Just 100kms inland from Perth, the rolling green hills and historic country villages of the Avon Valley are a great place in which to relax and enjoy the last days of our travels on this leg of our journey. The drive from Perth took us through the cool (10 degrees ) Perth hills and through to our base on the periphery of WA’s largest inland town and the gateway to wheat belt, Northam. Being the regional hub, all government departments are represented, along with all services necessary to support the regions agriculture and tourism. Located on the Avon River, settlers first arrived here in the 1830s and today has over 185 heritage listed buildings.

Steve on Northam’s suspension bridge crossing the Avon River

We have really enjoyed the history of the town, in particular exploring the town on foot. There is a very enjoyable walk around a number of the streets, taking in these buildings as well as many other homes that were built in the 1800s. The craftsmanship that was displayed at the time is severely lacking when comparing these homes with the modern boxes of today! It’s wonderful to see how lovingly many of the homes and commercial buildings have been restored. Even the home of the first European settler in the region is still standing and open to the public one day a week. I can’t imagine our houses and buildings of today still standing nearly 200 years later, let alone 50! These were built to last…..Australia’s history is so young when compared to Europe though!

There are a number of other towns and attractions in the valley, including wineries, olive groves, country markets, festivals, cafes and restaurants, and skydiving and ballooning. No, we weren’t tempted! We haven’t visited all of the towns, but just had to take the beautiful country drive through green fields and rolling hills to the historic towns of York and Beverley, both named after their namesakes in Yorkshire. Steve of course lived in York for nearly 4 years in his early 20s, so York was a must. Being just 36kms from Northam its an easy drive alongside the river. This very proud historic town was settled in September 1831 and was the first inland settlement in WA on the banks of the Avon. York is probably the most popular day trip destination from Perth. It is very picturesque and has many been lovingly restored colonial residential and commercial buildings.

York Town Hall

Most residents take great pride in their gardens making this quite a special little town (about 1700 residents). We spent 3 or so hours wandering through the town and the side streets, venturing into the Town Hall, Settlers Inn, the English lolly shop (guess who enjoyed himself there!!), and the old Courthouse. There is an old flour mill, however it has been closed to the public which is a real shame. And for the car lovers – York hosts a very good motor museum, now recognised as one of the finest private collections of veteran, vintage, classic and racing cars in the country. Yes, we spent quite some time there.

Historic homes in York

Who would you expect to meet in York – English visitors from Leeds, Yorkshire, and regular visitors to the shire of York in the UK. Needless to say we stopped and had a good chat, comparing the towns and asking ourselves why we were so absorbed in taking photos of these comparatively ‘young’ historic buildings!

After a very country style lunch we headed another 30kms to the town of Beverley, founded in 1838. Today a quiet agricultural town, not attracting the same attention as York, there is still a great deal of colonial history in the town. It didn’t hold the same appeal for us, when compared with York and Northam, however we could certainly appreciate its history.

The other major towns in the valley are Chittering, Goomaling, New Norcia and Toodyay.

We’ve checked out the storage for ‘The Tent’ and are very happy that she will be secure and safe in our absence. The garaging is like an aircraft hangar, and has full security, so that’s where she goes tomorrow, in Grass Valley. There is a little town here and we couldn’t resist this photo, of the very new post office – I bet you haven’t seen a physical post office as small as this before!

The very cute Grass Valley Post Office

Meantime we are working our way through the long check list of all the chores that must be done before tomorrow morning. What fun! The weather turned this morning which is frustrating, but you get what you get. Thankfully all the outside jobs are done other than those that take place once she’s in the shed.

By tomorrow afternoon we will be in central Perth, ensconced in the Sheraton for 3 nights. What we haven’t done on this trip is spend time around the centre of Perth, Kings Park, the galleries and its many other attractions. The weather is meant to improve again tomorrow and until we fly out on Wednesday morning. Airport security is heightened with recent events, so we will be there nice and early….oh what a culture shock all of this will be after our time on the road!

Whilst in NZ we will still post blogs, however at times a little less frequently. We hope to travel whilst there, so will share these experiences, introducing you to new places and the beauty of NZ.

When we left Yanchep last Wednesday morning we headed down the freeway just 80kms to South Fremantle, where we have been based, and from which we have enjoyed the energetic vibe and interesting history that this region offers. As well as being at the mouth of the Swan River; the home of the successful Australian Americas Cup win; having delightful beaches and lots of history, Fremantle is a vibrant and colourful city that is very easy to ‘take in’ walking around its many small and colourful streets. It’s a great place for lots of walking, bike riding and people watching.

Steve has always wanted to visit the exclusive Fremantle Sailing Club, so this was our first port of call.

The very classy Fremantle Sailing Club

We strolled down the marina legs admiring the size and scale of the waterways before enjoying coffee in the bar, looking out over the water. On a beautiful sunny day this is an easy place to spend time and admire! From here we walked along Marine Terrace checking out the Fishing Boat Harbour, restaurants and cafes, before walking through the many streets of Fremantle, enjoying the heritage buildings from the 1800s, and the many boutique shops, cafes and restaurants before visiting WAs oldest remaining intact building, the Round House on the headland overlooking the river mouth and Cockburn Sound.

The historic Round House

This was also an ideal site for navigation lights and a signalling station. The Round House was built in the 1830s as the Swan River Colony’s gaol, then housed convicts once they arrived from 1850. There were also cottages, two lighthouses and a courthouse nearby. Once Fremantle Prison became part of the penal system in 1886, it was used for a short time as a lock up by the police and then in 1900 it became living quarters for a chief constable. What an interesting place to visit and learn more on local penal history! Of real interest is that a time ball was established near the Round House and signalling station in 1900 as part of a procedure to give mariners and residents an exact daily time check. How this worked is that a 10 minute canon would go off, so that the ship’s captain knew to be prepared for a time check. Then the ball was hoisted to the top of the tower 3 minutes to 1pm and then released at 1pm by an electrical signal. The signal then triggered a shot from a canon to mark the time. This is where the phrase ‘ keep your eye on the ball’ comes from. Whilst this practice was discontinued in January 1937, the station was reactivated in 1998 and every day at 1pm this historic practice continues with the help of volunteers.

Honorary Gunnery Officer Steve getting ready to set off the canon to signal 1pm

Those who know Steve well can guess that he volunteered before anyone else could open their mouths, and so Honorary Gunnery Office Beaumont set off the canon for the day. What a blast and so enjoyable.

I managed to catch-up with a couple of girl friends over long lunches in Fremantle which was great fun. Good time for Steve to clean all the lockers in the motorhome one day and to look around town another, and enjoy listening to some of the very good street buskers who have a strong presence during the afternoons.

Yesterday, in the wet and cold (after a 32 degree hot and sunny day on Saturday) we took a tour of the heritage listed Fremantle Prison, completed by convict labour in the 1850s and actively used until 1991. This was once the most notorious prison in the British Empire housing convicts, local prisoners, military prisoners, enemy aliens and prisoners of war. It was built to house up to 1000 prisoners in the main block which is 4 storeys high.

Jane in her exclusive plastic poncho outside a 7×4 cell….not going in there!

Cells were 7 x4 feet, with a hammock and bucket and that’s it. At one time walls were knocked out in some cells so that they were 7×8 but then they didn’t have enough space so 2 men were placed in each cell. Right through to 1991 there was no sanitation, 8 hours a day had to be spent in the courtyard with no sun shade (other than the last few years), 365 days a year rain or shine. It was a brutal place. There were regular riots and regular escapes. There was a women’s prison established here which operated until the 1970s.

Ohhh, so grim this is not a nice place – the gallows

We toured the main prison, kitchens, solitary confinement (what a morose and depressing place), the CofE church, admin and the gallows, where 46 men and one woman were hanged between 1888 and 1965 (the last hanging was in 1964). That is not a place to spend lots of time, and I wouldn’t want to visit at night!

From here we went to a happier place, the Shipwreck Galleries, one of the most important maritime archaeology museums in the southern hemisphere. Mind you, the building was also built by convicts in the 1850s when stone buildings were built to last! The history of discovery from the 1600s is impressive with hundreds of relics from ships wrecked along the WA coastline, including original timbers from the Batavia (wrecked in 1629),

Restored timbers of the Batavia

the de Vlamingh plate and countless artifacts from the Dutch shipwrecks Zutydorp, Zeewihk and Vergulde Draeck. We managed to while away a few hours taking this all in. We also enjoyed a quick stop at a travel expo where all the main European River tour operators were promoting their wares, so an excellent opportunity to do some comparisons, as one day we would love to do this.

Today has been more of a chores day including those appointments that just need to get done – doctor, dentist, a little shopping. Tomorrow we head up to the Avon Valley for 5 days. Then, alas ‘The Tent’ goes into storage for a period of time and after 3 days in a Perth hotel this leg of our travels comes to an end and we fly across the seas to Waiheke Island for a while.

The trip to Jurien Bay from Geraldton was very pleasant, initially driving through scenic countryside, fields and the historic gold mining  town of Greenough, before venturing onto the coastal highway, which winds its way toward Jurien Bay.

Steve, Rod and Dearne enjoying a coffee in the township of Dongara

Before joining the coastal highway we stopped in Dongara, a little town on the mouth of the Irwin River for coffee, before driving down to the Port, Port Denison. Dongara is quite a cute little town and together Dongara and Port Denison market themselves as the ‘Rock Lobster capital of Australia’. Of course being lovers of crayfish we thought we might get to buy one – but at the princely cost of $78.00 we knew it wasn’t going to be. The ‘lobster’ are sold live and 98% are exported to China.

The coastal highway to Jurien Bay provides many wide sweeping views of the beaches and coast line as it meanders down through several coastal towns and beachside ‘ fishing shacks’. Jurien Bay is 220kms north of Perth, and certainly appears to be enjoying substantial growth and development, with many Perth residents venturing this far north to their ‘weekenders’. During the holiday season the population more than doubles. Rock lobster are abundant, and along with tourism and construction, the towns population is sustained. The beaches really are quite stunning, with fine white sand and clear turquoise waters.

Beautiful Jurien Bay

Just offshore are a number of islands on which live a large population of sea lions, a local tourist attraction.

Like many towns in WA, Jurien Bay has excellent bike paths, which we explored thoroughly. We borrowed Dearne’s bike so that we could both go for a good ride, and enjoy the lovely sunny days (yes its all blue sky and warm days again).

The boys on the bikes in front of our rigs

Steve and Rod also enjoyed some more serious riding. We enjoyed a number of beach walks as well.

Whilst at Jurien Bay the little Suzuki decided to have a spat and the starter motor went on strike whilst Steve was at the petrol station. It had been a little stubborn at times, but not this. So, it was time for a replacement job. This meant that instead of visiting Cervantes, 26kms south of Jurien Bay and the Pinnacles in the Namburg National Park (the Pinnacles are limestone formations up to 3m high, creating the effect of a moonscape), we needed to get closer to Perth so that we could get the job done quickly. Being without a vehicle for too long can be restricting! So onto Yanchep we moved, leaving Rod and Dearne, until we catch up again in Perth.

Yanchep is on the coast about 70kms north of Perth, and it will soon be an outer suburb of greater Perth, with development moving further and further out of the city, and a rail link planned for 2016/17. Steve took the Suzuki in on Monday, and was able to collect the rejuvenated vehicle early today. We have explored the little village, and Two Rocks which is just north of here, and with its marina Two Rocks holds real appeal for boaties. Like much of this coast, the beaches are quite stunning. we are staying at a very quiet camp ground, and so the beach is deserted…perfect for long beach walks.

Today we visited the coast between Yanchep and Northern Fremantle, where the Port of Fremantle is based, and the harbour leads into the Swan River.

North Fremantle, looking across to Fremantle

Given that Steve spent many of his younger years in Scarborough in the UK, Scarborough  in Perth had to be visited. There are some key differences – climate and water temperature; surf; this is a modern seaside town; and accent used here! We drove the Ocean Road from the Port up to Burns Beach and were astounded at the number of huge and expensive houses right along the coast. There is some serious money in this town and we haven’t even seen the inner city suburbs!

We stopped in Cottesloe for coffee on the beach, and naturally, Scarborough, where we had lunch and then spent time at the beach watching surfers and boogie boarders riding the waves.

Steve on Scarborough Beach

What a stunning coast line with so many beautiful beaches and such clean water. We really understand some of the attractions of Perth!

Tomorrow we are off to Fremantle for a few days, and we are looking forward to exploring this older suburb and region of Perth.

In our last blog I mentioned that we planned to go sailing again to find the elusive dugong. Sadly, the weather precluded this, with the tour operator deciding the weather, whilst not wet, was too gloomy for spotting marine life, so that dampened our enthusiasm – and then it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we could have gone. So it’s still the elusive dugong for Steve.

From Denham we moved back to Hamelin Station for the night to break up our trip down the coast to Kalbarri, and just as we had on our previous visit, it was very enjoyable and our hosts once again put out the welcome mat and made sure all visitors had an enjoyable stay.

The 270km trip to Kalbarri was made in overcast weather, watching rain clouds rolling down the coast.

Road house stop for coffee – Jane having fun!

This was a more interesting drive, as we passed from landscape dominated by small scrubby trees, onto larger gum trees and lovely colourful wildflowers, and then what a surprise! We drove into the WA wheat and grain belt. This was the first time we had seen agriculture in months, and it was a very pleasant change. The drive through Kalbarri National Park was also memorable given that it is wildflower season and everywhere between the bushes and scrub are yellow, pink, white, purple and orange concentrations of colour.

The weather decided to ‘go wild’ whilst we were in Kalbarri. Kalbarri is on the coast, 590kms north of Perth and at the mouth of the Murchison River. Strong wind warnings were issued, and it was gusty with waves crashing over the beach and up the cliff. Quite picturesque in its own way. But of course some of what we do when traveling is weather dependent. One of our must dos was the walks in Kalbarri National Park. The Park covers an area of 186,000 hectares, and plays host to inland river gorges with rock formations that are 400 million years old. We had planned to visit 2 gorges, the Z-bend and the Loop, however because of the conditions this wasn’t on the cards. Both of these offered spectacular scenery and 150m cliffs dropping down to the river bed. Instead we had to make do with Hawks Head and Ross Graham, both very short walks.

Looking down into the gorge at Kalbarri, beautiful colours and rock formations

The rain got us on the last stage of our walk but hey, that’s all part of the fun. The Murchison River has forged deep gorges, winding its way through the park. It is certainly very picturesque but for us doesn’t hold the same appeal as Karajini with its challenging walks and exceptional pools and falls.

Kalbarri coast is dominated by rugged fractured and decaying sandstone cliffs that plunge more than 100m into the ocean which has sculptured amazing rock formations. As a result there have been many shipwrecks along the coast. There are a number of walking/bike trails that lead to these, which are definitely worth visiting.

Looking across to Red Bluff

When the weather cleared, I enjoyed a 10km walk to ‘Red Bluff’ which is the highest elevation in the area, and a great spot for whale watching. With strong winds and rough seas it was more than a challenge to see any. However the local wildlife – blue tongue lizards – was out and about to greet me on the way.

Local wildlife – the 4th blue tongue lizard I met on the cliff walk

On Sunday, Fathers Day there was no change in the weather, but we intrepid four (Jane, Steve, Rod and Dearne) made the decision to go quad bike riding on the beach and sand dunes with Wagoe Beach Quad Bike Tours.

Wet weather jackets adorned, and off we go!

Despite the weather and getting soaked this was a real blast. It was such fun, flying along a beautiful white sandy beach with waves crashing in alongside, climbing up and down huge sand dunes and learning about the local wildlife and history of the area. We had a great time.

Flying up a sand dune in the wet

After 3 days it was time to head south again, this time to Geraldton, on the Coral Coast. Geraldton has a population of 37,000 and from having driven around the town is definitely a growing and developing country/seaside town. There is a major port here, and this is the centre for iron ore and grain export (all WAs wheat is exported), as well as livestock (sheep). There is also a significant fishing and rock lobster fleet at the port. Because Geraldton was gazeted as a town in 1850 there are a number of well restored historic buildings nestled between more modern architecture. The waterfront has been recently developed and hosts a marina, low rise and well architectured offices and residences. The town has a very pleasant feel to it. One of the key attractions for us was to visit the Abrolhos Islands, an archipelago of 122 coral islands and crystal blue waters with an abundance of sea life just 70kms off the coast. But this darned weather has hung over us for a week now (we don’t like it!) and the conditions simply haven’t been right for flying or snorkelling. Its been more like wave jumping or big wave surfing conditions. Today the sun is out between the clouds, its a little warmer (22 degrees) and the wind has finally settled down.

We did enjoy visiting the HMAS Sydney II Memorial on Mount Scott, a tribute to the 645 lives that were lost in 1941.

Steve with the Waiting Woman and looking back over to the Dome of Souls

What a sobering place of artistic beauty. The Memorial comprises the Dome of Souls – 645 seagulls representing the lives lost; the Eternal Flame – within the dome; the Podium – a ships propeller sitting within the nautical compass giving the directional bearings of the compass; the Pool of Remembrance – evocative of a war grave with a ship; the Stele – representing the prow of HMAS Sydney II; the Waiting Woman – representing anxious mothers and relatives looking for the return of their sons; and the Wall of Remembrance – engraved with the names of the 645 men who lost their lives.

Tomorrow we again head south, to Jurien Bay. We really are getting so close to Perth now, the final stop for us on this trip.

Rather than coming straight to Denham from Carnarvon, we made a 2 night stop-over at Hamelin Station, a 500,000 acre sheep station at the bottom end of Shark Bay. This is a delightful caravan park on the station, reputed to have the best bathrooms in NW WA….and they would have to be about right. The wider Shark Bay area is one of the driest in Australia, and because there was so little rain last year, the sheep are being agisted in southern WA, so the camp ground is the main business at present. The hospitality shown was excellent, and with 5pm drinks hosted each evening it really does make for a very hospitable and welcoming stay over. Quite surprisingly there is a spring fed lake adjoining the camp ground, attracting abundant bird life that congregates at dusk for feeding.

Enjoying a glass of red lakeside

We enjoined an evening sitting alongside the lake, with binoculars and a glass of red, following the antics and life of an array of birds. Who would have thought it!!

Whilst at Hamelin we visited Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, home to the most diverse and abundant examples of living marine stromalites in the world. Stromalites are living fossils – cyanobacteria, direct descendants of the oldest and simplest form of photosynthetic life on earth, an example of the earliest record of life on earth.

Hamelin Pool Stromalites

They provided the early earth with most of its oxygen atmosphere millions of years before plants appeared. Quite amazing. Hamelin Pool has double the salinity of normal seawater, which is an ideal environment for the stromalites to grow. They look like little pillars and rocks that are different colours, attracting lots of little fish and cormorants. There is an interpretive boardwalk that explains the history and makes it easy to look down on the stromalites. Whilst at Hamelin Pool we also visited the historic telegraph station built in 1884, and the old shell quarry – this whole region has a proliferation of tiny cockles that are metres deep (Shell Beach, one of the main beaches has shells to a depth of 10m) and over time form a limestone full of the shells, known as Coquina. The limestone was mined and used in the construction of a number of buildings.

The local post office and shop at Hamelin Pool

There is also an old post office and shop servicing a small and more basic camp ground.

We arrived in the little seaside town of Denham on Saturday. Denham is really the administrative town and the gateway for tourists for the shire of Shark Bay. About 250,000 pass through here each ‘season’. The town hosts the most westerly hotel in Australia.

The most westerly pub in Australia

It has 4 camp sites and a population of around 600. Its very popular for fishing, and of course for those who know the area, it is the base for many who want to visit Monkey Mia, 25 kms away, to see the bottlenose dolphins which have been coming close to shore for more than 50 years. Rangers now closely supervise the dolphin feeding because the dolphins where relying on only the feeding, and as a result not teaching their young to feed and as a result they would die. The rangers do their controlled feeding in the mornings, and tourists visit to watch this. We couldn’t quite bring ourselves to join the throngs – we have seen many dolphins over the years with our sailing adventures, and prefer to see them in a more natural interaction. What we did though want to see was the elusive and shy dugong. Shark Bay is home to 1/8 of the world’s dugong population. The Bay is full of sea grass, the dugongs staple food – they devour up to 30kgs per day.

Jane up forward ‘spotting’ rather unsuccessfully

So we booked a cruise to visit the sea grass beds and hopefully see dugongs in their natural surrounds. Sadly they proved to be too elusive, and we had to suffice with dolphins and turtles instead. The tour operator provides a guarantee that if you aren’t happy with what you saw on the cruise you can come again for free. So today we are going again to see if we can spot one! What we did enjoy however at Monkey Mia was dad emu and chick having a dip in the sea.

Bedraggled dad and bub enjoying a dip

The rangers were very excited, apparently this is something new, never seen before. Seeing an emu on the beach, then having a swim is not what we expect. Here in Denham we do see them wandering around the streets, and in Monkey Mia wandering around the resort and the café, so they are quite used to people and more domestic surrounds.

Yesterday our friends Dearne and Rod joined us here, after last having seen them in Broome. They have ‘caught up with us’ and we will now spend time traveling together down towards Perth. We leave here tomorrow, will spend another night at Hamelin Station, and then move to Kalbarri where we have the combination of beaches and national park to explore.