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| Freedom Camping at Boddington |
We arrived at Elizabeth Quay, Perth, at mid-day after a smooth bus ride from Bussleton (via the airport - make a note for the future to fly home). We were met by Graeme coming at us on an electric scooter (watch out Perth!!) he was loving his first ride. we had the afternoon exploring Southern Perth by catching the ferry across. Public Transport is so cheap over here, even not being able to use our Gold cards.
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| Graeme terrorising Perth |
We had booked into the old Criterian Hotel based on the fact it was clean and cheap. That it was. But boy was it well past its makeover date. But for one night it was fine, and very central. First thing the next morning, we caught a local bus out to where we were to pick up our camper vans for a three-week adventure down the south west of WA. Once again, public transport so cheap (under $10 for the three of us). Google Maps were great for timetables on public transport.
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| Ian, Graeme & Bill checking out one of the Giants of Mandurah |
The camper vans were fairly new and much better supplied than our last hire in Aussie back in 2018. Plus! The big thing this time was a toilet and shower. Bill & I enjoy these comforts these days. Especially with the spiders & snakes that may be around at night if you have do a wee. After being given a thorough guided tour of the vans (what to do and not to do) and a big discussion on insurance and what is covered (more on that later), we headed off for lunch and a nearby supermarket to top up basic supplies.
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| Mandurah Harbour |
Bill had his appointment with the Prostate surgeon, where more discussion was had on Bill's options. The surgeon booked him in for a Cat scan and MRI on our return to Perth at the end of our three-week trip. Graeme headed off to find our camp at Mandurah, only an hour south of Perth. Not too big a trip for our first day. It was also where Graeme was wanting to catch up with ex Kiwi's Lieutenant Colonel Healey (from G's Territorial days) and his wife Linda.
We stayed an extra night at Mandurah after Ian had booked us onto a harbour cruise the next day, where we got an amazing display from the local dolphins that frequent the estuary and harbour. Ian was a good local guide, showing us around the area.
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| Marrinup POW Camp |
From Mandurah, we headed inland to Boddington for the night, via Dwellingup's POW camp. This was amazing history of the second world war's treatment of recent immigrants into Australia. Australia needed the manpower of people to grow produce for a growing city and surrounding areas. But with Italy siding with Germany, the local Italians and Germans were treated as hostile aliens and were imprisoned in fairly remote spots. We found one such camp and wandered through what is now quite overgrown but plenty of sign boards of the history of these people who had done nothing wrong but belonging to a race of people that were our enemies at that time. Just the labour and manpower that was involved to build and supervise the prisoners, was immense. Boddington was our first night of freedom camping, and as we travelled through these small rural settlements inland in WA, discovered there had been recent government funding to these small settlements to help draw in tourists. Lovely RV freedom camping spots. Boddington's camp was by the river, where we joined half a dozen other campers. A nearby reserve bbq made cooking dinner easy. Lovely and quiet.
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| G&B surfing Wave Rock |
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| The Hippopotamus's mouth |
Our destination inland was Wave Rock which we didn't get to on our last trip in 2018, and everyone says it's a must do. I'm pleased we did as it was amazing rock formations and again the history of the area. As we dove thru the small settlements on the way, we would stop and read about the history in these areas which were initially grain growing areas (and still are today) but also a lot of mining now too for precious metals. The mining companies have helped by returning some money back into the towns to stop them from dying, which they would have with lack of employment. And today, people just don't want to live so rurally, it makes it very difficult.
Unfortunately, on day 5, we learnt more about the fine print on the insurance cover of the vehicles, when Graeme backed into a branch of a tree that you couldn't see in the backing mirror. Bummer! Thankfully, he was still able to open and close his back doors. He reported the incident, but nothing was required until our return. This incident made us even more cautious after reading that fine print on our insurance policies, realising that there was very little that was actually covered. Luckily G had travel insurance that would cover his excess on the claim.
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| With Mike & Alex |
Wave Rock was as far inland as we wanted to go, so from here, headed down south to Esperance. And unfortunately, the weather was as disappointing as our last visit 7 years ago. Showery and cool. Not appealing for a swim. We had trouble booking into a camp, we thought we would have been ok being mid April but school holidays and Easter on its way, had a lot of families on the road. The camp "managed" to squeeze us in (at the entrance carpark!😒). At least we could walk to a local pub for a drink and G hired another scooter to travel back to camp. We were also noticing the increase in camping prices, and not necessarily more facilities. We had our first thunderstorm here.
After a look around Esperance town centre, and the weather not improving, we decided to move onto Hopetown. Again, not a lot of choice in camping spots, so booked into an old campground that at least had an old pub nearby. G managed to cook a delicious pasta dinner back at camp with the rain pouring down. Thankfully there were no leaks in the vans and as we were on sand in the camp, the water disappeared pretty quickly.
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| Ensuite with our motorhome on the left |
We continued on along the coast to Bremer Bay, where Bill and I recalled was a lovely little bay. Again quite remote. A long way in on long red roads. we had two nights here, which made the next day quite relaxed. we also caught up with Bill's nephew Michael & partner Alex (from Melbourne) as they were travelling around the area too. Good timing. This was also the first chance for a swim. Bill & I swam, G took the photos.
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| Blossom Beach |
Onto the small town of Kotanning the next day, where G found a little bar underneath the new hotel. This town is halfway between Perth and Esperance, so has a lot of overnight travellers & sales people staying. We did wonder how a new hotel could survive in such a small centre. We headed back to our RV parkover camp, which was another locally supported spot. Nice and handy to town.
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| Underground Bar at Kotanning |
We were heading westward to Hamelin Bay to meet up with Rocky & Daniel with Lenny for Easter. We had camped here before with R&D, but this time will be a bit different with more comfort in our Vans and a baby for R&D. Our four days here were a bit of a mixture weather wise. Nick turned up the next day with Ophelia for the day as camping with the Twins and Ophelia was a bit much this year with the Twins being so young. This worked well as we had two cars to run around in and look around the area. we headed to Conto Beach but the weather wasn't that great for a swim, but we did get a bit of a walk in and Ophelia got to play in some rock pools. We were all looking forward to heading back to the Roadhouse near the camp for a big lunch. Sadly, we hadn't checked online if it was open (not great phone coverage around here) and arrived to find it closed.😢 So it was pies and hot chips and chicken. Not quite the plan but still tasty. Pity nothing gluten free for Rocky.
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| Camp site at Hamelin Bay |
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| Babysitting duties in our van 😍 |
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| GrandBill with Ophelia & Lenny at rock pools |
Nick headed home with Ophelia at the end of the day. We cooked hamburgers for dinner, making up for the disappointing lunch. The camp was pretty crowded and full of young people with all the gear on the Utes that makes camping very comfortable. But also can play loud music, so R&D moved their tent to where G's camp spot was, which was a bit more remote (quieter) and G moved his van over to be near us. Our last day was the best (typical), beautiful and hot. R&D headed off to another beach on their own for a surf, while the Oldies looked after Lenny. She was very easy to take care of, not into too much trouble yet. And would just go off to sleep in her sleep suit in the van or the front pack on GrandBill. We actually got a couple of swims in too.
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| Hamelin Bay Beach with Lenny |
The next morning, after some young guys helped to push our van out of the sand 😐, we said our goodbyes to R,D&L, whom we would see later in the week back at their home, and headed off to Augusta. Turners Camp was lovely, right on the waterfront. Drove out to the lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin for lunch and a bit of a walk around. Called into Flinders Beach on the way back to camp. Only I had a swim, the Boys were too woosey. The Pelicans put on a show the next morning for the locals & visitors, enjoying the scraps of fish people were feeding them with.
Next was onto Walpole (a very expensive campground - with Anzac Day coming up, they could charge what they like!) via Pemberton. A nice lunch in a little cafe and a wander around Pemberton. It was busy with lots of families around. We made the decision to book ahead after Walpole but couldn't get any accommodation near Albany for Anzac day. So we booked a night in the hills at Karri Aura, a lovely caravan park with the difference of having your own ensuite's. They have small buildings that contain two ensuites where your motorhome or caravan parks next to, to be able to use the facilities. You can't see your neighbour with trellis for privacy between you. It was perfect, particularly as it was wet in the morning and let us keep dry while packing up.
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| Watching the watchers at Cheynes Beach |
We booked Cheynes Beach for 3 nights instead of the planned 2, seeing as accommodation was so scarce. We should have thought about the numbers looking at attending the National Anzac Centre in Albany where you can look across the King George Sounds to where the convoys of Australian and New Zealand soldiers left from. The Museum, which Bill and I had visited last time and were very impressed with, was on G's bucket list with his military background.
On our way to Cheynes Beach we visited a private military museum - Recollections of War, which was pretty impressive as one man's collection. We also headed out to the Whale Station and saw/read all its bloody history with the Whaling industry over the years. By the time we stopped in at the GAP Rocks, it was getting dark as we made it into camp. After G's earlier incident and damage to his van, I was worried about the kangaroos out and about just after dusk. Thankfully we didn't see any.
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| Another great RV spot |
The next day was just a chill day. ANZAC Day. G got up early and met the camp operators and one dog at the gate for the dawn service. Watched a lot of would-be fishermen, fishing off high on the rocks. It was quite a pleasant day but too much weed to swim at the local beach and a cool wind. The next morning, we headed off into Albany for the day at the museum. we thought the actual day might have been too hectic. It was still busy the day after, but manageable. What was surprising is that local business was mostly shut. Not all cafes open. One would think with the numbers around for Anzac Day, that it would be their busy time! But the museum was as impressive this time as last time - so many sad stories. The soldiers were so young. Back at camp, G & I sampled some local wines that were being promoted, just before the rain came in again.
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| Easter at Hamelin Bay |
It was time to start heading north, back to Dunsborough and catch the Kids, before returning our Vans to Perth. We had that night in a little town that looked very English (Bridgetown), lovely old hotels and buildings. It was down in a gully, very picturesque. Another great RV freedom site. We drove past Lake Muir on our way through, and from its description and photos we were expecting to come across a massive lake. Well, maybe in the wet season it may have some water. But certainly not the day we were there. I wonder what the locals would think of our NZ lakes like Taupo! WOW!
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| Sculptures made of scrap metal 😍 |
The next day we drove through Margaret River which is another picturesque little town, and the region known for great wine production. We had to call in to Montegue's of course for you Claire 😍. Not a bad wine either. Made it to R&D's in time for dinner and a catchup. And unload most of our gear as were dropping the vans back in two days time in Perth. The next day, Rocky had off, so we travelled around with her and Lenny, (G in his van as he was worried he had a bit of a cold and didn't want to pass it on) out to the Lighthouse (Cape Naturaliste) and Eagle Bay for lunch. delicious. We popped into Nick & Em's on the way home to see the Girls (and Em & Nick of course), before heading back to R&D's.
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| Montague Winery - listening to the owner telling tall stories |
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| Simple camp setup |
Before returning to Dunsborough the next afternoon by Bus, Bill had his MRI and CT scans. Will wait on the results before making his next decision. Rocky met us at the Bus in Bussleton, then dropped us off at N&E's. Lovely to see our wee Granddaughters again.
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| Back at E&N's with the Granddaughters |
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| Hamelin Bay camp set up |
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| Bridgetown |
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| Truck Museum on the side of the road |
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| Bill holding up the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse |
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| Sculptures in rural towns |
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