New Norcia

Today, we explored New Norcia, Australia's sole monastic town. Situated just over 100 kilometres outside of Perth, it lies along the Great Northern Highwy that leads to various mining towns like Mt Newman, Parabadoo, Tom Price, and others. There always seems to be massive wide loads on the highway, transporting enormous ore trucks to the mines. The sheer size of these trucks is captured in the photos and video we captured.
Established in the 1840s, New Norcia's monastery remains an active center. While there used to be a popular New Norcia hotel, it has since closed down as it was deemed unrelated to their primary mission. In order to sustain the town, they now rely on donations from generous visitors. As we explored the area and discovered they continue to produce bread, condiments, and olive oil, all of which are available for purchase at the charming gift shop.
There is not much else in the way of food or restaurants in New Norcia so, we made our way to Toodyay (pronounced too-jay), a town that is highly sought after on weekends. It seems to always have a lively atmosphere with bustling pubs, brimming with enthusiastic lunchtime crowds.
Headed home after a full day of exploringRead more