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  • Alan Chapman

Australia 2025

A 41-day adventure by Alan Read more
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  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Rottnest Island

    September 3 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    It was sunny, warm, and calm morning when we took the Sealink catamaran ferry to Rottnest Island, the Dutch for rat island, which took only 30 minutes.
    Firstly, we had a one-hour guided walk about the history of the island, especially about the imprisonment of Aboriginal leaders.
    The cute quokkas were everywhere in the small town, getting under your feet from apparently nowhere.
    We took the tourist bus to West End and Cape Vlamingh, the most westerly point of Australia, to see whales in the distance, dolphins, fur seals, osprey nests, and areas where shearwaters breed.
    There were lots of ravens and seagulls plus a red-capped parrot, willie wagtails, a Nankeen kestrel, pelicans, cormorants, and a honeyeater/little wattle bird. We also saw King Skinks on the dunes near our picturesque lunch-spot.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Rottnest Island

    September 3 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After taking the bus back to the ferry port, I walked to Bathurst Lighthouse, Pinky Beach, and Signal Hill. Then we took the ferry back to Fremantle across the sea which had become rougher in the afternoon as the wind rose.
    We went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Towards Margaret River

    September 4 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After checking out of the Hougoumont Hotel on another sunny day, we drove south out of Fremantle, passing the rainbow container arch.
    There was much more traffic on the road south of Fremantle than there had been north of Perth.
    At Busselton, we walked the length of the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere at 1.841km. Southend Pier is 2.100km long.
    We had our snack lunch at the beautiful Meelup Beach. My lunch included a leamington, popular in Australia and NZ, which comprised a coconut and chocolate covering of sponge. A magpie and a ringneck parrot had their photos taken.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Margaret River

    September 4 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    After lunch, we continued down the coast to Sugarloaf Rock in Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP where we saw whales in the distance.
    There was a boardwalk at Canal Rocks.
    We wine-tasted at Swings Roundabouts, one of many wineries in the area. It wasn't very satisfactory in that we stood at a bar whilst the employee poured very small amounts of a variety of wines, the reds being very dry.
    Reaching Margaret River, we checked into the Higgins Lane Motel for two nights. I was in a first-floor cabin.
    We had a good dinner at the River Restaurant.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Ngilgi Cave

    September 5 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    There had been thunder, wind and rain overnight as a southwesterly blew in. There was rain on and off during a cooler day.
    After breakfast in Margaret River, we drove to the Ngilgi Cave in Yallingup which was on Indigenous land.
    We had an excellent guided tour covering the flora, the six Nyoongup seasons, firesticks, musical instruments including a demonstration on a didgeridoo, boomerangs and other weapons, tools, and the creation story of the Wadandi clan which was linked to the sea, cave and ridge of the area.
    We walked down the walkways and stairs into and inside the cave which was 34m deep. There were stalactites and stalacmites plus colourfully- shaped rock formations.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Margaret River

    September 5 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We went to the Wild Hop tap brewery for a good lunch, sharing dishes.
    We spent the afternoon indoors due to the weather. The first stop was at a shop and cafe in Cape Lavender where everything was coloured and/or flavoured lavender, including the ice-cream.
    Next stop was Bettaney's for wine and nougat tasting, followed by a stop for whisky and gin tasting.
    We passed a herd of kangaroos and cattle and sheep farms. The landscape was much greener than in the north of the State.
    Three of us went to the very busy Settlers Tavern in Margaret River for dinner.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Back to Perth

    September 6 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    On a windy day with sun and showers, we checked out of the motel in Margaret River and drove to the popular White Elephant Cafe at Gnarabup Beach for breakfast and then to Surfers Point where the World Surfing Championships had been held recently at Prevelly Beach with an Aussie lady winning a Gold Medal.
    Nearby was the confluence of the Margaret River with the sea which had large breakers and lots of surf.
    In Cowaramup, which had lots of painted sculptures of cows on the pavements due to being surrounded by cattle farms, we stopped at Temper Temper for chocolate-tasting.
    We stopped in a forest to find orchids but with no luck. However, we saw some at the next stop, Lake Clifton in Yalgorup NP, where the wind made the lake so choppy that it was impossible to see the thrombolites.
    We had lunch at the nearby Thorny Devil Brewery.
    We passed through Mandurah and Fremantle, taking a quieter route back to Perth to miss the crowds going to the Aussie Rules final.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Kings Park Flowers

    September 6 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We stopped in Kings Park when we arrived back in Perth and I took the opportunity to take photos of some of the flowers.
    Tracey stopped outside the Oaks Hotel for Mags and myself where we said goodbye to everyone and thanked Tracey for a great trip.
    It is 271km by road from Perth to Margaret River so, allowing for all the deviations from the main route, the distance travelled must have been at least 600km.
    After checking in, I went quickly to the Irish bar and restaurant in Murray Street to have dinner and watch the kick-off of the Aussie Rules final in the Optus Stadium in East Perth which was virtually at the full capacity of 60,000 so I may have not being able to buy a ticket in advance even if we had got back to Perth in time.
    The First Ashes Cricket Test would be held in November at the Optus Stadium rather than at the WACA as previously.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Return to London

    September 7 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    On a wet morning, after breakfast, I checked out of the Oaks Hotel for the second time, walked to the railway station, and took the Airport Line for the short journey through the suburbs to the Airport Station at a cost of A$5.20.
    After using up the last of the Aussie currency, I left Perth at 14.15 on a Singapore Airlines' Airbus 350, arriving at Changi Airport at 19.20. I listened to Mozart's last three symphonies, Beethoven's 1st Piano Concerto, and a Bach recital.
    To kill time at Changi, I had a snack and went to the Butterfly Garden although the butterflies were inactive in the evening.
    The walk from an A Gate in Terminal 3 to my B Gate must have been at least one kilometre.
    The Singapore Airlines' flight to London left 30 minutes late at 23.30 but made up time to arrive at Heathrow at 05.30 after a 13 hour flight (7 hour time difference) on an A380-800 which had an upper deck accessed from the rear of the plane by staff. I dozed off occasionally but mainly listened to Mendelsohn, Faure and Rachmaninoff.
    It didn't take long to leave the airport and I took the Elizabeth Line. Unfortunately, due to a strike by some Underground staff, the train wasn't stopping at every station so I alighted at Paddington which was packed. I started walking in the hope of stopping a cab but I'd gone through Hyde Park and down Park Lane before a cab stopped.
    I arrived home at 08.30 on 8 September, six weeks after leaving for Gatwick, only to find the lifts out of order.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 7, 2025
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