Western Australia Waves - Perth, Australia
Perth, Australia
We arrived in Perth to a 40°+ heat wave which would last four days. We spent each of these at the WACA for the third ashes test, where we baked while England got roasted.
Day 1 (we and England had hope with the Aussies 143-5) and 3 (I said hello to Andrew Strauss that morning) were spent in seats near the Barmy Army with no shade. We took refuge from the sun every break to cool down, re apply the factor 50 and beer up. Amazingly neither of us burnt. I was convinced I'd be lobster red after day 1, I've never felt such heat. Day 2 (hope gone as the Aussies recover and England collapse) and 4 we had tickets for the west bank, a sloping grass section. I really enjoyed the picnic style feel and loungability (if it's not a real word it should be), better still it got shade for the last session.
Our fifth day in Perth was spent exploring the city, we had seen the night life (Northbridge) on evenings after the cricket, but I was yet to see the city by day. We wondered through the CBD and cultural centre, clean, tidy but un-spectacular before heading down to the river front and into Kings Park. Kings Park is a green oasis just outside the CBD offering great views across the city as well as beautiful gardens and fountains and even a tree top walk. On route back we stopped for a well earned beer before crossing the river onto the causeway and Heirisson island. More great city views with a few native kangaroos for company. We also spent a day in Fremantle a slightly hippy town just south of Perth full of quirky market stalls, cafes, micro breweries and bars, definitely worth a day trip.
From Perth we headed south to explore the beaches, caves and vineyards of the south west corner. Our first stop was Bunbury, the third largest town in Western Australia (WA) with a population of 33,000 (considering you can fit Germany and Japan into WA that just gives you an idea of how sparse the region is). What hit us first (literally) were the flies, you had to constantly swot them away. We termed it the Bunbury wave, a local later told us it was affectionately known as the aussie salute. Despite the flies Bunbury was fun, it has a great ocean/bay front lined with bars and restaurants. We stopped at Mash and tried a selection of their own beers and ciders - very tasty. From the water front we walked to the Marlston Hill Tower which offered good views over the town and out to the ocean. Bunbury is most famous for being home to bottle nose dolphins so early morning we headed to Koombana bay to see them.
Next was a very scenic drive down to Augusta along the coast and through the Margaret river region, famous for its wine. Our first stop was peppermint grove, a beautiful little beach where the water is a clear green (Peppermint) colour. Next we headed to Busselton home to the longest (1.8km) wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere, followed by a view of sugar loaf rock and a drive past several wineries. All before having lunch in Prevelly, famous for great surf waves and where the river meets the Indian ocean.
After lunch we headed underground to Lake Cave, a limestone cave with a tranquil underground lake, above the lake are stunning cave formations which are reflected in the still water below, with the aid of colourful lighting the place looks magical. Hamelin Bay was our next stop, another picturesque beach, with the added bonus of stingrays, which when the sun caught the water at the right angle were illuminated. We arrived in Augusta just in time to visit Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse which marks both the most south westerly point of Australia and where the Indian ocean meets the southern ocean. A cold and windy place indeed.
The next day bought a drive across the southern part of WA to Albany, through a mix of giant forests and coastal roads with many stops along the way, including Gloucester Tree a 60ft karri tree near Pemberton, able to be climbed. Anthony, the monkey that he is, raced up but it wasn't for me. We also did a tree top walk in the valley of the giants near Denmark. Walking on paths suspended 40ft in the air gives you a great perspective of the enormity of the trees and the forest. Another tree related stop was to see the giant Tingle Trees with holes in the trunk wide enough to walk or even drive into. Despite all the impressive forests my highlight of the day was Greens pool and the elephant rocks. A gorgeous bay with golden sand, shallow crystal clear water and giant rocks.
Our exploration of western Australia finished with a 500km drive back to Perth, via Two Peoples Bay nature reserve another stunning beach; and the Porongurup national park, with towering karri trees and 1100 million year old granite outcrops. Once we'd passed the Porongurup and Mt Barker there was 300km of nothing, I literally put the car in cruise control and didn't have to touch the pedals for my two hour stint of driving, that part of WA really feels like the outback! Jx