Weeks 18, 19 & 20 Mandurah to Cape Leeuwin

Another couple of weeks have flown by and we're now heading further
east following our stay in Albany. We've not been able to catch up with
our travelling companions as there have been more work commitments
for both of us. Whenever work enquiries come in about silo cleaning, it
also means bookwork for me so we've both been kept busy in between
sightseeing. In this blog we'll be covering Mandurah as well as  

the area in the south-west corner of WA. 

Mandurah

Mandurah is set on the shores of the Peel Harvey Estuary, a vast expanse
of water which has a startling array of fresh-water rivers flowing into it. So it's
little wonder the indigenous people named this place Manjar, 'meeting place'.

The best thing about Mandurah was spending time with my youngest
sister Ronni whom we hadn't seen in a while. What better way to spend
a  day together than cruising the estuary, river and canals around the
area. Here we are enjoying drinks at a cafe at Sandy Cove situated at
the end of one of the canals.

Brett did a great job manouvering his boat around the

canals with Gerry supervising while we relaxed on the back.

We had a stop at Cooper's Mill along the Murray River.
Brett kept a watchful eye on his boat while we checked
out the mill on this reserve.

After a beautiful, warm, sunny day, it was a very calm 

evening back at the marina in Mandurah on sunset.

Here is a waterfront view with a cafe and large

elfresco area under the sails.

This is the boardwalk next to the Mandurah Performing

Arts Centre and several restaurants are located along here.

The boardwalk also leads to the Visitors Centre on Manjar Bay

and to the waterfront shopping strip.

And speaking about the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, that was
where we had our initiation to the opera. Yes you read it correctly!!
We went to our first opera! Sarah in this photo is one of the Oz Opera

 performers touring regional communities across the country. We had
met some of the performers in New Norcia and they then invited us for
drinks after their performance in Mandurah. The opera, 'La Traviata'
is an opera classic story of decadence, forbidden love and Parisian
romance. We thoroughly enjoyed our opera experience 

as well as the private 'after party.'

Next we visited the small village of Fairbridge just out of Pinjarra.

Kingsley Fairbridge, after whom the village is named, arrived in Australia
in 1912, and established the Farm School here to train British migrant
children in methods of farming. Here are photos of a couple of buildings
used then and today this village is used as a holiday camp with several 

accommodation options also available for tourists.

This was the old General Store with the antique fuel pump

in front, showing the fuel reading in gallons. 

It was a cool day with several heavy showers and an occasional

hailstorm, so a good excuse for Ronni, Gerry and I to stop for a

coffee at the Fairbridge village cafe.

Cycling from Mandurah to Perth

This little segment will interest my cycling buddies at

home who are always looking for good rides. This is one ride

I've had on my 'to do' list ever since I'd heard (some years ago)

that there was a designated bike path away from traffic all the

way from Mandurah to Perth - a distance of about 75km.

This is where the bike path starts its run alongside the freeway but often
it's protected by shrubs and trees and sometimes a brick wall which
reduces traffic noise. Only occasionally the freeway is visible from the path.

I'm over halfway now and that's a real psychological advantage, as now
I start counting down the kilometres. The trail signage is great at every
point where there's a bike path junction indicating distances to towns.

At this point where there are several freeway junctions, the path runs
under the freeway. The Perth skyline is just visible in the distance.

Only 2kms to the city exit from here. and there's another

bike/walk path over the freeway at this junction.

Here the path is just across from the Old Brewery on the Swan River
and just behind is Kings Park with its beautiful Botanic Gardens.

a small, secluded 

Just up over this bridge is the city of Perth and here's

garden area with a lake, an ideal spot to take a break from the noise of

the city. My journey took just over 4 hours with a few refreshment

stops and some stretching, so after a coffee and a short ride around the

city streets, it's time to take the train back to Mandurah and all for a

princely sum of $1.80 on a seniors off-peak discount! How's that for a

75kms train trip. WA has the best and cheapest transport system

that we've come across so far. I was fortunate to have this brilliant day

out while Gerry was at work on a silo in Rockingham south of Perth.

this bird is known as the Twenty Eight. Apparently when it whistles,

Near Mandurah Gerry managed to photoograph this Splendid Blue Wren

 and 

it sounds like the word 'twenty-eight'.

Now we leave Mandurah and my sister Ronni. Farewells are not easy but we
hope to see you again soon. As Ronni always says... "Luv ya heaps! Speak soon."

So we leave Mandurah with this sign on a restaurant wall!

Busselton

We passed through Busselton where this little train takes passengers

on the 1.9km trip on the longest, wooden piled jetty in the southern

hemisphere. The jetty started its life as a working jetty in 1865 but 

nowadays is used for tourism and recreation.

On the train to the end of the 1.9km jetty just visible in the distance.

Margaret River
Margaret River is a town in the heart of the state's largest wine producing
area but it also has a past in the timber industry. Below is a photo of 'Kate'
one of the locomotives used for this industry.

'Kate' was built in England in 1889 and shipped to this area in 1890 and was
used for logging here until 1909. It was sent to Wyndham in 1917 where it
was used until the early 1950s. It was transported back here in 1964 and
is now set up as a memorial to the pioneers of the timber industry in this
district. Big and little kids can now play around on 'Kate'.

Gerry's always wanted to be a train driver!

Flowing through the town at the memorial park is Margaret River, a
good spot for a walk on the track beside it. The wier crossing along the
walking track proved very handy, certainly better than managing river

crossings on the bike as shown in photos below.

We couldn't resist the chance to ride on the gravel cycling path along the
river but at times we had to manage very rocky terrain and flooded areas.

The water actually reached my shoes but I managed to get through okay.

For all of us senior travellers, I just had to add this poster which I

spotted on the wall in the Margaret River Caravan Park Office. From

here we headed 20kms south along Caves Road and on to....

Conto's Campground

Conto's Campground is in the Leeuwin Naturaliste National
Park, a national park in the South West region of Western Australia,
267kms south of Perth. It is named after the two locations at either end
of the park which have lighthouses, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste.
It is located in the Augusta-Margaret River and Busselton council areas
and is claimed to have the highest visiting numbers of any national park
in Western Australia. Luckily for us it was very quiet and peaceful with
only few campers but perhaps the cooler weather with occasional showers
had something to do with that. But we also enjoyed some sun which was
great for our solar panels as there is no power here.

The kettle's on while Gerry's preparing our camp site. All sites have
picnic tables, fireplaces (wood supplied) and there are plenty of toilets 
available in the campground. The cost was $10 per night for two seniors.

 We had some native visitors to our campsite as well as some wonderful
human visitors - Leigh & John whom we'd met earlier on our travels.

We shared our campfire a couple of nights and this night just as they
had their dinner cooking nicely in their camp oven, down came the rain
although thankfully it didn't last too long and we still enjoyed the night
and more so the company. We've met up by chance at three camps now
and have really enjoyed it and we wish you a happy and safe journey.

This is the stunning coastline looking north, within walking distance of
Conto's Camp. We walked along a short section of the Bibbulman Track
to get to this spot. At our campsite and along the track we met a few people
as well as some school groups who were actually walking the Bibbulman 
Track, the longest walk trail in Western Australia at approx 961kms.

Our total walk distance including the trek down to the beach

was probably only about 5-6kms.

 This view is the coastline looking south towards Cape Leeuwin.

For a day trip we drove along Caves Road to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin.

Cape Leeuwin

Cape Leeuwin was named by Matthew Flinders in 1801, at the
commencement of the circumnavigation of Terra Australis
(Australia), taking the name of the adjoining area which had been
called Leeuwin's Land by the Dutch navigators when Leeuwin
(The Lioness) rounded the cape in March 1622. The adjacent coastline
first appeared on charts by Hessel Gerritsz (in Holland) in 1627.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Australia's tallest lighthouse at 56 metres
above sea level, is situated on the extreme south west corner of
Australia, and is dedicated to the world's mariners. Still on this
property are the former lighthouse keepers' cottages.

The lighthouse was getting a little too heavy!

Here the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.

  

Gerry's found a new hobby - searching for and photographing wild orchids.
He's just like a kid going wild in a toy store. Here are just a few of his
favourite orchid shots - 
the White Spider; the King in his Carriage (crimson);

the Bird Orchid (green); the Blue Lady

and the Common Donkey Orchid (yellow).

These he found in the south west region of Western Australia.

Some orchids he found in areas specified in an orchid book, however

others he's found just along walking tracks and rest areas where we've

stopped for a coffee or lunch break. Altogether he's found about 20 or

more different orchids. Not bad for a beginner wouldn't you agree?

Now for this cow Hazard Reduction!

In March to June 2010, 85 cows were positioned across the

Margaret River Region as part of the World's largest public art event

called the "Cow Parade". In July the cows were auctioned off with the

proceeds going to regional beneficiaries and charities. The Hazard cow 

was actually placed in front of a hardware store in Margaret River

while the white Moorine Marauder below was positioned in the

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse grounds.

Well that's about it for this blog. We've moved on from Albany and

are heading towards Esperance and a national park in the area so we

may be without phone or internet signal for some days. Hope you all

enjoy this blog and until next time,  love, Maria & Gerry.