Back to Kalbarri

Red Bluff in the morning light

A perfect moment in Time



Early morning on the Murchison



Well, hi there! We are back in lovely Caversham in the beautiful Swan Valley. Since we last spoke we have been to Green Head where we caught up with good friends Steve & Sylvia and then onwards and upwards to Kalbarri. I know it’s not that long since we visited Kalbarri, but during the Perth winter (and we really did have one this year), Kalbarri is a good spot to be. Close enough to town for the trip up to be done easily and yet far enough away to give us a breather!



Surprisingly the weather in Kalbarri this winter was also just a tad on the wintery side with daytime max in the low to mid 20s and night temps plummeting to somewhere around the 8 degree mark. On top of that it rained and then it rained some more and yet more! Not surprising you may think, BUT Kalbarri generally has a very low winter rainfall, but not this year. Did any of this bother us? Not one little bit! As usual we loved our stay there. I won’t bore you with any descriptions of the place as I’m sure I did enough of that last year as we passed thru’ the place.

One small thrill for us was the Tawny Frogmouths. When we pulled in there last October the tree next to the van was occupied by a pair of Tawny Frogmouths. For the duration of our stay they spent their days roosting in a sad little paperbark tree with very little foliage or protection. They became quite special to us. Lo and behold when we pulled into the same spot again this year the same pair was still happily ensconced in the little tree. They remained there once again for the first 5 weeks of our stay and then one of them failed to return leaving the other to keep solitary vigil for the remainder of our 6 week stay. We very much hope that the missing bird has gone nesting and that no harm has come her way. During the day they barely moved except to ‘stump’ if they perceived any danger and at nightfall each evening they would steal away on silent wings. DD has managed to get an abundance of shots of the pair, some of them quite good. Their camouflage is exceptional as you will see from the photos.


As usual our stay in Kalbarri was very social, made all the more so by a chance meeting with fellow members of the Supreme Owners Group, John and Margaret. They were travelling with a couple of old mates and we became sort of swept up into the ever expanding group of people who gathered each afternoon for sundowners. Disastrous for my ever expanding middle! I don’t know what it is about munchies, but I just don’t seem to be able to ignore them if they are sitting in front of me. Quite embarrassing really! After a while I tried to abstain by simply not attending drinkies. I dare say I was considered rude but sadly I have come to terms with my own limitations.


We made some great new friends and also caught up with some from previous years. We have been to Kalbarri now for 5 years running, all at different times of the year and one thing we notice is that the place has a loyal following of annual visitors.


The park has a bum-fight each Thursday evening with $3s a pop for either home -made soup, a burger or a sausage in a roll (with the trimmings). More often than not there will be someone talented there who will entertain the troops so to speak. This time we had a fellow with a piano accordion as well as a country and western duo. The fires are lit for the occasion and a good time is had by all. This custom also brings campers together.


We spent our time happily checking out the coast, searching for wild-flowers, painting, reading and in DD’s case, playing the market. Steve and Sylvia took time away from their beloved Green Head and came to stay for a day or so and many a game of cards was played and a couple of dollars changed hands. Sadly I think I lost most of my ‘washing machine money’ in the process. Although we travel with our own little washing machine, I do occasionally use the bigger camp machines if I have a larger load than usual.


Yellow Orchids



Due to the very wet season the wild-flowers in and around the township were coming into bloom in considerable abundance. We probably left just before they peaked but they were wonderful nevertheless.


Kalbarri had a couple of very large swells whilst we were there also and this made for some spectacular surf and good photo opportunities. I even managed to get up at dawn one day and shoot the Bluff in the early morning light. All of this gave me the perfect excuse for a couple of very Kalbarri-esque paintings. Once I remember to have DD photograph them I will post them for your entertainment.

Big waves crashing in on the cliffs

As seems to have become the norm, we extended our initial stay of 5 weeks to 6 and then reluctantly said good-bye once again to this little paradise. This time however, instead of heading straight home or home via the coast, we took an inland route in order to better experience the wild-flower season. We are told that due to the perfect weather conditions experienced this year it is the best season for some 50 years!


From Kalbarri we travelled to Mullewa, a small wheat town with an appalling name for racial unrest. It seems that a fairly serious brawl had been fought a couple of weeks prior to our visit pursuant to a local footy match. I have to say that the town, despite some effort to the contrary was not particularly appealing with mesh and bars across most of the windows and doors. Broken glass littered the sidewalks and most of the commercial buildings seemed to be closed and boarded up. Dogs of every size and description mournfully wandered the streets and sitting in the car waiting for DD outside the local servo I felt just a tad un-nerved and vulnerable as a few likely types
sauntered past taking what seemed an inordinate interest in the Cruiser. I dare say I was uncharacteristically over-reacting.



The Caravan Park there is run by the Shire and would have to be the easiest park we have seen so far to stay in without paying. Don’t get me wrong, incurably honest types that we are we certainly payed, but how on earth they keep tabs on it was beyond us. The park itself was quite good and the amenities block was surprisingly immaculate and well maintained. I suspect that the local church ladies keep it under control as they seemed to have a fair number of ads and pamphlets posted on the walls there. A good system it would seem. Whilst the park was fully serviced we ended up with a site without water due to the sheer number of vans there. The wild-flower season combined with the Country Show/Field Day season saw a huge number of vans on the country roads and in the parks.


The first day rained non -stop so we turned a 2 night stop-over into a 3 night stop-over and spent the first day there gloriously luxuriating in doing absolutely nothing. I know it sounds weird after relaxing so much at Kalbarri, but frankly the social whirl there leaves you just a little jaded and some quiet time with books was really welcome.


The second day was beautiful without a cloud in the sky and so off we went to see the famous Wreath Flowers. We did finally find them and were duly amazed. They really do look like Christmas Wreaths, circular with cream and red flowers. Quite special! More special tho’ were the carpets of everlastings and such. I had heard about these wonderful displays but had never fully understood just how amazing they are.


From Mullewa we moved on down to Perenjori and still with wonderful weather once again went hunting for blossom. We took a gravel road out to John Forest Lookout and found there the most amazing display of floral splendour you could ever imagine. Acres upon acres of pink, white and yellow interspersed with glowing purples and blues. We have some good photos so instead of boring you with my dialogue I will post some photos instead. You will see that the deep red of the soil, the dead branches of trees and the brilliance of the flowers is an absolute feast for the eyes.


The crops this year are also amazing so we were blessed with acres of deep green wheat fields mixed with the brilliant yellow of the canola fields. Occasionally we would spot a field where the farmer for whatever reason had departed. Sadly not a few farmers have walked off their farms, particularly in those marginal areas where we were travelling. Years of drought combined with all manner of disasters often culminates in the direst of consequences. The untilled fields were sometimes gold with dandelions whilst others were silver under the sun with the stubble of the previous year.


From Mullewa we moved down to Perenjori, another tiny wheat-belt town. Perenjori was delightful, a clean and neat little town with a great deal of local pride on display. We thoroughly enjoyed the local caravan park which sported facilities for open fires. DD was in his element, getting a sparkling fire going late each afternoon and then cheerily inviting fellow campers to join him for sundowners in front of the fire. We met some lovely folk this way along with their 4 legged friends who also came along to enjoy the warmth of the fire.


The CP was run by the local shire and we found it to be a well maintained and cheerful spot to stay. On the other hand good friends of ours have since stayed there on our recommendation and have found the amenities block to be somewhat lacking. As I shower in the van perhaps I was less than observant about the showers but they did seem OK to me. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. We love the aspect of a bush camp, especially when all mod-cons are offered. It seems to be the best of both worlds to us.


We spent 3 nights in Perenjori and then drove straight back to Caversham from there, passing through Carnamah and Moora on the way. We delighted in the Midlands Road which was also coming alive with wild-flowers. The drive down through Bindoon was just stunning with all the green fields, canola crops and undulating hills set off to advantage under the scudding clouds of a blustery day.


Rather than blather on more I will attempt to post sufficient photos to convince you of beauty of our wonderful home state.




Carpets of blossoms along the roadside

 Love for now, be tolerant and share the joy – Steph.

FAMILY TIES

80 Mile Beach

Wharton Beach

Dawntime at Denmark

Hello, hello, hello. I am sorry to have been out of touch with so many of you over the past few months. You may have gathered life picked up a little pace for a while there and we were on the run so to speak. We arrived home on around the 9th of April and our Daughter in Law Naomi went into hospital on the 11th for major reconstructive surgery. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the situation, Naomi (Nom) gave birth to beautiful Jack on the 30th November. Due to a whole range of health issues, we very nearly lost our girl during the birth. During the course of the operation to remove Jack ,Nom had amongst other problems, major issues with bleeding. As a result of this they left (from memory) something like 16 metal clamps inside her. The cumulative effect of all of this was that having survived the birth, Nom needed substantial surgery to enable her to live a normal life again. Soooo, back into hospital. Once again, things didn’t go as smoothly as we would have liked and Nom was on that operating table for another 5 or so hours. The operation was successful but only on the proviso of certain post operative rules to be obeyed. One of these rules meant that Nom could lift nothing weighing more than 2ks. A big ask for a mother of a Ferocious Four Year Old and a five month old babe. Of course, she also had to take everything else very slowly and easily.


As luck would have it, whilst Brett (my son) had been able to take extended leave during the dramatic events surrounding Jack’s birth, he was out of luck this time around. His workplace has been wonderful and super supportive, but at the end of the day they needed him back on the job. To make the situation just that little bit more ‘exciting’ the Thursday after Nom’s op he was to take over the role of his own boss for an undetermined time. Those of you who have climbed that corporate ladder will know that opportunities like this only come along once in a very long while and careers are won and lost during these times.


OK, so the scene is set. There is really nobody else the kids (Brett & Nom) can call on in these difficult times. Nom’s mum works as does the rest of the family. We were the nominated Cavalry. I have to say my dears, I am too old, too fat and too unfit to be a mum. Nature really did know what she was about when she arranged for families to be born while we are young. Knowing my limits, my son very wisely arranged for Daniel (the ferocious 4yo) to be in full time day-care and/or kindy during Nom’s recovery. I am so grateful for this, as I really don’t think I could have coped with him as well as Jack. Jack of course, is just beautiful. He is however a ‘windy baby’ and as a result of that can be a little un-settled and fractious. One of the biggest problems for us was that the kids live a good 40 min drive away from us and I had to be there before 7am in order for Brett to leave for work, dropping Daniel off on his way. I have always hated driving in the dark. I have very bad ‘night-vision’. Fortunately, I had just been prescribed new driving glasses which help diffuse that ‘light problem’ and they did help. When I first started going over to help, the days were dawning as I left. By the time I finished just a week or so ago, I was driving the entire trip in darkness. To add to my woes, we did have some of that stuff rarely seen in WA, rain. Of course, a goodly amount of it fell during my dark trips in the mornings. Likewise, we also have some very thick fogs which made visibility very tough in this low lying part of the country. Just to make it all the more colourful, the roads I had to travel, wend amongst paddocks that are just thick with kangaroos! Wonderful.


Initially I was stopping off on the way to pick up a heart-starter for Brett – a Muzz-Buzz was a must for both of us initially. Once we were sorted out tho’ this stopped and Brett doubtless picked up his own coffee. This was probably a good thing as I can see how those things can become habit very quickly. To arrive at Brett’s by the designated time I was getting up at 5am. Because I knew I had to wake early, I generally woke every hour on the hour during the night. I don’t know about you, but that has always been the way for me when I have an early start. My rather feeble point is that I became pretty sleep deprived pretty quickly. I am one of those people who really need their sleep and I have to confess to not being nice to know when I am over-tired.


Anyway, I digress (how unusual!). I was a little nervous with Jack initially. After all, I only had 2 babes and both of them were some 37 years ago. I didn’t have a great deal of interaction with my other grandchildren when they were babies. It didn’t take me long to find my feet tho’ and before long Jack & I were getting along just swimmingly. Babies really are wonderful people! I consider myself to be blessed by being able to share a small part of his life and to have been there through a couple of major events (first roll over and stuff like that). During her recovery Nom would stay abed until 11 ish and then would get up and potter around the place. I know it is really difficult to be the good patient and poor old Nom was chastised by yours truly on several events of trying to do too much. There were times I think, when she simply forgot that she was not supposed to do things. Life for Brett must have been pure hell. I know my son is made of seriously strong stuff, but just how close we came to breaking him, I guess we will never know. His job is full on and very stressful at the best of times. Add to that having to get up and do all the night feeds, change wet beds and look after a sick wife!!! On top of that he is on call 24 hours a day (albeit on the phone) and as his job involves life and death scenarios calls relating to downed phone systems etc must have been just delightful.


BUT...........we all soldiered on. Nom’s mum Gloria came in on her one day off each week and I was there for the other 4 week days. On the week-ends Brett soldiered on alone. Nom’s step-mum Winnie came to the fore with bulk cooked meals for them. She brought them over on the week-ends. I am ashamed to confess that I was ‘crying tired’ at the end of each week. Looking after someone else’s baby is somewhat taxing and although I bonded very well with little Jack I did find it nerve-racking. Just trying to maintain his schedule to his parent’s expectations and in such a manner as to get him sleeping better during the nights was a challenge. It’s different when it is your own child and you can make up the rules. This is in no way a criticism of Brett & Nom’s parenting incidentally. It’s just that we all do things differently.


During the 7 week recovery period there were a few crisis points involving infections etc. and Brett found himself in emergency one evening with Nom (and both the children). As I said, I don’t know how he coped and maintained his sanity.


Early in the piece we were visited by a Registered Nurse who arranged for Nom to have a cleaner come in for a couple of hours each week to do the housework. Of course, I tidied the house on a daily basis and kept the washing etc up but the house still needed extra attention. This service was free. The concept is to allow patients to recover at home thus freeing up hospital beds. Interesting. There is a very long and convoluted story about why this op was performed under Public Health and not Private. It was all to do with the Dr and not a choice made by Brett & Nom. In addition to the house-work, a nurse called every couple of days to check Nom’s dressing etc. In the middle of all the chaos, Nom had to go in for her monthly infusions. We had two of those during the time I was there.


Nom champed at the bit for the day when she could have the catheter out. Finally the Monday arrived and Brett took the day off so that they could go together to the hospital and celebrate the first day of the rest of their lives. The day was a nightmare and the pain involved was horrendous. I spoke with Nom when she arrived home that afternoon and she sounded terribly down. I was a bit perplexed as I had expected her to be on top of the world, finally being ‘recovered ‘enough to pick up her baby and to move about freely. I had ostensibly been dismissed and was also free to pick up my own life. All Good!! Not to be. Early next morning I had a very confused and teary call from Nom. It was incidentally her birthday! I could get no sense out of her and doubtless, as I could barely talk due to a very bad bug, she couldn’t understand me either. She hung up the phone and I couldn’t get her back. Finally, in somewhat of a panic I managed to get hold of Brett who just managed to tell me that Nom was terribly ill, had fallen in at around 2am and just couldn’t look after Jack. What could I do? I didn’t want to take my bugs into the house, particularly to look after a little one. There really was no choice however. By the time I arrived there, my other son, Troy, was sitting looking somewhat bemused with a happy Jack ensconced on his lap. Nom had sent out the SOS far and wide and poor old Troy had answered the call. He was prepared to stay until 2pm and Brett was able to work from home just for that day. I sent Troy back to his own work and he and I agreed to share the care duties the following day. I felt guilty about these arrangements and finally said I would be there for them. So, me and my germs arrived again for the next 3 days. I have never seen anyone as ill as Nom looked that week. Both she and Brett were of the opinion that she had picked up a viral infection at the hospital. This opinion was echoed by their surgeon, this despite not physically seeing the patient. Nom quarantined herself in Daniel’s bedroom and Daniel took up residence with his Dad. She was not able to get up until Friday afternoon. On one very frightening occasion she did come out to the kitchen to get some pain killers and she could only slide her feet along the ground – she couldn’t lift them from the floor. She was skeletal and pale. I was terrified for her! Finally on Friday afternoon she surfaced and come out to the kitchen and had a bit of a visit with me. I was so relieved to see her looking a little better.


That was the Friday before the long week-end and on the Monday afternoon we had a call from Nom. We (DD & me) both froze when we saw her name on the phone. With great trepidation we answered the call only to hear Nom‘s very cheerful voice on the other end suggesting that they drop in for a little visit. This they duly did and I cannot explain adequately just how wonderful it was to see them looking just like a normal family. I just had a call from Troy and he too has seen a dramatic change in his brother’s demeanour since Nom‘s recovery. Of course, she still has to be sensible and do all the right things for a little while longer, but essentially, hopefully, they are now on the home stretch of what has been an absolute nightmare for them.


Needless to say thru’ all of this there has been Mother. For most of the time she was very good, but towards the end of the nightmare, she did become a little frayed around the edges. She was very, very good about the car. We had her car here for most of the time. This was so that DD could take her shopping, hairdressing, library etc. DD incidentally was wonderful and really did show why I still think he is TBBITW. He became Mum‘s taxi. The old ladies that chat to mum at the shopping centre thought he was wonderful too!! Mother was not neglected in any way, but she was deprived of my company. Mind you, regardless of how tired I felt, I did go and see her every Saturday morning for a long chat. Between you, me and the fence-post, there was an ulterior motive in having the car here. We feel good when she is not driving! It was also handy for a little extra storage space during rainy patches etc.


Poor Old Mum! Once again she has a cold. She claims that every May she catches a cold and it stays with her until the end of the year. She seems to be right. On top of the cold she claimed to have, she then caught ours. Now she is feeling miserable. She went and had a scan done on her nose etc. as she has polyps in her nasal passages and is considering having them removed. She has an appointment with RPH early July to discuss the probabilities of the operation. When she went to see the Dr after having the scans he mentioned that she also has ‘growths’ on her bronchial tubes. She was as they say in the classics ‘nay pleased’. Anyway all of this and missing out on my company culminated in her dishing me out a very large dose of vitriol. This was after we took her out for her birthday (86) to a beautiful venue in Cottesloe. This was so that she could be close to the sea (her request). I will attach a photo of mum on her big day just so you can see how wonderfully well she appeared on the day. I don’t doubt that mum feels terrible, but sadly I feel what she is feeling is simply in the main, old age. I don’t think she gets that. She has been so fortunate during her life not to suffer most of the aging symptoms that the rest of us put up with. She has only just begun to feel a bit of arthritis etc. Where some days I can barely move at my age, she is still reasonably nimble. There are days when she is frailer than others of course and while she has this bug, she is not particularly good.


Anyway, back to the vitriol. This particularly nasty dish was served up to me when I went to see her the Saturday after Nom’s ‘virus’. I was exhausted and not particularly well myself, and yet I was there. You know, I used to be a meek and mild little mouse, but sadly that mouse was long ago eaten by the wild-cat that took its place. I no longer take ‘shit’ and this includes from my elderly and sometimes cantankerous mother. Unfortunately for her, she unloaded it and it was shovelled back at her as fast as it came. We had a couple of days after that where she continued to attempt to gain ascendancy, all to no avail. Needless to say, I think we are now back on a reasonably even keel. I won’t bore you with all the details, but suffice to say that although she has tempered somewhat over the years, My Mother still can be a difficult and prickly old bugger. I love her very much, but I won’t be intimidated by her. Nor will I be made to feel guilty!


Anyway, all is good now and we took her for a drive to Bunbury yesterday at her request. This was to see the windows in the Catholic Cathedral there. The church was very badly storm damaged some time back and rather than have super expensive stained glass windows installed, they commissioned Robin Juniper to paint them. A novel approach indeed and worth the visit if you are in the area. We had a lovely day made humorous by the fact that mum came out with one shoe and one slipper. If I had needed any evidence of her failing eye-sight, that would certainly have done the trick. Admittedly they did look somewhat similar, although the shoe was black and the slipper navy. My Mother is a very stylish lady, even now and very, very particular about how she looks. I saw her gaff when helping her from the car and before I could stop myself broke out laughing and told her of her ‘costume malfunction’. I suppose she would have found out eventually anyway. She did see the humour of the situation but couldn’t help but say “OH NO” over and over again for the next 5 minutes. In consideration of her feelings and to save her embarrassment (and DD some money?!) we found a tiny little tavern in Australind in which to have lunch. All in all the day was a nice one and hopefully a nice memory for her.


We are delighted to have our lives back. I am now back to looking after mother for 2 days per week, plus doing the taxi thing. We leave for our next Sanity Break on around the 7th July. This time we are heading to Kalbarri for 4 – 6 weeks and really looking forward to the time away. This Saturday a BBQ at Brett’s is planned. This is to celebrate all the birthdays. Brett’s was on the Thursday after Nom went into hospital and pretty well went un-noticed. Poor old Nom had hers the day she fell so terribly ill. Troy has his next Tuesday and mine is this Friday. Mother has just had hers and hers is the only one we have managed to celebrate to this point. Hopefully there will be some lovely happy and healthy family photos to come from this happy event. If so I will post them next time around.


Well folks, sorry to be so long winded, but it saves me from writing a whole heap of emails. Once again I am sorry to have neglected my correspondence for so long. I have not had a great deal of time for either writing or painting of late. The paintings I am posting have all been done prior to the main event. I have started a couple more and during the nightmare I did an abstract which my family and friends are all a little non-plussed over when they see it. Oh well – as they say, everyone is a critic.


Love to all – from Steph and THE BEST BLOKE IN THE WORLD (TBBITW)

MORE DENMARK

From the Tree Top Walk!

Gnarly and wonderful!

Sorry, I just couldn’t move on without telling you just a bit more about our stay in Denmark. Mind you, we came back to Perth on the 9th April and it is now early June and it all seems just sooooooo long ago! Having glanced through the previous entry however, I felt there was a bit to add.

I mentioned the Tree Top Walk at the Valley of the Giants and just wanted to touch on that with you. I don’t believe I will ever tire of Tingle Trees. They are just so incredible. I am not going to try and educate you here, those of you not familiar with these amazing giants might like to ‘Google’ them to find out more. I will attempt to post a few photos tho’ which will introduce you to the Tingles. They are enormous, not only in height, but in width. To my over-active imagination they resemble something from the Fairy Tales of my youth and I can well imagine them being peopled by Goblins and Elves. The enormous boles are beautifully gnarly and fantastically shaped. Many of them having survived multiple bush fires are hollowed out at the base and shout silently at you with cavernous gaping maws. Of course there are also the Karri Trees scattered amongst the Tingle, trying always to scrape the clouds from the sky. The walk itself can be a little scary if one is challenged by heights. Just remember tho’ if you baulk at the challenge, we took my mum there for her 80th and she gamely walked the entire length of the Tree Top Walk.

Ingeneous

My wish to ‘do the tourist thing’ was fulfilled and we visited both the Chocolate and the Toffee establishments. They were predictably full of Gourmet Items, delectable wines and other knick knacks. They were however, despite the Tourist flavour, worth visiting. The Toffee place had enormous ice creams (made fresh) for the paltry price of $4. We also went to lunch at one of the numerous boutique wineries in the district. I think from memory the place was called Karri Ridge. We partook of a Lunch Platter which whilst a little overpriced was very good indeed. We also tried their very quaffable Rose. I hadn’t had Rose for many years having long since found it a bit sweet for my jaded pallet. We were both pleasantly surprised to find this one not at all too sweet and very drinkable indeed. I think in fact that we still have a bottle secreted away somewhere, hmmm, we had better do something about that!! We also went to lunch at the local Tavern. What a bargain. They do a 2 course lunch for $21! It was huge, if not a little rich. We waddled our way out of that establishment I can tell you. My new found fascination with all things arty was also satisfied as the walls were adorned by quite good paintings done by a local artist.

We travelled extensively around the area and were just blown away by the beauty of the surrounds. One gem that we had not previously discovered was Green Lagoon (please forgive me if the names are not 100% correct, the past couple of months have almost erased my ‘memory files’). This is an exquisite spot just perfect for a dip in the briny blue. Sadly we didn’t go prepared so could only watch while others bathed. Remember this was a couple of months ago so the temperatures were still quite balmy during the middle of the day.

Stunning Green Lagoon

Anyone for a dip?

We took time out to visit old mates while we were in town. Bev & Colin were as usual gracious hosts and once again we were more than a little jealous of their piece of paradise. Col showed off his Inner Chef and treated us to a delectable meal. Janice showed us with pride why she and Don call Denmark home and we made a couple of new chums, Peter and Sandy who have just finished renovating their own special retreat. Peter and Sandy have a lovely home overlooking the inlet and they have devised a wonderful treat to encourage the local birds. Initially they found that the bigger birds would come to feed and the beautiful little birds would miss out. Now they have set up feeding trays with domes of wire in ever diminishing size – this allows the little ones to freely pass through the larger holes to feed unmolested in the centre of the dishes. The larger birds still get food but stay on the outer rims of the feeders. Ingeneous!!

Well, I could ramble on forever about this part of the world – we were so smitten with the Blue Beauty that is Denmark, BUT................life beckons and I had better move along and let you get on with your own travels and experiences. Thank you for taking the time to read my words. Look after yourselves and each other. Stephanie.

Opening Curtain

DARLING, DARLING DENMARK

Placid Pelicans in the mouth of the River

Early Morning Peace

We managed to get away from Northcliffe unscathed and headed still southward in a generally eastern direction to the beautiful coastal town of Denmark. On the way we passed through another of our favourite spots, Walpole. It was a real tussle with our collective consciences not to stay there, but we had decided that we should try something different this time, so it was with some sadness we drove through that delightful little town. Doubtless we will stay there another time and tell you more about it then. Doubtless too, while we are here, we will ‘go visit’.

The colours of Morning

Yes, you have finally caught up with us, we are currently in Denmark and I must say, in a somewhat bemused state. In the past, for some obscure reason, we have shunned this pretty spot. We seemed to think it was a bit contrived and yuppie for our tastes. Perhaps, we had not spotted this particular CP before and perhaps while here we simply visited friends and didn’t really look at the place. We are staying at the River Mouth CP and as luck would have it have a bay right on the banks of the Wilson Inlet. The weather here is balmy and fine (currently), the nights delightfully crisp, the mornings brisk with fine mist rising from the waters of the river, the days kept pleasant by the barest zephyr of a breeze fanning across the inlet and all in all it is just a little paradise. We are in love with the place and now have a new venue to add to our list of favourites. We only arrived on Friday (today is Sunday) and so far have not done a great deal of exploring. We will go driving around of course, but we have seen most of this area on a number of times previously so it will really be revisiting favourites once again. While here we will ‘do’ the tree-top walk at the Valley of the Giants and we will also visit a little ‘bird place ‘ up the road a piece. I also plan on doing the tourist thing this time around and visiting some of the local producers of this and that (honey products, toffee, wines, chocolates, art, pottery and all that sort of lovely thing girls!) This hectic activity will be fitted in around visiting some friends, sitting painting and generally reflecting on life whilst watching the water and the water-fowl float by our front door. As I mentioned previously we are right on the water-front. There is a pathway between us and the water where everyone walks their puppies and so we have plenty of folk to chat to while we are out there surveying our ‘temporary’ kingdom. This place has reminded us all over again why we live the way we do and why we love it so much.


The caravan park here seems excellent and is once again dog friendly.


As far as personal issues are concerned, mum is doing OK sort of, in our absence. The first week we were away she fell over in the middle of the road in Midland. She had to wait for someone to help her to her feet and then she tottered over to her chemist where at her request they patched her up. They then charged her $5 for the service provided. She must have been going to this particular chemist for some 20 years and I might add would have spent an absolute fortune there in that time – says something about our world I think. I know they have to cover the cost of the stuff used and the time of their staff too, but really.....................! Oh well, that is the world I guess. Anyway, since then she has been OK but it is becoming more and more apparent she just cannot live alone much longer. We are currently casting around for ideas as to how to look after her whilst maintaining a good quality of life ourselves. Of course it will all work itself out in the end, but it is a worry nevertheless.


As far as we know the kids are all OK, as we have been out of range a great deal of the time we haven’t really been in touch and as they haven’t contacted us, we must assume all is OK. Say no more!!


DD is still really TBBITW (The Best Bloke In The World) and we bump along. I do worry that he spends too much time doing serious stuff and while I am endlessly grateful for his capacity to work the market, I think he needs to lighten up somewhat for his own sake. He is getting the hang of his new camera and I will post some of his new photos for your enjoyment. My painting is sort of coming along, although I have just birthed a most strange child with the last one – half of it is exceptionally good and the other half....well, odd to say the least. Ahhh, what does it really matter? I am a little disappointed but will get back on the proverbial horse and start something else. I just will not re-do this one again as I have re-done it at least 3 times already and the canvas will be sagging with the weight of the paint if I try again! As you will have guessed, my writing has taken a back seat to the painting at the moment, and while the weather is good and I have all this wonderful time, it will stay that way. I will do a final blog of this journey when we have finished enjoying this wonderful place and that will most likely be it for a little while again. So, once again, sorry to be so long winded, but there was a great deal to cover.


Love each other and remember that when you judge others, you define not them, but rather yourself as a person who needs to judge. This is a misquoted passage from an excellent book I once read and has been one of my greatest lessons. I am happy to share it with you. Love until next time – Steph.




From the Van



Naturally Northcliffe

Locals!

We reluctantly dragged ourselves away from Augusta and headed east towards our destination of Denmark, but on the way we decided to stop overnight in Northcliffe. In our trusty little Beautiful South book we could only see one CP in Northcliffe – called the AroundTu-it CP. Well, folks, it was very different. For a start, when we followed the signage, we thought we had made a mistake and taken a wrong turn as the road seemed to be just heading bush. We duly arrived however at a very bushy caravan park set right in the Karri forest. The location was quite beautiful, but mine host and wife were a sour couple. Mind you, things didn’t look that rosy for our hosts and when we arrived he was carting water to the animals as they haven’t had any rain for some considerable time. This would be most unusual in this area and I dare say they are just not geared up for dry weather. There must also be an over-riding fear of bush fire all the time as the forest in tinder dry and in those steep hills and giant trees it would just be disastrous if a fire did get out of control there. They had some considerable number of Alpacas on the property along with an abundance of roos. It seems that they rehabilitate wounded wild-life to the bush and release the critters in the surrounding areas. We expected to be visited by one of the possums who had been released in this manner, but were disappointed. In fact, considering the location we saw very little in the way of bush animals and birds (apart that is from the roos and a few wily maggies and 28s). The park and its general demeanour had us thinking that this couple had started out with grand ideas, as most of us do, and time and experience had simply knocked the stuffing out of them. We could see the remains of old signs advertising burgers and all sorts of other stuff that it seemed had been tried and failed. They obviously need more trade, but have forgotten to smile at folk so the word of mouth is probably not working for them anymore. Of course, it is said of Northcliffe that it is ‘Banjo-Pickin’ country, in the same ilk as Deliverance, so perhaps there was more to the problem than met the eye!!


The surrounding areas are stunningly beautiful and the coast is not far away so there is plenty to do there. They charge $14 per head per night and the park is dog friendly.

ADD ONS

Hi again, just thought that while the Internet/Laptop/Blog site is behaving I would throw in a couple more of these beautiful photos of this beautiful part of the world.  You will also see a couple of my recent paintings, just to give you an idea of how I spend my spare time while we are on the road.  Forgive the amaturish attempts, but I do believe I am getting a little better as I go along.
Steph.

Island off Hamelin Bay



Still Hamelin Bay



AMAZING AUGUSTA

Early morning on the Blackwood

The Old Water Wheel - Fresh Water!

Feeding Rays at Hamelin Bay

Speccy Pic taken by DD

Some of the Waves that made Margaret River Famous

Lighthouse on the point where the Indian Ocean Meets the Great Southern Ocean

Addictive Augusta



After wishing our new found friends a fond farewell we trundled on down the coast to one of our favourite spots Augusta. Augusta is a small village right on the south-western tip of the country. It is where on the map, the Indian Ocean meets the Great Southern Ocean. The town sits right on the entrance of the Blackwood river and is surrounded on three sides by water, the River on one and the two oceans on the other two sides. It is without a doubt one of the most picturesque places I know. We have been visiting Augusta for many years now, but this is the first time we have stayed in a caravan park. We chose Turner’s Caravan Park right in town and we found it to be very good indeed. The only drama we had was the weather. I know some of you will find this hard to understand, but one of the reasons we headed south was to get away from The Hot. Well, while it has been considerably cooler (and I do use the term lightly) than Perth, we have still had pretty much warm weather everywhere, the only saving grace being that the nights down here are much, much cooler. Augusta was no exception. It was remarkably warm there. Not realising this, we accepted a bay without any shade and found to our regret that it was too hot and we were compelled to use the air-con quite a bit. Thank goodness that we had it to use! I have to say, it never occurred to us that we would be compelled to use air-con to cool in Augusta.


As usual we spent a good part of our week in Augusta revisiting all our old favourite scenic spots. The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is particularly good, although we didn’t pay the price to actually go in this time having done it plenty of times in the past. We visited the old Water Wheel and all of the surrounding coastal spots. There is some spectacular coastline in that vicinity, rocky and wild. It is even more spectacular in stormy weather, but as you would realise by now, we certainly didn’t see anything of that!


We visited beautiful Hamelin Bay where they feed the big rays in the bay. It just so happened that we wandered in at the end of feeding time and we were just amazed by the scene before us. Several large rays still loitered along the shore-line hoping for a hand out, and mingled amongst them were an abundance of Silver Gulls and Great Southern Gulls. The water of course is crystal clear there and it was quite a spectacle. We were told that 3 different types of Ray come in to feed there, I’m sorry but I cannot recall the names, but suffice to say they ranged from the dinner plate size to the rather large when we were there.


We also did a coastal drive from Augusta up to Margaret River visiting along the way a place called Redgate Beach. This was an amazing spot with enormous waves and huge rocks strewn along the coast. The beach was very popular with surfers and we were somewhat surprised after travelling along what appeared to be a remote back track to find the car-park at the end overflowing and the beach well populated. We discovered the same thing when we arrived at Prestons Beach (the main beach attached to Margaret River) where the considerable waves were quite thickly peopled by surfers. We were quite perplexed to understand how so many folk were there, on a week day, driving expensive vehicles and using expensive equipment. We are aware that the National Pro-Surfing Championships are happening at this time of the year, but must admit we had no idea as to the popularity of the event/sport. Every car park was full to over-flowing and every beach and part was full of animated well dressed youngish people – how do they afford to do this???


Anyway, the surf was spectacular and the waves were huge so we enjoyed the spectacle presented. We also took a drive over to East Augusta where we discovered there really wasn’t a great deal to see and down to a well known camping area called Alexander Bridge. Alexander Bridge is along the Bussel Highway not far from Augusta and is one of the best off-road camping areas we have seen. Now those of you who know us know that we are soft and don’t usually free camp, but we do go and have a look to see what we are missing out on. This was certainly a lesson for us – the place was right on the banks of the Blackwood and was heavily wooded with delightful little camp spots set amongst the trees. Mind you, a fire would be a disaster there and while that would normally not be an issue in this region, due to the prolonged dry spell at the moment, it could be a problem just now. We may have tried to get into Alexander River campsite after leaving Augusta except for the fact that we really felt it would have been too difficult to get Jezabelle into the tight spots available.


While in Augusta we caught up with friends Ken and Robin. Ken and DD are old work-mates and always talk up a storm when we catch up. As we caught up at the local watering hole, the Augusta Pub, it was no great hardship for Robin and myself, who while enjoying the stunning view from the hotel, spent a happy time running down and complaining about our respective blokes and ruminating over the foibles of our family and various children and grandies. It was lovely to catch up but it always strikes me as odd that whilst we all reside in the suburbs of Perth, we wait until we get to Augusta to catch up!! Says something about the stresses and strains of living and in their case, working, in the big smoke. Ken is now well into his 60s but is one of those blokes who thrives on his work and is finding it difficult to let go of the reins. I’m not sure that Robin who herself still works part-time, is looking forward to having him home all day every day. I know that all of you women who are in my age bracket are now sagely nodding your heads as it is a dilemma for most of us, isn’t it girls? The Augusta Pub incidentally must have the best pub view in WA – it is situated at pretty much the highest point in the town and overlooks both the mouth of the Blackwood and the surrounding bay – speccy to say the least!!! Enjoying the view with a good simple meal and nice ‘drop o’ somethin’ is a hardship, I can tell you!!


Turner’s Caravan Park incidentally was quite good, well situated right on the river and within walking distance (for the fit) into town. The amenities were fine and the park is dog friendly. There is a Factory Direct Fish outlet in town which sells (unusually) local catch including at the moment very well priced blue swimmer crabs. The local bakery is excellent and there you can purchase your mandatory crusty white with which to make the fresh bread, butter and crab sandwiches with salt, pepper and vinegar – doesn’t that sound awful?


I must warn you too, of the dangers of feeding the birds in that park! Of course, in my inimitable bad style I spotted and fed a maggie that I saw hovering one day, well.... before I knew where I was I had 11 of them and were they tame!! They were a pushy gang and all of them vied to eat from my hands. This exercise was hampered somewhat by the antics of one in particular of a group of black ducks that had also cottoned on to the available feed-train. One of these admirable critters would sit all day at my feet while I painted and every so often just gently tug at the towel I had draped across my lap. If the towel was absent, he would simply peck at my strides, just to remind me he was there. When the maggies were being fed he would literally jump up and down in agitation as they received what he obviously considered to be his tucker. In addition to the maggies and our ducky mates, we also had a very animated Wattle bird who jumped around on the table amongst my paints and a Grey Butcher Bird who literally sang for his supper – it was all just delightful – of course the gulls tried to get in on the action too and we had to suspend feeding operations when they came around .

See you soon Steph.