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Caravan Capers, WA
  • Graham n Rosie
Apr – Sep 2017

Caravan Capers, WA

A 158-day adventure by Graham n Rosie Read more
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  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie
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    Monkey Mia

    July 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    What a fabulous place! Beautiful Shark Bay, sheltered and serene with wonderful dolphins who've been coming here for freebie fish for forty years. Their feeds are strictly controlled these days as is access to them which is great. Everyone gets close enough to see these guys without too much interaction. We did a couple of cruises on a huge catamaran, the skipper a direct descendant of Dirk Hartog and clearly passionate about the area.

    We were lucky enough to spot more dolphins , a loggerhead turtle and a dugong as well as a great sunset. Being a resort there was Foxtel so Graham got to see a Crows game and We both enjoyed the luxury of power in the van and a restaurant meal or two. Bucket list item ✅!    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie
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    Oakabella

    July 27, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We came for a night and stayed for a week. It's fair to say that we felt completely at home in the grounds of this remarkable place. The gorgeous homestead, barn and outbuildings whitewashed against the stunning landscape really took our breath away. Having the opportunity to help out as temporary camp hosts was a lot of fun and definitely a role we think we are well suited to!

    The importance of the property in terms of local history is significant and the tour of the homestead was especially insightful thanks to the passion and knowledge of our guide, Loretta. She is one of life's true characters and a pleasure to have met. We could easily have stayed on, however need to continue our journey. Still, who knows - perhaps we will be back one day. ❤️    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie

    The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

    July 31, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    The Pinnacles began life as marine-rich seashells that, over time, were broken down into lime-rich sands and blown inland to create these amazing domes. It was a seriously stormy morning but we were lucky to arrive with a few sun breaks. The area is vast and quite mind blowing to see these towering sentinels stretched across the landscape. Beautiful.Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie
    The Pub. Fancy!Abbey Ale...a nice brew!Flour millThe Monastery"selfie" on the staircase inside the pub.

    New Norcia

    August 1, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We spent a wonderful day here, wandering amongst the many heritage listed buildings that make up New Norcia. Established by Spanish Benedictine monks, NN is the only remaining working monastery in Australia. They continue to live, study and work here, following Benedictine traditions established in 600AD. (We did learn that this hasn't stoped them owning mobile phones though 😀).

    The community was involved in religious conversions as a mission as well as education, with a particular emphasis on music. These days tourism plays a major role as well as providing facilities for retreats, school camps etc. And still those monks continue to crank out the most delicious bread you'll ever taste!    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie
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    Swan Valley-Freo-Perth

    August 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Very nice having power to fire up the heater and electric blanket - the weather has been abysmally cold! Never ones to let Mother Nature get in the way of a bit of wine tasting, we still managed to visit a few. We especially enjoyed getting to know the delicious old school Chardonnay at Sandalfords as well as the obligatory cheese platters that are all part of the experience.

    We managed a day trip to Fremantle where we spent some time at the WA Shipwrecks Museum before revisiting our chill crab experience from 15 years ago (minus the allergic reaction -WINNING!). After this achievement the only thing left to do was stroll next door for a super beer flight at Little Creatures.

    One place we missed out on during our last visit was King's Park, so we made a beeline there this time. Luckily the skies were kind and we were able to have a good look around before rain came down. It's an amazing spot with gorgeous views; so glad we finally got there.    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie

    Margaret River

    August 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Margaret River was a welcome stop, time to revisit a few lovely wineries and check out some others we hadn't visited before. It's a beautiful area and of course we made sure to visit the obligatory farmers markets as well. Stand outs for us were the underground cellar at Leeuwins and Japanese lunch at Fishbone Winery and an awesome coffee tasting experience at Yahava. Brilliant.Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie

    Truffle hunting, Manjimup

    August 25, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    What a fabulous morning! We arrived bright and early at the Truffle & Wine Co. ready to learn about and hopefully find some seriously good truffles. Greeted with coffee and PowerPoint (can't escape the bloody things!), our guide Debra explained about the farm, how truffles are grown, harvested etc. They are Australia's biggest producers of the French black truffle, highly sought after around the world.

    We then enjoyed breakfast of truffle scrambled egg with truffle butter - delicious! Eggs and truffle are one of those heavenly matches (we learned) that once tried are never forgotten. After this it was time to get amongst the hazelnut trees with Jazz, our adorable golden lab truffle hunter. It is the end of the season so she had to work hard to find them but find them she did, even if they were pretty small. She simply scratches the ground and there it is - clever pooch!

    We came back to the winery with our cache and enjoyed a wine tasting before a wonderful lunch of truffle gnocchi (best gnocchi we've ever had) and baked Brie with honey truffle hazelnuts. Did I say decadent???

    Another totally unique experience - so lucky. 😄    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie
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    Medieval Carnivale, Balingup

    August 27, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Having sorted out our van problems, we arrived in Balingup looking forward to a brilliant day. Dressed to impress, we hit the Carnivale and were immediately blown away by the pageantry. Firstly, it was huge with probably close to 100 stalls, three entertainment stages, fighting arena etc. Secondly it was warm and sunny and just a great day for wenches and dark hooded strangers to be out and about.

    Mead tasting was obligatory, as was watching the demos and learning a little medieval life. Graham even traded in his old "found on the side of the road stick" for an impressively polished staff that will serve him well at future events. Gumeracha Medieval Festival, here we come!    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie
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    Kalgoorlie

    September 5, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We spent four days in Kalgoorlie, learning much about this golden gateway township and enjoying some warm weather for a change. There is literally a pub on every corner, some of them beautifully restored with more than a story or two to tell and all, other than two, are known for their skimpy service. One pub has a tunnel leading to the nearby gold mine - workers would pinch a nugget, nip through the tunnel at lunchtime, sell the nugget to the publican and be back at work without raising suspicion.

    We did a tour of the "Super Pit"(no, not Hay St), a fascinating opportunity to get access to the mine site. It's known as the "Golden Mile", the richest square mile in the entire world! They only process 30 Tonne of rock a day but stockpile 160 tonne. So, even when the mine closes- possibly 2021, they will still have enough rock to keep them processing for many, many years! The size of the pit itself is breathtaking as was the sight of those gargantuan haul trucks (worth 4.4million each) like soldier ants making their way back and forth between the bottom of the pit and the rock crusher.

    We now head south toward Esperance for a bit of a look before turning our attentions toward the Nullarbor.    Read more

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie

    Esperance

    September 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Staying at Gibson Soak Hotel was a welcome stop - plenty of time to watch the football and check out Esperance and Cape Le Grand. Lucky Bay is just about the most beautiful beach we've ever seen.

  • Graham n RosieCaravan Capers, WAGraham n Rosie

    Coffin Bay & Port Lincoln

    September 27, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Great coastal environments, both places we really enjoyed. Long walks, sea gazing and oysters.

    (We tried to recreate our last visit to Coffin Bay by hiring a tinnie and catching a dozen King George but funnily enough things are different these days -apparently you now need a boat license of all things. So we just ate more oysters instead. Take THAT, Coffin Bay!)

    On our way to Coffin Bay we passed through Streaky Bay where we found an amazing outcrop of granite formations known as inselbergs. The whole landscape had an eerie, "Outlander" vibe that was pretty cool. We also took a touristy drive along the gorgeous coastline around Elliston where they've added a few statues to draw the eye. Impressive.

    Port Lincoln itself was yet another opportunity to indulge in local wine and oysters. We missed tuna season unfortunately but gained a new appreciation for smoked seafood. The foreshore and marina are looking pretty tired, but then the place probably comes to life in summer. Sadly the wind kept our fishing rods in the car this time. Off to Arno Bay and hopefully better weather!    Read more

    Trip end
    September 27, 2017
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