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  • LouisaJames
Apr – Jun 2017

Australia

A 86-day adventure by LouisaJames Read more
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    Peaceful Bay & Tingle Trees

    May 3, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We have seen quite a bit of bird life today, including emu's twice. First a mother and four young and the second time eight adults, all grazing on grassy fields. We also saw pelicans up close at the lovely Walpole bay where we could get really close. After a walk around the aptly named Peaceful Bay we went on a guided walk around the ancient trail at the Valley of Giants visitor centre. It was really interesting to learn about the third largest tree in the world, that only grows naturally here in such a small area (6000 hectares) called the Red Tingle. It is a type of eucalyptus tree that grows tall first, up to 75 meters, then wide, up to a 20 meter girth. The inside is oftern killed leaving it hollow while the outer part remains alive. Had a relaxing lunch by the waterway at Nornalup and drove through tree plantations, where they were burning the tree stumps of felled ones right by the road side. Had a look at the tiny village of Northcliff which use to be quite a bustling town before heading to Sid's camp, a real bush camp done well with a solar shower.Read more

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    Climbing trees in Pemberton

    May 4, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Stayed in Syd's camp - an out the way welcoming camp with a shower made out of old Land Rover parts. Basic but super friendly people there. From there we travelled the short distance to Pemberton and the Gloucester National Park, firstly enjoying an early morning walk at the Cascades, spotting a water rat, known as the Australian otter. The park is home to large Karri trees and Marri trees. In this region there are 'lookout' trees which are used to spot wildfires from an elevated position. These consist of a platform at the very top of the tree with access via metal stakes hammered into the tree about 2.5ft apart to create a ladder. Some sections are nearly vertical. No handrail or safety nets! Amazingly these are open to the public, no safety fences, wardens, harnesses or disclaimers, just wander up and climb! The Gloucester tree was just under 200 feet tall to the platform at the top and gave great views from the top.
    We later travelled to Warren National Park where the Bicentennial tree stands even taller, at 270 feet at the top platform and an intermediate stage at 82 feet (in photo 4 Louisa is at 82ft and James below the top platform around 220ft above the ground). As the weather was wet we had the whole tree to ourselves, but did make the climb a wee bit more challenging! The platform also moves 1.5m in high winds - as the breeze was increasing we hastily retreated from the top! Camp tonight is deep in the forest, sharing with a nice family from Australia travelling for a year around the country.    Read more

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    Cape Leeuwin

    May 5, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today we went for an early morning walk as the rain started to clear around Beedelup Falls. Found out that the bird with a bright blue head that we saw yesterday has the cool name: Splendid Fairy Wren but not as cool as the name of the frog that sat next to Lou in the bathroom the previous day - a Motorbike Frog! We then walked to the 'walk through' tree, another impressive karri tree. After a bush drive we got to Cape Leeuwin, where the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. The scenery was impressive and included a working lighthouse and an old wooden water wheel that was used for the lighthouse which has now been consumed by limestone. Had the perfect view out the back of the van for lunch. We took a clifftop walk along Hamelin Bay and stopped at the campsite here so we could spend tomorrow here too.Read more

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    Hamelin Bay

    May 6, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Lovely weather today, great to spend at the beach. We have had a couple of walks along the beach to see the three types of huge rays that feed off the shore. We have also seen a pod of dolphins passing by a couple of times and plenty of birds, some that took an interest in our lunch too!Read more

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    Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park

    May 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Had a quick look at the beach before we left and saw the mother dolphin and her calf swim along the bay again. Drove up the coast, stopping for a while at a really popular surfing spot called Redgate Beach to watch surfers on the large swell, in the really clear waters. Continued to Surfers Point after a quick restock at Margaret River to get supplies. They have made a good job of renovating this popular surfing area with plenty of information boards telling of big surfing heroes and the stories behind the big wave surfers. It only seemed right to have a small sun-downer beer with all the locals who had gathered there before heading to the campsite at nearby Prevelly.Read more

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    Wellington National Park

    May 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Stayed in a quiet roadside rest area overnight called Ironstone Gully Falls, before heading inland to the Wellington National Park, with the area consisting of rolling meadows and woodland. Drove past Gnomeville, a woodland area covered with well over 50,000 gnomes (no truly accurate figure as the number increases everyday). The area was unexpected and a little bit weird....
    A relaxed lunch and walk through the woods in the sunshine started the afternoon at the discovery forest area. A short drive across the park past the dam, bought us to the Potters Gorge camp area. Right by the side of the Wellington resevoir, the huge camp area in the trees is occupied by 4 cars/vans, super peaceful and serene. A short walk through the woods wondering at huge termite queens in a broken nest (they were massive and quite gross!) before beer at sunset and cooking on the free bbq's.    Read more

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    Canal Rocks, Geographe Bay and Bussleton

    May 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Headed North along the coast, trying not to be tempted by the vineyards every 500m! Visited Canal Rocks which have been carved into amazing shapes and channels, great for climbing and messing about on. After a pizza on the beach we went to the Bussleton jetty, the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at 1.8km long. A small train goes the length of the pier but we chose to walk instead, watching fishermen catching squid spraying ink on the deck boards.Read more

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    Wellington National Park

    May 10, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    As we made our way out of the National Park this morning we stopped off at various spots to explore like the old quarry that is now bolted for climbing... if only we had our climbing gear, it looked great. The river bed was great to explore as it was mainly huge slabs of rock. James even felt brave enough to have a swim, although it may have been a little too cold even for him as he was out before you knew it! We made our way to Bunbury where we had arranged to meet our friends, Laura, Julie and Solana again. We are staying at the same site with our van next to th cabin. We managed some crazy golf and a bounce on the giant air pillow at sundown with a beer a before a BBQ and some catching up.Read more

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    Bunbury

    May 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today we spent a really great day with our friends, just like old times exploring somewhere new together. We went to Bunbury Wildlife Park where the definite stars were the kangaroos that we could walk around and hand feed. After seeing so many in the wild it was lovely to be able to get so close, stroke them and feed them. They were so gentle holding onto your hands while taking their time to nibble out of your palm. After a picnic lunch we had a walk around the swamp, seeing plenty of birds, including a strange necked duck and long necked turtles. We finished the day off with more golf, jumping, drinking and chatting.Read more

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    Yanchep NP and van troubles

    May 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After leaving our friends Laura, Julie and Solana in Bunbury we headed North to the rental depot to check out our van. We'd been keeping an eye on the range and fuel consumption (something all men do at a certain age!!) and something wasn't right. We could get just over half the fuel capacity the van should have. This was a wee bit of an issue South of Perth where petrol stations are quite common, but a big issue North of Perth where we may not have the range to refuel. Delays ensued, a replacement was eventually sourced and off we went, only to find the leisure battery (the one that runs the lights/fridge etc) was dead. Too late to return that night so a trip back to the depot the next morning. They dealt with the issues fairly efficiently but still 1.5 days lost. Source of the fuel problem was previous hirer had run over something and dented the tank to such an extent it was 30 litres smaller!
    This afternoon we drove to Yanchep National Park and wetland (named Loch McNess!!) where we are spending the night. On the way we stopped at the Western Australia remote control aircraft airfield. A proper airfield in minature with 6ft long jet models and a crazy air race that takes place in a huge caged area where models fly round in circles on a tether at 140mph (look up tether racing) There are koalas in the National Park and kangaroos that hop around the area and camp ground.    Read more

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    Yanchep National Park

    May 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Today we decided to spend the day here as there are plenty of walks and wildlife to see. After visiting the 10 resident koalas we went on a walk called the Ghosthouse Walk, intrigued by the name. It turns out, half way around the 12km loop, there was a derelict building. Didn't see a ghost but heard something moving about in the undergrowth! (It was probably a kangaroo or wallaby). The weather was kind to us as bad wind and rain was forecast but it turned out really hot and sunny. It was good to see the kangaroos jumping around the campsite in the evening.Read more

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    The Pinnacles

    May 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Before we left Yanchep we had a final look at the koalas who thankfully were holding on tightly as the strong winds buffeted the branches they were sat on. We then did a short walk through the limestone gorge that had small caves and a natural bee hive where the honey comb was clearly visible. It was a very windy drive north (our little high top van felt it) through interesting desert / coast landscapes, including massive inland sand dunes and a tree full of flip flops! The Pinnacles are limestone formations within the Nambung National Park and scientists are unsure of how they were formed. One theory is that they were once tree trunks covered in sand and another is that they were once shells. Either way, it was interesting to walk around and the rain that had been chasing us all day didn't catch up with us until evening. While there we did spot this desert cockroach, quite different from other ones seen on our travels!Read more

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    Indian Ocean Drive

    May 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We enjoyed views of the ocean at Cervantes before journeying up the Indian Ocean Drive to Jurien Bay where we saw a dolphin busy feeding. We enjoyed the newly developed sea front, including a game of draughts abd walking on the pier. We had a great spot for a picnic and stroll around the three bays at Green Head. Our camp spot for the night was the view we had been wanting from our time in the camper, clear views across the ocean with a great sunset.Read more

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    Geraldton

    May 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    A short drive this morning but before we got to Geralton we stopped at Greenough, a ghost town where alongside the bent gum trees (due to the wind) the stone built buildings were all built by British convicts. In Geraldton we have been busy, walking around the heritage trails, the town and a brilliant museum that we will visit again tomorrow to see more exhibits. We also went for a guided talk at a memorial for HMAS Sydney 2 that was sank off the coast here in WW2, killing all 645 crew. The memorial was very well thought out where everything there was symbolic. It was completed before they had located the position of where it was sank yet the statue of a mother looking out to sea happened to be facing the actual direction of where the ship is. The museum had some 3D photos of both that ship and German one that sank at the same time. Tonight we have had a BBQ using one of the many ones at the newly developed waterfront park (we're ashamed to admit that the sausages were actually kangaroo and really tasty!). The wind has died down now and the sun shining brightly again making it a lovely 26 degrees. Apparently the weather we have been having since we have been in Australia has been unseasonably good as it's well into Autumn here. That seems to be the first time we have heard that in our year of travels, it's usually the opposite!Read more

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    Day 2: Geraldton

    May 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We decided to stock up on food today for the next five weeks as we travel North because food shops become both more scarce and expensive. While filling the van it was confirmed that the two of us have become three (or more) as we have a resident mouse who has taken a liking to our chocolate, pasta, nuts and breakfast cereal. This is the time when we need Dave 'serial mouse killer' Warwick on the team! Instead, we have set traps and poison... This afternoon we had a personal guided tour at the Australian Meteorological Service just out of town. We saw both the traditional and modern way weather data is collected, the highlight being the release of a weather balloon that will travel up to 53 thousand feet collecting data. We then went back to both the maritime museum and the warship memorial before walking along the esplanade to see the docks, rare sea lions and sunset. We learnt about a Dutch ship that sank in the 1600's and part of the load were these ballast stones they were going to take to Jakarta to build a castle. We saw similar ones around Sri Lank and Malaysia. We also had time for a quick play in the park! Seriously we did, there is a great electronic game for two players.Read more

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    On route to Kalbarri

    May 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    First we stopped at the oldest town in Western Australia, Northampton, that had an old convent (photo of Louisa), a tank outside the RSL (their version of the British Legion) and other 'old' buildings much like the other places around here. Before we got to the pink lake we looked around an historical site at Port Gregory where they sent convicts to wait before they were hired out. It was aslo used as the local jail and hospital, although there isn't much left of the buildings even thiugh they are only 160 years old. The land around here continues to get more red and dusty and so amazes us how they manage to farm sheep and cattle here, as grass is non existent. We are seeing many of the small windmills in fields that are used to pump the water up for drinking and road trains that are allowed to be up to 36 meters long here. We had a look at a couple of the viewpoints along the Kalbarri coastal cliffs ad were very fortunate to spot a southern right whale coming up for air and diving down a few times, as they are only just starting to migrate past this area. As you can see from the photo, the wind really got up! Then it rained, first rain here since February! At least the kangaroos were happy as they seemed to all make a beeline for the puddles on the road.Read more

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    Kalbarri National Park

    May 20, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Early start this morning as we went on an organised tour at 7 am into the part of the canyons, at the National Park, that are otherwise currently closed to the public. Thankfully the fog cleared shortly after we arrived and we had beautiful skies until a massive downpour on our return at lunchtime. We are really pleased that we did it, as the views into the Murchison River gauge were spectacular. First we went to the West Loop lookout where the canyon's reflection in the water was faultless. The unusual rock layers were really obvious at Nature's Window were we stood on a ridge that had a window like feature. After tasty tea and cake we were taken to the final lookout at Z Bend where the gauge does as the name suggests! We spent the afternoon back at the coastal cliffs walking along boardwalks and looking out to sea where we had some fleeting views of whales.Read more

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    Hamlin Pools

    May 21, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    After watching the pelicans being fed on the shore in the bay we had a final stop at the part of Kilbarri National Park that is open to the public and went down to the river and walked along a while, this time with the canyon walls rising around us. Luckily timing the walks between the heavy showers. We've been lucky to avoid the flies which can be here in massive numbers (hence the corked hats!) - as experienced by our friends Laura, Julie and Solana just a few weeks earlier. It was then a few hours drive (350km or so) through desert type landscapes with incredibly straight roads flanked by bright orange sand. The only inhabited parts were one ranch and two roadhouses. The one we stopped at had the full complement - car, 4 wheel drive, campervan, trailer tent, road train and aeroplane! Yes, aeroplane, the pilot had stopped at the small airstrip behind the garage and pushed it around to fill up and have a beer. Our campsite for the night is an old telegraph station and once had a mine nearby, where they would saw blocks of these compacted shells out to use for buildings in nearby Denham. There are also the only living example of Stromatolites in the world that can be visited by the public. They are basically microbial mats made up of tiny living bacteria which produce oxygen that allowed life to develop. The owner of the campsite gave a talk and showed us around the museum here which was surprisingly fascinating as she had so many artifacts from its telegraph years.Read more

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    Shark Bay

    May 22, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We had a wonderful day watching marine wildlife, mainly from Eagle Bluff. We stopped off at Nanga Bay then Shell Beach and as the name suggests the whole beach is made up of up to 9 meters of shells. Then the viewpoint at Goulet Bluff gave us a taste of what was to come at Eagle Bluff. We spent the remainder of the day there waiting patiently which then paid off. We saw numerous sharks in the shallow waters swimming below us, rays, fish, birds, a large pod of dolphins but tne highlight had to be a dugong, something we had wanted to see for a long time. We watched one feeding in the shallow waters for about 50 minutes where we saw it often as they can't hold their breath for long. We ended up camping in this bay with great evening views.Read more

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    Monkey Mia

    May 23, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Well, we had an earlier than anticipated start this morning (5.15am) as we were woken by the rustling sound of our lastest guest (3rd and counting) opening a packet of biscuits! Unfortunately this was one of the few items that we hadn't got space for in the mouse proof cupboard/ microwave so had it stored up on the shelf above the cab where we had thought it was well out of their reach. A quick eye to eye contact, followed by a chase and the mouse was ejected from the van via the door only to rush around to the back of the van and back in again! We gave up hope of trying to catch him but could hear him running around underneath us in the cupboards. He seemed to enjoy the food we left on the trap without setting both of them off and ignored the tasty poison treats left for him too. At least the sunrise was worth it.
    Made our way to the remote part of the peninsula called Monkey Mia and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on the beach and in the pool. Saw green turtles swimming around the pier, emus wondering around the campsite and a few dolphins that visited the bay this afternoon, one that swam right on the edge of the shore.    Read more

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    Shark Bay: Monkey Mia

    May 24, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    For years now they have been feeding dolphins here and have learnt alot about their behaviour as they study them so this morning we went to the feeding where they are very controlled about how it is done. Only 5 regular dolphins get feed if they choose to visit and they will only get 10% of their daily intake so they have to feed naturally too. Others come in to socialise and look at people too. Today there were about 10 in total. Louisa was chosen to feed a fish to one of them, called Surprise and is 38 years old. We were a little unsure whether we should go but were pleasantly surprised at how well it is carried out. We spent time on the beach this morning and as we were heading off for lunch a baby shark swam past us along the shore where we had been recently swimming! We walked along the trail adjacent to the campsite that takes you along the beach then into the scrub where we could see plenty of prints in the sand as well as a baby woma python skin. At least we had earned a swim in the pool and a soak in the hot spa after that.Read more

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    Driving to Coral Bay

    May 27, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We have spent a couple of days driving to get to Coral Bay (570km) the first place you can drive on a tarmac road to get to the Ningaloo Reef. We had a look around Denham and saw an old building that had been built using the shell blocks. We also had a quick paddle at the lagoon before setting off. Yesterday we passed two roadhouses and today just one, the rest of the journey consisted of a straight road and desert type low lying scrub. We also crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn. We stopped over night at Carnavon, where 80% of Western Australia's winter fruit and veg is grown. All the farms are lined on a short stretch, either the north or the south bank of the Murcheson River (which is actually a dry bed with billabongs apearing along it). The water is pumped up from the underground river that runs below it. We enjoyed having a look at these and buying some fresh produce. As well as feeding some big snappers, we had time for a snorkel in the bay. With the tide out you only had to take a few steps and then the sand dropped away to the reef.Read more

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    Drift snorkelling at Coral Bay

    May 28, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
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    Seafari - Coral Bay

    May 28, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Spnt a whole day on a 'seafari', looking for the various marine wildlife found off the Coral Bay coast, in particular the large Manta Rays that can be found here. Hopefully a chance to use our new tough camera we had to buy after dust broke the old one.
    The first round of snorkelling took us to a deep part of the reef where there was a small canyon to dive down into and find marine life hiding away. Straight away we found two Green Turtles who weren't bothered we were there and allowed us to follow them. Just after we watched as three reef sharks chased a shoal of fish into a huge bait ball and took turns to catch a few. Aside from this the fish and coral (hard coral which makes spectacular shapes rather than soft coral which is more colourful) were amazing.
    As we got back on the boat the spotter plane was circling above trying to locate Manta Rays for us to swim with. It took a while but they found a 3 metre long juvenile and we were able to swim on the surface above it. It was ok with us being there and did a barrel roll in front of us to show off. We swam with it for nearly an hour, by which time 8 people has returned to the boat leaving 3 of us with the Ray. At this point the guide allowed us to dive down and swim alongside this graceful creature that appears to fly through the water.
    On the way to the second reef dive of the day we spotted two humpback whales and followed them for a while before they dove down to feed. Not long after this and just before we got in the water, a 3.5 metre Tiger Shark swam past which did concern us a wee bit. However the guide explained their dietary habits and got in the water to take some photos!
    The second snorkel was around coral stacks where you could dive down and swim through canyons and gullies with the shoals of colourful fish.
    An amazing day with two very tired travellers by the end of the day!    Read more

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    Cape Range National Park

    May 30, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Yesterday we spent the day snorkelling again at Bill's Beach in Coral Bay then made our way up to Exmouth, passing loads of termite mounds. There was a World War 2 memorial where information boards told of Australia and US bases here, we also had a good view out to a couple of pods of dolphins fishing. Once in Exmouth it became clear that you have to pre-book camping in the National Park, and even though the signs said full there was a last minute available spot at one of the many campgrounds. Not only is it very popular with travellers but it is also filled up with the 'grey nomads' who are like whales and migrate for the winter and stay for weeks at a time (Australia's version of going to Costa Del Sol, but with 25 foot caravans, boats, bikes, tents....). It has the usual, no electricity, a drop toilet and no drinking water but in a great location. We are now in the northern part of the 300km, World Heritage Ningaloo Reef. On the way we stopped a few times, including Turquoise Bay where we went drift snorkelling, keeping a close eye on where we had to get out because of the strong current. There is less coral from the beach, than at Coral Bay but it is slightly different and still plenty of fish. The water is warmer and really clear too. We saw massive Angel Fish, a wedge shaped ray right at the shore edge, a turtle that swam next to us then fed off the grass on the sea bed, not at all bothered by our presence. We then saw the largest fish either of us had ever seen, hiding under a shelf of coral. Its mouth was about 30cm wide and the wide body about 1m long!Read more

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