Australia Aug-Nov 2013

Travelogue 14 Stage 3

Perth-Esperance

We stored our car and caravan and left Perth for New Zealand in December, 2011. Due to circumstances, we were not able to return to Perth until August 3^rd 2013, some twenty months later. But that's another story.

Perth was as we had left it, though with atrocious weather further south, we stayed put for over a month, earning a little money painting, had repairs done to our car, met and made friends with many hospitable folk and enjoyed new sights and adventures in and around Perth.

October 4^th, we finally left Perth for the southern coast. It was a little sad as we'd made many friends who could not really believe we would leave. But our time had come. We said our goodbyes and were soon on the road.

Cape Leeuwin - note Captain Cow.

Busselton, northern gateway to Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, was the first stop. Nearby is the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. Between that and the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse at the 'bottom left corner' of Western Australia are some of the most scenic parts of the state. With its forests,bays,wineries,green fields and caves to explore, this area felt very much like New Zealand. Sampling locally manufactured chocolate and honey meant our three nights camped on a sheep farm went almost too fast. Cape Leeuwin is where the Indian and Southern Oceans join, normally a rugged exposed wind-swept point. Our day there was fine with a warm breeze, the ocean's swells almost a gentle ripple, a marked change to the previous month's weather.

Inland through heavily forested areas, staying overnight at Pemberton then Walpole, our next major stop was Denmark, a pretty town on the south coast, detouring on the way to visit the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk where one walks a steel-grilled walkway 45 metres above the forest floor, viewing the tall karri trees and rare giant tingle trees, which grow only around this area. Adjacent is the Ancient Kingdom, full of beautiful paths and buttressed tingle trees, some with burnt hollow centres cause by lightning. The trees

Hollow giant tingle tree, Walpole

themselves were not distressed, for this is part of their natural makeup.

Our stay in Denmark's caravan park was enriched with visits by about thirty kangaroos each evening, and waking each morning to the laughter of kookaburras. Ten kilometres distant was Greens Pool, where a naturally occurring wall of huge rounded boulders about 100 metres off-shore protects the bay from ocean swells, making this sandy bay safe, shallow and warm with clear waters – the ideal spot for Bryan's first swim of the season.

On to historic and busy Albany, southernmost city of Western Australia where we stocked up for the days ahead. Don't go shopping there on a Saturday afternoon, or Sunday. Everything shuts, including the supermarkets.

Stonehernge,  Esperance, WA

Then through Ravensthorpe to Esperance, home to many spectacular beaches, looking across clear waters to a myriad of uninhabited offshore islands. Nearby is Stonehenge, where a farmer has built a full-size replica of Stonehenge in England. The difference is this one is not broken. We could walk between and touch the stones, some weighing more than twenty tonnes. Photos showed how they had put the capping stones on top, but it would be cheating if I told you. Few visitors were there when we visited, the warm sun and trimmed green grass making it an ideal spot for the afternoon.

We had been recommended to stay at Cape Le Grand National Park, fifty kilometres from Esperance. Saturday 26^th October, we drove to stay at Lucky Bay, one of two camping areas within this huge park. Being a national park, there is no power, but there were solar-powered hot showers, flush toilets and gas barbecues, and lots of happy hours with other like-minded campers. Each night became a circle of twenty or more fellow campers, each retelling the best walks that day, or best spot for phone reception.

Whenever opals are created, their colours must come from the opalescent waters of Lucky

Lucky Bay - this photo has not been retouched

Bay. Here, the sea is topped with pearl-like surf. Between each lazy wave one can see perhaps eight to ten metres through translucent green water to the white sandy bottom. This area is considered to have the whitest sand in Australia, bettering that of Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland. About 250 metres offshore, the water changes markedly to the deepest ultramarine blue, and beyond that, bare islets of burnt orange granite stand naked against the sky. At night, the stars shine with a brilliance unseen in any city.

Inland, the park also has many bare and high granite outcrops, one known as Frenchman Peak. At 262 metres, it's a steep, if not scary, 40 degree 45 minute climb to the top, our reward being an uninterrupted view across this massive park. From the peak, this outcrop

Frenchman Peak - note the open cavern near the top

drops very steeply on all sides. At the peak itself, one massive rock of several thousand tonnes forms a natural bridge over a very large open-ended cavern. Inside, swallows make their home with their noisy comings and goings. From ground level, you can look right through this outcrop.

Cape Le Grand

With the wet spring, we thought we'd missed Western Australia's famed wild flower displays. We had been told we were too late, or it had been too wet. But Cape Le Grand lived up to its reputation, and while there thousands of wild flowers opened their blooms.

Our six days there only came to an end when we learned rain was on the way. We're now back in Esperance stocking up for our next stage, Esperance to Adelaide. We hope you can join us.

Wildflowers, Cape Le Grand National Park

Wildflowers, Cape Le Grand National Park

Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park