Here we Go !!!
Today as the torrential rain in Sydney abated we set off on our trip to the far West.
As we left Sydney behind, clouds and traffic seemed to disappear and we found ourselves travelling along the well known rural route past Goulborn and the Yass Valley until we reached our first stop for the night called Jugiong. If it wasn’t for Austin’s sister Penny, we wouldn’t have known about Jugiong or how to pronounce the name of this two street - one pub place! Great tip Penny! 
The old show ground surrounded by large trees and soft hills covered in velvety reddish brown as the sun sets is a playground for large flocks of white cockatoos and Lorikeets and has ample space for vans and campers.
Feeling washed out, not only from the Sydney rain, but also from all the packing, we gladly took the advise to have a meal at the local hotel, "The Sir George”, a beautifully restored historic stone building first founded by an Irish settler in 1845. 
The evening temperature in Jugiong was 26 degrees and so we had our dinner in the lovely beer garden. My roasted cauliflower salad with quinoa, feta, roasted carrots and chickpeas was delicious, and so was Austin’s fish and chips. But then, lulled by the local wine, we overdid it: we shared a huge serve of chocolate-blueberry brownies! They were to die for!
We woke up in the morning to a stunning sunrise and the shrieking of the cockatoos. On the way to the amenities we passed the memorial for local Sergeant Edmund Parry who in 1864 while escorting a mail coach was shot dead by bushranger John Gilbert, a member of the infamous Hall Gang. - A bit of the ‘wild’ history of town and we are not even in the ' West' - yet!
Day two now and we set off on the “Road to Gundagai”- “where the blue gums are growing’ and the Murrumbidgee’s flowin’ “- ( a well known Aussie song), and we watched the temperature on the car thermometer climb into the mid thirties.
As we had been down this way a few times before everything looked familiar, including of course the “Dog on the Tuckerbox”, another Aussie poem/folksong about some unlucky bullock drovers getting bogged in the mud, only to find the dog sitting on their longed for lunch which now was spoiled! There is no chance in the moment to get bogged in the mud here as the ground is very dry. It was good to see that at least the water in the Murrumbidgy River was still flowing!
By late afternoon we reached the sheep shearing town of Hay with it’s amazing Shearers Museum “Shear Outback”, well worth a visit! Along the river, at Sandy Point Reserve, is a beautiful free camping area with barbecue settings and a little sandy beach. It was still 35 degrees at 5pm and a swim in the cool Murrumbidgy was just the right thing to refresh before dinner.
Day three and the drive we had ahead of us along the Hay plain to Mildura was a long and boring one. But first we hit the shops in town for water and cider. We also needed to find something to get rid of ants which somehow had infested our caravan. There were whole colonies of them!
Mildura lies just across the border of Victoria which until 1851 was part of New South Wales. The Riverina ,as this area is called, is full of orchards, and most of our grapes or sultanas, oranges and apples come from here. The temperature now had climbed to 38 degree and we decided to have an afternoon tea break and then carry on to Renmark in South Australia.
Of course, forgetting we had still some tomatoes in the fridge of the caravan, we got busted just before entering South Australia by the Fruit Fly Pest control! This meant no tomato salad with our eggplant parmigiana at dinner time and potentially a hefty fine! Hopefully we will get away with a warning!
Burra, Kimba and Eyre Peninsula
What is a road trip or, for this matter a boat trip, without hick-ups and diversions!? Although in this case it started earlier than anticipated.
The road out of Renmark, our first stop in South Australia, leads over three bridges crossing the Murray River and its sidearms. On this morning the crossing for trucks and caravans was rather slow and precarious as high building fences narrowed the lanes and made crossing a squeeze. “I could do with some fenders on the van” was Austin’s comment.
We turned off the highway into the long backroad to the top of the Eyre Peninsula which was going to be our destination for the day. I wasn’t happy about going all the way to a place called Iron Knob about 460km away and whinged in Austin’s ear to stop at Burra for the night.
Well our good Ford Ranger must have heard me because the car seemed to loose power and started chewing through the diesel at a much faster rate.
As the next 2000km would lead across the Nullarbor Plain where you don’t want to get stuck with car trouble, we decided to stay in Burra and organised to have the car checked in nearby Clare. Burras beautiful stone buildings are from the time in the early 19th century when a shepherd discovered copper and Burra became a magnet for multinational miners and tradesmen. Two groups of merchants, traders and bankers vied for the mining rights. Eventually the two companies put their funds together and with typical Aussie irony, the locals called them the "Nobs and Snobs”. When the gold rush in Victoria put an end to the copper mines, Burra reverted back to a quiet rural community.
Having had the car checked and the ant problem in the caravan under control we resumed our trip and headed to the Eyre Highway. Our next stop was at the Pandurra Sheep Station. Next to the large shearing shed the owners have created all the necessary facilities for campers. This also includes a dining room offering happy hour and meals at night. Lamb shanks were the special that night, yet
having watched the little lambs around the farm, I chose not to eat their brother. There were 4 sets of campers from 3 different states around the dinner table, and we all had a great natter over a good meal and glass of red.
The next morning the highway lead us to Kimba. “Kimba" is the aboriginal name for ‘waterhole’. The town is known for the painting on the enormous silos. South Australian artist Cam Scale used 200 litres of paint for his country scene.
Well, everything is “big" in Australia, and so it is no wonder that Kimba, abound with the colourful birds, is the town of the Big Galah. Although which galah on the picture on the right is the biggest - you’ll be the judge!
There are still some trees and hills in this area, so we are not quite on the Nullarbor Plain, but we surely are on the longest straightest highway ever! It is named after the explorer Edward John Eyre, who with help of his trusted indigenous friends crossed the continent from Sydney to the Swan River in WA. In Kimba he is looking over some of the territory, compass in hand and aboriginal tracker Wylie by his side. A good spot to survey what is ahead as here they were halfway across Australia! 
We were on the search for another waterhole and so shortly after Kimba we turned off the highway and down into the Eyre Peninsula. 
Here we stumbled upon the so-called “Murphy’s Haystacks”, strange looking rock formations shaped by the sea and named “Inselbergs” (Island mountains) by a German settler. And that was just what they were before the waters receded and they became stranded within farmer Murphy’s paddocks.
At Streaky Bay we stayed at the Streaky Bay Island caravan Park, a beautifully kept park 4 km out of town, but so much nicer than the downtown one and with a view right over the Bay. To celebrate the view in style, we had our first aperol spritz watching the sunset! In the morning we toured along dirt roads to 2 of the nearby capes with wonderful views over turquoise/blue waters, white sand dunes and ochre cliffs.
Further south at Point Labatt we had great fun watching the sea lions lazying in the sun and the younger ones frolicking in the Southern Ocean.
The Nullarbor
For some "The Nullarbor”- from Latin “Nullus” and “Arbor” meaning “No tree”- is a magical place. For others it is the most boring flat stretch of road through arid landscape imaginable. Austin and I feel that both points have some validity. After three days of driving through the barren landscape and hardly having to turn the steering wheel we could do with a little bit of excitement other than seeing the odd sign pointing out the obvious.
On the other hand, there is a magic to the wide open space, the colours of the grassland and lack of human intervention, well, that is apart from the masses of roadkill.
Unfortunately, towing a big caravan and not having allotted enough time to stop and unhook, we didn’t explore many of the 4WD side roads leading off the beaten track. However, we turned into some of the great lookouts and one in particular will stay in my mind: a lookout on the so-called Australian Bight. Overlooking the jagged cliffs along the massive Southern Ocean and the vastness of the grassland behind us it seemed to me as if we landed on a new planet.
While watching the sun set we decided to stay there for the night and were joined by a few other travellers. During the night we got to feel one of the forces of nature. A storm rolled in with wind so strong that it rocked our caravan and ripped one of our window stays right of its hinges. It even deadened the sound of Austin’s snoring! He, of course, was blissfully unaware!
As we carried on the next day, we found that the sparsely distributed settlements and roadhouses we passed had come up with their own tourist attractions. In Penong the local men decided to show off a variety of windmills including, of course, Australia's "largest windmill”, all to make people stop and spend some money! We also passed the “Big Wombat” and the “Big Roo”, hideous plastic replicas. Marked as an attraction on the Wiki Camp App, I was intrigued to learn what the "Teddy Bear Tree" might be. In passing we just caught a glimpse of a small tree adorned with old teddies and dolls.
Now to all our golf obsessed friends, here is a challenge: to play on the worlds longest golf course, the Nullarbor Links. The 18 hole par 73 course spans 1365 km with one hole in each of the participating settlements or roadhouses along the Eyre Highway. How about it Blake, Pete, Peter, Georg, Renate?
For us the main attraction is the nature we encountered.
Where there are trees on the otherwise treeless plain there is an array of beautiful birds, like galahs, ringneck parrots, magpies and Australian miners, like at the Baxter rest stop, a beautiful free campsite with the rare luxury of a toilet.
Norseman and Esperance
Approaching Norseman from the Nullarbor the road is lined by beautiful golden stemmed trees, so called gimlets and salmon gums, both eucalypts which obtain this amazing coloured trunks and branches after shedding their bark.
Closer to town we passed Lake Cowan a large salt lake of which there are many to be found between Norseman and Esperance. Depending on the current climate their salt crust is dense or broken down by freshwater flooding. In spite of these changing conditions there are invertebrates and plants which can adapt to either, and when there is influx of freshwater, wading birds return to the wetland.
Legend tells that a prospector, named Laurie Sinclair, tied his horse over night to a tree. In the morning next to the horse whose name was “Norseman” was a gold bearing quartz which the horse had unearthed by pawing the soil with his hoof. And that’s how Norseman got its name.
Last time we came through Norseman in 1979 our car was caked in mud from a 350km dirt track. Then there were scouts at the local servo offering car washes. Safe to say, we got our money's worth!
This time there were no scouts in site, as matter of fact, not many people around at all. Some of the local businesses had closed their doors. We learned that the big gold and granite mine in town closed down 2 years ago. Apparently there is still plenty of gold in situ and the town is hoping for a new buyer of the mine. In the meantime small independent miners are still busy finding gold and gems in the area.
There are some nice walks in and around town and from the heights of "Beacon Hill” one has a fantastic, panoramic view. On top of the hill we met a few other “Austins” and their proud owners who were on the way to Perth for a rally.
After heading straight west for the last week or so, we changed direction travelling south to Esperance. With a name like Esperance and “Recherche" archipelago I almost felt transported back to France. There is even a French bakery here! Esperance and Recherche were two French ships which in 1792 took shelter behind one of the 110 islands of the archipelago.
Cape Le Grand is only one of the surrounding national parks in this area. In its midst is the Frenchman Peak a mountain which reminded the explorer Alexander Forrest of the hats worn by French troops in 1800s. 
We were silly enough, or maybe lucky enough, to climb almost to the peak. Austin was amazing with his two bad knees - but as you all know he is just 'such a man’! The view from the top was worth risking a bit of cartilage and inflammation for! 
Along the coastline of the national park are some beautiful beaches, the most spectacular one being “Lucky Bay” which is shared by bathers, 4WDs and kangaroos. The sand of the beach is the whitest I have ever seen and the colour of the water pure emerald!
But all of the many beaches around town are beautiful and “The Great Ocean Drive” offers many fantastic lookouts over the bays and islands. Unfortunately rainy weather was closing in and so we decided to slowly move on.
Hold on! I forgot to mention that in spite of the French influence, the English well and truely asserted themselves in this area. 
And what could be better proof than this life-size replica of Stone Henge as it would have been in 1950 BC. It has been constructed out of 137 stones of pink granite from a local quarry less than 1km away. To me it looks a little too “Disney” perfect and hasn’t got quite the spiritual ambience like the real thing. Great is though, that it is aligned to catch the sunlight during the winter and summer solstice' dawn and sunrise to beam directly onto the altar.
Albany, Denmark and the Giants
Peaceful Bay
We made our way to Albany passing flocks of ringneck parrots, galahs and a few more painted silos. We stopped at the “Happy Days” Caravan Park just north of Albany right next to the King River.
Driving into the city we were amazed how much it had grown since we were last here in 1979. Yet the town of 35000 inhabitants still maintains its relaxed harbour-side character and prides itself on not having a single traffic light!
We were drawn to a small stone church, the oldest in WA as we learned. A knowledgable parish volunteer pointed out a window featuring the late Padre White, who accompanied Australian troops to Galipoli during WWI. He was later wounded and returned to his home town. On 25th April 1930 he held the first ANZAC Day Dawn Service on Australian soil here, in this small church in Albany.
The main attraction for many Australians is Albany’s meticulously landscaped ANZAC Peace Park and the National ANZAC Centre highlighting Albanys role in the first world war. 41000 Australian and New Zealand troops were shipped from Albany’s harbour via Egypt to Turkey.
For so many it would be the last place they saw of their home country. Along the Peace Parks walkways and throughout the centre touching tributes in form of poems and excerpts of letters written by young soldiers or their families are edged into tall metal columns. At sunset the Avenue of Honour leading uphill to the ANZAC memorial is illuminated by the “Field of Lights”. Although a smaller version of the Bruce Munro display erected at Uluru, the 1600 light spheres in green, white and yellow add a special poignancy to this location.
Unfortunately the weather was very unpredictable changing within minutes from warm sunshine to strong, cold winds and sudden showers.
After moving from the European to the Australian summer for the past 7 years, Austin and I have become a little precious with temperatures below 17 degrees. However, on our first day in Albany it was just nice enough to drive out to the "Natural Bridge” and watch in awe the power of the Southern Ocean from the height of a 40 metres steel cantilever suspended over the so-called Gap. I’ll never know how people come up with the courage to cross these waters in a small sailing boat, like our friends Vicky and Andrew!
Not far from the Gap is the old Whaling Station. It was the last Australian whaling station to close down and was in operation from 1932 to 1978. It owed its longevity to its close proximity to the continental shelf, the hunting ground for sperm whales.
The sperm whales at the time were not as endangered as the humpback whales whose hunting was prohibited in Australian waters in 1963. The tour of the station opens one’s eyes to the cruelty of whaling - for the whales of course, but also for the whalers themselves. They often hated their job and the fact that, once they were located by a spotter plane, the whales didn’t have a chance.
Attracted by the blood, the whale boats were often encircled by sharks, and even at the station sharks were luring and latching on to the whales as they were winched onto the flensing deck.
The worst of all jobs was probably the work on the flensing decks where the blubber was cut and the rest of the whale sawed into small pieces. From the blubber of one single whale 6000 litres of oil was extracted. This was used as lamp oil, in paints, cosmetics, machine oil and margarine while the by products were turned into fertilisers and stock feed.
Next to me is the skeleton of a “small” sperm whale - only 30 m long.
Thank God, these gentle giants of the sea are now protracted in our waters!
From giant mammals we headed towards "The Valley of the Giants" which stretches from Denmark to Walpole and covers an area of 6000 hectare.
But first we side tracked to some other beautiful bays: one named “Green Pools” and the other one’s claim to fame are the “Elephant Rocks”. Can you see why?
As it was getting late when we arrived at the Ayr Sailean Farm, our next campsite, we decided to save the Valley of the Giants 
for the next day. The farm stay was again a recommendation from Austin’s sister, Penny, and we loved it! Large green, grassy areas are set up for caravans and campers among peacefully grazing sheep and alpacas. Spacey corrugated iron buildings serve as camp kitchen and bathrooms. As the sun set we made use of the fire pit next to our camp site and sat outside- having a drink or two- chatting until the last log was burned down.
After an off road drive to Peaceful Bay and almost getting bogged exploring a sandy 4WD bush track, we entered the "Valley of the Giants". Just driving through the tall forest of beautiful eucalypts made me happy! Unfortunately the Red Tingles were way too big to be hugged! As they age, like it happens to us humans, they “bottom out”. Their bases can reach a circumference of 20 metres while the canopies tower 30 - 75 metres above.
Looking down from 40 metres, the highest point of the tree top walk, the crowns of the trees still towering above, one feels a little acrophobic.
I much preferred walking along the forest paths and craning my neck to look up.
The Red Tingles are eucalypts with a very shallow root system. They gain their steadiness through the width of their bases acting like buttresses. They belong to the so-called "buttress eucalypts". Bush fires have hollowed some of the tree bases into large blackened caves. Only the dry, hard inside of the tree is consumed by fire while the moisture and nutrients absorbing outer layers preserve its life.
In order to keep ourselves nourished we called into the Toffee Factory on our way back. Apart from all kinds of toffee there were home made jams, relishes and ciders to choose from. Difficult choices, but we managed!
Pemberton and Margaret River
From one enchanted forest to another we travelled northwest to Pemberton. Here the Karri trees take the place of the Red Tingles. Their silvery grey trunks splashed with salmon pink and orange extend even higher into the sky than the red tingle trees. 
They can reach up to 95 metres and are only surpassed by the American Redwood and the Eucalyptus Regnans in Tasmania.
After dropping off the caravan at the local Camping Park I let Austin loose on some dirt roads. One was aptly named “Heartbreak Trail” extending from a hazardous but beautiful 4WD through the National Park to a very difficult walking track (which we wisely skipped). As the Ford Ranger whirled up orange dust clouds and agitated flocks of brightly coloured parrots the canopies above us were an amazing sight! Luckily Austin kept his eyes peeled on the curvy tracks avoiding close encounters with the tall tree trunks by mere centimetres. 
After this heart pumping aerobic exercise we chose a more relaxed option to get from the dreamy town of Pemberton to the Warren River and "The Cascades". We took to the rails, however, not as I thought in a 1920 steam train, but in a rickety tram car!
Just when we relaxed with the scent of peppermint bush in our noses, the tram car rattled onto the first of 6 wooden trestle bridges, a roller coaster like construction which, thinking of their age, didn’t fill us with confidence. However, unlike the fairground variety our car edged very slowly across and by bridge number 4 we started to be nonchalant. We passed old timber mills and were glad that the early settlers left some Jarrahs and Karri Trees standing so the forest could regenerate.
Due to the very dry weather the cascades were a mere trickle, but leaving for
Margaret River the next morning, we hoped that at least the good wine would be flowing. 
Here we had booked one of the few affordable sites, a paddock among horses, kangaroos and a scavenging donkey.
Our first port of call however was the Margaret River Dental Clinic to replace a major filling, Austin had lost the previous day - probably due to the corrugations of the dirt roads! He asked for a drop of Margaret River wine as an anaesthetic, but the surgery still used the "old fashioned" injections. With his tooth fixed we did a little shopping including a couple of local wines and some pear cider, and Austin was drooling happily out of the corner of his mouth.
From then on it went downhill! Austin had planned a roundtrip leading past many wineries but leaving no time to stop and cleverly finishing after wine tasting closing time. First we drove to nearby Augusta and the most southern point of the continent here in the West, Cape Leeuwin. It is here where the Southern and the Indian Ocean meet by splashing wildly over a vast array of rocky outcrops, so that ships have to keep a respectful distance of at least 40kms from the coast. Captain Mathew Flinders was the first to map these Southern coastlines and being aware of the fact that the Dutch had been here long before the English, he fairly named the Cape after the Dutch boat “Leeuwin”. After all, before 1850 Australia was greatly known as “New Holland”.
The lighthouse was built in 1895 with stones from a nearby quarry. It stands 16m above sea level and is 40m high. We took a tour climbing the 179 steps to the top, to “the light between oceans”, so to speak (if you haven’t read the book by M. L. Stedman, its a great read!). The wind around the lighthouse is so strong that the whole structure of 2m thick base walls and 1m thick top walls sways lightly in the strong ocean breeze.
A quick cup of coffee and I hardly caught my breath before Austin rushed us off to one of the most fantastic caves we have been in, The Jewel Cave. The “Cave Road" extents from Augusta to Dunsborough along an area where approximately 100 caves have been found. The Jewel Cave was the last to be discovered in 1957 and has therefor been expertly preserved with the newest scientific know- how. This cave has everything: so-called “waterfalls”, stalactites and stalagmites in every conceivable size and formation, helictites which extend horizontally and the longest known “straw" , a very thin, hollow structure.
Off we went again down a couple of dirt tracks and on to Hamelin Bay known for being a playground for Stingrays. Soon enough we were following the movements of two large rays attracted by a fisherman’s scraps. Like lunchers at Manly Beach they had to compete with a colony of greedily diving and snatching seagulls.
Today, under the pretence of finding the elusive male blue wren Austin wanted to photograph, I finally managed to lure him to the gardens of a Berry Farm/ Vineyard, where there were plenty of wrens plus a few Silver Eyes and New Holland Honey Eaters.
After trying their cider Austins resistance was lowered to such an extent that after promising a later visit to Bunnings Hardware he agreed to visit another Margaret River winery.
As we sadly had to say farewell to the beautiful forests of South WA we welcomed the milder temperatures along the coast.
Over the last few days, while the more seasoned campers sat outside way past sunset, we retreated quickly indoors. Even a double layer of clothes didn’t do the trick. But now we were looking forward to outdoor barbecues at night and discarding our hoodies.
At Busselton by the sea it was still a little too windy for late night star gazing, but much more pleasant during the day. We set off on a 7 km bike ride to the famous Busselton Jetty.
At 1.841km length it is the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. Originally built to bridge the very shallow waters of the bay and enable ships to dock it is now a major tourist attraction and an ideal fishing spot for the locals. A miniature train takes one right to the tip where an underwater observatory gives a glimpse of what dwells underneath the surface.
We are off to the capital now to catch up with friends and the vibrant Canal Capers, a group of enthusiastic boaties sailing the European waterways like us.
Perth and Rottnest Island
As we approached WAs capital city it became quickly apparent that the town had changed “a little” since our last visit in 1979.
We were lucky to have Austin’s old school mate Trevor and partner Teryall to take us around town. Not deterred by the intermittent downpours they introduced us to the new architecture around Elizabeth Quay and St. Georges Terrace, as well as some quaint lanes. Stafo Lane with its bars and restaurants reminds a little of Melbourne and “London Court” transported us straight to the UK.
Unlike in the UK, the Perth weather changed within minutes from rain to sunshine, and we were told by a bus driver that in Perth the sun shines at least once a day, every day of the year! 
The botanical garden and view from Kings Park were stunning, even in grey drizzle.
Trevor and Teryall were not only great tourist guides, they also were such good sports! 
When roped in by a street performer, they continued to play their part while another shower rained down. As a matter of fact, we thought that Trevor out-performed the street artist by a long shot.
Neither Trevor nor Austin are strangers to performing. Both guitarists in a band back in their school days, Teryall and I were treated to a few impromptu jam sessions, while staying with our caravan on Trevors idyllic property in the South of Perth.
On another day of temperamental weather we were invited to a picnic by the Perth based “”Canal Capers” who, when not in WA, merrily sail the European rivers and canals.
We enjoyed an interesting, fun afternoon with these lively boaties, half of whom we had already bumped into on one canal or the other!
Thank you Trevor & Teryall, Vicky & Max and Anne & Pav for your great hospitality!
Now boating on the Indian Ocean is a little different to our inland cruising in Europe. Even on a calm day the water is quite choppy and as we crossed by ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest Island we saw a few green faces. It was a perfect day and the islands bays were sparkling in the sunshine.
We had brought our foldable bikes over and explored most of the Island pedalling away. The cycle paths can get a little crowded at times, as children (and people with small foldable bikes) struggle to get uphill, but this is the best way to get around. The crystal clear, turquoise waters in the bays were very inviting for a quick dip or a snorkel. The inside of the island consists mainly of salt flats and small scrub. 
“Rotto” as the locals call it was once inhabited by the Noongar people, who called it “Wadjemup” meaning “place across the water where the spirits are”. What a wonderful language which can express all this in one word!
The history of the island is a very sad one. As the white settlers took over land and enforced their laws onto the Noongar people, 4000 of them were imprisoned on the island. Brutal conditions, shootings and starvation killed so many of the indigenous prisoners, that the island itself became a graveyard.
Today Rottnest Island is a nature reserve with only a small number of keepers permanently housed there. However tourists populate the island during the main season. The other inhabitants are the 14000 quokkas, a small, herbivorous marsupial adored as one of the islands main attractions. They are very cute and well used to the attention. One of them was attracted by my water bottle and it was soon joined by two others all drinking out off the palm of my hand. Another quokka had crept into an empty bicycle child trailer left unattended.
We were so lucky to have chosen an early ferry on a very sunny and warm day! By mid afternoon, on our return trip to Fremantle, we could see a storm moving in and by evening it was blowing a gail. It poured down most of the night and was still wet when we set off towards Moora the next morning.
Moora and New Norcia
Everybody knows Perth and many know Rottnest Island. But I am not so sure if you have heard of Moora? Yet it is the place where some of the nicest people live. Moora is a rural town about 180km north west of Perth and Diana and Ross own a cattle farm there. We met them a few years back in Épernay, France, and went through a few locks and bottles of wine together.
Pulling into the road of their farm we were a little concerned. There was a plank bridge ahead, we had to cross with the caravan, which was obviously in the process of being repaired! To proceed, we needed some encouragement from Ross, that all would be well and this wasn’t a ploy to get rid of unwanted visitors. In the contrary, we were made so welcome by Diana and Ross, Ross’ sister, Judy and husband Peter, that we felt part of the family.
Ross introduced us to a few of his Aberdeen Angus cows. Some looked particularly sweet and fluffy with their patches of newly acquired winter coat.
The old shearing shed of the former sheep farm was like a museum with
the stalls, shearing wheels and storage draws still all in place. The cozy farm house with its typically low drawn roof and bougainvillea adorned verandah completed my romantic notion of country living, which, by the way, does not include hard physical labour, droughts and floods, bank loans, pests and veterinary bills.
Instead we had a wonderful time catching up with Diana and Ross over a delicious roasted dinner.
We used the vicinity of New Norcia to visit this historical and sole monastic town of Australia.
When in the early 19th century it was granted for the order of St. Benedict to be established in Australia, this area in WA was chosen. Originally the monks were nomadic until in 1847 Dom Rosendo Salvado founded the abbey where it is now.
Salvado respected the wisdom and knowledge of the Aboriginals and encouraged a reciprocal relationship.The monks were reliant on the Aboriginals for finding water and in return taught them agricultural skills. The collaboration continued. In the two colleges, one for males and one for females, both Aboriginal and European children were educated. 
Many of the aboriginal people in the area were employed on the monastery’s farm or flour mill and housed in cottages, of which two are still standing. The simple style of the abbey church wouldn’t be misplaced in Spain, Salvado's home country. 
The college chapels and the museum contain many beautiful paintings and artefacts including gifts of the Queen of Spain and are well worth visiting.
The monastery itself is unfortunately off limits for tourists, although the number of monks in residence has now dwindled from 70 to mere 10. I believe that acceptation criteria for joining the monastery are quite strict. According to the rules of St. Benedict a member of the order has not only to be committed to the faith but also to the community and well being of their fellow monks. Overall the order interacts in a very democratic and non- authoritarian way - very impressive for rules set out by St. Benedict in the 6th century!
The Pinnacles, Sea Lions and Lobsters
The Pinnacles
The small township of Cervantes is ideally placed for all kinds of water sport and for visiting the well known “Pinnacles”.
The American ship “Cervantes” marooned on the reef at the nearby Islands gave the town its name and in true Aussie humour the streets here carry names like “Seville”, “Valencia” and “Barcelona”.
We couldn’t wait to get back to the Pinnacle Desert which so impressed us 40 years ago! Then we had stumbled around these amazing limestone formations with hardly any other soul around. Now the area is organised with a marked drive and diverse lookouts to cater for the large number of tourists.
The Pinnacles are believed to have formed within the sand dunes thousands of years ago. Ancient tree roots calcified and acted as framework for structures which later became eroded by rainwater and wind, leaving these amazing towers of up to 5 metre heights behind. That’s at least one of two theories scientists have come up with.
Lake Thetis, right next to town, which rises and falls with the tides, contains structures built by the earths’ oldest living microbial life forms which are still present in the lake. These structures are called Stromatolites and look like dry cow pads. Unfortunately, some at the edge of the lake have been stepped on and destroyed.
One of the other claim to fame of Cervantes, attracting bus loads of asian tourists in particular, is the "Lobster Shack”.
It is part of a hugely successful Family business of a third generation of Lobster fishers. A tour of the lobster processing factory takes visitors through the history of lobster fishing and gives access to the purging and sorting areas. Male lobsters with sperms and pregnant females are released back into the sea while all others are sorted according to their weight. We learned that the asian market likes smaller lobsters, while the big lobsters are in demand in Dubai for example. Any lobster missing more than 3 of his ten legs is used for other lobster products. To keep the lobsters in prime condition for the life export, tanks are very carefully monitored regarding temperature and oxygen content and any unnecessary handling of the lobsters is avoided. Of course, Austin had to pick one up and he boasted:” It’s not as scary as it looks!"
Attached to the factory is the Lobster Shack Cafe seating approximately 100 people and serving all kinds of fresh seafood and lobster in every variety. Not being a real seafood lover, I have to say that lobster is in a class of its own. From now on for me it’s lobster or nothing! (Austin reckons that with the prices for lobster in Sydney, I might become real skinny!)
Further along the Turquoise Coast, at Jurien Bay, we stayed in another Overflow Camping Area, again located at playing fields.
We had heard that the carbonic acid in rain and ground water hollows out some of the western Australian limestone into honeycomb like rocks. This became very apparent at the Stockyard Gully Reserve where swarms of bees were obviously attracted by the familiar occurrence and built their hives in the cavities.
The special thing about the Stockyard Gully is a group of limestone caves leading to an underwater river system. You can only access these over a 16 km long rough 4WD track. Entrance to the caves as a sign points out is at your own risk.
Luckily there hasn’t been any major downpour recently, so it was unlikely that we would be trapped inside by flooding. However, as we got deeper into a 300m long cave we hoped that the batteries in our torches would last out.
In earlier times the drovers on their way from the outback to Geraldton camped out in the coolness of the caves using it as a natural stockyard - therefor the name!
For the next day we got the last two places on a boat tour to the islands to swim with the sea lions.
Cain, our young captain, announced that if anyone was taken by a shark, he would have to leave all of us behind, as he couldn’t bring back any witnesses! I am not sure if the young Spanish girls on board appreciated the Aussie humour at 8 o’clock in the morning!?
We had picked a beautiful day and the sea lions, although lazy by nature came out to play. The more splash and movement was made the more playful they became, and one young one in particular just couldn’t get enough! They were also very interested in our flippers and go pros, and as cute as puppy dogs come right up to you! Austin filmed some of it and cut it together for the blog. See below.
Geraldton, Shipwrecks and the Pink Lake
On our way to Geraldton we passed the twin towns Dongara and Port Denison. Along their coast stand 15 sheet metal silhouettes of ANZAC soldiers commemorating locals fallen in WWI. 
It happened to be ANZAC Day and looking across from the visitors centre, we saw a tiny house with flags raised and realised that this was the local RSL club. Around the back tables and chairs were set up and the traditional game of Two-up was in full swing! Austin purchased 2 shandies from the clubs small kitchen which served as a bar and we watched the locals playing the traditional ANZAC Day game for a while.
Later, as we continued our trip along the Coral Coast towards Geraldton, we truely saw the effect of the powerful westerly wind which seems to blow here every day. All the trees were bent eastwards and some of the larger ones had even been brought to their knees!
After the discovery of the wreck of the HMAS Sydney II in 2008 Geraldton has been in the national news off and on. Overlooking the city is the HMAS Memorial Presinct which was completed in 2001. A stainless steel dome features 645 seagulls. They represent the 645 crew members who were all lost when in 1941 a chance engagement with the German Raider Kormoran took place. 
It is uncanny that the eyes of the statue, called “The Waiting Woman” erected here in 2001, gaze directly towards the coordinates where years later the ship wreck was found.
In the Geraldton Museum we watched a 3D movie of what the HMAS Sydney II was like before its demise and how she looked after her discovery, 2.5 km under the ocean surface. Eerie images and commentary of the survivors of the Kormoran tell the sad story of the encounter.
Another section of the museum is dedicated to 5 of the 52 shipwrecks recorded off the nearby Abrolhos Islands. These five are all connected to the VOC, better known as the Dutch East India Company who traded in spices, silk and tea in the early 17th to the late 18th century.
The most famous of the shipwrecks is the Batavia, named after the town Batavia on the island of Java, now called Jakarta. The story tells of a long, arduous rescue mission, mutiny and murder among the stranded people left behind, plus loss and recovery of 12 chests of silver coins.
The Candy Cane Lighthouse is today an emblematic landmark of Geraldton. Built in 1878 and 60 km distant from the perilous Abrolhos Islands, it couldn’t possibly have saved the Batavia in 1729 or any of the other ship wrecks.
From Geraldton we took a few little dirt road detours and ended up in Gregory.
This small fishing village lies at the so-called “Pink Lake” - and pink it was! The lake obtains its pink colour from an algae bloom producing beta-carotene.
In Gregory’s neighbourhood historic "Lynton Farm” offers farm stays for campers and caravans. Visitors to the ruins of a former Convict Hiring Station and the villa of the Governor in charge, Captain Sandford, are also welcome. In the early 19th century convicts with a so-called “ticket of leave”, representing a partial pardon for good behaviour, were brought to the hiring station.
Here they were vetted and then hired out for mining, agricultural or road works. Under the promise of land grants, once they had absolved a time of duty, free settlers were employed as officers to guard these convicts. Of course, the hiring station included a lock-up for any of the prisoners who misbehaved. Today, only the odd sheep or kangaroo finds itself in its confines.