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.
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.
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.