Perth to Geraldton

Hello all

After a lovely 10 days or so in Perth staying with friends, it was good to get back in the camper and head North. I had forgotten just how beautiful Perth is, having spent nearly 10 years there between 1990 and 2000.

First stop was Lancelin, where there is a massive sand blow, with off road dune driving permitted.

Lancelin dunes

Lancelin dunes

I have driven the Brand Highway a few times before, so this time I chose the Indian Ocean Drive along the coast.

W

Lancelin sand dunes

After a stormy night at Lancelin I continued North to Nambung National Park, commonly known as Pinnacles Desert.

Pinnacles

Pinnacles

Pinnacles

Pinnacles

The Pinnacles are formed by calcified tree roots exposed by the shifting sands. I hope to get through Kalbari before the Easter Madness begins.
There are a couple of station stays around Shark Bay where I hope to hide from the crowds.
Bye for now

Australind to Perth

Hello all
From Australind, I headed to Pinjarra where there was a lovely Caravan Park, which was more like a farmstay. And it was only $12.00/ night unpowered.
The wild weather forecast was pretty average with damaging winds and lots of rain down as far as Mandurah. With that in mind I sat for a couple of nights just South, but not much eventuated.
I headed to Kwinana to catch up with friends for a few days before venturing into Perth to visit other friends,where I am now.
My mate has a plane so on Sunday we went for a fly. All our plans kept getting thwarted though.  Our initial plan was to fly over to Rottnest Island for lunch, 25knot crosswinds at the airstrip on Rottnest.......so plan B was to fly down to Bunbury for lunch. There was an Aero Club fly in that day so there was to be skydivers and all sorts of things. But we get out to Jandakot Airport and checking the plane found it only had 1.1 hours flying time left until a service was due.
Plan C instead was we flew down along the coast to just below Mandurah and return.

Cockburn Industrial area

 With a howling headwind she was a pretty bumpy ride but enjoyable all the same, I can't Believe how much Perth has grown in the 5 years since I was last here.

Bibra Lake

 While I love taking photos from the air, it has its drawbacks, with the perspex windows, reflections and on Sunday, average visibility and the bumps.

Rockingham and Garden Island Naval Base

Safety Bay

Mandurah looking South

Dawsville Cut

Mandurah looking North

Rockingham and Garden Island

I lived in Perth from 1990 until 2000 and had forgotten how beautiful a city it is, I would like to spend a few weeks here but with Easter and School Holidays chasing me I am keen to get North a bit ahead of the pack.
Out of curiosity I googled a caravan Park in Coral Bay the other night and in big red writing..............please note we are fully booked for all school holidays for 2015 and 2016.
With the grey nomad migration for Winter starting soon also I really want a head start, even if that means the possibilty of still getting a few hot days.
With all this in mind, in the next couple of days I will start my trek North, funnily enough after living in my camper for for about the last 14 or so months and now a week out of it staying with friends...........I am missing camper life and am quite keen to get back into it and hit the road.
Bye for now

Margaret River to Australind

Hello all
Margaret River.......well not impressed to be honest, I am not a wine drinker, nor do I wish to dress in black and wallow around in the surf impersonating a elephant seal to attract the sharks. On top of this my gas bottle was nearly empty, last time I filled it the cost was $25, the most I have paid is $45 in Goondawindi in Queensland.
The only place I could find in Margaret River was the hardware store....dogalogue ring any bells?. To my horror the asking price was $64.80, yep that is not a typing error.
So I did what I do in any other town with such blatant ripoffs, I put my wallet back in my pocket after refusing to be robbed and left town. I will spend my money somewhere that appreciates my business and doesn't blatantly try to rob me blind.......

Busselton Jetty

After that experience I headed to Busselton and spend 3 relaxing days in one of the Church run campgrounds just south of town for $14 per night......

Cruise Shit moored off Busselton

Leaving Busselton and doing some grocery shopping, after refusing to spend another cent in Margaret River, I headed to Donnybrook to spend some time with my cousin, who lives there.
I also headed out to Wellington Dam for the night and was provided with some entertainment while there. A salvage operation was underway to retrieve a boat that had sank a couple of weeks ago.

While at Donnybrook, I realised that Easter was approaching fast, and also school holidays.....mmmm dilema......where do I hide for Easter and school holidays?
The plan I came up with was to head into Perth and spend a few days or more catching up with friends then hightail it North and get far enough North to be out of Easter reach.
But I will still have to deal with school holidays, then guess what? Yep a cyclone brews up and threatens to head down the coast.

So for the moment I am watching the weather closely while trying to plan my escape, my hope is to be ahead of the pack and migration North for the Winter.  
Bye for now

Albany to Margaret River

Hello all
Still heading West from Albany, I headed to Shelley Beach Campground, in Cape Howe West National Park. This place would be lovely on a nice day, but in the rain and a howling trade wind coming straight off the ocean it wasn't pleasant. A slight backtrack to find a better place for the night was required. Cosy Corner it was tucked away in amongst the scrub for the night.
Labour Day long weekend was upon me so I decided to prop in Denmark for the weekend. A A cold wet weekend was spent doing laundry and watching movies. I had hoped to stay at Shannon Campground for a few nights, as I stayed there about 1990, but alas the fires have been right through that area and it was closed.
Plan B was to nick up to Manjimup for a night and hit Woolworths to restock.

Diamond Tree

 The Diamond tree fire lookout tower at Majimup, sits perched 51 metres above the ground. The thing that amazes me, that in this day and age of Occupational Health and Safety, they still allow people insane enough to climb it.........

Diamond Tree

Diamond Tree

Heading South to Pemberton and the Glouster Tree, another lookout tower up a tree.

The road led further South to Windy Harbour, a sleepy little fishing village.

Unfortunately the very recent fires had come right up to Windy Harbour, so the surrounding lookouts were still closed.

On to Warren River National Park and Hellfire Loop Scenic drive through the big timber. WA Parks have got some things right with a few of these narrow scenic drives being one way traffic, thus no worries with oncoming traffic at warp speed. Although they seem to have forgotten about vans and campers,with quite a few sites catering only for tents.
This is probably an appropriate time to mention, for those that don't know.........in Western Australia it is illegal to free camp and a $100 fine applies. National Parks and Caravan Parks are the only option. The exception to this is designated overnight stopping areas up North, where you have to a certain distance from a Caravan Park or Camping Ground. From memory it is 50 kilometres. I will check this out another time and clarify the distance.

Warren River National Park

warren River National Park

There are times when travelling, when you see a name on a map, and you simply must go and have a look......this National Park Campground  had me intrigued.

After Snottygobble Loop I headed to Augusta to see the calcium encrusted waterwheel

Waterwheel at Augusta

Waterwheel at Augusta

Tomorrow I need to head into Margaret River to refill my gas bottle, before a slow meander, over the next week or so, to Donnybrook to hopefully catch up with my Cousin.
Bye for now.

Esperance to Albany

Hello all,
Still heading West from Esperance I headed to Hopetoun and Fitzgerald River National Park

Fitzgerald River National Park

looking back at Hopetoun

East Mount Barren

While Bremer Bay is nice it didn't  hold much for me, being a non fisherman.

Bremer Bay

I have been told that Western Australian Caravan Parks are expensive, and I have not been disappointed. Parks in Albany start just under $40/night and range to nearly $50/night.......a motel right in town had a sign out the front advertising rooms $85/night.
That is so wrong, no wonder more and more people are choosing to free or low cost camp!
The Caravan Park Industry really needs to have a good look at itself, these prices are what I paid in Cairns and Townsville.
While Albany is pretty and worth  a visit it is outragious prices that are making people like myself bypass or severely restrict time spend there.

So, with the weather breaking and rainy days forecast, I headed to the Stirling Ranges.

Bluff Knoll, Stirling Ranges

Bluff Knoll

Bluff Knoll is the highest peak in Southern Western Australia, at 1095 metres and is one of the very few places in WA where snow occasionally falls.

Stirling Ranges

Bluff Knoll

During the night someone had scheduled thunderstorms, as about every couple of hours another storm would roll through.
The plan now is to head towards Walpole, the forest areas and Augusta.
Bye for now.

Leonora to Esperance and Cape Le Grand

Hello all
Heading South from Leonora towards Esperance gave me welcome relief from the incessant heat since leaving Victoria.

After a couple of days in Esperance doing some Laundry, and getting the vehicle serviced, I stocked up and headed out to Cape Le Grand and it's stunning white beaches and granite outcrops.

Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand

With only one camp site free when I arrived, I had a choice............Lucky Bay or Lucky Bay.........Le Grand Beach seems to be constantly full. Maybe it's time Parks WA time limited stays there to give everyone a fair go.

Lucky Bay Cape Le Grand

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay

it's legal to drive on some beaches here

After a couple of nights camped next to a lovely couple from Bellingen in NSW it was time to move on again, back to Esperance again, due to no sites available at Le Grand Beach.

Whistling Rock at Thistle Cove was Whistling

Frenchman Peak

 If you look closely at the skyline there are dots............these are people climbing the peak.

Frenchman Peak

Once back in Esperance I took the opportunity do drive the Coastal Scenic Drive.

Twilight Beach, Esperance

Twilight Beach, Esperance

While the Camper was off the Ute In Esperance, I took the opportunity to check all the wiring on the Solar on the roof. Whilst I was unable to find any problems, I unplugged both panels and reset the Solar Controller. 
I still don't know what the problem was but whatever it was is now fixed. An overcast day at Le Grand and I was getting 18volts from the panels, today, 25c I was getting 21.5 volts, so maybe it was just the extreme heat?
Tomorrow I am heading to Stokes National Park and westward towards Hopetoun.
 Bye for now.