Margaret River Area

Today we went north to Busselton to the longest timber jetty  in Australia at 1.84k. Unfortunately we could not walk to the end as it is being refurbished (at a cost of $24 million)

 

We had  been to the chocolate factory so next  we went to taste test the local wine. .  .

The Margaret River area is renowned for its wineries.

 

This is the entrance to Voyager Estate Winery. Col did suggest that our jeans and runners might not be appropriate!!  There are 8 gardeners and  horticulturists employed full-time to keep the gardens.

And the rose garden was very impressive. Apparently they grow roses so that any disease affects the flower before it attacks the grape vines. Unfortunately the wine was not to our liking and we came away with a six pack of grape juice.

Margaret River flows through the centre of town and this is quite a pretty picnic area with ducks waiting for any food left behind.

 

 

By afternoon the sky had started to cloud over – more rain is predicted. Besides being noted for its wine, this area is said to have the best surfing beaches in the world. If you look very carefully there are surfers out there trying their luck.

We turn the corner to Margaret River

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is on the most southerly tip of Western Australia.

The lighthouse was built in 1896 from local stone and is the highest lighthouse on mainland Australia at a height of 56 meters. The light can be seen 25n mile away and still operates on the original  light.

 

 

 

 

From the top of the lighthouse, its shadow points to where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet.

 

 

This area is home to 100k of underground limestone caves in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste N.P. This is Jewel Cave and unfortunately my camera does not do it justice.

 

Lake Cave, like Jewel Cave, is down several hundred steps before you reach the floor of the cave.

 

 

There is water running through Lake Cave which has receded over the years to leave these columns suspended  above the remaining clear water.

 

 

And when you go down, you also have to climb back up.  Between the lighthouse and the two caves we climbed about 1000 steps today.

Walpole

We are really getting into this holiday mode – today we travelled about 120k and it took most of the day.

We got up early this morning (6.00 a.m.) to get a sunrise photo across Walpole Inlet from Rest Point.

 

 

 

Even one of the locals got in on the photos. The inlet is a very popular fishing and boating area since it opens onto the sea.

 

 

This is Conspicuous Beach taken from Conspicuous Cliff. This is one of the most beautiful beaches on the south coast.

 

 

The Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk is not to be missed.  It is the longest tree top walkway in the world  rising 40 meters above the forest floor.

 

The Karri and Tingle trees grow to a height of 50 meters and are over 700 years old. Makes the 4WD in the photo look like a matchbox toy.

 

 

In the Ancient Empire Walk, the Tingle trees have a girth of up to 24 meters. This is one tree and you can walk through it. There was a Tingle tree here that you could drive a car through.

This is Circular Pool where the water looks like coffee – swirling foam and brown coloured water from the tannins leaching from the vegetation.

 

Mandalay Beach takes its name from the Norwegian ship wrecked here in 1911. The remains of the ship can be seen  every 10 years, only to be reclaimed by the sea.

Albany

Next stop Albany. Unfortunately the weather turned really bad - gale force winds, rain and thunder  storms.  We decided to stay put for a couple of days because the  weather was even worse to the west where we are headed.

 

 

 

This picture says it all – winds to 100kph. This is Middleton Beach overlooking the Bay.

 

 

 

It did fine-up today so we went sight-seeing. From Mount Melville you get 360 degree views over Albany and Princess Royal Harbour.

 

 

Next was Torndirrup National Park. This sign says it all.

 

 

 

Next stop Antarctica and yes it was cold!!

 

 

 

 

This is the Gap where the sea rushes in and eventually erodes the rock.

 

 

 

And 50 metres away is the Natural Bridge which has been eaten away over the centuries.

 

 

 

Down 800 meters and 78 steps you reach the blowholes. They only “blow” when there is bad weather- so yes they were blowing today.

 

 

This is an old whaling ship at the Whaleworld museum south of Frenchman Bay.

 

 

 

The sun was almost shining when we left Whaleworld to return to Albany City. This is looking back towards Emu Beach where we are staying.

Hopetoun to Wave Rock

Sunset over Fitzgerald River N.P.  near Hopetoun. We spent the day in the N.P. photographing wild flowers and small sandy beaches along the coast.

 

This is Royal Hakea one of the many wildflowers growing  in the N.P. There was rain a couple  of weeks ago and many of the wildflowers are out in bloom.

 

Then we spotted these dolphins playing in the surf at Quoin Head. They were only about 25 meters from the beach.

 

 

The coastline was rugged but very picturesque. Further along the bay was an eagles nest on a rocky outcrop.

 

 

Then we travelled inland to Hyden and Wave Rock. Quite an  impressive sight! On top there are several large granite rocks hollowed out by wind and rain over the last 60 million years.

It does look like a Hippo’s Mouth. Chris wouldn’t make a mouthful in this hungry country.

 

 

Then we climbed Wave Rock to take pictures of sunset – just no enough cloud to make a really good shot.

On to Esperance

We left Kalgoorlie and headed towards the coast again. We went through Coolgardie which seems to be the “poor cousin” of Kalgoorlie.

Next town on the highway south was Norseman- named after a horse which kicked the dirt and uncovered gold.

 

 

And finally to Esperance which is a very old town. The Norfolk Pines planted along the Esplanade dated from the 1850’s.

 

 

This is a view of Esperance from the end of Taylor Jetty -  jutting  some distance into the Southern  Sea. This is the local fishing spot.

 

 

There are fantastic views from the lookout and the Great Ocean Drive overlooking the Recherche Archipelago.

 

 

 

The next day we decided to explore Cape Le Grand National Park. This is a very impressive letterbox on the side of the road.

 

 

This is the beginning of the assault on Frenchman’s Peak. From the top, there are fantastic views of the islands in the Southern Ocean.

 

Lucky Bay is one of the prettiest spots we have seen on our trip so far. The beach sand is like talc powder – so fine and so white.

 

 

And today we went on a cruise on Seabreeze IV around the islands of the Archipelago. We stopped at Woody Island and climbed to the lookout – absolutely breathtaking views.

 

And these seals we more than happy to pose for photos -  they have plenty of food and not a care in the world basking in the sun.  The Sea Eagles and dolphins provided escorts for the boat at Woody Island.

Ceduna to Kalgoorlie

We thought Col has “gone troppo” when we saw him rolling around until we realised this was the first green grass we had seen in a “l o n g “ time. This is on the foreshore at Ceduna.

 

Sunrise over Fowler’s Bay, another area steeped in history but now a small fishing village.

 

 

The long straight road at the beginning of the Nullabor Plain.

 

 

 

This is a “wild” dingo at the Nullabor roadhouse. She came looking for food then went to sleep at the caravan door in the shade.

 

 

The Nullabor Roadhouse on the eastern edge of the “backyard”.

 

 

 

The Murrawijinie Caves are north of Nullabor Roadhouse. There are three caves in this area. They look like big sink-holes that go back for several hundred meters. The vehicles on top look like matchbox toys.

These cliffs are part of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park. The colours and ruggedness of the area is unbelievable.

 

 

It has taken 6 weeks, but the mechanic’s hands are now white and there is not a trace of grease under his fingernails either.

 

 

We made it – only to be faced with the fruit quarantine station – out go all the foodstuff that could harbour disease!

 

 

This is the original Overland Telegraph Station at Eucla. It was built on the sand dunes and over time the dunes have moved reclaiming the buildings.

 

These are the locals you have to look out for. And the highway is straight all 146.6 k of it – the longest straight road in Australia.

We also visited the Eyre Bird Observatory which was the old Telegraph station at Eyre. It has been restored but is on the wrong end of a very bumpy road.

 

This is the roadhouse at Widgimooltha - Widge for short. An enormous nugget of gold was discovered here but this is all that remains today – and it’s for sale for $995,000.00 plus stock if anyone is interested.