• Regina and Ian
  • Regina and Ian

Bert’s Loop

Een 552-daags avontuur van Regina and Ian Meer informatie
  • Yueltide Margaret River.

    25 december 2021, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    “Camping” in a salubrious house in Gnarabup just behind the beach and in sight of the mouth of Margaret River.
    Very relaxing. The water is so clear and just a little cool. The Kite and Wind Surfers love these world ranked beaches because there is always a breeze.
    This area is a delight for us. One reason- trees. Big trees. We have travelled thousands of kilometres without seeing a forest and here they are abundant.
    I don’t know if we are experiencing “normal” Xmas crowds, but it is pretty quiet here compared to East Coast holiday times. People still love to shop and the town was pretty busy on Xmas Eve.
    The southwest of WA is suffering a shortage of good Chefs because they are all fighting over the jobs in the Vineyard restaurants of which there are hundreds. Lucky us - what a lunch we had! Luck chefs - they don’t have to work in the evenings.
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  • Dynamite Bay - it’s in the name

    27 december 2021, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today was our longest transfer in a single day. 531k. Surprisingly it was not at all painful even thought the route traversed the centre of Perth. At just one point there was a bottleneck for southbound vehicles, but northbound we did not encounter any traffic at all.
    Arriving this afternoon at Green Head we were gobsmacked at how beautiful the coast is here. Dynamite (Bay) by name, dynamite by nature.
    We will work here for January parked-up across the road from this beautiful beach.
    We have taken our dinner across the road to watch the sunset. We have also taken our breakfast from the same view.

    We were swimming laps of the bay this afternoon and it felt like being in a David Attenborough doco. We swam through a massive school of Mullet(?) that swirled around us in banks, ribbons and towers. They were not at all alarmed by us and stayed only just out of reach.
    After yoga looking over the beach this morning we swam for a bit and dripped dry looking over the bay. Just 4 other people were on the beach. Heaven!
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  • Went there. Doing that.

    31 december 2021, Australië ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    New year is upon us. Time for retrospect but also forward planning.

    We had a look back briefly on our 4 months of WA adventures - no wonder we are having so much fun. Now to look what is still ahead as we prepare for another loop of WA. The green line is our proposed route. Coral Coast - Great Southern and Goldfields - Uluru - Kimberly - Pilbara - Mid West - Goldfields and then the Nullabor.
    Bring it on.

    PS: as we are leaving WA to get to Uluṟu, Covid May have a say about our itinerary.
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  • Milligan Island

    6 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Take a limestone rock feature, the Indian Ocean, a setting sun, a cloudless sky and the unexpectedness of Mother Natures creativity and you end up with a spectacle called Natures Window.

    We sat until way past sun-set enjoying this beautiful spot, wondering if a peek-a-boo effect could also be achieved with moon-set. Waxing Crescent tonight so let’s not wait.

    It’s just a few k’s down the road from us a Dynamite Bay so we may cycle back and snorkel around and through it in the morning. It is only about 60 meters offshore.
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  • Turquoise Coast

    10 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Up and down to see a few sights.

    The Pinnacles Desert - it is a mystery. Not just to us, but to geologists as well. There is no agreed view on how these limestone spires were formed. The theory we like is that an ancient forest was buried by drifting silica based sand and over time the timber was replaced by calcification processes. There are many thousands of spires and amazingly we saw none that had fallen over, suggesting deep ‘roots’. It’s an eerie place.

    Stromatolites are a rare formation (micro organisms glue sand etc in many layers) although they are common on this coast. Locally a vey fragile version is found on Lake Thetis which is one of only a few places in the world with living marine stromatolites. Larger more complete Stromatolites are also found outside the mouth of Dynamite Bay. They are a bizarre donut looking thing when we float above them in the kayaks.

    The limestone rock formations extend inland and contribute to the cave system called Stockyard Gully. Probable named by some enterprising drover who used the cave to corral his cattle. In that strangely Western Australian risk management approach, they put up a few signs to warn of dangers like, falling rocks, cave vent holes, unstable cliffs and aggressive, killer bees. Then, we are left to run amock.
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  • Fremantle 2.0

    14 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Oh we love this place.
    So great to be back for another visit. Leaving Green Head a little earlier than planned provided some time for another visit. We haven’t wasted a single minute and have been all over the place on our bikes.
    The car has sat unused the whole time we have been in Fremantle. We are 5k from the centre but it is an easy, safe and interesting ride.
    The city is so much fun with inner city hip and beachside cool mixed tightly together.
    When can we come back?
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  • Rottnest

    15 januari 2022, Indian Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    What is that sound? Say what?

    It has been a while since we woke with an alarm but it was successful in getting us into an early Ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest.
    There are a lot of ships mored out from Fremantle. Mostly container ships and vehicle transports by comparison to all the Ore Carriers up the coast.
    25 min trip by ferry is not bad to take us into the fun. Breakfast - yum. Then on the bikes to circumnavigate the island. We decided to give the southern corner a miss because the wind was coming in quite strongly. Back to the main settlement for lunch and then to Armstrong Bay for some snorkelling, explore the inland roads and salt lakes. Then back to the settlement again for a pre-ferry drink. The party atmosphere everywhere is amazing and it is hard to imagine how the Sandgropers will cope once Covid gets in when the borders open next month.
    Back to Fremantle for a Vietnamese meal that couldn’t be beat for price and taste. Then cycle back to the van.
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  • Wadandi Boodja

    19 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Welcome to the land of the Saltwater People.

    There are thee major north>south songline trails used by the Wadandi during 50,000 years of habitation. Well known and now signposted is the cost hugging Cape to Cape Track which makes this the oldest continuously used ‘road’ on the planet.
    The track is 110k from to Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste. There are some good stories about those names that we will save for another day.
    We went out to sample some of the track, walking north from Cape Leeuwin’s lighthouse - 3rd tallest in Australia and currently receiving some significant renovation. It’s pretty warm so we kept it brief and headed north in the car in the afternoon to walk some of the Boranup Karri Forests in the Redgate Beach area. Sadly this was the area hit by major fires during Xmas and large areas are closed for safety. A good fallback plan was a swim at Redgate Beach. In fact it was a great backup.
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  • Jewel Cave

    19 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We just had to extend our stay in Augusta to fit in a few more things.
    A breakfast catch up with some fellow travellers that we met while in Cossack.
    Then cycle out to Jewel Cave. We were well impressed with the formations in the 2.3k long cave. The first cavern was a terrific mail meal size entree and the informative tour in 17° was very refreshing. Outside in 36° for the ride home was a shock. Good thing it was all down hill going home (yeah right).Meer informatie

  • Denmark

    20 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The scenery today between Augusta and Denmark was extraordinary. Quirky villages, some ocean views and Forrest roads. We managed to jag an off road Forrest trail detour to take in some Forrest giants - 300 year old 85m high Karri’s.
    It’s probably fair to say we have been starved for big timber, but the SW of WA has delivered that in spades with the Karri Forrest and a variety of massive River Gums. This region also has very different topology with plenty of hills contributing to fun driving conditions.
    Google insists the Denmark population is 5,845 but I assume it feels like so many more because of holiday makers. There is certainly plenty to see. Eye poppingly beautiful beaches, big inland lake, hilly hinterland, bucolic farmland, vineyards at every turn, cycle ways to get between these features and a quaint Tidy Town Entrant township.
    Our digs here are excellent. In the hilltop Ducketts Mill Winery. Views out the van of vineyards and the valley toward the coast.
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  • Day 279

    22 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    How to mark day # 279?

    Yoga I suppose.

    When we pulled into Fitzgerald Old School (free camp) there was one other couple camping there. They had a seriously big Rig. A converted Coach towing a trailer with a SUV and a boat. This was their third rig since hitting the road 22 years ago.
    That’s 8,030 days + or -
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  • Kukenarup Memorial

    22 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    There really aren‘t many points of interest on the road into Ravensthorpe. It is wheat country after all. Think really big paddocks - shorn almost to the dust after the harvest. So when WikkiCamps offers up a historical monument we might as well stretch our legs. Well, we stretch our legs, sure enough, and received a startling eye opener as well.
    Kukenarup Memorial Commemorates a massacre of Nyoongar people in 1880. Some background shortly, but the memorial by the tribal ancestors is moving. There is no animosity evident, simply an expression of the pain that was felt for those who passed and an offer to visitors to reflect. The Nyoongar people’s spirituality, sensitivity and law demanded for generations that the event was not discussed even within the tribe. By Colonial law it also became illegal for them to return. Although the Nyoongar rarely visit here because of the memories on the land, in 2015 in tribute, the memorial was established.
    The tribal totems of Eagle and Mallee Fowl greet visitors.
    We are glad we visited today, disturbed by our nations history and saddened by its lack of acknowledgement of the treatment of the original inhabitants.

    A sketch of Ravensthorpe (Cocanarup) Massacre (full and accurate details may never be known): In 1880, John Dunn of Cocanarup Station, raped a 13 year old Nyoongar girl. In accordance with tribal law of payback, Yangalla of the girls family speared Dunn who later died. Yangalla was tried, but was acquitted because of faulty legal process. Understandably, unrest persisted between blacks and whites for a few years. After the tribe had killed some sheep, the Dunn family obtained a “permit” to kill the 17 people who lived on Cocanarup station. The Dunn’s took the opportunity to stage war. Details differ, but between 30 to 65 Nyoongar perished during a systematic hunt. No legal action was taken against the Dunns.
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  • Hopetoun

    22 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Nice free camp in Hopetoun. It’s a beach-side park (probably just a wide nature strip) about 300m from the village centre and it’s champion Bakery and our new local The Port Hotel (how good is that?)

    Hiking in the morning, snorkelling at Barrens Beach at noon, Barty at the Aus Open in the afternoon.

    Weird meteorological/topographical thing: Along hundreds of kilometres (?) of this coast there are clear skies. Yet each afternoon Mount Barren has donned a cap of cloud. While we were on the peak this morning under a blue sky some whispy clods (sea mist?) we’re forming to seaward and below us, a couple of hours later Mt Barrens gets its Mordor on by hiding its peak in misty gloom.

    Back in 2009 BHP closed the Ravensthorpe Nickel mine with up to 1000 people losing their jobs. Local legend tells that BHP coughed up $40M to upgrade the Fitzgerald National Park to repaid soured relations. Other sources say it was Federal & State Gov funding. Who to believe? Either way, the park is magnificent. The roads are slick, the facilities are immaculate the flora is amazingly diverse, the park features are beautiful.
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  • Cape le Grand - Ex Esperance

    24 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    This is a National Park suitable for bucket list status. Giant granite domes pushing straight out of the sea along the coast make some interesting features. In contrast the wide, flat, white beach curves to the NW for 22 kilometres. We managed to scramble over various bits of this coast in a quick-fire adventure. So glad we made it here.Meer informatie

  • The Bight

    26 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    On 26 January 1627, the Guilden Zeepard a Dutch merchant ship was the first to to sight this coast (of what was then called Eendrachtsland). On this day 395 years ago the crew lead by Pieter Nuyts must have looked up at this shore with the same awe and amazement that Regina and I have from our vantage on this incredible line of cliffs and over the Bight. Yep - that was 150 years before James Cook landed on the east coast and made his claim for England.
    Dutch sailor’s first priority was always commerce (make more money than the Poms) in the East Indies. They had little interest in exploration or colonisation (in the absence of said profitable trade). On this occasion, contrary to their dogma, and with the skipper flexing some discretionary muscle, they sailed eastward for 1000 nautical miles mapping the southern coast as far as Fowlers Bay near Ceduna. returning to Cape Leeuwin was an eight week detour, before heading to Batavia (Java) to conclude an 11 month voyage.
    Our arrival at this free camp was considerably more comfortable.
    And how amazing. Right on the escarpment 70 meters above the ocean. The only evidence of other people are the distant lights of the road trains on the Eyre Highway about a kilometre away.
    Waking here is so cool.
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  • Fowlers Bay

    28 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    To continue the story of Guilden Zeepard, this was the most easterly point they plotted on this coast. The Bight presented them with 200 kilometres of unbroken and impenetrable cliffs, then with massive sand dunes at this, eastern end of their reach which didn’t offer a harbour or provide any water.
    The senior officer of the fleet left a mark with his name on the maps, with Cape Nuyts and Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park (adjacent to Fowler Bay) and Nuytsland Nature Reserve which is a strip of the coast from east of Esperance stretching to just shy of the WA/SA border.

    We were surprised at how remote and wild this place is. Again we have it to ourselves. Massive sand dunes fringe the coast with salt pans in behind. Walking on the beach we were entertained by gymnastic antics of large flocks of Red Necked Stints, furiously feeding Silver Gulls and soaring Pacific Gulls.
    So many adventure options available for 4x4 drivers. The local maps are crisscrossed with tracks.
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  • West Coast Bays Marine Park

    31 januari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Let’s put pins in the map at Streaky Bay and Coffin Bay and go out to see what we can see.

    “It’s Monday. I’m not at work, I’m snorkelling!”
    I am not allowed to attribute ownership of that quote for fear that folk who find themselves on the workaday treadmill may think less of her.
    An unexpected opportunity for a fun snorkel did pop up when we arrived at Smooth Pools. The next headland is called The Granites with a magical reef break. Surfers here are very lucky with only 3 surfers out on two breaks. When asked about the infamous and large S.A. Sharks, multiple locals say exactly the same thing: “Yeah. They are out there, but…..”.

    The Eyre Peninsula West Coast has many granite outcrops and islands, and also several coastal lakes which are so unlike those of home on the Central Coast. Here the shore has only low heath - no significant trees. The bays are very shallow and there is often wide but not connected salt lakes just inland.
    One interesting, terrestrial granite formation is Murphy’s Haystacks. A dozen or so oddly shaped, ~ 8m high boulders. $2 in the honesty box for a 40min walk around a hill on a farmers paddock that will fuel dinner party conversations for years to come. Excellent.
    We have experienced strong winds for a few days now - even windier than W.A., so the lack of trees is noticeable because there is nothing to slow the wind and no hiding from it. Our camp site on top of Point Drummond was beautiful and brutal because of it.
    Doesn’t stop the firshermen and Oyster farmers. There must be more fishing boats per kilometre of coast here than anywhere in Australia.
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  • Tumby Bay

    4 februari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Tumby Bay - Eyre Peninsula, SA. Population 1,474.

    Very cute little town bursting at the seams with street art. These photos are a sample.
    The welcoming to the town is via a very clever silo mural by Argentinian Martin Ron who deals with the curved surfaces and gaps between to silos as if by magic.
    In both directions along the coast there are top quality free camps. Red Cliffs’ highlight was that the wind finally dropped leaving a beautiful beach and some Hooded Plover (vulnerable species).
    A little north of the town is Lipson Cove which is like catnip to the fisher-people. There is a group over the way, and their rods have not left their hands since we arrived. Mine is still in the car. It’s such a beautiful spot and easily accessed by 9k of good dirt road, yet there is still only about 10 vans here.
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  • Spencer Gulf - up north.

    6 februari 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Wonderful terrain here. Spencer Gulf is shallow and wide, stretching south into the Great Australian Bight. The east and west sides are lined with ranges. The west side is edged by the Middleback range. While disjointed and at times defined by single peaks, it contains the massive mining interest of Iron Knob, Middleback itself, Mt Whyalla and Iron Barron. Incredible!
    The east is home of the South Flinders Range which is stunning in both rising and setting sun. From Sea level adjacent to the gulf they shoot straight up to 850meters.
    On the west side as we head north the town of Whyalla looks set to burst its seams (reports are that it has some vibrancy).
    We stayed briefly at the northern end of the Gulf in Port Augusta which has a different story to tell, and there were many more beers an skittles in that story a few years back. Today, what we saw was a little depressing. Of recent times there was a mini commercial boom during the construction of the solar and wind turbine farms. There is nothing mini about those. We saw wind farms along both coasts of the Gulf. The Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park on its own has 50 × 4.2 MW wind turbines, and 107 MW solar capacity installed by an Aussie/Spanish consortium on 54 km2. Stage 2 is yet to start. Amazing to see - and fills one with optimism that coal might actually be on the way out.
    We had a visit into Port Agusta town it was sad and closed on a Sunday afternoon. However we had a little win when old mate and his son were playing acoustic guitars at the pub. Don’t know much about old mate, but his son has recently played in the Santana Band. Country flavoured quality jam session.
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  • Adelaide - we’re back baby!

    7 februari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    So good to be back in Adelaide. We reckon it’s a great town and so civilised in all it cycling friendliness (and good coffee). Our disposition probably influenced by all the fun we have had during previous cycling trips here for the Tour Down Under.
    It’s an opportunity to catch up with a few old work colleagues from Westpac.

    First Adelaide impressions are that Covid has had a big impact. The restaurants of Gouger Street aren’t exactly heaving with patrons, and the pubs are pretty quiet. First day out-and-about was a Monday so let’s see how things warm up during the week, but most of the town, like my old team at 97 King William St in the Bank SA building are WFH.
    An overnight visit with Sam (who is the best host in Adelaide). Must confess to running with a few cylinders offline the next day.
    Dinner with Alex and Donna and then a workshop tour to see the construction of not 1 but two aeroplanes. Most advanced is the Aluminium Van 2 seater and a timber WW1 Albatross for stunt flying. Fascinating.

    Perhaps I expect too much of Adelaide. I recall some photos I took of King William Street on a pre-Covid Sunday afternoon in 2017. Walking to the centre of the road I took photos in both directions before wandering back to the footpath. Didn’t see a car. Not one. Zip. Same now!
    While in Adelaide we camped on the Showground. It’s less than 2 K from the city centre, has a supermarket and pub at the gate, and has brand new facilities. And small number of visitors. What a great vibe.

    Summation: Adelaide is great! We cycled all over it and had a ball.
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  • Murray River Basin Free camping

    12 februari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    So many camping options around the mighty Murray and upstream tributaries.

    Just outside the fruit town of Berri was a site amongst the gum trees. Berri nice I reckon.

    We went in search of a site near Robinvale that was tagged in WikkiCamps but found NO CAMPING signs. A friendly local spotted our confusion and told us about a spot where she goes with her family every Easter. Super!
    Such a magic camp deserves a special dinner. Mission completed. Crispy Turmeric Potato and Port Lincoln Prawn Omelet cooked Al fresco of course.

    No issues finding another excellent free camp on the Murrumbidgee near Point Darlington. They are scattered over a couple of K’s along the river. We reckon this site is even better than last night.

    Final stop for this leg of the trip. We are 1k from the centre of Wagga. It’s a busier camp than most but it’s almost in town and has a toilet and garbage collection. No complaints from us. Also the cycle path that tracks around the perimeter of the town and zig-zags beside the river, at 42k in length is probably the best we have seen in a regional centre.

    The Murray, just like us after the omelette, is as full as a goog. The Murray system is at 92% capacity with 192,198 GL for the entire basin. All the upstream river systems also have plenty of water ranging up to 104% full. The irrigators of NSW, VIC and SA must be pretty happy. I hope the system gets a good flush.

    More data on water levels than cod in the river
    https://www.mdba.gov.au/water-management/murray…
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  • Loop-de-loop

    14 februari 2022, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    So we have done a loop. Now it is time to fill in some of the middle.

    The map was supplied to track the adventure by Ocea, Hamish, Stacey and Angus.
    Reflecting on some of the links between places makes us appreciate how big the country is and how full of amazement.Meer informatie

  • Timeout! Click go the shears..

    1 maart 2022, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    A pause in our our wiggly travel path.
    Our original plan was to travel from Kalgoorlie on the Great Central Road through The Great Victorian and The Gibson Desert up to Uluṟu.
    Short detour Required.
    Regina’s Parents Reg and Pat need a visit and Zoe needed her Daddy to be at her 30th Birthday party. We made this decision while working in the Motel at Dynamite Bay, which with detours was about 4,100 kilometres away. It needed to be done so off we went. Because we intended to surprise Zoe, we had to go dark on our comms, so if you thought we had fallen into the Southern Ocean we’ll apologise for that. From Esperance in WA we sneaked our way through SA, briefly into Victoria, and then onto the rough roads of NSW.
    The surprise for Zoe was successful and complete in Wagga Wagga. Regina parachuted into Griffith, Ian did a flying visit to a very wet Central Coast and returns to Griffith with the rain in tow, before we reunite with our Van in Wagga Wagga.
    We are now a travelling trio. Ian’s mum Mary joined our circus and will be part of the troupe until Broken Hill. We all have our fingers crossed that the rain doesn’t follow us into the desert where we will free camp and see the sights.
    Out of Griffith on Ellis Park station (near Bunyan) we stopped in to watch Regina’s brother Lance do a spot of shearing.
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