Soon We will Leave Western Australia
After two nights of discomfort, we finally found an organization of beds that enables both of us to be comfortable and sleep peacefully. We went to bed quite early last night and woke up very early this morning. It was 5:23 am when I looked my phone. The sun was already high in the sky and there was to be no more sleep for me. Jim slept a little longer but not much. We had a leisurely morning in our camper van before heading out for the day.
Once again today, our focus was on wild flowers, those that were growing in large numbers along the sides of the roads. So many colours, so many varieties … what a spectacular array of blossoms. That’s why we came to Western Australia and we have certainly not been disappointed.
We travelled through several country towns today. We left Lake Grace and headed for Pingrup. Nearby was a large pink lake, yes … pink water, caused by mineral deposits and salt. It was fascinating.
The landscape was dotted with many salt lakes, some dry beds and others filled with water but the most spectacular was the pink lake. Yes, the water was truly pal pink, quite a highlight in the countryside. The edges of the lake were brilliant white, clearly a salty area. We saw many such lakes along our route today but only a few of them were pink.
From Pingrup, where we saw some spectacular painted silos,
we headed to Nyabing. Sadly the Visitors Centre was closed. We tried to get LPG gas for our stove and heater but it was not available because the whole town was experiencing a power outage. We travelled on.
Next to Gnowangerup where we were able to get fuel (diesel) for our van. We followed the Horse Power Highway.
It featured a few old and painted tractors parked along the roadside. One of them caught our interest … a tractor driving the sheep to market or to a new paddock. At least, there was a story to be told about this one. We followed the trail to Broomehill where it ended. We had passed through pastureland where fields were dotted with hundreds of sheep. We saw some cattle and some goats as well. Wheat dominated the cultivated land. Some fields were at least 100 acres in size. We also saw canola and oats.
Next came Tambellup, a very quiet and well kept town. Beautiful flower gardens sfestooned the houses. Roses were definitely in season. Properties were festooned with spectacular rose bushes, featuring many colours – pink, red, white, yellow etc.
The landscape had changed from open fields to forests and some pasture land. It was clear that fire featured into the lives of the forests and the villages. Many Australian plants actually require fire so the seeds can germinate and grow new plants. Birds flew in every direction – gallahs, parrots, corellas, cockatoos, willy wagtails and magpies to name a few. We were happy that our memories served us well as we recalled the names of several varieties.
For the most part, we were travelling on fairly level ground. The occasional hill took us up and we were able to see a briader view of the landscape. On the level, creeks and swamps were often on the roadsides or crossing the road. The season currently is quite dry so we saw some wizened up ponds and dry streambeds. Occasional floodway signs reminded us that it does rain at times and the rain can be very heavy. Consequently the roadways can be covered with water, at times up to two metres, and not passable in regular vehicles. Yikes!
Our final stop today was Kojonup. Being Sunday, it was difficult to find stores and businesses open. It reminded me of the era in which we had ‘no Sunday shopping at home. Clearly this trend has not permeated this part of Australia. Even the Tourist Information Centre was closed. We managed to pick up a couple of things at the IGA for dinner. Happily it was open with an early closing. We headed to the caravan park. We have stayed in some lovely parks but this was not one of them. Fortunately we are self-sufficient in our van so we are not dependent on the facilities where we park for the night.
Monday, October 30, 2023
Our last full day on the road in Western Australia. We left Kojonup mid morning and began yet another country drive. As we left town, we saw a display of a wagon loaded with wool bales. Sheep are abundant in this area and this gives some sense of how the wool was transported in the past.
Of course, the today's goal was to find more wildflowers. We have seen so many beautiful varieties … and just when we think we have seen them all, another variety shows up on the roadside or in the forest. Our drive today took us into both environments. It was particularly lovely in the forest where new growth was appearing as trees stretched to the sky. The green of an Australian forest tends to be a grey/green but the new growth was bright moss green, striking a beautiful contrast between the old and the new.
An Australian forest is a sight to behold. In order for many seeds of Australian trees to germinate, fire is an important component. The heat from a fire causes the hard outer protective layer of the seed to crack open and enables the softer inner seed to germinate. Without fire, germination will not occur. Some fires happen spontaneously and some fires, called controlled fires, are set deliberately to facilitate germination. Consequently almost all forest floors are strew with fallen trees, partially burned and left with charcoal as a significant colouration in the forest. Surprisingly, we find it quite beautiful, a mixture of new growth, surviving trees and new growth … As in Canada, some fires get out of control and cause significant damage not only to the forest but also damage to nearby towns and agricultural land.
Another common site in the forest are termite mounds, some of then quite enormous. We learned about an animal today , called a numbat. The numbat’s diet is primarily based on termites. One animal can devour up to 20,000 termites each day. That’s a lot of termites!!
After driving along a lovely dirt road through a forest and passing many enormous fields of grain, we stopped in the town of William for lunch. We stopped into a well known café/shop and had a good look around at all the Australian products and food. We were very well behaved and only indulged in a bottle of wine for our Canberra friends. We purchased beverages and then drove to a very pleasant park where we picnicked on our own food for lunch.
Back on the highway, we turned the van in the direction of Perth. It was about 250 kilometres on a hilly, winding road. Happily, there was not too much traffic, except for the road trains – transport trucks that can pull up to three trailers as long as the total length does not exceed 36 metres. We were driving a 7 metre van and could not imagine quadrupling the size! We saw several road trains and only had to pass one of them. We were happy that they stayed behind us.
It was dinner time when we arrived in Perth. We checked into our hotel (yes, we abandoned the van for tonight) and ordered room service for our dinner. I have to admit that sleeping in a real bed tonight holds much appeal.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Happy Halloween!! There has been no evidence of Halloween in Perth. No jack-o-lanterns, no costumes, no cobwebs and no witches. Australians don’t know what they are missing.
We have had another great day!! After repacking our bags this morning, we loaded the van for the last time and returned it to the rental place. As much fun as it has been, there was a sense of relief in driving a much smaller vehicle which Jim had rented for today earlier this morning.
We headed into central Perth and admired the modern buildings that have been constructed since we were last here in 1996. At that time, Perth was like a small town with no freeways, no skyscrapers, little traffic and very few apartment buildings. Since then it has exploded into a world class city. We enjoyed oohing and aahing over the changes we saw.
Once we seen enough of Central Perth, we headed toward Fremantle, a smaller city just south of Perth. Our goal was really to get to the shore of the Indian Ocean. We found a lovely little bakery, bought some tasty treats for lunch and went to the seashore to enjoy them. Wind surfers, sail surfers and kite surfers. It was a perfect day for all three. Although the water must have been very cold, none of those people seemed in the least bit worried about that. They were have a great time flying along the water and flying high into the air.
Along our route, we found the large shipping port as well as several ferry terminals. Was it ever a busy place! Trucks streamed along the roadways delivering their cargo to one of many shipping companies. Likewise, trucks filled with shipments that had come into the port headed out into the city and the countryside to deliver their loads to those who had ordered the contents. We also saw trucks filled with sheep and cattle arrive at the dock, apparently to be shipped to destinations unknown.
At each port terminal there were numbers of magnetic bridge cranes, used to lift the cargo containers on or off the ships. There were large pile of containers … probably thousands … stacked high awaiting loading. We speculated that some of them might be empty, awaiting an appropriate load. They were all colours imaginable from to pink to green to orange to purple. An amazing rainbow of metal.
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