Followers

Saturday, December 10, 2011

The last lap

Carnarvon was the next stop and we arrived in time for the Main Street Christmas Party. There were various stalls offering goodies of the art and craft variety and food. A stage had been set up and an entertainer/magician was doing his stuff. He was a slightly unfortunate choice and we moved on! Carnarvon was clearly still getting over the floods  of a year ago, and struggling a bit, but the optimism of the locals is striking and they are confident of everything picking up again.

The "Coffee Pot" train that goes out along the One-Mile Jetty at Carnarvon. The jetty was burned and the train has been set on fire several times. It was its first day back in service.
One-Mile Jetty
From there, we drove to Monkey Mia, renowned for its dolphins. We were glad to see the dolphin feeding is now strictly controlled and the dolphins are healthy and thriving. Some years ago, when human contact with them was excessive, they became quite sick.
The dolphins have put in an appearance to be fed
It is many years since we last went to Monkey Mia and it has also been developed into quite a resort, but again it has been nicely done and remains unspoilt. There are many beaches around that area. The down side is the wind that seems to blow permanently.
Looking down from Eagle Bluff, near Monkey Mia. The lighter-coloured part of the sea was actually full of rays which we were able to identify. The darker areas are full of seagrass. This is classified as a World Heritage Area due to the abundance of seagrass.
Kalbarri, our next stop, is quite spectacular for its rugged cliffs and gorges. It is known for its wildflowers in the springtime. We were too late for these although some flowers were still in full bloom. This is a place we will revisit at the right season.

The cliffs near Kalbarri

For several months we have been looking for hose bags, a wonderful and very simple contraption for keeping the water hoses neatly coiled when not in use. They have a tendency to escape all over the place otherwise. We have never had any success but were assured in one place we would find them in Geraldton. Therefore this became our quest when we arrived there. After much Googling (what would we do without it?) we found various places to try and at last.......... success! A little ironic that we find them only 24 hours from the end of the trip, but better late than never. What a difference in the storage hatch.

The last stop was Dongara-Port Denison. This had just been the scene of a grisly triple murder/suicide where a mother had killed her two daughters and then herself but fortunately there was no evidence near the caravan park of the heavy police activity.

So now we are back in Perth. It has been an exciting year and a wonderful experience. We have only scratched the surface of this vast and beautiful country, but we will return to selected areas from time to time to explore further. People ask us which was the most scenic area, but there is no straight answer to that. The country is so varied, from the green of Tasmania which looks so much like parts of Scotland, to the lush areas of rainforest to the arid outback wildernesses and spectacular beaches and coastlines. It is all wonderful in its own way.

A trip like this brings people together and we have met some characters. Everyone is so friendly. We have also been able to catch up with family and friends in various parts of Australia, many of whom we have not seen for a long time, including some ex-Jakarta friends with whom we had lost touch. There were others whom we missed and we will try to catch up with them another time.

The weeks and months ahead will be busy as we seek to find a house that we would like to buy and sell the house we currently own but which is let out until April. We will then have the monumental task of recuperating our shipment of 400+ boxes from storage. Then we will be taking bookings from all of you that we hope will come and visit.



No comments:

Post a Comment