S.W. West Australia

Returning from Thomas River and Cape Le Grand we spent two days in Esperance during which time Leigh decided he definitely needed a haircut as he was starting to look like an unkempt gollywog. Haircut out of the way he then headed for the carwash successfully blocking the drains as he hosed off copious amounts of red soil and sand – don’t think he was very popular.


We left Esperance late Sunday morning however as usual our timing was impeccable as the gale force winds that had been raging for several days and were supposed to abate – didn’t. After driving barely one hundred thirty kilometers during which time we were belted from one side of the road to the other we pulled into the Munglinup Beach camping area spending the remainder of the day nestled amongst the sand hills hoping that the winds would dissipate by the following day.


Having parked the van, Leigh’s made the brilliant suggestion that we go for a walk along the beach to the nearby headland (via the sand hills of course so we could enjoy the views) and see what there was to see; thirty minutes later we returned complete with a total dermabrasion treatment, compliments of the howling wind and the beach sand.


And with that, the rest of the afternoon was spent indoors reading and doing Sudoko puzzles.


Following a peaceful nights sleep during which time the winds abated (or so we thought) we set off once again however didn’t get too far before the winds returned with a vengeance. With our fuel consumption being degraded significantly as a consequence of the headwinds we refueled at Jerramungup (don’t you love these names - bet our overseas friends are having fun trying to pronounce them) before continuing to Ongerup, stopping for a coffee break and a wander through the Mallee Fowl preservation centre, an experience that turned out to be quite interesting.


Leaving Ongerup we decided it was time to find somewhere to stay as the never ending winds that were gusting up to eighty kilometers per hour were making travel unpleasant and hazardous, eventually locating a pleasant little camping area overlooking the town of Borden with the Stirling Ranges as a backdrop, we settled in for the night.


After another particularly cold night we “set sail” for our next destination, the small town of Boyup Brook. Albeit that Boyup Brook was a diversion from our intended route, we wanted to once again view the art works of the well known West Australian artist Sandy Chambers, in particular his holographic sculptures carved into sandstone plus take the opportunity to visit friends at nearby Bridgetown.


We didn’t get far when we stumbled upon the Henry Jones Winery and Café in the small town of Broomehill; we just had to stop for coffee, cake and although unintentional, a spot of wine tasting. The building that was initially constructed in1911, was earmarked for demolition however was purchased by its current owners, restored, and is now a focal point within this small community.

 

An hour later we continued on our way to Boyup Brook in the rain, rain, and more rain.


Who said they were suffering from a drought over in the West? Actually they had been in the grip of a severe drought until about three weeks ago with many communities in dire straights however to see the countryside now you would scoff at any suggestion of them having been in drought.


Eventually arriving at Boyup Brook (in the rain), we left the van in the community van park and headed over to nearby Bridgetown to visit Jim and Judy, returning that evening.


Next morning it was a tour around town viewing the various holographic sculptures. The sculptures are quite ingenious in that the eyes appear to follow the viewer. We had intended visiting his studious however after driving up to his studios located on the outskirts of town, and with the rain continuing didn’t think he would appreciate having wet visitors traipsing through his studios with muddy shoes viewing his works of art.

With our cultural desires having been sated, next stop was Wagin. While Wagin is a relatively small town it is quite pretty, has great sporting amenities, an enormous agricultural showground, parks aplenty complete with picnic facilities, plus numerous buildings within its business precinct heritage listed. While the town is a rich agricultural centre its commercial section is suffering, this being evident in the number of closed shops. Still we did our bit for the town’s economy by frequenting “Molly Browns” café for coffee and cake.

 

Leaving Wagin next stop was the tourism office at Narrogin with the expressed purpose of finding out what there was to do and see in or around the town however the tourist officer seemed more intent in telling us what there was to see further on; he even pointed out that the only caravan park in the town was fully booked recommending some free camping spots further on – very strange.


So obviously since there wasn’t anything to see at Narrogin we journeyed on a further twenty five kilometers down the highway towards York pulling into the Yornaning Dam reserve where we spent the night.


Now this was an interesting little picnic area come camping ground. It has great facilities, barbeques, kids play equipment located right on the waters edge, everything required for an enjoyable time, and all bordering a pretty little waterway. Only one problem, the water is toxic as per the following photograph.

 

Arriving in the pretty town of York the following morning, as per usual our first stop was the local tourism office and from there over to the town’s one and only caravan park where we were charged champagne prices for what can only be described as flat beer quality; oh well, I guess if you have no competition you can charge what you like.


We spent the remainder of the day exploring York, strolling around the streets, viewing the old stone building, visiting various shops including the restored four story flour mill with its magnificent timber furniture (thank heavens we don’t live nearby as it would have been an expensive visit) - dinner that night was at the York Hotel, expensive but very nice.

We had planned on doing some more sight seeing the following day however the manager/owner of the Caravan Park was fairly inflexible about overstaying the required 10am departure time “I have cleaning to do ya know Mate” hence finding somewhere to leave the van was just too difficult which was a shame as we would have liked to have spent more time visiting some of the other attraction. As a consequence we headed to Fremantle.

 

After a leisurely drive through the countryside, it was quite a culture shock arriving in the Perth metro area and encountering city traffic after nine months of only rural driving.

 

Booking into the Fremantle Caravan Park, it was into town to collect our mail plus some essentials subsequently spending the rest of day in mass depression as we waded through the mail paying bills. The next three days were spent catching up with relatives, touching base with friends, shopping (of course), and of course, sightseeing.

From Fremantle, we head north to Ningaloo Station where we have arranged to stay for a week, and from there it’s over to Karijini National Park.