Australia Entry 17 - South to Perth

NOTE: Some pictures associated with this text will follow at a later date.

I'm sure that anyone who has been waiting with bated breath for the next installment of our blog has given up all hope of seeing another entry. It has been over three weeks since we have updated the blog with some photos, and nearly a month since we wrote a text entry. But better late than never, so here we are again with an update on our travels since leaving the resort town of Broome and having done some 5500 kms of driving.

We had enjoyed our beach holiday in Broome though we (especially Susan) were ready for some cooler weather as we had been enduring daily high temperatures in the upper 30's and low 40's for several weeks. (I just know we are going to rue those words when we get back to Calgary in December!!) We would have moved on sooner except that we wanted to stay for the first night of the “Staircase to the Moon” which happened on Sept 27th. We took in this event with our happy hour friends and we all lined up, with a few hundred other tourists, on the shore of a beach which faced away from the ocean across an inlet, eastward toward the rising moon. The setting sun created a brief red glow to the west, which lasted only a few minutes, so by the time the first silver shred of the moon peaked over the eastern horizon right on schedule at 6:23, the crystal clear sky was dark, creating a perfect evening for the famous spectacle. We had read and heard so much about the splendour of the moon rising over the corrugated mud flats that we knew it just had to be anticlimactic. And so it was. It was certainly a beautiful moon rise, the orange ball rising steadily to cast a shard of silvery light over the inlet, glimmering and reflecting off the water between the mud rivulets to create the appearance of steps leading to the rising sphere. But in truth it was not much different from the full moon rising over any body of water. I thought to myself somewhat cynically that the local tourist board had done a pretty good job creating a major tourist attraction out of this winter-months moon rise phenomenon. But, it was one of those “must see” things along the way and was certainly worth more than the price of admission!

Anyway, the next morning after a week of soaking up the sun and enjoying the fabulous white sands of Western Australia's winter playground destination, we packed up the van and set off to the south. As soon as we left the outskirts of Broome we were right back into the dry, red outback motoring down The Great Northern Highway towards our stop for the night, Port Hedland, some 600 kms to the south west. We encountered few other vehicles along the way and even few signs of any human presence in this parched land, until we were within a few kilometers of Port Hedland. This unlovely town is Australia's major shipping terminal for iron ore which is mined in huge quantities from the iron mines in The Great Sandy Desert to the west and shipped by rail to Port Hedland for onward shipment around the world. We stayed only one night at a caravan park on the edge of town and there are only three things of note to record about this port town. One, the iron ore trains rolling continuously into the town are undoubtedly the longest trains I've ever seen, the contents of their ore cars being dumped to create small red mountains of mineral awaiting loading to huge ocean cargo ships. Second, Australia's famous (or more aptly, infamous) Rabbit Proof Fence starts near here and runs unbroken to the south coast near Albany. The fence was built in the early 20th century in an effort to keep the hordes of rabbits introduced to Australia from invading the western edge of WA. (In fact, the fence is actually three separate fences as the builders found (repeatedly) that they were too late and the expanding rabbit population had already passed their planned fence line, thus necessitating another fence to the west.) As it turned out, the whole thing was a complete waste of time and money as the rabbits were able to complete their journey westward to provide WA with the same rabbit problems as the rest of the country. And the third notable thing about Port Hedland was its very own version of the Staircase to the Moon which we took in from our campground beach that evening. There is apparently a growing rivalry between Broome and Port Hedland as to whose Staircase is the more spectacular. And our vote goes to Port Hedland...at least on this occasion!

The next morning we were off to an early start as we wanted to cover the 350 kilometers to the Karijini National Park before noon. We turned south west following the route of the Great Northern Highway into the heart of the Pilbara region. The land became even more barren and dry as we began a steady climb towards the edge of the Great Sandy Desert and we soon noticed a significant and welcome cooling of the air temperature as we rose to over 2000ft above sea level. The road was for the most part straight and devoid of traffic so we made good time and entered the park just after noon. After a brief tour of the excellent visitor centre, we set off to explore the park.

Karijini is another of Australia's spectacular national parks famous for its stunning gorges cut into the deep rust coloured rocks of the Hamersley Range. The rocks, crags and gorges of this area are among the most ancient land surfaces in the world having been formed by sediments deposited in an ancient sea over 2.5 billion years ago. We drove initially to Dales Gorge just a few kilometers from the visitor centre where we were presented with dramatics views of the deep gorge, the cascading Fortescue waterfall and serene pools within the canyon. A walk of a kilometer or so along a trail and over some rocks brought us to the Fern Pool, a large, tranquil pond at the base of a small water fall and surrounded by lush vegetation and the red cliffs of the gorge. We had worn our “bathers” and were soon enjoying a wonderful, refreshing swim in the cool water of the swimming hole. Both Sue and I commented that the place seemed to have a magical quality about it and it was easy to see why this pool, and indeed the whole Karijini area, has been sacred ground for the Aboriginal peoples of this area.

We had our picnic lunch before continuing our afternoon tour which took us to two other gorges in the park. At the Kalimina Gorge we descended some steep steps to the floor of the gorge where we marvelled at the the incredible layered black and red stone of the cliff walls. A walk up the canyon took us to a small pool though unfortunately we didn't have time for another dip which would have been very refreshing on this very hot afternoon. We headed back to the van and continued along the red dirt road. It had been recently graded and was in reasonable shape, allowing us to motor along at 60 or 70 kph without shaking the van to bits. Our last stop was at the spectacular _____ Gorge where we stood on a platform overlooking yet another pool at the bottom of a deep canyon, its walls glowing a deep red in the late afternoon sun. Far below we could see a few people who had obviously negotiated the steep path to the canyon floor, frolicking in the pool. I'm sure they would be ready for another cooling dip somewhere after their long climb back up!

We exited the park along 60 kms of dirt road which lead us back to the paved highway. The sun was beginning to dip toward the western horizon as we made our way to the caravan park in Tom Price, WA's highest town at some 1500 ft above sea level. We had thought we might stay in Tom Price for two nights and take a tour of the iron mine the next day, Tom Price's raison d'etre, but alas the tour was full, so we decided on one night only. We were up at first light and found some kangaroos munching on the grass beside our tent, obviously not concerned with us in the slightest. A long drive faced us that day as we were setting off for Exmouth back on the coast 600 kms to the east. So we packed up the tent and headed west. This would be our third long day in a row and we were looking forward to a break from driving as we planned to stay for 3 or 4 days in Exmouth near one of WA's most spectacular natural areas, the Ningaloo Reef.
Our drive initially took us westward towards the coast, but in the late afternoon we turned north and headed up the North West Cape Peninsula to the small town of Exmouth. As we drove along the flat barren cape, dotted here and there with short, scrubby bushes, we noticed several emus by the side of the road, our first encounter in the wild with this iconic Australia bird. Apparently there is quite a population in this area and we later learned that they are something of a pest around the campsites of Exmouth as they will eat pretty much any thing including any shiny objects you happen to leave lying around...though I must say we didn't see any at our campsite.

Exmouth owes its existence to the US Navy who built a communications centre here for contact with their ships and submarines in the oceans to the north and west. The Americans no longer use the base though the huge communications towers at the tip of the peninsula remain in place and are something of a tourist attraction. Today Exmouth is purely a tourist destination. Situated just a few kilometres from the western coast of the peninsula, the town is an ideal base from which to explore the coast and amazing Ningaloo Reef which runs along the coast for 250 kms. The reef is situated just off shore making access for snorkeling very easy from the stunning white sand beaches that run almost unbroken along the coast. The view of the dazzling blue and turquoise colors of the crystal clear water and the almost snow-like white sand beaches is one we will not forget.

The Ningaloo Reef is best known for an attraction that, unfortunately for us, happens in March. This area is the only place in the world where giant whale sharks congregate annually to feed on the abundant plankton and small fish in the area. These, the largest fish in the world, grow to 60 ft or more and weigh over 20 tonnes. And for a brief period in Australia's early fall, visitors can take tours just off shore to don snorkeling gear for the amazing experience of swimming with these gentle giants. The tour companies have only a short time to make their money from this annual phenomenon, so your chance to swim with a whale shark will set you back $400 or so! But we hear it is well worth it.

Although our stay in Exmouth didn't include swimming with the whale sharks, we had a great time just the same. We found the “Big Four” campground (we had joined this camping organization to get the 10% discount at their numerous van parks around Australia) and decided to stay in one of the on-site cabins as the heat here on the coast was again too hot for tenting. We were delighted to find brand new cabins which were well appointed and perfect for a few days stay. We booked in for 3 nights, though as it turned out, we ended up staying for 6. when we discovered that accommodation at our next planned stop, the small coastal town of Coral Bay 150 kms to the south, was completely full, this being the middle of the two-week spring school holidays.

The next morning we purchased two sets of snorkeling gear as we planned to do lots of snorkeling around the area and we set off around the top of the cape and down the coast into the Ningaloo National Park. Unlike the rest of Australia, WA charges an entry fee for many of its national parks so we had bought a 4 week “visitors pass” which allowed us to avoid the long line up at the park entrance and head straight to a beach call Oyster Stacks (named presumably for the stratified rocks on the shore resembling stacked up oyster shells). This had been recommended as a prime snorkeling area and we weren't disappointed. The water was crystal clear and a swim of no more than 25 metres took us out to a stretch of beautiful coral and schools of colorful fishes. We floated along in the warm clear water enjoying the brilliant scenes below us for nearly an hour. Later in the afternoon we drove a few kilometers back north to a place called Turquoise Bay (you can guess why it's called that) where the gentle current through the bay carries you along over the coral to the far end of the beach. You just sort of lie in the water watching the magnificent marine world glide slowly past below you. Unfortunately, the current also brings some sediment with it and the waters weren't as clear as at Oyster Stacks, but still very enjoyable.

We spent the next few days visiting other beaches in the area and touring through one of the gorges (they're everywhere) cut in the coastal hills of Cape Range National Park. The weather continued to be hot with not a cloud to be seen as it had been for weeks now. The one nice thing was the almost-constant wind that blew up the cape keeping the air temperature bearable.
One day we decided to take a day trip down to Coral Bay as we wouldn't be stopping there as planned. This is another prime holiday destination for southerners seeking some winter sun. The small town is no more than a few shops and the omnipresent bottle shop to serve the many tourists which inflate the town's population during the winter season. Coral Bay is situated on a long curving bay bordered by brilliant white sand which leads down to the sparkling azure waters presenting a stunning patchwork of blue-green water and darker patches where the coral heads of the reef sat just below the surface. The snorkeling here was a little disappointing as there weren't many fish about and the water wasn't as clear as it appeared to be from the beach. But we had a very pleasant day sitting in the warm sun and walking along the beach, splashing in the 26 degree water. One notable part of our visit was that I broke Sue's record of always being the first to spot a snake. I was lying reading my book when suddenly I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced up to see a brown and green snake slithering along the side of my beach towel, obviously having come from the rocks and brush just behind us at the edge of the beach. It sensed me as soon as I moved to have a look at it and it did a quick about face and quickly disappeared back into the brush. This was only our second look at a wild snake in Australia again confirming that encounters with snakes and other “nasties” in Australia is much the exception rather than the rule as many guide books would have you believe. Anyway, we weren't all that impressed with Coral Bay, especially when we saw the campground with its vans and tents pack tightly together, so we felt much better about not having been able to get a place to stay here.

Another day back in Exmouth we stopped at one of the many beaches along the coast and went for a long walk along the deserted sand. As we approached a rocky point jutting into the sea, I noticed a black object shining in the sun which looked like a large black garbage bag caught in the rocks. But when we got nearer it suddenly hit me that this was no garbage bag but rather a large turtle sitting on the sand by the waters edge. We picked up our pace and as we got closer, we were amazed to see not one but two large greenback turtles in the process of mating! We stood and watched them for a few minutes with a mixture of awe and frustration as I had left my camera back at the van. The two seemed in no hurry to disengage, so we decided to hightail it back the 1.5 kilometres for the camera. We moved as quickly as we could, which wasn't “very”, as my hip is preventing much more than a slow walk these days. But upon our return half an hour later, the two were still at it and we were able to take some great shots of this once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

We left Exmouth on Saturday October 7th and headed south along the peninsula to eventually join the main North West Coastal Highway. As we drove south we could feel a noticeable change in the temperature, but in fact it was more than the temperature that was changing. Red earth and scrub bush was giving way more and more to bigger trees and patches of green. And as we approached our next stop at Carnarvon, we came across a real farm with green pastures and farm buildings, the first we had seen since leaving Cairns. And the farther south we went the more and more signs of “civilization”we saw, as the volume of traffic increased, buildings appeared more frequently along the highway and farms and small towns became the norm rather than the exception. We were entering the beautiful countryside of southwest WA which in many respects is reminiscent of southern England, with green terrain, beautiful tall trees and pastures with cows and sheep everywhere. Of course the big difference with England is that here the weather is much better and there are gorgeous white sand beaches along the coast within easy reach. As well, although there are plants and flowers common to both places, the native foliage here is quite different, with all kinds of different eucalyptus trees and the red bottlebrush trees and banksias, looking like bush sprouting popsicles.

Anyway, after a reasonably short 350 kms drive, we pulled up in the pleasant coastal town of Carnarvon, situated in a lush farming area. The town's main landmark is a huge radio telescope which sits on a small hill overlooking the town, which is no longer operational, but which had been build by NASA as a tracking station for the the Gemini and Apollo space missions. Carnarvon is also WA's primary vegetable producing area, supplying over 70% of the state's vegetables. We bought the biggest (it must have weighed 6 or 7 pounds) romaine lettuce we have ever seen for 95 cents, and was so fresh it lasted us two weeks! And the biggest celery bunch, again probably 5 pounds for less than $2.

Sunday we had another relatively short drive which took us to the town of Denham situated on a peninsula on the west side of WA's famous Shark Bay. We had been looking forward to getting to this area ever since we had read about it in Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. Bryson had described his visit to Hamelin Bay to see the stromatolites and this was our first stop in Shark Bay about midday. Stromatolites are considered to be living fossils and a key part of the earth's evolutionary history. They were the first life forms to appear on earth some 3.5 billion years ago and the waste oxygen emitted by gazillions of these microbes over countless millions of years is largely responsible for our oxygen-infused atmosphere which was necessary for the evolution of higher life forms on earth. These tiny microbes grow in colonies in only one other place in the world, though Hamelin Bay, where the waters are twice as salty as normal sea water, has by far the bigger colony. We walked across yet another dazzling white beach and along a special boardwalk constructed specifically for viewing the coral-like growths in the shallow clear water just offshore. It was awe inspiring to think that we were looking at things whose ancient ancestors started it all off for life on this hunk of rock.

On our way back to the van we walked along a trail which took us to a small quarry where blocks of “shell stone”, called coquina, is still quarried in small quantities when repairs are needed to some some of the buildings that were constructed from this material in the 19th centuries in the nearby town of Denham. It was fascinating to see how billions of tiny shells had been compressed and cemented into a solid white stone, almost resembling marble.
Speaking of shells, our next stop was at the appropriately-named Shell Beach, a stretch of white beach some three hundred metres wide and sweeping around a bay for about 5 kms. We had read that the beach is comprised entirely of tiny white shells (about an eighth to a quarter of an inch across) which are stacked up on the bedrock of the shore to a depth of about 20 metres. Given these facts I just had to do a little calculation to see just how many shells had accumulated on this beach in the last few hundred million years. Assuming that it takes about 200 of these tiny shells to fill one cubic centimetre, there are something like 6 x 1015 shells on this beach! (For those mathematically challenged individuals, that's a 6 with 15 zeros after it.) That's an awful lot of little shellfish!! Anyway the beach was a beautiful sight if not ideal for walking on in bare feet!

We set up tent in the seaside town of Denham which is situated on the windward side of the peninsula where a constant and often strong wind kept the air at a much cooler temperature than we had been experiencing of late. We actually had some difficulty in getting the tent up in the strong wind despite having one of the most sheltered spots in the campground. The camp kitchen at this campground was unusually elementary, so we decided to forgo cooking dinner and headed out to a local eatery for some local seafood. I opted for the fish and chips which was great with a big fillet of local fresh fish, and Sue had the seafood platter which unfortunately was not so good being comprised mostly of previously frozen seafood. While eating our dinner, we were surprised to hear a sound we hadn't heard for weeks – rain pounding on the roof. I guess a weather front had moved in bringing a lot of moisture with it...something very unusual for this time of year. And later that night we lay awake listening to a downpour hitting our tent...our first real test of our “water proofness” and I'm glad to say it passed with flying colors.
We were up early the next morning as we wanted to be at the Monkey Mia (pronounced “mya”) National Park some 25 kilometres away before 7:30. We were there to see the famous feeding of the bottlenose dolphins that show up like clockwork every day. Many years ago, tourists chanced on some dolphins in shallow waters in the bay and threw them some of their morning catch, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today the bay is a marine reserve and although the daily feeding of dolphins still happens it is strictly controlled by the park staff. Dozens, if not hundreds, of tourists line the beach, not being allowed to step past ankle depth in the water into the “restricted zone”. We joined the line and sure enough several dolphins were swimming up and down just a few feet off the beach, some of them following closely behind the couple of park staff who waded in the shallows just off the beach. A marine officer, who could identify each dolphin individually by their markings and dorsal fins, began a talk about the life of the dolphins here in Shark Bay and the history of the feeding program, which was all very interesting, though everyone was anxious to get on with feeding the beautiful creatures. Several people are chosen at random to give a small fish to the waiting dolphins who gently take the offered morsel and swim away. Unfortunately, neither of us were among the chosen, so we had to be content with watching the graceful animals getting their handouts from others. But it was a neat experience. When the supply of fish was exhausted, the 3 or 4 marine park staff who were holding the empty fish buckets, actually dipped them in the water near the dolphins to show them they were empty, and the sleek grey creatures were off like a shot to the open sea. They do return a couple of times during the day for another handout but there is no “set schedule” as to when they will reappear as there is for the 7:30 feeding each morning. We decided to move on and had a lovely walk in the dunes of the park before we headed back to Denham.

More rain fell that night but it cleared off long enough in the morning for the sunshine, combined with the strong wind, to dry our tent, and we were on our way south by 9:30. Another relatively short drive took us to the small coast town of Kalbarri. There was a very interesting seahorse sanctuary here which we toured that afternoon. They raise seahorses and pipefish for the aquarium industry, helping to conserve the wild seahorse population. Seahorses that are bred in captivity have a much higher survival rate as pets than those caught in the wild, who have difficulty in adjusting to aquarium life. It was fascinating to see the tanks of brightly colored seahorses at various stages of development and to learn of their life cycle. After this we took a late-afternoon walk along the barren cliff tops along the coast. The calm, reef-protected seas and white sand beaches to the north had given way in this region to rocks, cliffs and pounding surf and we marveled at the formations cut out of the limestone cliffs by the seas and wind.
The next morning we stopped on our way out of Kalbarri to see a wildflower garden. This area was renowned for its spring wildflowers but an unusually dry winter had resulted in a below average display and Sue was anxious so see some examples of wildflowers, even though they were being cultivated for display purposes. After that, our morning drive took us to Geraldton, WA's second largest city. We stopped here for lunch and to see the famous HMAS Sydney Memorial. This stunning structure commemorates the loss of 645 sailors in a 1941 WW II naval battle with a German warship that was also sunk off the coast of WA. (The wrecks of these vessels have ever been found and searchers are still trying to find them all these years later. The WA government has just announced another multi-million dollar grant for a new search this year.) The memorial features a silver dome of 645 metal seagulls intricately connect by their wingtips, and a bronze statue of woman gazing desperately out to sea awaiting news of her loved one.

It was still early in the afternoon so we decided to motor a few kilometers further south to a small town called Dongara where we stayed at a caravan park for the night. It turned out to be a real gem. As we checked into one of the on-site cabins, the receptionist told us that as it was Wednesday evening we were invited to their “nibblies evening”. Apparently the campground puts on free appies for the residents once a week (something we haven't seen anywhere else) and fortuitously we were there that night. They served up some lovely crackers, cheeses and cold cuts and everyone brought a beer or glass of wine...a social for the campers. They also do a pancake breakfast on Saturdays – I wonder if they have been to the Calgary Stampede and wanted to copy the tradition?

The next morning we were off for Perth, but we wanted to visit a place called the Nambung National Park so left the main highway and proceed toward the coast to Cervantes at the entrance to the park. The park is famous for a small desert-like region where the most amazing natural limestone structures called pinnacles rise from the sand dunes like stalagmites from a cave floor. Thousands of these miniature towers, rising up to 10 or 12 ft, are clustered in a small area of about one square kilometer. The towers are formed of compacted shells which have been cemented into solid structures over millennia, the surrounding sand having been blown away and eroded over time to leave these spire-like pinnacles dotting the landscape. We drove along the sand track stopping every few hundred metres to walk around the area and examine the many differing shapes and sizes up close. Quite the sight!

After the Pinnacles, we continued our drive and mid-afternoon found us entering the outskirts of Perth, WA's capital and a major cosmopolitan city. As we neared Perth's central business district we were back into traffic lights, round-a-bouts, stop-and-go traffic, big buildings, etc., which we hadn't experienced since leaving Brisbane in May. We had decided to head to the port city of Fremantle on Perth's south side, so made our way slowly across the city, getting some fabulous views of the tall high-rise buildings of the city centre as we proceeded along the shore of the Swan River which bisects Perth.

Greater Perth is a city of about 2 million people and has the look and feel of a rich community with beautiful homes, an ultra-modern downtown area, gorgeous parks and an excellent public transportation system including a multi-line commuter train system and free buses in the city core. Also, being situated right on the Indian Ocean, it has some spectacular beaches within a few minutes drive both north and south. Despite being the world's most isolated capital city, being further from another major city than any other capital on earth, Perth is a very upbeat and cosmopolitan place and it's easy to see why residents consider it the ideal place to live.
We found a caravan park in Fremantle where we stayed for a couple of nights before moving to another nearby where we took an on-site cabin for a week. We had intended to head south and tour the southwest corner of WA before heading to Busselton for our timeshare exchange week there, but we had been on the road for a while and we decided to stay put in Perth until we headed down for our much anticipated “luxury week” at the resort.

We'd arrived in Perth on Thursday Oct 11th. Friday we drove into the city to collect our mail which we had asked family to send to the central post office, and to buy a new digital camera. Sue was delighted to find a couple of letters from her sisters and I got a good deal on a new camera from a store clearing out last year's models of Canon digitals. As we'd expected, the core was a hive of activity with business people, shoppers and tourists milling about in the busy streets and pedestrian malls. We were hopeful of finding a much longed-for Starbucks coffee, but alas the chain had not yet opened a branch here in, as a helpful young man at the tourist information office put it, “frontier Perth” so we are still waiting.

We had a day at the beach on Saturday as a couple of warm, sunny days were forecast and we wanted to catch up on some reading and relaxation. As mentioned previously, the temperatures had been getting progressively cooler as we headed south and here in Perth it was actually cooler than we'd anticipated with highs only in the mid 20's and lows as low as 8 degrees...decidedly chilly evenings and certainly too cold for tenting. (The old expression... “Be careful what you ask for...” came to mind as we ...and especially Sue...had been wanting to escape the stifling temperatures of northern WA but were now feeling it was a little too cool for our liking). But the sun is still high in the sky and very intense, so as long as we are out of the cool wind which blows directly up from the Antarctic and which has really been strong some days, it is very pleasant. And then over the next week or so we explored the Perth region taking day trips and excursions around the area.

On Sunday we again drove into Perth to visit fabulous Kings Park, a 1000 acre reserve on a hill right on the edge of downtown. As well as providing a magnificent view of the downtown and harbour area with its many sail boats dotting the blue waters of the Swan River mouth, the park is home to hundreds of different trees, bushes and flowers as well as colorful birds such as the beautiful green and black Ring Neck parrot which we often saw flitting through the trees. It is spring in Australia and the temperate climate here in southern WA results in a wonderful display of wild and cultivated flowers, many of them on display here in the park. We spent several hours wandering around enjoying the warm afternoon and the park, like the many hundreds of other Perth residents who were strolling around or picnicking on the grass.
Monday Sue took the train into the city to visit some museums and galleries and do shopping on her own (not my thing) while I cleaned up the van getting it ready to sell. (We've since put a couple of adds on local web sites and have 'for sale' signs in our window, and are hopeful of selling it quickly in the next few days). The rest of our week went by quickly as each day we took in one site or another. We spent a fabulous day visiting Fremantle's Maritime Museums, one dedicated to a display of sailing ships which have floundered off the WA coast over the years and another concentrating on more modern aspects of maritime life including displays of the actual Fremantle-based sailboat (Australia II) which won the America's Cup and a collection of other boats and yachts renowned for sailing around the world or other such feats. Of particular fascination was our tour of one of Australia's retired submarines. The huge black hulk of this Oberon class, 1960's vintage boat sits in dry dock at the Maritime Museum and we took a tour led by a retired submariner who was very personable and made our tour through the cramped quarters of the warship most informative. We had toured through a WW II vintage submarine at Pearl Harbour a few years ago and I'd expected this newer model to be more roomy and comfortable than that extremely cramped boat. But though much bigger, the extra space in this submarine must have been jammed with more equipment as the living and working quarters were just as tight...not a place to be if you suffer even a pinch of claustrophobia!

Another day we took a drive a few kilometers westward to the town of Armadale where we visited the nearby Araluen Botanical Gardens which had the most beautiful displays of roses and other flora native to this region. It reminded Sue of Butchart Gardens in the rough. We are lucky to be here at this time of year when everything is blooming, though we were a little late for the tulip festival which had just ended. Later in the week we drove north along the one freeway that runs through Perth to a place called Yanchep to see yet another stunning beach. We also visited Yanchep National Park, one of the oldest parks in WA and a delightful spot on the river, with charming old stone park buildings. Here we saw koalas in a sanctuary. It is very difficult to spot them in the wild so we appreciated this opportunity to see them up close again. For the first time, we had to take refuge in our van from the persistent and very annoying flies that attacked us as we ate our lunch. Then we drove westward to the wine region of Swan River where we hoped to visit some “cellar doors” as the winery tasting areas are called here. As it was midweek, however, most were closed though we did get to the large Houghton winery which is one of WA's major producers. We had a taste of a couple of their wines, but decided not to buy as they were nothing exceptional. We expected to do better when we headed south to Busselton and WA's major wine producing area around Margaret River just 40 kms south of Busselton.

So all in all we had a very pleasant stay in Perth (despite the changeable weather which was cool and windy at times) and will be returning there in a few days to sell the van. On Saturday October 20, we were again on the road, heading south for our week in our Interval resort in the holiday town of Busselton on the coast of Geographe Bay. And our week there will kick off our next blog entry.

Till then....