Back to my origins

Handmilking the fibreglass cow in Cowaramup. Beautiful countryside near Margaret River.

Very large trees

Today was the Phil Burgess highlights tour of the very large trees of the Southern Forests. The trees were indeed very large. Charlie and I managed to climb one which was very scary.

We toured around for a while and saw several very large trees.

Gradually, like our tour of the Bridges of Madison County with Margie Weir some years ago , we no longer needed to see anymore trees. Then it was time for Devonshire Tea. A very nice day all around.

Green again

After almost five months of red dirt and tropical coast , we have hit grass again.

 Of course the appearance of grass has coincided with a significant drop in temperature and conditions suitable for windsurfing and kite surfing. Yes, people were telling the truth when they suggested that WA stands for Windy Always. However, the wind , the cooler temps and the more productive agricultural land has been a welcome change on the whole. We are probably feeling a bit more at home.

Speaking of home , we will be home in less than two months which is starting to feel pretty real. The only concern I have is that we aren't much more than half way around from a distance point of view so there is still a bit of driving to do yet.

Working our way down the coast since Exmouth has felt more like general sightseeing than our previous adventures. We have moved along a bit quicker than before and as I said , things are starting to feel a bit more familiar and comfortable.

We managed a few days in the fishing , snorkelling town of Coral Bay which was pretty relaxed with everything at your doorstep.

Carnarvon was our next stop and we only managed one night there as there was not a lot to inspire us. What made matters worse was that we had decided to go out for a rare treat of fish and chips and couldn't find any despite the harbour being full of commercial and recreational fishing boats. What do they do with it all? Do they even catch any? Furthermore, none of the pubs 

I explored would put the Rugby League semi- finals on. Something to do with Freemantle fever in the AFL. 

Enjoying the wind on the one- mile jetty Carnarvon.

I would like to have explored the rugged coast between Coral Bay and Carnarvon as it has some of the best surfing, snorkelling and fishing around but I think it is best done as a blokes trip as a boat is crucial and toilets are not in great supply. I did not have a lot of support for that area from my people.

Stinky liked the look of the rugged coastline.

Monkey Mia was the next feature on our agenda and I don't like to speak ill of a place as everyone has a different experience. However, Monkey Mia did not meet our expectations. We did enjoy a very pleasant day at the Monkey Mia resort and found the Shark Bay area to be beautiful but the dolphin feeding itself was underwhelming. Surfing with a large pod of dolphins at Jake's Point in Kalbarri a couple of days later was much more to my liking as they were truly on the loose and within a few metres of me at times. I will admit to being a bit freaked out when they first appeared and the waves were pretty scary too, especially as it was my first surf for about six months.

Kalbarri was a lovely little coastal village and has some amazing scenery with farmland bordering the massive sand dunes and cliffs. Geraldton was our next port of call and we enjoyed a few days of pleasant sightseeing in this somewhat industrial port town.

We have since spent a few days in Perth where we did a driving orientation day along the beaches and into the city. Now that is an affluent looking city. Really beautiful and we all agreed it is one of our favourite cities at first glance. Kings Park is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to.

We are now south of Perth where we are exploring some beautiful countryside. Rolling hills, enormous trees and extremely productive looking land. Very quaint towns with lots of second hand stores and cafes. Not unlike the NSW South Coast. We plan to spend a week around Margaret River then a week in Fremantle before heading down to Albany and Esperance which we have heard are pretty fancy.

Who can you trust

I told my crew that it would be worth forgoing showers for a few days in order to experience the World Heritage Area of the Ningaloo Reef. Well , you would think I was asking them to go on a hunger strike for a month. I know I've made some ordinary decisions over the years but I didn't think I had completely lost credibility.

Maybe after Alison enjoyed one of her peak experiences of the entire trip snorkelling the Turquoise Bay drift loop , some of my credibility will be restored. She even snorkelled with a white tip reef shark and lived to tell the tale. We spent a lovely few days in the Cape Range National Park and managed to wash the salt off at the end of most days thanks to our close proximity to Ned's Bore. Camping 50 metres from the water was worth the sacrifice.

The messiest campsite as usual

 We were also fortunate enough to catch up with our friends from Kiama, the Vidilini's. There were even two generations who made the journey to WA to spend  a few weeks in Cape Range. It was great to see them enjoying such a marvellous time on the road.

We also visited the Karijini National Park for a few days where we clambered up and down the various beautiful gorges on offer. The redness in the surrounding Hammersley Ranges was stunning. 

Our tour through Rio Tinto's Tom Price mine was enthralling. At least Charlie and I thought so. The girls did not seem to share our enthusiasm. At least it was mercifully brief. Alison was wise enough to stay in town.

After a few days in Coral Bay, we will keep heading south. Next stop Carnarvon.

Karijini

I have just returned to Broome after a successful stint at home. Now it's off to the Karijini. Like Cape Leveque, it comes highly recommended so we are pretty psyched. 

Looks pretty flash don't you think?

I picked up my surfboard when I was home because everyone ( ok not everyone) suggested there were plenty of waves down the west coast. I took a bit of a look on the net today and have decided I will pretend it's not mine if I see anything like this.

.

Ruby suggested I pretend I am a German  backpacker. Yes , I am getting a bit soft in my old age. Perhaps I'll surprise myself. 

Now I'm a believer

I knew as soon as we drove up over the hill overlooking the beach at Cape Leveque what everyone had been raving on about. Wow!

The next confirmation came upon seeing our accommodation for the next five nights.

Yep, Cape Leveque was everything I could have hoped for. 

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Magical swimming.

Beach driving.

Local culture.

And quality family time.

I suspect that at the end of our big adventure, I will be telling people that the Kimberley was incredible, and Cape Leveque was the peak experience of the Kimberley. I could go back in a heartbeat. 

So that's what they were talking about

Many of our friends when they have returned from their big Aussie adventures have talked in reverent tones about a few key places they visited. When you haven't been to those places , you can feel a bit on the outer , not part of the special club. We can now include ourselves in the special group who have made it along The Gibb River Road. We can speak the exclusive language and have acquired the signature handshake or is it a body shake developed through 1000+ kilometres of corrugated , dusty, rocky road . I should point out that the girls in our party are not so sure they are really happy to have earnt their way into the club.

Nevertheless, we did manage to enjoy many aspects of the Gibb River Road, especially the many gorges and the rugged beauty of the Kimberley. 

Friends at El Questro

Near Home Valley GRR

Wunumurra Gorge on Mt Elizabeth station

Our own private gorge for most of the day

Manning Gorge - also mostly to ourselves

Taking the leap at Manning Gorge

Galvan's Gorge

Bluebush Waterhole Mornington Wilderness Park

A great family day on Dimond Gorge - Mornington

Dimond Gorge

Bell Gorge

Charlie at Bell 

Early morning walk at Windjana

I thought we had made it through unscathed. A good opportunity to display advanced man skills to the children

We made it - Cable Beach Broome

More comfortable than the Troopie on the Gibb

Staircase to the moon- Roebuck Bay- Broome

Tomorrow we head north to join another exclusive club. The  Cape Leveque Club. We often hear people say that the Kimberley was their favourite region in Australia and Cape Leveque was their favourite spot in the Kimberley. Expectations are high. Then it will be back to Broome before we head to yet another favourite - The Karijini.

I'm excited

Well I was excited a couple of weeks ago as we were heading for the Kimberley from Darwin. Now I'm just exhausted after making it to Broome. Will include a more extensive post when I can work out the Internet here. Things have been hectic and my gang needs a good rest and a chance to wash off the dust and swim in the saltwater again without the threat of being eaten or stung. 

Lake Argyle

Branco's lookout El Questro

The Bungle Bungles were incredible and the Gibb River Road was hard work but very rewarding. Just the one decimated tyre and a slow leak. Somehow managed to limp our way to Broome and will base ourselves here as we explore coastal Kimberley. More later.