The weather forecast is dim for the next week, with the next couple of days being the only small window of sunshine and respite from the inclement weather. With that in mind, we wanted to streak through the small towns and onto Esperance, which had been described to us as nature's paradise and a must see in these parts.
First of the small towns we stop at is Pemberton, renowned for their large Karri trees in Gloucester National Park, in particular the Gloucester tree, which stands at 72 metres high. The tree is the world's second highest fire lookout tree, and has metal rods embedded in it and no safety net, with the park allowing the general public to climb the tree!! Go figure, they'd never allow such a thing in Sydney, lucky WA is a few decades behind us!
Prior to reaching the tree, the kids were adamant that they did not want to do something so dangerous as climbing the tree. As we walk towards the tree, the kids look up and see a platform up the top, and realize it is just a tall tree house and are eager to climb it.
After scoping it out, and asking the kids numerous times that they are comfortable to climb it, they confirm they want to climb the tree. Unconvinced they will climb it all the way, we let Grace and Emma climb the tree first. They climb the rods one by one, and they are 10metres above us in no time.
By this time Jackie is starting to get concerned, her motherly instincts kicking in and and calls for the kids to come back down, except they ignore her and continue climbing. After a few more rungs, the kids start obeying our commands to come down, reluctantly descending back to the ground. Grace was disappointed that she was not allowed to climb all the way, I doubt whether she would have made it too much further up, and rescuing an eight year old from 30+ metres high is not my idea of fun, so I was glad the came down.
Next up was Jackie and Jai, again Jai climbs the rods with no fear, Jackie following more cautiously behind him. Once again Jai only stops when Jackie has had enough, and calls for him to come back down. Jackie then tries to climb the rods to the top, only managing to reach almost half way, before the height gets the better of her.
My turn is next, and I carefully climb up the rods, ensuring I have a firm grip of the rods in both hands, before I climb onto the next. As I get higher, I started to have issues focusing on the rods, with the lack of light and trees in the background, the rods were somewhat blurry; or perhaps this was my subconscious telling me to get down. Determined, I push on, and eventually make it to the top of the tree. It was a relief to make it to the top, and I'm rewarded with a nice view of the surrounding areas and forest.
There are a pair of shoes hanging off a treetop next to the tree, a calling card left by a gallant climber. After a few snaps, I head back down, a much easier task than climbing up the tree.
Having conquered the Gloucester tree, we head over to the Bicentennial tree, THE tallest lookout tree in the world, standing at 74metres high. It was purposefully built for the Bicentenary of Australia, and has never been used for a fire lookout, primarily built for tourists to climb; that being the purpose, the tree is much more friendly to climb, with the rods being closer together, and some cables on the outside to provide some form of comfort to the climber. There are also more platforms half way and near the top, with there being multiple at the top, each connected by steel ladders.
The family do not bother climbing the tree, so I quickly ascend the tree to the top, take some snaps and head back down. I could not help but scribe a momento of our visit on the base of the tree, one day someone from our family may return and remember this epic trip of ours.
We then forge onto Parryville, where Jackie has identified a farm stay. We arrive to see there are no other campers, only a couple of permanents. The caretaker is very friendly and happy to have us, allowing the kids to stay for free. The amenities are very basic, outdated, but clean enough. We quickly set up in the damp grounds, and wake up early the next morning to pack up and go feed the camels.
Before heading off, we are told about the Toffee Factory down the road, and that they have the best ice-creams. One never to let a tasting opportunity pass, we stop at the TF, and we are glad we did. The toffees were delicious, and the ice-cream one of the best I've had. The lady had frozen the natural ingredients and passed them through an ice-cream machine, resulting in the smoothest and tastiest ice-cream I've ever had. As we bid farewell, the lady provides us with apples, and allows us to feed Wilbur the pet pig, on our way out of the factory.
We drive past Denmark, a beautiful town that we'd been told we must stop at. Being small, we had driven past the major area of the town and did not bother doing a U turn back, so we set sail for Albany.
As we reach the old whaling town of Albany, some 4 hours south of Busselton, we drop off at the gap and natural bridge, another remnant of mother nature's leftovers, once she has had her way with the landscape. On this day, the sea was angry and the wind up, making for spectacular viewing of the powerful waves crashing into the cliffs below the viewing platform at the gap.
I’d been looking forward to visiting the whaling station at Albany, to see what transpired during the past whaling days. Unfortunately we’d arrived at the whaling station late, and with limited time left, we felt the significant Family entry price would not be put to good use, so we opted to look around the Information Centre and take in the striking views from the station cafĂ©.
With daylight quickly disappearing,and conscious we need to make ground, we head towards Esperance to another free camp for the night. When we have a target in mind, we try to drive as far as the kids will allow us, and as long as there is daylight. And so we reach a rest area just before dark. With the rest area not being so attractive, and being keen to get closer Esperance, we decide to progress to the next stop another 30klms ahead (Gairdner Gravel Pit). It's almost dark now, and as we reach the spot marked on Wikicamps, we do not see any signs for a rest area, only a small school being cleaned by the janitor. We drive around for a few minutes, to make sure we had not missed the spot, satisfied that the spot actually does not exist (note to self, never rely on a spot that does not have ratings or comments on Wikicamps), we reluctantly forge ahead to the next stop.
By now the kids are tired, ratty and hungry. It's another 40klms to the next town, Jerramungup, where we read there is a rest area. Arriving there, we find it is only a day rest area, another blow to the now ravenous kids. We look at the food on offer at the local roadhouse, and it is all greasy, old food, so we opt to have some sandwiches in the caravan, before we head off again. This time, there is a rated site in Wikicamps another 45klms further east, and we get there well into the night, relieved that we arrived to a valid site safely. The positive of having tired kids is that they have little energy, so we quickly set up the caravan and everyone hit the sack without a fuss.
With the extra ground we covered the previous night, it was a short drive to Esperance the next day, where we firstly stop off at the Information Centre to gather intel on the sites and attractions around town.
The town itself is small and un-developed, with the bigger supermarkets and franchises hidden from the main streets. The town seems to be mostly populated by travellers, as evidenced by the long queues at the supermarkets and people stocking up on bottled water. Before we head out of town, we stop off at the bakery on the main road, which we find out is owned by the same people who own the bakery at Geraldton. Their bread is fresh and soft, was perfect for hamburgers we had that night; the bakery one of the busiest shops on the street, with a constant stream of customers going in and out – a mixture of locals and outsiders.
Driving the short 45 minutes to Cape Le Grand National Park, we pass many of the scenic beaches and jetty that is much written about in Esperance. Unfortunately the main jetty is currently under repair, and would be closed for a long period of time. It takes an extraordinary amount of money to maintain and repair these jetties, and it is a constant battle to repair the ravages of the relentless salt water waves crashing into the jetty’s structure.
As we turn off the main road into Lucky Bay, the place we would be spending the next couple of nights, everyone is awestruck by the scene in front of us. I stop the car and get out to take a snap of the beauty before us, our spirits lifted immediately by the turquoise water and vivid white sands in front of us.
It’s difficult to describe the scenery at Lucky Bay, everywhere you look nature presents her most beautiful side, from the striking rock formations, to the secluded cove, wide open bay and stretching white sandy beaches.
The caretaker was not onsite at our arrival, and with the recent bad weather and it not being peak tourist season, we were able to secure a site at Lucky Bay on short notice. The sites on the front row were all taken up, so we took up a spot on the top corner of the second row; somewhat exposed to the elements, but it was worth the view we were presented with.
Both Jai and I were keen to break his hoodoo with the squid, so once we set up and said hello to the local macropods outside our caravan, we grabbed our squidding gear and headed to the secluded bay down by the beach. This looked the most likely spot to catch squid after scouring our immediate location, so we trekked a short distance to the start of the climb to the point.
We’d been informed by the caretaker that a brown snake had been spotted by the very spot we would be walking, so we were both on high alert. We’d armed ourselves with some large sticks, to allow us to beat the bushes and thump the ground, hoping this would ward off the snakes before we crossed paths. The terrain did look very snakey, and I envisaged there being a snake around every corner we turned or crevice we climbed.
After walking through overgrown shrubbery, mountain goat territory, and rounding the bend, we eventually reach the location I wanted to squid. We were quick into our positions and I directed Jai to cast into the general direction of deeper water, where there was plenty of seaweed.
As we started fishing, the beauty of Lucky Bay hit me. Seeing the bay from the reverse angle, from sea looking at the beach, the beach was equally spectacular and peaceful. This was a rare, calm and windless day, the serenity of the location soothed my soul, squidding with my son in such a peaceful location just put the icing on the cake.
We cast our jigs in different directions, fanning the area in the hope of snaring a squid. The place was certainly squiddy, with deeper weed patches, and not much loose weed around.
Eventually I hook a squid in close, not far from the area Jai had been fishing. It was a good sized squid, bigger than the ones we'd caught further north. Buoyed by the catch, we cast our jigs near and far. It's not long until I hook another one out far, and immediately I can tell it is a big one. The squid pulses, tugs at the line and starts peeling off line. It's a while until I carefully bring in the squid, and it turns out to be a whopper over 1kg in weight. With the light line and soft rod, I grab Jai's stronger rod and use his jig to double hook the squid and lift it out of the water. It was great to finally hook a squid of decent size, after scoring those smaller models up at Fremantle and Busselton.
With the light fading quickly, and not wanting to trek through the snakey bushes in the dark, we decide to call it a day and head back to the caravan.
Unfortunately the weather turned that night, and that was the last of the calm and sunny days we would spend at Esperance. I managed to go squidding alone early one other morning, and amongst the few I caught, I scored a bigger squid measuring 36cm to the hood, a good squid by any standards.
Despite the weather turning, we were intent on enjoying the national park and the surrounding beaches; and the kangaroos that came to visit us daily.
We had a definite goal of climbing Frenchman Peak, having driven past the site a number of times, we just had to wait for the right conditions. With the peak being steep in some areas, we had to ensure that it was not too windy or wet.
We eventually had suitable weather to climb the peak, and we are glad we waited for decent weather. The climb was challenging, and steep in some sections, bordering on dangerous. You'd not want to climb the peak in strong winds or wet conditions. The kids did well on the climb, Jai racing ahead of the pack, whilst I waited to assist his sisters.
After a lengthy climb, we reach the top of the peak to take in the magnificent views. There was a large equivalent of Nature's Window to the East, and to the West there were sweeping views of the national park and surrounding beaches. We took our time up the top to soak in the atmosphere and environment, before fueling up and making the trek back down.
We had a great time at Lucky Bay, and if it weren't for the bad weather, we'd had stayed longer. Nevertheless, we made the most of our time there, and it's certainly a spot I'd like to return one day.
With the cold set in, combined with the wind and rain, Jackie was keen to head east as soon as possible, and get back home. Before we can do that, we had to cross the dreaded Nullarbor. We know there are some spectacular sites along the Nullarbor, with the shear cliffs of the Great Australian Bite, and some of the straightest stretch of road in Australia. But the thought of driving 1,600klms in short time after already having driven ~18,000klms did not excite me one bit.
So we try to drive as far as we can from Esperance, finding a free camp past Fraser Range. We'd past Norseman, a junction that people take north to Kalgoorlie. With the recent riots, and it being a 4 hour round trip, we decide to give it a miss for this trip.
The next day, as we stop off to fuel up at a Road House just past Fraser Range, we run into Wayne and Caroline, who'd camped in Norseman for the night. They'd returned from Kalgoorlie, and were heading to the Eyre Peninsula at the same time as us. So we stayed at another free camp with Wayne and Caroline that night, after driving most of the day, putting us within driving distance of Ceduna, which signalled the end of the Nullarbor. Caroline cooked up a lovely soup that night, as we looked to offload all the vegetables and fruit we had in our caravans, as we were to pass through another inspection station in Ceduna the next day. We capped of a good night toasting marshmallows on the fire.
Jackie decided to run the Nullarbor that morning, waving to all the grey nomads as they drove by. Wayne and Caroline had packed up and taken off, before Jackie finished her run and had a shower. After we'd packed up and Jackie refreshed, we headed off towards Ceduna, stopping off at the Head Of The Bight, an aboriginal owned section of the Bight where the Southern Right Whales come to give birth, rest and socialise, before they head off to the Southern Ocean.
After a brief stop, we are off to Ceduna, where we pass Wayne and Caroline at the Quarantine Checkpoint. The Ford Ranger would not restart after the check, and they were waiting for the RACV to come and have a look at the problem. We made our way to Ceduna, where we stayed for the one night; amidst cold rain and wind.
The next morning we awoke to the news that Caroline had not been well, chundering throughout the night, and that they would stay another day to recover in Ceduna. We forged on down south towards Port Lincoln, passing through some iconic fishing and seafood towns such as Streaky Bay, Eliston and Coffin Bay.
We stop at Streaky Bay for lunch and visit the Great White Shark that was a world record catch at the time, measuring 5metres and weighing 1.5tonnes. It was located in a petrol station, which doubled as a Curry house, of all places.
The urgency had set in, and we flashed by Eliston, Coffin Bay and other small towns that we would have normally stopped and stayed at, had we had the time and the weather was warmer and dry. We did have an unplanned stop, where we passed what I thought was a dead snake by the side of the road. Upon approaching it, Jai asked whether I was sure it was dead. Taking a second look, I noticed the snake had it's head raised and was certainly not limp. Surely enough, as I closed in, it came to life and slithered across the other side of the road. I managed to take some photos and video of the snake, and we guess that it is a Dugite, a venomous snake common around wheat fields and found in houses, as they prey on field mice.
We reached Port Lincoln on dusk, and drive a few klms to a free camp in Fisher Bay. Wikicamps warned of Kangaroos being everywhere, so we drive slowly to the camp site and set up for the night.
I wake the next morning to scope out the beach; it as scenic and spectacular at sunrise. I try my luck using some lures, but the weed and bitter cold water made it impossible to fish. I soak in the surrounds and sunlight, find some shells for the girls, before heading back to the caravan.
We check into a Caravan Park in Port Lincoln that morning, which happened to have their own jetty; where the squid were apparently on the chew...
We went into town, did some shopping and went to the local library to buy some books and allow me to fill in some paper work for a new car we were purchasing, hoping to have it by the time we got home; in a couple of weeks time.
Heading back to the caravan park, we rig up our rods and look to get Jai onto a squid or two. I knew Port Lincoln and the surrounds would be our best chance of getting Jai onto a squid, so we were both eager. The girls also wanted to come along and "watch", so we all headed down to the jetty a couple of hours before dusk. The jetty was already filled with locals and caravan park guests, so we had to fish back from the point. The wind was up a little, and tide out, the water shallow. We start casting out, watching what others are doing, being careful not to interfere with other's lines or hook each other.
After a few casts, both girls can't help but want to participate and ask if they can also fish. I leave Jai to continue fishing with his rod, interjecting whenever he had a snag, and allow the girls to fish with my rod. I demonstrate to the girls the recommended squidding technique, and being smaller than myself and the rod being long for them, then need to put the rod between their legs to "jig" the lure.
There's not been much action since our arrival, not one of the 15 anglers had caught a squid. Apparently the previous day there were loads of squid being caught, our bad luck had obviously changed the pattern. Once again, Jai is toiling hard for a squid, and my experience and observations of the location tell me that the chances of catching are slim.
As Grace brings in her jig, at a rate of knots, I see she has something at the end of the jig, and to our surprise, she has managed to snare a small squid !!
Jai was absolutely gutted, his sister beat him to catching their first squid, but instead of sulking, it spurs him on. We try for another half hour without any success, and we leave the jetty with a down beat Jai, the only consolation was that no other person had managed to catch a squid.
The next morning I try squidding at the main jetty in the middle of town. The wind had died down, it was overcast, and the tide was in; the water was deeper and the likelihood of squid was high. I tried casting on the outside of the jetty, with no success, so then I moved onto the inside of the jetty, where there was a swimming enclosure and wave breakers to shield the pontoons from incoming waves. It wasn't long until I was onto a squid, not large but bigger than what was caught by Grace. I proceeded to pull 6 squid out of the same area, before calling it quits and returning back to the caravan and family.
With the success I had, and Jai reinvigorated, I returned the next morning with Jai, very confident we would get him onto a squid.
This was Jai's best ever chance to catch a squid, and he let it slip, just like Hershelle Gibbs dropping the world cup. We looked at each other, mouths open, then a cry of "oh no" ensued. We tried valiantly to score Jai a squid, but alas it was not to be. We pulled stumps after a couple more casts, but Jai would have to go home squidless; I tried to console him and tell him that he will catch a squid when we get back to Sydney, as they are easier and bigger at home, somehow I think he could see through me !!
Before heading out of Port Lincoln, we managed to spend a morning and had lunch with Wayne and Caroline, who'd recovered from her sickness. We also checked out the WRX at the local Subaru dealer, the car we'd be getting when we returned home. I'd not yet convinced Jackie to get the STI version, nor had I mentioned to her that the WRX is renowned for being a hoon's car.
And so we jetted through the small towns of Tumby Bay, Arnot, Whyalla and Port Augusta, where we stopped briefly for lunch. We then set out sites for Orroroo, where we stayed at a small caravan site next to the main road, it was getting dark and there really were no other options. So we set up the caravan and listened to the locals at the golf club drinking all night, the noise only broken by passing road trains. The joys of caravan life.
We were up early the next morning, where we made a bee line for Broken Hill, a nice little town. We stayed at the race course just out of town that night, before we headed off to Cobar, yet (surprisingly) another mining town.
Again we pushed the driving into the night, arriving into Cobar after dark. We set up camp right under the Cobar town sign, and throughout the night, we could hear the passing of road trains and the engines of trucks pulling up for the night. Low and behold, we wake up the next morning to see that we are surrounded by an armada of trucks, who'd obviously rolled in throughout the night and in the early hours of the morning.
After another restless nights sleep, we push onto Dubbo, where we would stay a few nights, with the hope of visiting the zoo - weather permitting.
Again the weather has not been pleasant, the rivers were swollen, mud and puddles alongside the entire stretch of the highway leading up to Dubbo. There were also dangerous pools of water, with varying depth and length. Having not been used to driving in heavy rain, I'd aqua planed on the first puddle we encountered, scaring the living daylights out of me. The car planing uncontrollably, the caravan swaying. After that heart stopper, I had to deal with oncoming road trains spraying their water onto our windscreen, where the volume of water was so great, I was temporarily blinded for 3-4 seconds after it hit the windscreen, even with the wipers running at their fastest. There was nothing I could do in these instances, only take the foot off the accelerator, and drive straight (blind) and pray that there is nothing in front of me when we get out vision back. Not my idea of fun.
We arrive at Dubbo, only just, as the main bridge into Dubbo is near overflowing, with the water only centimetres below the top of the bridge. We head into town centre, where we grab lunch and hang out at the local Library to read books and finish off some admin work. We checked into the caravan park at the western entrance to town, managing to snare a damp drive through site. It had been raining on and off on the day we arrived in town, and we'd hoped the weather would clear up soon, otherwise we'd be flooded in.
We'd booked 2 day tickets to the Taronga Western Plain Zoo, with the weather being dodgy for the first day, but fine for the last. We'd never been to the zoo, or Dubbo in fact, before, so we were very interested to see what was on offer. We'd heard and read lots about the zoo, so we took the opportunity to pass by Dubbo and check out what the fuss was about.
After passing through the entry welcome sign, we parked outside the gift shop and unloaded the bikes off the car. We checked out the gift store and adjoining moat, before making made our way to the entry boom gate, where we proceeded to ride past animal enclosures alongside the road. The animal enclosures are essentially paddocks cordened off by some electric fences, and a moat for some of the more dangerous animals. The paddock is below foot level, deep enough so that the fence is not visible from the road, providing viewers an unencumbered view of the animals, providing that natural field feeling.
Most of the animals in the paddocks are from Africa, such as the Eland and the Bongo, of course there were the Giraffes and Zebras, plus the Lions and Cheetahs.
The family favourite were the Meerkats, who did their customary standing up and gazing around on their hind legs.
There were also some island exhibitions as well, holding monkeys that don't dare swim the few metres to escape their island.
Amongst the excitement of the animal enclosures, we also had contact with animals of the feathered kind, namely the nesting magpies. There were signs about warning of nesting magpies, however you don't often see them until you hear their flapping wings next to your ear, or worse have their screeching or clapping right next to your ear.
And so we rode through a bush section, where we were swooped upon, further adding to Grace's fear of birds. Jai and Emma were not particularly fazed by the magpies, choosing to try and out ride them or swatting them away with their hands.
On the last day at Dubbo, we packed up the caravan and un-hitched it at the zoo carpark, where we drove our car for a quick tour of the enclosures that we missed on the first day. The sun was finally out and the temperature quite pleasant.
We enjoyed our time in Dubbo and at the zoo, experiencing it once is enough though, I doubt whether we will visit again anytime soon.
We decide to make a detour home via Mudgee, a place neither Jackie or I had been to (at least we cannot remember visiting), so we were looking forward to see what the town had to offer, as we'd heard good things.
First stop are the vineyards, and we arrive at Huntington Estate just before they literally close the cellar doors. After sampling some of their fine wines, we purchase a case of reds for us and some as gifts to our neighbour, who'd helped look after the house during our trip.
With the wine out of the way, we head into town, where we'd luckily booked a site. The town was buzzing, with the food and wine festival coincidently happening on the same weekend we arrive. The manager of the caravan site was happy to see us arrive, as she'd declined spots to other people, and was starting to think we would not turn up. We back onto a muddy but green site, and I set up for the very last time for the trip. What a great feeling that was; after 63 stopovers within our 6 month trip, I was somewhat over the removal of the bikes from the bike racks, setting up the hoses, stabilisers, handbrake, power and popping the top up; and then having to pack it all up again.
I did savor the moment though, as I'd realised how far I'd come from the day I bought the caravan, to now, where I'd been living with this dolled up trailer 24x7. I'd become intimate with it, knowing all the little sounds she makes, what order to set her up and when things were just not quite right. With the experience and method down pat, setting up for the night took around 45 minutes now, I could complete it quicker, but I prefer the methodical and deliberate approach to things, better sure than sorry..
After setting up for the night, we proceeded to do things for the 'last time', such as our night time ritual of watching our holiday videos and pictures on the TV, and then watching a couple of shows we'd brought along. After starting with Modern Family, we moved onto Freaks and Geeks, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Liv and Maddie, Mind Your Language, Parks and Recreation, The Middle and we happened to be watching the last episode of Season 5 of Malcolm in the Middle. Not only was it good to introduce the kids to some classic shows, it was good to have some quality bonding time with them watching the shows, and it was certainly something we all looked forward to each night.
Unfortunately our last night in the caravan was not as quiet as we'd hoped, with a group of families staying up until midnight drinking and carrying on rather loudly by the camp kitchen. This is something we definitely won't miss, living in such small densely populated areas, your neighbours will determine whether you will be having a sound sleep or not.
Next morning, we are up relatively early to pack up for the "last time", and walk around town to do some window shopping and see what Mudgee had to offer. The town is very clean, small, but has a lot of cafes and homeware stores, not too dissimilar to those found in the north shore of Sydney or eastern suburbs. I think they cater for the Sydney-ites that travel out to Mudgee for the day and wineries, which is relatively close to Sydney, especially after all the driving we'd done. After taking some happy snaps, we stop off at the bakery in town to have pies, sausage rolls, vanilla slices, and custard tarts for the "last time".
With our bellies full, we point our car eastward and head home, but not before stopping at Adam and Johanna's getaway home in Katoomba. They'd happened to be at their quaint home at the same time we were passing, and we gladly stopped over for some home made scones. It was great to see familiar faces again, reinforcing the fact that we were not far from home.
And that was the actual "last time" we stop on the trip, before we got home. Jackie had given us a heads up that there were some school friends that wanted to greet us at our home, upon our arrival. So we were expecting some people at home, but when we turned the corner and saw signs and families waiting on our lawn, we were somewhat pleasantly surprised.
As much as we just wanted to sit on our lounge, go see our chickens and remember what our place looked like, it was definitely nice to see so many people welcome us home with big smiles and open arms.
And so the big lady has sung, and our adventure that we call PhimsOzTrip was over. The time preparing and waiting for it to start seemed so long, but the trip itself seemed so quick. We'd just spent 6 months trying to see what this great country of ours had to offer, and even with missing most of SA, VIC and TAS, we barely scratched the surface.
We'll write up another blog for the "last time' summarising our thoughts, feelings and lessons learned for the trip, but it's safe to say this trip will be hard to beat for us. Not only for the things we saw, did, visited, people we met, fishing etc. but for the quality time we had with the kids and family.
For now, it's getting back to the "norm" and getting on with life as we know it, all the while thinking about whether this is what we want the "norm" to be, and whether we become free spirits again and start PhimsiOzTrip2....
