Western Australia - Perth, Australia
Perth, Australia
PERTH / FREMANTLE Sun 6th Oct - We left the hotel in Singapore midday and took the metro to the airport. Our flight over to Perth took 5hours, the flight over was decent the airline gave us free booze. I had free sparkling C******nay! We landed in Perth and took a taxi to the B&B we had booked just 10 mins drive from the airport. It was just a house made into a B&B really, it was all locked up when we arrived so we knocked on the door (it was 1am!) the owner asked who it was as she had no bookings for tonight! Anyway after confirming our booking with her she showed us to our room. Mon 7th Oct - We had a super busy day today. We took a taxi into South Perth to pick up our car we had bought from our friend Richard. It's a 1992 Toyota Camry, it's a bit scabby but it served Richard well during his time in Oz. We found a post office and tried to transfer the car into our name but as we had no address they couldn't do it. We had to drive to East Perth to the vehicle agency and do it there. We got a little lost on the way but once we found it the transfer went smoothly, the car was officially ours! We then drove to Fremantle and found a KMart (like a tescos but no food) and spent a small fortune on camping gear. We had 2 trolleys full! But got almost everything we needed for the trip. We drove back into Fremantle town and found a campsite and got set up. It was quite exciting! We then drove down the road to the supermarket for a few bits and a bottle of red. We cooked ourselves steak on the new stove, it was good to be able to cook for ourselves again. Once it got dark we went inside the tent as it dropped quite cold and we don't really have any warm clothes with us. Tue 8th Oct - Cooked ourselves a good breakfast, scrambled egg and avocado. Then we took a walk down to the beach in Fremantle, it was quite a derelict beach and the water looked like shark city, grey and un inviting. We walked to some rocks and a English family told us they had just called the sea rescue boat and pointed out to us some guy waving for help in the sea. He had been out on a canoe and it capsize and filled with water and the current held him out at sea. Very scary! He was so lucky that the family had spotted him. We watched the boat come and rescue him. In the afternoon we drove back to Kmart and bought a few bits we had forgot yesterday. We also had some new tyres put on the car ready for all the mileage....or kilometres should I say! In the evening we met up with Cols old school friend Michael who moved here 4 years ago. He took us around to a few bars and then we went for fish and chips....no mushy peas though! KALBARRI Wed 9th Oct - So today we started the road trip! We set off from Fremantle around 9am and Col drove for a few hours. The roads are great, so long, flat and straight. We passed some amazing scenery. There is so much empty land. Its crazy how many kilometres we drove without seeing anything but land. Sadly we also passed many dead kangaroos on the roadside. We stopped for a break at a place called Jurien Bay, it was really picturesque. We had a snack on the beach then I drove then for a few more hours. We stopped for the night at a campsite just outside Kalbarri, it was in the middle of nowhere but the view of the ocean was amazing. We had wild rabbits just a few hundred meters from our tent. After cooking ourselves dinner we just crashed for the night as the wind got quite cold. Thu 10th Oct - After breakfast we packed up camp and made our way into Kalbarri. We drove through Kalbarri National Park which is made up of 2 parts, costal gorges and river gorges. We first drove along the costal gorges, pulling in at a few to take pics and admire the views. At one we spotted dolphins and we think we saw a dark patch in the distance that looked like a whale. The views were unbelievable, so colourful and picture perfect. We stopped in Kalbarri centre to have a look around and pick up some more food. We got some kangaroo sausages from the local butchers. In the afternoon we visited the river gauges in the national park, Z bend and Hawks head. They were also great but it was so hot there, around 40 degrees, so we didn't stay too long. We carried on driving then to a free campsite around 100km out of Kalbarri. Spent the evening admiring all the stars. MONKEY MIA/ SHARK BAY Fri 11th Oct - Today we drove to Denham (Shark Bay Marine Park). The journey was quite nerve wracking. After setting off the car started juddering/ vibrating so we stopped and Col had a mess about with the car and realised that one of the old tyres had gone really misshaped and flat in certain places so he changed it and put the spare on. 200km later we arrived in Denham. We called in the visitor centre and found out info on camping in the area and local car garages. We called and got a new tyre for the car as the spare doesn't have a lot of tread on then went and got settled in the campsite. After cooking dinner we went down to the beach so Col could do some fishing but it was way too windy so we went back to camp and had some wine. Sat 12th Oct - We got up and packed up early today and drove to Monkey Mia 30km away. We had a fab morning watching dolphins come into the bay and being hand fed, it was a great experience. The park staff where very strict on how long and how much they fed the dolphins as they didn't want them to loose there wild hunting techniques etc. After that we made our way back to Denham and did some food/fuel shopping. Then we started our drive towards the next town Carnarvon 350km away. We stopped at a marine park on the way, that was good. They had sharks that they fed every hour. We continued driving a little further until we came across a traffic jam - very unusual here! We probably pass 2-3 cars every 10km. It turns out the jam was due to a road train crash and some people had been killed so we had the choice of waiting a few hours until the road opened again, sat in 40 deg, turning back or taking a dirty track 3km long. Col decided to take the dirt track, we made it across but it was more suited to 4x4's!! The car was covered in red sand after. Eventually we arrived in Carnarvon, set up camp and cooked dinner. CORAL BAY Sun 13th Oct - Today we got up early and went down to the beach to do a spot of fishing but after sitting 30mins Col decided it was way too windy so we went back to camp and cooked breakfast then packed up. We are making our way to Coral Bay today 230km away, everything is so spaced out up here it's crazy! and between the places there is nothing but road and land. Coral bay is part of Ningaloo Marine Park, it's said to have marine life just as good, if not better than the great barrier reef. On the drive we stopped at a space station that had a huge satellite dish from the 1960's which was used in the USA's moon landing, it was massive! Took a few photos then continued. When we arrived we set up camp then took a walk down to the beach. It was so beautiful, the bay was so clear. We chilled a bit, Col had a snorkel, the water was absolutely freezing so I didn't join him. They did fish feeding from the beach too whilst Col was snorkelling and he saw lots of massive pink snapper going for it. In the evening we had a few beers around the campsite and watched a Irish guy, outback Paddy do a performance of his own songs, he was ok although his jokes a little old. Mon 14th - Tue 15th Oct - We spent Monday morning on the beach, we walked to one point of the bay that is a sanctuary for nursing reef sharks. It was amazing! The water was crystal clear and we had around 50 reef sharks around 1.5mts long just 3mts away from our feet, crazy! We also saw many stingrays in the shallows too. We walked up one of the sand dunes and the views of the bay were fantastic. In the afternoon we went to a different beach so Col could do some fishing, try and catch us some tea...we ended up having chicken stir-fry! We spent Tuesday going on a organised diving and snorkelling trip on the Ningaloo reef. It was brilliant. We saw turtles, squid, barracuda, mackerel and even saw a dolphin swimming when we were on the boat. The best part of the day was getting to swim with a 3mtr wide black manta ray! HEADING SOUTH Wed 16th Oct - Today we made our way back on the long drive towards Fremantle around 1200km away. We set off around 8:30am and stopped for the night at a free campsite in Dongara 760km away. It was a long day on the road but saves driving another full day tomorrow. The landscape became very green again as we drove towards Dongara, it's also wildflower season in WA so we passed some beautiful scenery, green hills with bushes of red, yellow and orange flowers. Thu 17th Oct - We packed up and hit the road early again, heading for Fremantle 280km away. We arrived around lunch time and after getting set up in camp we drove into town and had a coffee and caramel slice each. In the evening we met up with Cols old school friends, Michael again and Steven. It was Michel's birthday so we went out for a pub meal, that was very nice. HEADING SOUTH - DUNSBOROUGH Fri 18th Oct - Today we packed up and did a bit of shopping before we left and drove south to Dunsborough 250km away. It's here where our friend Richard worked so he's given us some tips on places to visit etc. When we arrived we set up camp, the weather turned a bit rubbish. It was dull and raining so we just cooked and stayed in the tent most of the night. Sat 19th Oct - We woke early as we had some frogs making noise most of the night close to our tent. It was raining, dull and rather cold too. After breakfast we called and arranged a wine tour for my birthday tomorrow. We then drove into town to a barn/house for coffee and cake that had been recommended to us. It was great, a lady opens up part of her house for 2 hours every Saturday and serves homemade goodies and coffee. After we did some food shopping in town then put on our ponchos and went to visit Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, that was good. We saw some whales in the ocean from the top of the lighthouse. We had a drive to some nice scenic parts of the town too, Sugarloaf rock and eagle bay. On the way back from eagle bay we stopped for lunch at a microbrewery. That was good, we had a taster of 5 different ales each. Sun 20th Oct - The weather was much nicer today thankfully! It was my birthday today, so after scoffing carrot cake for breakfast we were picked up and taken wine tasting for the day in a mini bus. There were 5 others on the tour with us, we visited 5 winery's, a chocolate factory, natural olive company and had lunch at a brewery. It was a great day! We liked all the wine we tasted and didn't spit any out, hence we went back a little tipsy. We also met a nice couple from the midlands Ray and Claire who we arranged to meet up with tomorrow. After the bus dropped us back off at camp we had a curry we made in preparation yesterday and a bottle of wine we bought from one of the vineyards. MARGARET RIVER Mon 21st Oct - Had a slow start this morning then we met up with a couple Anne and Doug and went to the microbrewery for lunch. They are good friends of Cols sister. Afterwards we took the short drive to Margaret River. The scenery on the drive changed once again, its so green and full of huge karri trees, very beautiful! We are camping at the same site as the couple we met on the tour yesterday, Claire and Ray. We spent the evening round there pitch sharing wine and cheese we bought yesterday. Tue 22nd Oct - We probably drank more than we realised last night as I was "ill" in the night and we didn't wake up until late. Once we pulled ourselves together we took a walk into town and had breakfast at the bakery...although we just missed the breakfast menu and ended up with pie, chips and gravy!! We then spent the afternoon on the beach fishing, I tried my new pink rod out for the first time and didn't catch anything. Col caught 4 fish, they were edible but too small. As usual he lost a "r8 fish". We spent the evening with Ray and Claire again, we went to a pub in town for dinner. They insisted that they paid for dinner as a contribution to our trip, we were delighted. They are some of the nicest people we've met on our travels, we really enjoyed our time with them. AUGUSTA/ PEMBERTON /WALPOLE Wed 23rd Oct - Today we drove towards Augusta calling at a few points of interest along the way. We stopped at a place called Hamelin Bay that was very beautiful and know to be a good spot to see eagle rays but we didn't see any. We continued to Augusta and visited the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, we had a audio tour by a guy from Lancashire, that was funny. After that we continued driving to Pemberton and set up camp in the national park close to Big Brooke Dam. It felt like real camping, just us and a elderly couple in the middle of the forest no showers or anything! That evening we started preparing our dinner on one of the picnic benches and suddenly got set up on by 2 Kukoboros, they were squawking at us really loudly wanting our food. I tried shooing them away but they didn't budge so Col nudged one with a stick and it flew off for a few seconds but then returned so we ended up eating in the car! It was funny. Once it got dark we made ourselves a little camp fire, it was nice and cosy! The old couple gave us a stack of paper and fire lighters. Late on about 4 chavs turned up and set up camp too, they didn't bother us but they were quite noisy and giggly most of the night. Thu 24th Oct - We visited the big Gloucester tree today. It's basically a 70mts high huge tree that you can climb to a viewing platform 60mts up. Col went straight up but I was a bit freaked out and only made it half way. All the tree had to climb up was pieces of spiralling rebar fixed into the tree and a bit of chicken wire on the sides, you could have easily fallen! We then drove onto Walpole, we stopped at Malimup beach within a national park that's said to be great for fishing. There was a huge swell on so it was way to rough to fish. We visited a few more points of interest, John Rayte look out and took some pics etc then went and set up camp. Before sunset we both went fishing by the river, all I caught was weed and I snapped my line!! Fri 25th Oct - We woke to a kangaroo in the campsite today, it had a little joey in it's pouch too! Very cute. Today we visited the valley of the giants and did the treetop walk, basically a walkway suspended 40mts high in the treetops. It was really good, some fab views. We then visited a few places the campsite had recommended to us, a outdoor art exhibition in the middle of the karri forest. That was rather rubbish in our opinion, apparently a guy had spent $285,000 to place about 5 "art" pieces in the forest. The most exciting part was when we were leaving, we were almost killed by a falling branch!!! We heard a commotion above us and we stopped for a brief second then BASH a huge branch smashed on the floor right in front of us. We also visited Mount Frankland, a small mountain in the karri forest offering amazing views over the area. It wasn't a big climb up but it felt it in the heat. We went fishing in the evening and Col caught 4 black bream, we were only able to keep one to eat though as the others were undersized. DENMARK/ALBANY Sat 26th Oct - We stopped in Walpole town for a coffee before we left for the drive to Albany. We made a few stops along the way in Denmark and visited some nice beaches, greens pool, mad fish bay and elephant rocks. All where very beautiful. When we arrived in Albany we got set up and went for a look around town, calling at a "bottle shop" to stock up on some wine. We got some great deal :) We spent the evening in the camp canteen/TV area drinking our wine with 2 australian couples. One of the couples where really strange, Col was sure they were brother and sister even though they called each other husband and wife. Sun 27th Oct - Col woke up with a bad hangover today as he thought it was a good idea to stay up drinking port with the ozzys. We went to a Sunday market on the harbour front and bought a few bits of local produce, strawberries, eggs and some homemade cakes we sat and ate on the harbour front. We visited a few places in Albany, frenchmans bay and some blowholes, they were good but the weather was quite windy and dull. We decided to start making our way back today and drove to Margaret river 400km away for 1 night. YALLINGUP Mon 28th Oct - We drove the short trip from Margaret to Yallingup today. Its a really pretty beach town close to dunsborough. After setting up camp we walked to a view point and sat looking for whales but didn't see any so we went to the beach for a few hours, it was a lovely hot sunny day. The campsite had fab views of the beach/ocean so we sat and watched sunset with a few bottles of beer. We saw some humpback whales too, it was amazing! They looked like calves and were so playful breaking out of the water and splashing there tails. Tue 29th Oct - Today we drove to a few places around the dunsborough/yallingup area. We stopped at a town called Gracetown, it's where the Australian movie drift was filmed. Afterwards we went to the Cheeky Monkey Brewery and had one of the taster trays sat in the beer garden overlooking vineyards etc, it was great. In the afternoon we went to the beach for a bit then got settled in the campsite with our camera ready to see the whales again but they didn't show so we went back to the tent and had a huge steak each. BACK TO FREMANTLE Wed 30th Oct - Sat 2nd Nov - We have spent the last few days in Fremantle doing a bit of sightseeing and getting our things ready for our flight to cairns on Sunday. We met up with Tess as she is back home now, went to a beach and had a few beers together. We had a BBQ at Cols old school friends Steve and Michael. One day we went into Perth City to Kings Park, that was a beautiful place full of locals having picnics and exercising etc. We also Met up with Cols old work friends and had lunch in a brewery on the harbour front. Had a really good time in WA....now to see what the east coast has to offer!