Tues 23 Oct – We have decided to a small tour inland from
Bunbury. We passed thru the town of Donnybrook which is an apple growing area
and on thru Collie to Stockton Lake. This was an opencast coal mine which is
now a great lake with clear blue water. It is used for water skiing now. The
camp site was great with views of the lake. We lit a camp fire in the early
evening.
Wed 24 Oct – The weather is improving and we had breakfast
outside. A very short drive back to Collie where we stopped for a walk around
this lovely town which reminded us of Ashburton with the railway splitting the
town. They also had three old steam engines on display. Back on the road and we
turned into the Wellington National Park and our next stop at Potters Gorge.
The camp is on the shores of the lake formed by the Wellington Dam. Great
scenery and unique bush setting. We did a 4km walk to the dam which is used for
irrigation and has huge pipes distributing the water to the farm land in the
SW.
Thurs 25 Oct – Back to the coast just north of Bunbury and
on to the Leschenault Peninsula. We are in another “wild camp” with an estuary
on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. We rode our bikes to the ocean
beach and tomorrow we will ride down the peninsula. This is a nature reserve and
there are lots very tame birds all around us including Dowan Parrots, (vivid
colours of green, yellow and black heads) Kookaburras, Ibis, and the usual
Magpies.
Fri 26 Oct – It was hot in the night. Perhaps summer is
coming at last! We rode our bikes down a 6km track along the estuary side of
the peninsula to Tuart Cove. It was a lovely sand beach with a small jetty.
Back at “Andy” we sat in the shade and as the ranger had dropped off some
firewood, lit a fire in the evening and cooked raisin toast. A really nice
camping spot.
Sat 27 Oct – Back down the rough road to the main highway
north and on to the coastal city of Mandurah. We had a big shop as we had run
out of everything and then drove thru the centre with its bars and restaurants
to a camp. In the afternoon did a short walk to the beach with beautiful white
sand. The water is still too cool to swim but there were lots of people
enjoying the beach. We will stay another night here and go back to the beach
tomorrow. About the only thing I cannot cook in “Andy” is a pizza and we have
been hanging out for one - a great pizza place just down the road solved the
problem.
Sun 28 Oct – Another beautiful day and we walked down to the
beach with chairs, books and a sun umbrella to spend 2 ½ hours enjoying the sun,
surf and sights. Still too cold to swim however. After lunch we biked down to
the waterfront where the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games
started today. The cycling Criterium was on around the bar and restaurant area
of Mandurah so we bought ice-creams and watched the action. These games go on
for 10 days. We rode back along the waterfront and beaches to Supercheap Auto
and bought a 12v fan for the hotter weather next year.
Mon 29 Oct – We headed inland to Dwellingup, a cute little
country town, and on to Lane Poole Reserve. This area was logging in the 1900s,
Karri and Jarrah. Our campsite is beside the Nanga Brook. I spent some time
installing the new 12v fan over our bed ready for the hotter temperatures next
year when we head north. In the afternoon we walked to the site of the original
logging village.
Tues 30 Oct – It was overcast in the morning, so we spent
some time fixing a couple of things and cleaning ready for our last week in
Aussie. The sun came out and we did a longer loop walk (10kms) thru the
beautiful forest to a pool in the Murray River (not the Murray River in S.A.)
Wed 31 Oct – We drove back thru Dwellingup and N.W. to the
coast at Fremantle. The camp was only 3kms from the CBD and we rode our bikes
there. We had been in “Freo” before in 1997 when I covered the “Whitbread
Around the World Race and Val came over with me for the departure of the
yachts. We did not recognize much of the town but we were able to identify the
wharf area where I worked. We walked around this lovely old town with its many
cafes and bars. It was a cool head wind (The Fremantle Doctor) back to “Andy”
Thurs 1 Nov – We were off to Janine, Louie and Tyler Ragno’s
home today in Gosnells, a S.E suburb in Perth. Janine is my niece (Linley and
Ron’s daughter). We had a few things to do first however. We went to a carwash
and gave “Andy” another shampoo and rinse. We stopped at a beach for lunch and
I did a bit of rewiring. (Val says I cannot stop fiddling). Then we drove to
the place where we will store “Andy” for the summer. It all looked good. A
small shop at Gosnells and then we parked up the Ragno’s driveway. Everyone
eventually came home and I fired up the barbie. We had a great night sitting
outside chatting and meeting their two huge well-behaved dogs, Chopper and
Casper.
Fri 2 Nov – We walked to the railway station at Gosnells and
caught the train into central Perth passing the new Optus Stadium on the way.
The Murray St Mall and the inner city were very busy and we enjoyed the
atmosphere and sights. We walked down to the waterfront and had lunch at
Elizabeth Quay. Back on our walking tour passed the Government House, the Mint
and Catholic Cathedral before returning to the Murray St Mall exhausted. We can
walk for miles in the bush but struggle in cities. We sat on a seat and people
watched for ½ hour before catching the train back to Gosnells and (now) the
long walk home. Tyler cooked great pasta for dinner.
Sat 3 Nov – A really early start as we have to be at Athletics
(Tyler’s summer sport) and his club was on set up. The events got underway at
8:00am. It was interesting comparing this meeting with Riley’s equivalent in
ChCh - very enjoyable. We were back at Ragno’s for a late lunch. Janine took us
for a drive back into Perth City and we walked around Kings Park, a beautiful
area on a headland overlooking the Swan River, with a tree top walk, beautiful
wild flowers and waterfall. The views of Perth City and the surrounds were
spectacular. When we returned home we discovered that someone had pinched the
rear wheel off Val’s bike! (The same thing happened in L.A.) 
Sun 4 Nov – We all piled into the Ragno’s SUV for a big day.
We drove to the coast north of the city to Hillarys Beach and Marina. We walked
to the Marina outlet with hot sun shining on the huge private yachts. Our next
stop was at a park where Janine’s AFL team were playing. We watched the match
and were impressed with toughness of the women’s game. It made grass hockey
look a little tame! Back on the road to Scarborough Beach area. This is a long
beach with all sorts of entertainment (play grounds, skate bowl and swimming
pool) between the beach and the shops/restaurants. Later in the day we went to
Joondalup city where there was a festival of lights. We were a bit early so we
went to one of the bars with a Beatles theme. It soon got dark and the lights
came on. There were 60 food trucks, too hard to choose what to eat! The
festival was spread over a large area and there was a huge crowd. It was very
spectacular. We got home at around 9:00pm all exhausted.
Mon 5 Nov – Everyone left us for work and school and we
started our cleaning and closing down “Andy” for a 5 month rest. We bought
another bike at Kmart to replace the one with the missing wheel. When everyone
came home we went to a local tavern for dinner. Many thanks to Janine, Louie
and Tyler for looking after us so well during our Perth stay. We had a
marvellous time.
Tues 6 Nov – We finished off our cleaning and packing,
watched the Melbourne Cup on TV (Midday in W.A.) and drove to our storage place
and got an Uber to the airport for a flight home in a 787 Dreamliner to
Auckland. Just for the record, we drove 12,284kms consuming 1794lt of diesel
costing $2,967.00 @ approx. 14.2lt/100km. We were away for 140
nights with our accommodation averaging $15/night.
