Greg is standing in the largest known living eucalypt tree in the southern hemisphere. It is called a 'tingle' which is an aboriginal word meaning 'red' and this specimen is 24 metres in circumference at the base. Above> A painting....reflection of me looking into the river at Denmark
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Top> Laurence Winery and sampling their best Cab Sav and tastings plate
Below< Margaret River bakery,perhaps......big call...one of the best bakeries I have been to. We had time out from the van when we got to Perth. We stayed with a friend Carol, in Bassendean, in the Swan Valley, near the Swan River. We had a lot of fun and met some great people, especially her neighbours Steve and John. We didn’t do a lot of sight seeing but did manage to have lunch at Cottesloe Beach. I also had a great morning checking out the strip of second hand shops in James Street, Guildford, with the highlight being the Natural History museum of taxidermy. It is a quirky fabulous place, showing the labour of love and commitment of the life’s work of Michael Buzza. According to Michael, absolutely no animals are killed for the purpose of taxidermy…I asked! Most of the stuffed animals were road kill or died while in a zoo or reserve. Animals are bidded for at auction by museums and collectors from all over the world. Competition is highest if the animal is a rare species, because everyone wants them for their collections. After 3 days with Carol we headed down south to Yallingup (see later post). We spent a week at Yallingup and then left the camper set up, while we returned to Perth, for another couple of nights with Carol. The car needed to be serviced and I got some dental work done. We spent an afternoon in Fremantle hanging out in some very inspiring textile designer shops and café in Wray St. They really got my creative yearnings going because they were so full of fun colour and passionate people. We caught a train out to Cottosloe beach (again) and walked through the suburb looking at all the large old stately houses and gardens….gorgeous. We could easily live there in our dreams. We also visited some other great shops and bars in Leederville and Mt Lawley. While in Mt Lawley it was so good to catch up with friends Gretta and Andrew for breakfast. Perth is an amazing place, with a great lifestyle, and we could easily hang out there for a couple of years if it wasn’t so far away from the rest of Australia. We travelled from Kalbarri through Northampton, Dongari next to Port Denison, Mingenew, Three Springs and stayed overnight in Carnamah. From Carnamah we travelled on to Perth through Coorow, Watheroo, Moora and stopping at New Norcia for lunch. I love nothing better than wandering around the streets of these little towns and taking simple snapshots. You find some gems of people to chat with and a sense of the place.
Loved Kalbarri it has everything going for it. It has a river, national park, surfing, great beaches, great cafes and the best bike path. I had a fabulous bike ride all along the coastline to Kalbarri's version of Red Bluff (top shot).
Point Quobba blowhole Above - Greg in action at Red Bluff, Top pic with two girls and this one. While at Carnarvon we drove about 140 km on part bitumen, part sandy dirt track, up to Quobba station to visit some epic surf spots. I felt like I was in a 1970's classic surf movie like 'Endless Summer'. Wrecked boards were left discarded up on the point and there were good looking tanned surfers and old gnarly weathered surfers too, who appeared out of humpies and dusty set-ups....very cool. They were all awsome surfers, including Greg, who conquered his nerves of big waves breaking on coral and the endless stories of sharks we have heard over and over from fellow travellers. WOOT! We stopped in Carnarvon for three days. It is a really nice town with some beautiful old houses with big wide verandahs that have been turned into backpacker accommodation. It is the centre for the Gascoine fruit and veg industry. I went for a long bike ride around the town and the harbour and then Greg and I went out to one mile jetty. It was good to get some exercise after sitting in the car. We celebrated Greg's birthday at the Old Post Office pizza joint with some friends Glenys and Jamie that we met at Mesa camp at Ningaloo. |
Jenny ShawCanberra based. Archives
December 2011
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