Treetop Walk, 40 metres up, we were able to walk almost above the treeline, but walking down at forest level is stunning. These trees are very big. And fat. And in some case quite hollow, but still thriving. A very humbling experience. While we were there, the 11^th hour struck in WA and everyone observed the minute’s silence. Standing among these majestic natural wonders, listening to the sounds of the forest and thinking about what the minute represents, was a very moving experience.

A few firsts this last week. First time proper rain; first time I’ve worn socks since mid-September; first time in hoodie and jumper; first outing for the waterproofs.

At Jamie's Italian - before we heard about the bill!

Derick and Beth with their dog Moet, and some mutt!

The little mermaid at Yallingup

Beer is not the answer, beer is the question. And the answer is Yes.

A reference to our time in Yorkshire!

Plus ça Change

Since last blog have driven from Denham to Perth. We spent time at Monkey Mia Resort where we went on a catamaran trip to a pearl farm (got Gillie’s 30^th anniversary present – don’t ask). Then on to see dolphins, dugongs and rays in the ocean. On the way back I went in a boom net – dragged along behind the catamaran at what seemed like very high speed and in constant danger of feeding my swimming shorts to the dolphins – but great fun!

We spent three nights at Monkey Mia where they have two bars, with consecutive happy hours. Very cunning…

From Monkey Mia we drove down the coast, stopping first at a site called ‘Wagoe Chalets’, 3km off the highway down a dirt road. At first glance it looked deserted, just a few derelict chalets on the hillside looking out to sea. But there was a light on in ‘The Office’, so we booked in. Thinking we were the only inhabitants of this remote and windy park, we set up and made dinner. Very ‘Bates Motel’.

Another couple turned up and went into one of the chalets, plus two French couples trying to pitch pop-up tents in the dark and windy conditions. We finally got enough pegs banged in to the rock-hard ground for them to set up for the night. The drama wasn’t over though as they asked us to help jump start their car next morning as the battery had run down pitching camp. This presented me with an interesting dilemma – where exactly was the battery in our camper van? After much fruitless searching and consulting the Japanese-translated manual, we unearthed the battery under the passenger seat.

The countryside started to change after Wagoe as we moved towards the Murchison River. There were now hills and fields with crops and signs of habitation at more regular and frequent intervals. Every now and then there would be a riot of red or purple or yellow – spring flowers. More green and less black/red as well. A generally cultivated landscape.

On to Geraldton, then Cervantes, where the plethora of Spanish street names (and town names) has no explanation evident in the town itself, but is mentioned on a plaque in a town called Jurien Bay about 20k north. Apparently the US ship ‘Cervantes’ was sunk off the shore near here and all the survivors walked to Perth. This happened in about 1890, I think.

We moved on Saturday to the ‘staggeringly beautiful’(Lonely Planet) Guilderton, where we were lucky enough to get the last site at the only caravan park. Our pitch was beautiful, overlooking the beach in a lovely lagoon (lots of f*&%@ng kids, though). On Sunday we were treated to the unusual sight (about every 3-4 years only) of the Moore River estuary, which formed the lagoon, breaking through to the sea and the raging torrent where the very lively surf and the estuary waters met forms a horizontal waterfall. Very exciting.

Sunday we moved on to Perth where we are calling in on Derick and Beth Johnston, who have promised us a roast…cue mouth watering. More follows when we leave Perth after Gillie’s birthday and trips to Rottnest island etc…

hold on to your drawers!

the lake actually is pink - that's why it's called Pink Lake!

The Pinnacles with some prat jumping

Rogers' beer...

Keen on their punctuation and spelling over here