Freo to Geraldton

Thursday 10th June was a gorgeous sunny day. We arrived in Fremantle just after midday and before long we were relaxing at the Little Creatures Brewery - great spot (we know our neighbour Steve will agree). At the Fremantle Village caravan park we really enjoyed chatting to European backpackers in the camp kitchen, out here trying to work and keep their campervans and station wagons on the road. Our next stop was a luxurious weekend at Lukas, Vesna and Ilara's house at Wanneroo just north of the city. We did about 6 loads of washing and settled into a very comfy existence watching the World Cup on the big screen whilst enjoying Vesna's delicious cooking. Ashleigh and Hannah loved playing with Ilara's toys and eventually warmed to her cat Felix. Reluctantly, we left the comforts of the White home and ventured north to Australia's only monastic town (that's what they told us), New Norcia. In 1847 a group of Benedictine monks, headed up by Don Rosendo Salvado, were given 80,000 acres of land to set up a monastery and minister to the local Aboriginal people. In its hey day there were about 100 monks, a girls orphanage and school, a boys orphanage and school and several agricultural businesses including sheep, orchards, olives and wine. Today there are 8 monks running 30,000 acres of land producing sheep, olive oil, wine, delicious bread and offering "retreats" including daily mass and prayers. For $7 we camped on the local oval and had a camp fire. The next day we traveled to the eerie ancient limestone rock formations that are the Pinnacles. Rain was falling in Perth but we had beautiful sunshine in Cervantes. On our second night we had dinner at the local club and enjoyed some crayfish for which this region is famous. Travelling further north we stopped at the seaside town of Dongara (Donga for short) and settled in for a few days. The beaches are long and beautiful and about 100m off shore are many reefs with breaking waves.

Margaret River

We loved Margaret River when we visited 4 years ago with Sean and we loved it all over again on this visit. Except for 1 day when it poured with rain, the weather for the rest of our week was sunny and about 21 degrees. We stayed at the Big Valley Campsite (thank you Kaz & Ken for the excellent tip) which was basically a huge sheep farm with rolling green pastures, good amenities and a communal campfire where everyone gathered in the evening. It was lambing season so each morning and afternoon we would go walking and spot the new lambs that were so cute as they wobbled about following their mums. Around Margaret River we visited the Sunflower animal farm, a venison farm, chocolate factory and berry farm, as well as a few breweries (Colonial, Duckstein and Bootleg) and 2 wineries (Stella Bella and Palandri). After a wonderful week and fully stocked up with wine, chocolate and relishes we made our way north and camped in the Leschenault Peninsula Conservation Park with lots of grey kangaroos, and Ashleigh had another visit from the tooth fairy.

Cruising along the south coast of WA

Wave rock is a 14 metre high multi-coloured granite wave, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.....and it was spectacular to see. We thought we'd have to skip it because of the huge inland detour, but our lovely Victorian friends that we've been travelling with off and on for a while now, offered to pile us into their 4WDs and do the 400km round trip from a caravan park in Ravensthorpe. Wave Rock is 110 metres long and if one person whispered at one end you could hear them loud and clear at the other - it was amazing! From Ravensthorpe we travelled to Cape Riche which was a great council owned camp site by the beach for $10 per night. Ashleigh and Hannah loved playing in the water and Simon and Gye went out on the boat and Simon caught the biggest squid we have seen yet. Our next stop was Albany where we stayed at a beautiful caravan park on the bay and had the van in for a service that all went well. From here we stopped off at Denmark for lunch then checked into a great camp at Parry's Beach ($7 per night). The drive the next day was through very tall forest to the Walpole-Nornalup National Park and the Valley of the Giants. Here we learnt all about the Red Tingle Trees (Eucalyptus Jacksonii) and their very wide girths (up to 17 metres), and did the Treetop Walk that meandered 40 metres above the ground amongst Karris and Tingles. Continuing west we stayed the night in Pemberton where we enjoyed a very informative tour of a trout and marron farm and Sam and Ashleigh climbed the 60 metre high Gloucester Tree.

Esperance, Western Australia

On May 21st we drove into the town of Esperance on the Bay of Isles in southern Western Australia. We decided to check into a caravan park for the night then head to the National Park in the morning, but before long the heavens opened and it rained solidly for the next few days, so we sat in the van catching up on loads of school work, watching movies and getting serious cabin-fever! Finally the skies began to clear and we headed for the spectacular coastal scenery at Cape Le Grand National Park. We camped at Lucky Bay and enjoyed playing on the white sand, swimming (only Ashleigh) and climbing rocks. Simon caught a good sized Salmon one day and it was delicious. We didn't have fabulous weather whilst we were there but we just about had the place to ourselves. Ashleigh lost her second tooth at Lucky Bay and luckily the tooth fairy knew where to find her.

Crossing the Nullabor

On the 17th of May we departed Perlubie Beach (mouseland) and drove 100km to Ceduna where we stocked up on groceries and bought Hannah a pair of jeans for $1 from an Op shop. Actually, we've done a bit of op-shopping along the way - cheap beanies, skirt for Hannah, jacket for Mum (mother's day pressie). From Ceduna we drove another 150km to our first Nullabor stop at the Nundroo Roadhouse where for $20 we got a powered site, showers and toilets for the night. The next day we drove about another 150km to the Head of the Bight. This is an amazing lookout where you can gaze at the awesome coastline and watch the whales that migrate here from Antarctica each year to have their calves. Unfortunately we were a month early for whale watching but the view was stunning. After lunch we continued on to a rest area at the 13k peg (13km before WA border) where we stopped for the night with our travelling companions from Victoria. It was a very windy night with road trains roaring past, so we were up and out early the next day and through the border crossing where they took our leftover honey and a few vegies. We stopped at Eucla for diesel (1.611/litre) then drove 450 km to another rest area for the night. Along the way we saw a lot of trees that had been decorated with shoes, hats, beer bottles, undies, bras, ties, teddy bears and one wrapped up in foil. It was a bit of entertainment along a very boring stretch of road. As we journey into Western Australia the soil starts to look a bit redder and there are a few more trees. On 20th May (Happy birthday Jacque's Warwick!) we stopped at Balladonia for diesel (1.75/litre) then continued about 200km before stopping for the night at our first real WA town - Norseman. We checked into the caravan park, did some washing and had a delicious celebratory dinner of beef stroganoff. We made it!

Tractors and Mice

This was the theme for the west coast of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula - tractors towing boats down to beaches and a serious mouse plague in Ceduna! After beautiful Sheringa Beach we stayed one night at a busy caravan park in Venus Bay and did some washing then headed to Streaky Bay. Along the way we stopped off at the bizarre granite outcrops called Murphy's Haystacks and dropped into Elliston for some fishing on the jetty. It was raining in Ceduna but we ended up spending the day having a UHF radio and antennae installed and a new TV aerial as our current one was lousy and we thought it would probably be something we'd need to replace before we sold the van (and we needed to get organised for the World Cup!). In the evening we drove the short distance to Perlubie Beach and were reunited with our friends from Farm Beach. It was another gorgeous South Australian beach but this time we were in mouse plague territory. We spent the next two days swimming, fishing, boating and relaxing and the next two nights catching mice - 14 in one night! Time to get out of here and head to Western Australia!

Coffin Bay

In Coffin Bay the weather is fine and sunny, though the nights are very very cool. We stay at the National Park at a place called Yangie Bay and cook squid with chilli and garlic on the campfire bbq for dinner. We stop off at an oyster shed and pick up a doz (actually there were 15) plump delicious oysters for $7. Making our way along the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula we stay at a basic $5 p/night campground at Farm Beach and meet a lovely family with 4 daughters. It has been a while since we've met other kids so the girls are very happy. That night one of the campers puts on a dinner of lamb stew for everyone staying there. Sheringa Beach is our next stop where sand dunes back on to clean white sand and clear blue water. Ashleigh writes in her journal, "This morning we had a mouse in our van. Mum screamed and jumped up on to the couch. Dad tried to kill it but it ran away. I thought it was funny." It is not the first mouse we've had!! Yuk-I hate them!!