Western Australia 2015

We can’t stop this narrative without wrapping up our latest walkabout into the monstrous state of Western Australia. The quip “bigger ‘n Texas” is particularly true when you realize that 3.5 Texas’s would fit in WA. Despite driving over 9,000 kms (5,400 miles or an average of 100 miles a day) we barely covered ¼ of the state. To see a map of our journey, go to http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?user=usvellas&tripid=779752 If you know us, you know that we are stats freaks…we love…

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How shall I say it…we saved the best for last?  I’m not sure; you decide…we loved every minute. We heard so much about Coral Bay that we added this spot to check it out. Everywhere everyone south of and around Perth raved about this part of WA. Now that I consider it, the fact is it was becoming colder in the south and everyone was green with envy that we were going to the “tropics”. Turns out Coral Bay it…

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Once we left truffle-hunting behind, we were heading up through the Turquoise Coast to the Coral Coast. The weather would warm up, in fact we would cross the Tropic of Capricorn after a few days and the sea would be more appealing for swimming.  We made an overnight stop at the Bennett’s ranchette to replenish our supply of welcoming faces, fresh eggs, tree-ripened limes, homemade yoghurt and to share a few stories of our journey. We departed Perth via the…

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From the Great Southern to the Southern Forests, we were leaving the dramatic coastline for some dramatic flora.  Enroute our favorite cow, the Belted Galloway, made a rare appearance beneath a rainbow.  A treetop walk in a Tingle forest was pretty incredible on a 15-metre high bridge that spanned six 100-metre sections. The tingle is much like a redwood with shallow roots and often hollowed out at the base from fire, fungal or insect attack. They are actually a eucalyptus and can grow…

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Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP) is a one of the larger parks in WA at nearly a million acres but is mostly inaccessible wilderness. We saw a minute part of the mountainous coast that offered a 50K walking trail divided into 4 segments that were easy to reach. We had to drive over 3 hours around the top of the park to reach the west side. During our stay we camped near two other couples and during our hike we…

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What a surprise we had in store for us when we reached the coastline of the Southern Ocean!  It’s dotted with National Parks that have delighted us in different ways.  We started at a seaside town called Esperance which is over 400 miles from Perth and at population 14,000 it’s the largest town for a long way.  We were really impressed with the new esplanade so we figured that pride of ownership in the community might extend to the restaurants…

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We are planning to be off the grid for a few days as we head east along the coast to a couple national parks that won’t supply us power let alone internet.  So I’m taking the op to send a little update.   We took the ferry to Rottnest Island where we spent a fantastic day biking the perimeter (about 25 miles) on a perfect weather day. The crystal clear water and beaches are the big draw for visitors but…

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It’s day 6 of our WA visit.  We’ve had terrific weather with mild, sunny days and chilly nights…think 72F/48F.  Who can’t handle that? Our motor home is practically new and an upgrade from the one we had last year but the layout isn’t as practical for us, so we are a little disappointed with this aspect. The first 2+ days we spent provisioning in Perth. We kept returning to the same shopping centre since it had a Bunnings (like Home…

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