Heading south along the coast

I follow the Highway south, the weather much cooler now, clear blue sky, such a great day to be driving along. Quite a lot of traffic on this road. Rockingham turns out to be a very nice township and we spend the night in a parking lot on the beach, but sheltered behind some trees as quite a gusty wind is blowing in from the ocean. The island, just off shore is called Penguin Island but does not provide any noticeable protection from the gusty wind.


Jo, helping to stow my awning

The following day, further south, along the coast to Mandurah, another popular township with lots of developments, new housing estates with many houses for sale. So far, most of the townships have a really good feel to them, like it was great to be living there. Further south, Bunbury and Busselton are also great townships with many friendly people and superb locations. Busselton also has a brand new housing estate with waterways at the door of many of the houses. If boating or fisshing is your pleasure, this is a great place to make it a reality. Unfortunately, prices are much on the high side and so only a very select number of families could afford to live there.

The night before I spent at a resting area by the highway, but last night at the Kookaburra campground at Busselton was most welcome, the bag full of washing needed attention and a good hot shower much in need.

Today, Saturday, 20 December, Jo has organised for both of us to stay at a campground by the Ocean, just south of Busselton, located on the so-called "Holy Mile" where we will stay to escape some of the Christmas rush that is bound to happen during the weeks to come. (They call it the "Holy Mile" as many of the campgrounds along this stretch of Highway are run by various church organisations.) After sunny days and blue skies its much cooler today, even some rain and so, its back to Jeans and long sleeved shirt until the weather will improve again tomorrow.

Back in the West again

My camping spot at the Advent Park in Perth

Good to be back! Also time to bring my blog up-to-date again with new happenings. Today, 20 December, already 16 days back, having spent the first ten, just relaxing and taking it easy at a campsite at Maida Vale near Perth Airport. I must say, the trip back to the past has been rather more stressful than I had initially anticipated, so now after settling down and re-adjusting to the way of life on the road, I feel so much better.

I have met up with my friend Jo and we have taken up together, where I have left off seven weeks ago, now slowly travelling south along the coast of Western Australia. Yesterday we spent the day stopping alongside Luck Bay, a large bay, formed by the Swan River, watching wind surfers barrelling along across the water. What a great place to see. We spent part of the afternoon and much enjoying a long ride on our bikes, most of the way around Lucky Bay.

Tonight we are camping wild in a carpark along the beach, just north of Coogee Beach WA. We are having a pretty warm day, with temperatures in the high 30s. This morning we spent exploring some parts of Fremantle and the local market. A lot of the old infrastructure of Fremantle seems to date back to the days of the Gold Rush, with many a grand building in the centre of town. The sun in these parts stands high, so often it feels like I am being pushed into the ground by the intensely bright and hot sun, a good time to keep in the shade if you can. So after the excursion around Fremantle we decide to head a little further south and have now made camp at a place called "C.Y. O'Connor Beach", named after the man who designed and built that pipeline all the way to Kalgoorlie. He committed suicide right on this very beach, as he must have started to believe the water would after all, never get there. Anyway, only two hours after his death the water did arrive and has been flowing there since.

It’s a great beach, clean water, absolute balm after a hot and sticky day in the Australian sun. A swim in the clear waters of the bay fells wonderful on such a hot and sticky day.

A quick update

In another ten days I will be returning to Perth, pick up my van to continue my tour-of-discovery. I am almost at the end of the things I needed to do overhere in Sydney, visited many of my friends and reported on my progress on the big venture.

I have also taken some time to post some of my photos in larger format on the internet. Some of you have asked me to see some of those images in a more realistic view than is possible to post in the blog. So now, you can check out about 250 pictures I have uploaded so far. There are lots more that I intend to upload, so, if you want to check and see what is there, I suggest that you copy the link below into your "Favorites" folder for future use. For now, simply click onto the link to go there. Yes, it would b e helpful if you have a broadband connection for this exercise.


Looking north from Coogee


-->>>Click here for some Pictures

York, Beverley, Toodyay, Swan Valley and Yanchep

I get up just after sun-up as that will give a lovely light across the salt lake, perfect for some more photos. When I leave Jilakin Lake I am driving south west again to Narrogin, the closest larger township, where I intend to spend the night, do some more washing and have that hot shower. Like so many towns in this area, it has seen better days and the mining boom seems to have passed it by. Some traffic but not a lot of people in the streets. There is only one caravan park and that one has been completed in 1963, the installations look very dated, all other people who live in caravans seem to be permanents who work close by and have nowhere else to stay, a situation I have encountered frequently in many of the mining towns.

There is not much to discover at Narrogin, a small park along the creek looks nice on the town brochure but turns out to be run-down, much in need of a cleanup. I pick up a few bits from the local Supermarket and drive back to the caravan park.

I leave the following morning, now heading north, first stopping at York and then on to Beverley where a large airfield caters to gliding.

Old Townhall at York

Turns out that I could go up but that would have to be later that afternoon when thermal activity would be at its best. I need to meet up with an old friend from way back in the 60s, Connie and her partner David and so can't hang around any more, otherwise I will be too late.

A sign I spotted at York to discourage you from parking...

They have a weekender in the town of Toodyay and Connie has invited me to stay at their place. Lots of old stories to talk about. They have booked a table at the local food place which turns out quite good.

The countryside coming north from York is very pretty, lots of green, rolling hills, reminding me a lot of places in Europe. There is also a river flowing through Toodyay, this one full of water adding some coolness and tranquility. David and Connie have an orchard where they grow some Citrus, but mostly Olives and Macadamia Nuts. We ate a few varieties of their Olives from last year's harvest before going to dinner. Very good, I really enjoyed it.

In the morning Connie, David and I take a walk up the hill, now still somewhat green but I am told, that in just a few weeks all will be burned dry by the sun.

David and Connie on top of the hill behind their house at Toodyay

I leave late morning, following a route that Davis has advised me to take, through the wine growing country, more hills and winding roads, all very lovely to look at. I have been planning to drive into Swan Valley, more wine growing and looking a lot more up-market. I pull into a so-called "Biergarten" with the promise of German food and locally brewed Weissbier. Well, the food was less than average but the beer was not bad at all. After lunch I follow the road a little further south and discover a trailer park where I spend the night.

In the morning I decide to check out some more of the coast line and head for Quinns Beach. Beautiful white sands and turquiose waters just like at Ningaloo Reef some weeks ago. I notice that the part of the beach that is reserved for swimming and surfing has nobody on it whereas the side that has been reserved for exercising dogs is full of people.

This part of the beach is reserved for swimmers


This part is for walking the dogs

Driving down toward the beach I also noticed quite a number of people walking their dogs in this very new housing development that makes up the neighborhood.

I drive further north to check two campgrounds but find neither up to my standard. On the way back south I notice a sign that indicates a place called "Gravity Discovery Centre". I turn left, following the road for about 11km to discover a great enterprise that provides hands-on demonstrations about "HOW" the Universe is put together. Very educational, all of it quite new.

Part of the GRavity Discovery Centre


On my way north I have seen a sign that indicates Trailer Park and so, when I reach it on my way back south, I follow it and check into a nice green park, at Yanchep Beach - with me the only customer that night. Strolling around I see one of the lizzards that I have seen many of, on the road, me always trying to avoid running over them.

The Lizzard I spotted in the Trailer Park

The provided facilities are simple, but seem to work alright.

When I leave in the morning I head straight for the place in Perth where I want to leave my van before flying out to Sydney on Wednesday, 22 October. After booking in I am driving out another 17km to take me to Mundaring Weir, the place where the pipeline to Kalgoorlie starts with the first pumping station there as well. Its actually quite low in a valley and a lot of water has to be pushed uphill from the dam that stores the water.

Mundaring Weir

From Wave Rock to Jilakin Lake

After my stint in a lot of dirt roads and the associated dust, I am back at Kalgoorlie for a bit of comfort, a hot shower and to wash my dirty clothes as well as a few lazy days. I leave Kalgoorlie to drive toward Hyden, make a rest stop at Merredin again and follow the secondary road south from there to Hyden, where I want to take a look at the much publicised "Wave Rock". I am in the heart of the wheatbelt again, wide open spaces of green grain fields or pasture with plenty of sheep. It is a real pleasure again to see those open spaces again instead of the dry scrub that also restricts views. Obviously, the area receives a lot more rainfall, the dams are full of water, most of the grain fields are flowing green to the horizon. Occasionally, lower parts of the landscape contain salt marshes and also, often white, salt encrusted lakes. As soon as the land rises to higher ground, its grain fields again.

At Hyden I go to the Visitor Centre to check on some details and drive the few remaining 5km to Wave Rock. An interesting formation of Granite marked with stains of embedded minerals. It is very interesting to see, there are quite a few visitors at the site, certainly as a result of clever advertising, spreading information about this place. What I had never realised from any of the published information is, that its actually only a small part of a very large rock formation.

This picture shows a bit more of the Granite Rock itself as well

Naturally I climb the rock which is also used as a water catchment because when it rains there is always a huge run-off from such a large area of rock. To catch that run-off low stone walls have been constructed around the bottom to collect and chanel the water to a dam that supplies the town with water via pipeline.

There is also a Hotel and Visitor Centre with shop across the road, the camper van site charges $32 just to park the vehicle for the night. I decide that that is a bit of a rip-off and head further up the road for about 18km toward a place that is called "The Humps", find a nice place in the bush, well away from the road, with plenty of firewood around. It’s a Full Moon that night, so the place is well lit after the moon rises, the glow of my small fire providing great ambience.

In the morning I drive the remaining 1km to The Humps and discover a remote and beautiful granite Hill, overgrown with lichens and moss and small colourful plants that have taken to grow in this harsh environment, anywhere water can collect in hollows of the rock face.

These tiny blossoms are only about 1cm across

I am all by myself, not a single tourist to be seen anywhere. There is also a cave that I visit, with rock art that has been used by Aboriginal People for thousands of years. It’s a great place that I really enjoy visiting.



Two views across "The Humps"

From Hyden I drive south west to Kulin, then east again to check out the "sculptures" along the so-called Tin Horse Highway, where many a metal sculpture, all of them painted in bright colours, have been placed along either side of the road. Vitually all of them are quite funny, with commentaries placed alongside.


I take the turn-off to the "Kulin Race Course", where the annual horse race is held in the first week of October, ultimately the reason why all these horse sculptures have been created along my way there. I drive past a very quiet Race Course, then along the big salt lake, Jilakin Lake and make my camp there for the night, another campfire and a still bright moon rising over the lake.


Just after sunrise on Jilakin Lake


The same view in late afternoon light

Love it, love the silence, only the gentle hiss of the breeze in the trees above.

A dead tree at the edge of the salt lake - not even termites like that salty stuff