South West of WA

The South West of Western Australia  14/4/12 - 9/5/12

After crossing the Nullarbor we headed south towards the south west coast. We found a delightful caravan park at Salmon Gums which is a small country town on our way to Esperance.













We were the only ones there. The ablutions block had been partly burnt down over Easter but the womens toilet and showers were still operational. The power had been cut off but that didn't matter too much. Water was still available. We liked it so much we decided to stay another night and took the opportunity to clean up the car and caravan after all the dust and dirt of the Nullarbor. At $10 per night it was good value.

Esperance

Heading towards the south coast we came to Esperance our largest town since leaving Ceduna. We were expecting it to be a bustling tourist destination as it was right on the coast but it was smaller than we imagined it to be. After overnighting at a caravan park we drove out to Le Grande National Park which is about 60 kms east of Esperance. We stayed at a beautiful bay, Lucky Bay. The bay was named by Matthew Flinders who had to shelter his ship, the "Investigator", from a storm and luckily found this sheltered bay in 1802 while they were circumnavigating Australia.



Lucky Bay

As soon as we arrived at Lucky Bay we were able to eat lunch outside as there were 'no flies'. What a luxury. The beach had beautiful white sand which was so fine it was like powder. It felt like walking on fresh snow which made a similar crunching sound. The sea was crystal clear and the colours went from turquoise to deep blue. The camp ground was owned and run by the National Park and had flushing toilets and solar showers, so it was best not to be too late as the hot water ran out quickly.




Carol holding up Whistling Rock

Lunchtime break

Whilst staying at Lucky Bay we hiked over to Hellfire Bay, several kilometres away, via a coastal route which was quite spectacular. On route we walked past a large rock 'Whistling Rock'. When the wind direction and speed are right the rock makes a loud whistling sound. We then walked along a beautiful bay called 'Thistle Cove" which was named by the explorer Matthew Flinders after the Master of the Ship "Investigator". John Thistle was his name and he managed to find fresh water behind this cove.  The duration of the walk was about 5 hours return. A relax and swim was most welcome there. 


Thistle Cove

Hellfire Bay



After 3 nights at Lucky Bay we moved a few kilometres over to Cape Le Grand Beach for a further 2 nights. While the camp ground was better the scenery was not as good and exposed to the onshore wind.

Our second walk was to climb  to the top of
Frenchman's Peak, situated between Lucky Bay and Le Grand Beach,  so named because it looked like it was wearing a cap or perhaps a beret on the top. This was very steep all around and Carol found she had a bit of vertigo getting nearer to the top. She felt that she might fall backwards if she stood up straight. She was fine coming down. The view was fantastic and worth the trip up. We really enjoyed our time at this National Park.

Nearing the top of Frenchman's Peak

Top of Frenchman's Peak

Back to Esperance, 22/4 and we stayed at one of the best caravan parks we had been to "The Pink Lake Caravan Park" with decent sized grassy sites and very good amenities. We did the usual when arriving into a caravan park i.e. the laundry, charged  everything up, fill up with water and of course had a nice long hot shower.

We rode our bikes around the tourist scenic drive which was a lot longer and hillier than we thought. It ended up being 38 kms. While passing the Pink lake we noticed it wasn't pink. It only turns pink under certain conditions e.g. algae and sunlight. The coastline was rocky with some lovely beaches, one being the famous Twilight Beach but we didn't see it at it's best because the weather was cloudy, windy and threating to rain which made us go even faster. It was a shame as it would have been lovely in the sunshine. The township was a welcome sight as it was getting dark and our legs were very tired. It was great stopping in at MacDonalds to reward ourselves with an icecream and relax our legs. The following day was the coldest day since leaving home, a high of 17 deg. It was here Nigel decided to buy some fleecy tracksuit pants as they were needed.
Consequently, we didn't take any photos while in Esperance because it wouldn't do it justice.


Stokes National Park

This National Park was west of Esperance some 75kms away. Again, another dirt, corrugated road greeted us for the 6kms drive out to camp site in the National Park. Most National Parks have camp hosts who are volunteers, usually retired. They collect the fees and generally look after the camp ground in return for free accommodation. They maybe there for a couple of months before moving on to another camp ground to host. The facilities at Stokes Inlet were very good and had been opened just 12 months earlier after being burnt down by a bush fire. Even the heavy timber doors to the toilets smelt of newly stained linseed oil. There was a great camp kitchen, too, where we had a BBQ for all the campers as the camp hosts were leaving and new ones were coming in. The sites here had their own little bays so it was very private. The camp ground was located on an inlet, fed by two rivers. This inlet, like many along this coast line, had a sandbar separating it from the sea. Every 6 years the inlet fills up and breaks through the sandbar into the sea which must be quite spectacular when it happens.

On Anzac day we walked the 3 1/2 km track to the sandbar which was quite a challenge as we had to find our own way around the inlet weaving in and out and ducking under branches of the paperbark trees. The view at the sandbar was of a lovely white sandy beach and deep blue sea. It seemed isolated and wild.




Sandbar at Stokes Inlet

While staying here we took the opportunity to take the kayak out on the inlet once the wind died down but couldn't stay out very long as dark clouds were moving in on us and we needed to get back in a hurry. Great exercise for us.

We enjoyed our stay at Stokes Inlet and moved on just up the coast, a little bit, to Mungalup Beach.


Mungalup Beach

This area was accessible down a another dirt corrugated rough road, this time 7kms. Not the best for our car and caravan but we took it slowly. A nice beach and camping ground. There was a reef about 100m out from the shore leaving a lovely area where we could swim. There was only a handful of people staying here. Stayed here 2 nights to make it worth the while travelling over the dirt road.



Mungalup Beach foreshore

swimming inside the reef

Moving from Mungalup Beach we travelled west and then south towards Albany spending a few nights free camping along the main highway and a night visiting the coastal town of Bremer Bay. The weather was a bit poor here and we thought the 120 km return side trip was not a good decision as there wasn't much there, just another beach, unless you are into fishing, which Nigel is not.


Albany





Looking down the main street towards the harbour

Albany is the oldest European settlement in Western Australia, established 1826. We found the farmland around here very green and pastoral, good dairy farming country. It reminded us, very much of New Zealand. Albany was the town from which the Anzacs departed in 1915, their destination being Gallipoli. A memorial is located on top of one of the surrounding hills to commenorate this event.
Albany has a very picturesque harbour and the views are spectacular from the top of 3 hills surrounding the city.
Middleton Beach is the town beach. It is a very popular swimming spot. We didn't want to swim here as there was a strong cold wind blowing.  Would be lovely on a nice hot sunny day.




Anzac Memorial

Cosy Corner

We were told of a great camping spot (Cosy Corner) right on the beach about 30kms west of Albany so we headed there and spent 4 nights. We travelled in and out to Albany from there as the caravan parks were very expensive. We visited various attractions while there such as 'The Gap', 'The Natural Bridge', and 'The Blowholes' which weren't blowing.








'Natural Bridge'

After leaving Albany, at various points along the highway, we came across where the Bibbulmun track crosses the road. This is a 950km walking track which starts off in the Perth hills and finishes in Albany or vice versa. On average it takes about 6 weeks to complete, or you can do it in shorter stages. This would be a real challenge.



Denmark



We continued west to Denmark, about 65kms. A charming little town located on the banks of the Denmark River. It was here the weather started to change. Big black clouds started to roll in and the temperature dropped suddenly. A couple of attractions here was 'Greens Pool' which is rated one of Western Australia's idyllic beaches in a sheltered natural lagoon and 'The Elephant Rocks' which are giant boulders around the coastline. They do look like large grey elephants lying in the water. In good weather these would be beautiful sites to visit. Unfortunately we didn't see them at their best as it was very windy, showery and cool. On leaving this place we came across a board showing a picture of what Green's Pool looks like on a nice summer's day. So we decided to take a photo to compare.



A stormy 'Greens Pool'

'Greens Pool" in summer






The Valley of the Giants tree top walk is another of Denmarks major attractions. It is here you can view the magnificent Tingle trees. These are towering eucalypts found only in the forests of the Valley of the Giants. You can get a birds-eye view from a walkway high above the forest floor 40m high or on ground level.  Many of these trees  are split open at the base and are large enough to walk under or through.



crazy driver



Giant Tingle tree

Walpole


West again from Denmark was Walpole, again around 70kms. Another beautiful small town nestled on the banks of the Walpole and Nornalup adjoining inlets. We did hope to take the kayak out on the inlet but unfortunately we had our worst weather here. For 2 days we had heavy rain squalls sweeping across the caravan park. We were kept inside. Fortunately we had electricity so TV helped to pass the time.

Flooded Jetty, 'Walpole Inlet' at the caravan park



Where's Wally again!

Long way down

Platform at top of tree

After having travelled west and south west for weeks we now headed north for the first time, towards warmer weather. The weather did improve so we to continued our journey north through the lush areas of Tingle and Karri forests. We stayed at a lovely spot in the Shannon National Park before visiting several towns which grew up around the timber milling industry. Towns such as Northcliffe, Pemberton, Manjimup, Bridgetown and Nanup, names which probably will mean nothing to you unless you are familiar with this region. In this area are several high Karri trees that are used as fire lookouts and have viewing platforms located at the top of the tree. Two of these trees are available for those to climb who have no fear of heights.



Climbing the 'Diamond Tree'

We climbed two of these trees, one named the 'Glouster Tree' and the other 'The Diamond Tree' which are 60m and 51m in height. Scaling the tree is by means of climbing the rungs which are embedded into the trunk and spiral up to the platform above. There are no safety harnesses or nets so you do this at your own risk. From the top we got a magnificent view over the forest.


The next blog will be from Margaret River to Perth.