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Augusta trip

april 2019
April 2019 Meer informatie
  • 15Footprints
  • 1landen
  • 17dagen
  • 69foto’s
  • 0video’s
  • 968kilometer
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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 15

    Back home to Perth

    16 april 2019, Australië ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Woke to a very windy, overcast and cool day.
    Packed up everything and se toff back to Perth.
    Elvira had a bit of a drive of the car and van, on the road just outside of the camp. No problems with it at all.
    The drive back was uneventful, apart from the westerly wind hitting the van with a bit of force, which could be felt in the car. Dropped the speed by 10kmh and that was fine.
    Hit gridlock on the freeway (again) just south of the Roe Highway. Have no idea why the hold up, but it happens every time on that section, and nobody can understand why, since there never appears to be an accident, or other issue on the road. Puzzling.
    Home safely, and spent the rest of the day, destocking the van and cleaning things up.
    So, in summary - a good trip, where we learnt a few things. The leveling bars attached to the tow hitch, work a treat, and smooth things out. I am much more confident now with driving the van. Just remember, no sharp turns when the bars are attached - they whinge a lot!!
    With free camping, we can get 3 nights in a row, without too much hassle, as long as the conditions are right. We will investigate about putting a second battery in the car, as a backup.
    In future, we must take 12v plugs with USB connections, to enable charging of phones from the 12v system. And possibly some battery banks for the phones, tablet, laptop, as well.
    All up, a good trip and a good experience.
    Looking forward to the next one.
    Adieu everyone.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 14

    Herron Point - day 2

    15 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Our second day at Herron Point, and for once, not much to report.
    Spent the morning in camp. Weather overnight brought quite a bit of rain, and this day was very overcast, windy and cool. Did some client work.
    In the pm, we went into Mandurah to the shops, for lunch and to charge up our phones. Both ventures were successful - thank you Mandurah Forum.
    Later in the pm we went and visited Eddie and Gene at Timber's Edge, and spent a few hours catching up with them. Had a yummy Indian dinner, and then drove back to camp via the road that skirts the inlet to the south - Preston Beach road. Since it was dark, we were able to properly test out the LED bar lights on the vehicle, and they worked well.
    A quite night and end to the day.
    No pics for this day )-:😒    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 13

    Herron Point - day 1

    14 april 2019, Australië ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    We left Gracetown, under very gray skies. It had rained quite a bit overnight, but the day dawned with most of the rain gone.
    Travelled through to Busselton to find a public dump point, where we offloaded what we needed to.
    Then on the road through to Herron Point, which is on the south eastern edge of the Peel Inlet. It is a free camp (no power or water, but toilets available). A bit rough around the edges but quiet and quite pleasant, and about 20 metres from the edge of the inlet.
    It costs us the grand sum of $5.50 pp per night.
    We setup camp and then had lunch and relaxed. The weather is very iffy, with a bit of rain, on and off.
    Went for a walk along the inlet and took some photos.
    And then had a quiet night, and testing the battery on the van again. So far, so good.
    We intend staying here for 2 nights, so it will be another test of the battery tomorrow, particularly since the forecast is for cloudy and rain conditions, so the solar panel will not get much sunshine on it. We will see how it goes.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    1
    Dag 12

    Gracetown - day 3

    13 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Decided on a 3rd day here in Gracetown CP. Good spot, so why not. Good weather around at the moment, although that could change tomorrow.
    Woke early and we had a bit of wildlife around the camp - a group of skippy's grazing near the ablution block. And those Kookaburras were back, looking for some breakfast, no doubt. But we are wise to them, so they had no luck with us.
    Did a bit of work, first up in the morning.
    And had mid morning coffee and biscuits out the front of the van. No pesky Kookaburras this time around.
    Then we drove to Cow Town (Cowaramup). Spent a pleasant couple of hours walking around and had some lunch there.
    Then drove to Margarets for a bit of shopping.
    Back to Gracetown beach for another look around. The swell was still up, but not as much as yesterday.
    Back to camp.
    They had a singer in camp who was giving a show at 4.30pm, so we went to listen. He was actually quite good, but his audience were only a maximum of 10 people, including us. Anyway, we spent a pleasant hour listening to the show, before retiring for sundowners and dinner.
    Watched the Eagles Dockers derby on the telly, before retiring for the night. Looks like being a cold one, and a forecast of rain around midnight. And it will probably be raining, as we get ready to hitch up and move on. We will see.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 11

    Gracetown - day 2

    12 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Enjoying Gracetown, so we decided to stay at least another day.
    Weather was great, although a bit cloudy at times.
    I did some more work on clients, and spent most the morning on that. Elvira just relaxed, reading a book, or else watching a movie on the tablet. Can't believe that she has managed to stay still and relax for so long - big change!!
    Had sandwich lunch at the van. Sitting outside about to take a bite, when in swoops a Kookaburra and takes half my sandwich away, and at the same time giving me a slightly painful whack on the fingers with his beak. And then a few minutes later, another one swoops and empties Elvira's plate of food. Cheeky buggers. Anyway, now we keep all food inside the van when Kookaburras are around.
    In the afternooon, we drove north to visit Canal Rocks, Smith's beach and Yallingup. There was a huge swell coming in from the ocean and creating major splash displays around the rocks. Canal rocks was absolutely rushing with water everywhere. I have never seen waves as huge as this in that area.
    Smith's was the same, and in Yallingup, the surfies were having a great time (if they did not get smashed by the waves on the way out).
    We then travelled back to Margarets to visit the night market. Bit of hassle finding it, but we succeeded in the end. Not much to the night markets, other than a couple of old geezers trying to play country and western music (and failing badly) and a few food vans. We decided to give it a miss and headed back to camp.
    Some sundowners, although it was a bit windy outside.
    And a quiet night again.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 10

    Gracetown - day 1

    11 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Day dawned and we decided to break camp, hitch up the car (get some power back in the van) and head further north. All of about 35kms - long trip.
    Booked in at Gracetown CP, which is part of the Top Parks group, so we picked up a 10% discount.
    A great park, with all the amenities. Fairly old, but well maintained and clean, and very friendly.
    We were very pleased to have power and to get everything charged up again.
    After a supply run to Margarets, and some time around there, we motored to Gracetown, on the coast. A great spot. Looks like a lot of people have set up their holiday homes, or retirement places there, and who could blame them.
    Back to camp, and a bit of a relax, before sundowners and dinner.
    A quiet night.
    And our faulty hot water system seems to be fixed alright - no tripping of switches any more.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 9

    Jarrahdene - day 3 - pushing the limit!!

    10 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    You can't get enough of a good thing, so we decided to stay at Jarrahdene for a 3rd day and night. This will test how the van copes with free camping.
    In the early morning, we took another walk through the forrest, and through the old timber mill site. It was quite a cold morning, but as soon as we walked innto the denser parts of the forrest, the temp rose about 5 or 6 degrees. Very noticeable and unexpected.
    After brekky, spent some more time doing some client work.
    Then we took a drive, and spent some time in and around Redgate beach. Another lovely area on the coast.
    Back to the camp in time for sundowners in the forrest.
    Then, around dusk time, we heard our electrical control board start beeping at us. The caravan battery had run too low, even though our lights were still on.
    So, this was the first problem that we had encountered with our free camping test/experience. After 2 and a half days, the battery ran out. But to be fair, we did not have the best conditions for keeping it charged. In that forrest area, there was very little sunlight hitting the solar panel. In other circumstances, I think the battery would have lasted a lot longer.
    Anyway, decided to switch all 12v systems off, but the problem with that is, even though the fridge was running on gas, we needed the 12v to run the regulator to control gas flow to the fridge. Without the 12v, the fridge shuts down.
    We connected the car for a while to pump some power into the battery, and this helped for a few hours, But in the middle of the night, the alarm went off again. Hitched the car agaiin, with lights blazing (what was going on in the forrest?), and once again, that helped for a while. But we were on the slope of diminishing returns, so we ended up just switching the 12v system off, and hoping the fridge would be ok without gas, for a few hours. And it was.
    So, a bit of a conclusion on free camping. Watch the battery closely, but we should get 3 days out of it, in normal conditions. Cloudy or shady conditions, may mean only 2 days free camping. Maybe look at a second battery on board, or another movable solar panel, or both.
    Water supplies seem good. Our water tanks seem to hold enough water for 3 days, which includes showering every day.
    And gas seems to last for ages. So all good.
    3 day limit is something we will probably stick to, unless it is unusual conditions, when we will re-assess.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 8

    Jarrahdene - day 2

    9 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Beautiful weather again, out in the middle of the forest.
    I spent most of the morning catching up on some client work. Great having good Telstra coverage, and getting a good connection.
    Elvira just relaxed with a book.
    One problem we have discovered with free camping, is how to keep our phones and computer charged up. We neglected to bring any 12 volt plugs with usb connections. The only way we could charge them up is in the car when travelling.
    So, in the afternoon, we took a drive to Alexandra Bridge, which is on the Blackwood river. A lovely area and a great stretch of river. We also checked out the caravan park, which looked quite good.
    And we managed to get some charge into our electronics.
    Back to camp for a peaceful possum free night. Although, at about 9pm with Elvira and I strolling up the road to the loo, with torch shining, there was a possum walking down the road towards us, as casual as could be. I think he was on his way to pay us a visit and look for some more banana peels. With a bit of foot stomping and hulk hogan stuff from me, we managed to persuade him otherwise, and we never saw him again.    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 7

    Jarrahdene - day 1

    8 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After 3 days/nights at Munday park, we decided to move on and do some more free camping.
    Managed to find a camping area near the Boranup forest area, just 40kms north of Augusta. Managed by the WA Parks department.
    What a great site this turned out to be. No power or water, but great sites and properly angled to assist reversing a caravan in. Right in the middle of the forest, and all sites very far apart. Hardly anybody there, but even so, you could hardly see or notice them.
    Very peaceful and quiet. The ideal place to chill out.
    It is the site of an old timber mill from the late 1800's, and there is a fairly informative walk you can do through the remnants of the mill area - not much left.
    And great, clean drop loos to use.
    This would have to be the best site we have been to ever, and we are not likely to find a better place for camping. $11 ea per night, but we paid $7 ea with pensioner discount. Absolute bargain. Highly recommended. And Telstra phone and data coverage in the middle of the forest - great stuff.
    After setting up, we took a drive through the Boranup forest area, and then on to Prevelly beach. Both are beautiful in their own rights.
    Back to camp for a relaxing sundowner outside the van, listening to nature.
    A great day.
    During the night, we had a visit from a few possums. One of them managed to get on the roof of the van - not sure how he did that. The other 2 were just curiously checking around the van.
    We closed the roof vents, in case possum roof climber decided to do a pee through them.
    And I then ventured out to try and chase him off the roof - a bit concerned that he could start nibbling his way through the wiring or trim up there. With bright flashlight shining on him, and putting on my famous hulk hogan growl and a few charges towards him, he seemed not the slightest bit interested. Just carried on with his business, looking for something to chew, etc. This carried on for about half an hour, until eventually Elvira threw some banana peel at him. Missed him by a country mile, but where they fell on the ground, it perked up his interest, and he decided the ground was a better place to be - thank goodness.
    We never did see possums again at that camp - I think they decided not to embarrass me by revisiting and forcing me to put on the hulk hogan charade again !!    Meer informatie

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  • ReizigerAugusta trip
    Dag 6

    Sunday around Augusta - again

    7 april 2019, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The day started (and finished) with good sunshine weather.
    We had decided to have a game of golf at the famous Augusta golf course, where they play the Masters. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived, to find nobody there (a week out from the big tournament) and also to find oil/sand greens on the course !!
    So, we decided to give it a miss.
    The real reason for not playing was that we had to pay for the round using the honour system, and we did not have the right money on hand. Nobody around to ask for change, and about an hour after our round, there was a big local Sunday tournament being held there. And to cap it off, there was a dire sounding warning notice about how our future lives were going to be irreparably damaged if we did not pay correctly before our round commenced.
    So, we woosed out and instead drove to Hamelin Bay. Even though we knew how to get there, we decided to follow the car's satnav directions. It took us along a very obscure route which was about 5kms longer than it should have been.
    But a beautiful time at Hamelin Bay. Great weather and quite a few people around, looking for the rays. There were a few around that were quite friendly, but not as good as the ones we saw in Augusta in the river.
    In the later afternoon, we did another drive around Augusta, and then followed by some shopping.
    We did not partake in the 5pm social gathering, but managed to watch the Eagles dispose of Collingwood in the footy. Good to see.    Meer informatie

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