Date 1st July - 5th July
To be honest this post is going to be a lot different to the other posts we have done so far - we have had a bit of drama, bumped into people we know and did boring admin stuff - plus we got to see a lot of places along the way. Enjoy!
We had an extremely frosty start to the day in Denmark - +2℃, packing up the camper was not fun. Icy cold finger tips made the job extremely difficult.
After leaving Denmark, we drove through national parks, passing Jarrah forests, and loads of logging trucks with not much else to see other than the trees.
We passed through Manjimup, then Nannup, on our way to Busselton for the night. On a tour we did we asked why so many suburbs in Perth ended in "up":- in the local Aboriginal Noongar dialect it means "place of".
Before reaching Busselton, however, we suffered our first car problem of the trip - a blown tyre. It was on a narrow highway, used by loggers, there was nowhere safe to stop for us. This ended up causing major damage to the tyre, and having to buy a new one - ouch.
Busselton, Western Australia
Weather - 3c to 18c & clear
Total Distance Travelled - 7,750 km
Staying 1 Nights, Jacaranda Guesthouse
After our tyre issue/change, we didn't have a lot of time in Busso that evening. However, we managed to get down to the famous Busselton Jetty for some sunset shots. The jetty is 1.84km long, the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.
We decided to spend a night in a BnB for a one night stay in Busselton - lot of effort to setup and putdown for the camper. After the pleasant stay in the BnB, we did some local sightseeing to the west of Perth. First stop was Cape Naturaliste, about 40 km west of Busselton, The name Cape Naturaliste comes from the ship sailed by Frenchman Nicolas Baudin, which sailed to the area in 1801. The other ship, the Geographe has a town near Busselton named after it.
We arrived at Cape Naturaliste lighthouse just in time to join a tour. The lighthouse is very high up, on a 100m bluff, so it didn't have to be built tall. It was built in 1903, converted to auto-operation in 1978, and the last lighthouse keeper left in 1996.
We drove down the short road to Sugarloaf rock, a large natural granite island in the Indian Ocean.
Perth, Western Australia
Weather - 3c to 21c & clear
Total Distance Travelled - 8,000 km
Staying 4 Nights, Hazelmere/Fremantle
We drove the 225km to Perth, & setup for the next few days. That afternoon, we drove in to Perth city, heading for the famous King's Park, with its view over the river & city.
Whilst there, we received a phone call from friends Michael & Sue-Ellen. They knew about our trip and reading the blog they worked out that they were in Perth the same time - and we all organised a meetup.
Sunday morning we packed overnight bags, and locked up the camper, as we were going to spend the night in Freo. We spent most of the morning (annoyingly) organising a few places of accommodation/tours etc for the next part of the trip, figuring it was easier to do in Perth than smaller tows ahead.
We then drove down to Fremantle - checked in the hotel for the night, got ready, and caught up with Michael & Sue-Ellen, and Michael's boss David. We walked around the old town, and then had some drinks at Bather's Beach whilst watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean. After a lovely dinner, we said our farewells, and headed to a special night at the Esplanade Hotel - a welcome change-up from sleeping in a cold camper-trailer.
We're going to Rottnest Island
Monday morning, and the weather was still perfectly clear, although it is still cold in the mornings.
We had decided to make a day-trip to Rottnest Island, like all tourists to Perth. Lined up for the 9:30 am ferry from North Port, picked up passengers from Freo central (it was full), and began the 20km or so crossing. It very quickly became apparent that the wind/swell combination would make it an interesting trip. But we got there, picked up our hire bikes and set off around the island.
Rottnest is about 3km wide and 11km long, with some decent hills to test those that are not regular cyclists - like us. We where pretty crazy and decided that we could ride the whole loop and including a trip in the middle to the lighthouse. There were a few sections where bikes were pushed (the lighthouse and a few hills), but we made it over the next 4-5 hours or so, travelling some 20-25km. Not bad on basic bikes with just 3 gears, in strong, challenging winds. Bright skies and sun compensated for the wind.
The island is a fantastic place, lots of little bays and beaches to discover, It would be good to visit again in summer, when swimming would be more enjoyable. We did see a few quokkas, that Rotty is famous for. However, they did look a bit evil (check the eyes). Maybe they won't be so grumpy in summer or when there is less wind.
The ferry back was smooth, and we drove back to our base in Perth.
Photos - Quokkas , Cape Vlamingh, Wadjemup lighthouse
Order of photos - Little Salmon bay, Green Island, Strickland Bay, we are calling the last one Cross Waves (we can't remember 🤣🤣).
Next day (Tuesday) was a bit drizzly in Perth. We had quite a few admin things to organise before heading north, so was perfect time for it.
After that, we decided to do a self-guided tour of Perth Street Art - we had noticed on our first night that Northbridge was quite arty with some obvious street art. By then the rain had stopped (yay).
The street art had everything from a tribute to famous cricketer Warnie, Pulp Fiction the Movie and a few other inspirations . Michelle had fun using the puddles as reflections for the photos. We spent an hour or so following the trail, before a refreshing ale at Ezra Pound, a hip bar down a narrow alley off William St.
We had a fantastic time in Perth, not enough time but that makes it more fun for the next time we get back to Perth.
We are heading to a farm in the desert - see you there.
Cheers,
Mike and Michelle
Comments