MARVELLOUS MARANUP



Rod & Rita's Lovely New Home




Maranup Crossin




Reflections



Shades of the Past




A Litte Friend Who Came to Visit

  From Donnybrook we meandered southwards and ever so slightly east to the beautiful township of Bridgetown. To our dismay, Bridgetown Caravan Park was full due to a couple of festivals and a large bike-riding event so we were compelled to find an alternative spot. This proved to be fortunate indeed as we ‘discovered’ a beautiful little spot called Maranup Ford. This is a ‘farm stay’ where the very intelligent owners have decided to make caravanners welcome. They have around 8 serviced sites in the some of the prettiest country you can imagine. They raise cattle there, although I suspect the farmer (Hugh) is probably in what you might call semi-retirement and currently only runs around 100 head. The property sits on the banks of the Blackwood River, Hugh’s ancestors having settled there many moons ago. When we first arrived we were privileged to be the only guests and were warmly greeted by one of their 3 dogs who immediately made us at home in her owners absence. The nearby bush was almost awash in bird life, particularly the beautiful little fairy wrens which were quite tame. A large and somewhat noisy family of geese wandered around happily fertilising the grass, and in the background a vigorous rooster competed for sound rights with a bevy of Pea-fowl. When Hugh and his wife Melva arrived home they greeted us warmly and we met the other 2 dogs and the 2 cats which all follow Melva everywhere she goes. We arrived there on a Thursday and by Friday evening pretty much every bay was occupied. There was no phone coverage there although DD did find that by taking his lap-top up to the top of the hill in an adjoining paddock he could just pick up sufficient signal to check the stock-market. He was an incongruous sight, I can tell you, sitting on his little stool, at a tiny table, in the middle of a huge paddock. We took some interesting and delightful strolls along the road checking out the river banks and some of the placid looking cattle grazing there.

Maranup Ford is some 18ks out of Bridgetown on the Greenbushes/Bridgetown Rd and we strongly recommend it to anyone wanting to take a bush holiday away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It was truly lovely and the amenities whilst not very pretty were more than adequate and DD tells me that the showers there were excellent. (No, it’s not that I don’t shower, it’s just that I prefer to use the shower in the van!) For all the dog-lovers out there, it is also ‘dog-friendly’.