29 August to 3 September – Fraser Range to home

29 August – checked out the 6^th hole of the Nullarbor Links golf course at Fraser Range (a bit rugged & we already missed the first 5 holes so decided not to play) then headed off along the Eyre Highway for home (under 3,000 km to go). Early woodland gave way to the more typical Nullarbor terrain – flat with scrubby little bushes for mile after mile. Did see a few wedge tailed eagles which was good & a fascinating blowhole in the middle of the plains – air just blows in or out according to the different air pressure in & out of the associated cave. A warm 34 degrees today with blustery winds. Stopped at a nice free camp at Moodini Bluff – a rare tree filled area. Flies drove us nuts until dark then the moths moved in & forced us into the tent early.

Nullarbor

30 August – after a windy night we hit the road early. Lots of straight road with uninspiring scenery apart from a few lookouts over the Bight – very speccie Bunda cliffs. Stopped at the Head of the Bight & saw at least ten whales with calves, including one white calf – a stunning view. Hot & windy again & flies aplenty.

Bunda Cliffs

Whale with white calf

Whales

31 August – drove to the ‘sleepy hollow’ seaside village of Fowlers Bay, I’m sure it is much busier in summer but very quiet during our visit. The sand dunes look like they will eventually swallow the little town. Have now decided to head for home so clocked up a few kms through the windmill town of Penong & on to Wudinna near the Gawler Ranges. Temperature has dropped to 20 degrees & rain forecast with overnight 2 degrees, so went soft & decided on a motel for tonight. 

Fowlers Bay

Penong windmills

1 September – long drive to Clare valley then a few wine tastings before moving in to "Roscrow" in Clare, our quaint heritage accommodation. We are now in “greenville” – the paddocks are a vivid green – something we haven’t seen for a while?

Clare Valley

2 September – another wine tasting then visited Maggie Beer’s Farmshop at Nurioopta followed by the cheese shop & dried fruit shop in Angaston – well stocked up on wine, cheese & fruits for home. Another beautiful drive through the rolling green hills of the Clare & Barossa valleys. Stopped at Bordertown leaving a 450 km drive home tomorrow.

3 September – homeward bound with views of the green countryside & the Grampians.

What a great holiday – 100 days away 70 nights under canvas, nearly 20,000 kms of driving including about 3,000 kms of unsealed/4WD tracks (well done to our little Subaru – the dust is in everything but it ran beautifully). Gorges, cliffs, snorkelling, flights, walks, wildlife, wildflowers & miles of beautiful but remote semi-desert. Highlights included: Horizontal Falls, Karijini, Ningaloo Reef & swimming with whale sharks, Gibb River road, Bungles, Cape le Grand, Kalbarri & of course, Pete & Rosie’s wedding – what a huge & magnificent country we have! Can't wait for our next holiday.

21 to 28 August – Perth to Fraser Range

21 August – a drive to Kings Park (the biggest city park in the world?) – it’s a fantastic park incorporating a botanic garden & open forest areas & lawns etc.

Kings Park

22 August – travelled to Fremantle to visit the craft & food markets, foreshore & docks area – a nice feel to the area.

Freo

23 August – bye to Perth & off to Ravensthorpe en route to Esperance. A really nice drive, firstly through mountains a little similar to the Dandenongs then a more Gippsland feel before passing through large fields of wheat, canola & sheep farms followed by cattle farms, lakes & sandy plains.

Canola fields

24 August – drove to Hopetoun, a lovely little beach town then to Esperance. This town has a great feel with beautiful white sandy beaches, many islands offshore, a great scenic drive along the coast, inland lakes & much more.

Esperance coastal drive

25 August – set up camp at Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand national park then a tough climb to the top of Frenchman Peak for spectacular 360 degree views of the park – quite like Wilsons Prom. Next stop the pristine sands of Hellfire Bay & walked to Little Hellfire Bay. Finally off to Thistle Cove before a brief dip at Lucky Cove – a bit chilly. The beaches are beautiful with pure white sands, turquoise water & rocky surrounds.

Frenchman's Peak

26 August – walk to Mississippi Hill on Rossiter Bay walk. Another good climb with magnificent views. Also enjoying the plentiful & varied wildflowers & many birds (mainly honeyeaters). Followed up with a short stroll along the Thistle Cove walk before dinner.

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay

Wildflowers

27 August – off to Cape Arid National Park for a look. Similar in many ways to Cape le Grand with maybe fewer & smaller trees but lots of wildflowers. At Dolphin Cove we had an amazing experience as 7 southern right whales entertained us just a few metres from the rocky headland where we were standing. There were several mothers with carves & a few others. They wallowed, rolled & tumbled right before our eyes. Truly remarkable creatures.

Whales at Cape Arid

28 August – a quick look at Le Grand campsite – very nice for next time – then off through the fields & forests interspersed with dry salt bed lakes to Norseman. Mining very much in evidence with tailings heaps everywhere – not a great look. Continued on to Fraser Range Station for the night. A really nice camp site in the middle of nowhere with good facilities & a rich history.

11 to 20 August – Borneo – Pete & Rosie’s Wedding

A 5 hour flight from Perth & here we are in Kota Kinabalu (9.30pm and 27 degrees & high humidity). Met up with other family & friends & headed to Mt Kinabalu national park for a drive & lunch. Mountain obscured by fog but a great drive anyway with stops at street side stalls & markets. An amazing array of regular & exotic fresh fruits, vegies, souvenirs etc.

Checked out the markets etc around KK & again astounded by the huge number of amazingly tiny little stalls selling very similar items to the previous stall – no idea how they all survive? Torrential rain confined us to the shopping mall for coffee with a few friendly locals.

Kota Kinabalu harbour

Met up with Rosie & Pete at her flat then drove in convoy to Kuala Penyu about 2 hours south of KK. Had lunch along the way at a seafood restaurant on the banks of a river – beautiful fresh fish feast. Brief stop at Rosie’s mum’s house to meet the rellies – already dozens of people milling around & setting up for the wedding. Then “just 10 minutes” (everything is just 10 mins away even if it’s an hour) to Tempurung Seaside Lodge our digs for the next 5 nights. The track in was nearly 4WD with huge ruts & washouts. The Lodge is in a beautiful setting on a hill overlooking the Sth China Sea.

Tempurung Lodge

Tempurung Lodge

Had a cruise on the Klias River & saw proboscis & macaque monkeys & amazing fire flies after dark. Then back to Rosie’s mum’s where the wedding party had begun. People everywhere (maybe 200) & very noisy with a traditional singing group & gongs – very repetitive to our ears but lots of fun. Gambling tables were set up under the patio & in every room of the house & Rosie’s sister’s house next door. There were also mah jong tables. A huge spread of food & rice wine. The party continued until 3am? There were also several temporary shops set up around the perimeter selling drinks, cigarettes, toys, lollies & ice creams. A truly amazing scene & this was the day before the wedding???

Rice wine jug

On the wedding day we all rocked up at 1pm & the place was already humming with another big crowd, music, food & drink. And yes, the gambling & shops continued throughout. Pete & Jason (as best man) wore suits – wonderful in 28 degrees & high humidity – the rest of us wore shorts. Pete disappeared into the house to get Rosie who appeared in a beautiful white wedding dress. They cut a handsome pair & the wedding party were stunning. Speeches in 2 languages, cutting of the cake, small gifts for the guests, then party time! There was DJ music, karaoke, gongs, kids games, drinking dances where everyone has a sip of other peoples drinks, a rice wine sculling jug etc etc. Rosie, Pete & the wedding party had several changes of outfit through the day. The fun continued again into the wee hours. An amazing experience.

Wedding party

The kids - Zac, Abel, Jess & Danni

The cake on its side?

Karaoke queens

Mother & son

Sue, Rosie, Anne & Anne

The next morning was clean up time but the gambling & mah jong continued & food was still being provided. We headed off to Tiga Island (Survivor Island) for a crazy volcanic mud bath (very thick & oozy) then a wash in the sea before a snorkel on the reef. Another great day.

Oozy

Finally a quiet day at the lodge followed by a leisurely drive around the local roads. Many interesting houses all colours of the rainbow or no colour at all, some very impressive looking & others looking like demolition material.

Finally we had to leave our lovely lodge & headed south to Beaufort & Tenom which included a number of river crossings & winding mountain roads through the rainforest. Visited the local coffee factory – very nice & tried to visit the Agricultural Park but it closes on Mondays. Our hotel is perched on the hillside & we watched the monsoon rains sweep across the valley below our window. Quite a sight.

Rain approaching

Next morning returned to Agricultural Park which was like a botanic garden of tropical plants including some special orchids. A really special & interesting place. Then visited a cultural centre which was set in large grounds with fantastic buildings, art, sculptures, traditional costumes etc – very interesting. Our planned next stop was a waterfall but had to abort as the monsoon rains went ballistic – the windscreen wipers couldn’t cope as water rushed across the road & off embankments. We had to drive through water in several spots. The waterfalls would have been great but we would have been washed away. Back across the Crocker Range on an amazing winding mountain road with wash outs (washed away sections of road & land slips etc)  to KK for our flight back to Perth.

Sabah Agricultural Park

Sabah Agricultural Park

2 to 10 August – Quobba, Monkey Mia, Kalbarri, The Pinnacles

2 August – headed for Quobba Station just north of Carnarvon. Visited the local blow holes – quite impressive – followed by a drive up the rugged, cliff lined coast road to Cape Cuvier. Finished with a walk along the beach watching whales out at sea.

Blow Holes

Blow Holes

3 August – visited the local fishermen on the Quobba cliffs. They use a helium balloon on a long line to dip the bait into the water then jump above the water hoping to get some Spanish mackerel to jump up & take the bait. Great to watch, but no success while we were watching.

Re-checked the blow holes which were still impressive but with smaller waves, not quite as exciting despite the strong winds.

A long drive across the semi desert  to Carnarvon where they grow all manner of vegies & fruit due to water from the Gascoyne River acquifer. Had a walk on the one mile jetty then headed for Denham – water in every direction!

4 August – early start & off to Monkey Mia. Anne was one of the “chosen ones” to be selected from about 200 people to hand feed a fish to the dolphins. They are certainly are amazing creatures – we kept watching their antics for a while after the feeding. Also saw lots of pelicans, seagulls & many other sea birds. A very picturesque spot.

Then off to Peron Homestead in the Francois Peron Nat Park, an old sheep station, before heading to Little Lagoon & back to Denham for a swim (nice but walked out 200 metres & water only up to knees??). A nice relaxing day in a sleepy little beachside village.

Anne at Monkey Mia

Monkey Mia

Rob in hot tub at Peron Homestead

5 August – visited Shell Beach (the beach is made of crushed cockle shells rather than sand – very white, very crunchy & formed into a wavy pattern). Then to Hamelin Pool & the Stromatolites (“the oldest living organisms on the planet” but just look like strange rocks). They also have a shell block quarry – they used to mine blocks of compressed shells & use as building bricks.

Next stop Kalbarri. Finally the scenery has started to change with larger & thicker stands of trees & shrubs, wildflowers are starting to appear in greater numbers & we have even seen some green crops in large fields (not seen since we left Victoria).

6 August – a beautiful day for walking. First the 9km Loop walk (incorporating “Natures Window”) then the Z Bend River Trail & Lookout. Both fantastic walks through the Murchison River gorges – yet more beautifully coloured & patterned rocks, waterholes & wild flowers plus a few steep & tough sections.

Finished off with a short walk to Red Bluff cliffs overlooking where the Murchison River enters the sea – a wild stretch of water offset by the tranquil river inlet. Dinner at a local restaurant tonight.

Kalbarri

Kalbarri

7 August – visited some of the cliff top sites near Kalbarri – Mushroom Rock, Pot Alley, Island Rock & Natural Bridge – certainly a spectacular coastline. Then off to Jurien Bay, a nice little beach, fishing & marine park.

Mushroom Rock

8 August – first stop The Pinnacles. What a strange & amazing place? In the middle of nowhere these strange formations appear in an area of yellow sand. The Pinnacles cover quite an extensive area with a 4km drive &/or 1.2km walk through the formations.

The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles

We next headed for Perth to stay with Anne’s niece Dionne & her family for a few days before a minor detour to Borneo for my brother Pete’s wedding. This city has certainly grown since I was last here & we managed to get lost for a while.

9 August – off to Auskick with Jacob (Seth wasn’t feeling up to it) – bought back memories of our boys. Followed by a quiet day getting organised for Borneo tomorrow.

24 July to 1 August – Millstream Chichester, Point Samson, Cape Range & Ningaloo

24 July – another 100km of unsealed road & here we are at Millstream Chichester National Park – a lesser known park. First stop Deep Reach Pool a large spring fed pool on the Fortescue River, quite amazing to see in this arid part of the world & very popular with the birds. Set up camp at Stargazers Campground & headed for the old homestead at Millstream where we did a short walk amongst palm trees with several beautiful clear streams running through – beautiful. Anne then had her required swim in the Deep Reach Pool.

We then drove the 30 kms circuit road through the park. The park is quite an oasis with several springs feeding the rivers. Quite a few wild flowers around. Finished the day with a walk to the lookout to watch the sun set – very romantic & picturesque.

Deep Reach Pool - Millstream Chichester 

Millstream Chichester lily pond

Millstream Chichester road

Millstream Chichester road

25 July – again drove through the harsh but colourful landscape – flat plains with spinifex & scrubby trees before we started to rise into some steeper territory with spectacular red & brown cliffs to Python Pool – another beautiful pool with a red cliff backing (no swimming due to algal bloom). Then about 80 kms along the flat plains surrounded by strange shaped mountains & cliffs until we reached Roebourne & then on to Point Samson. This is a lovely little beach side town on a peninsular & we had a pleasant stroll along the beach ending at the tavern overlooking the sea for a refreshing drink.

Python Pool

26 July – off to Cossack, a quaint little old town near Roebourne, quite a bit of history around the whaling & pearling industries plus a major port before the whaling was stopped, pearling went to Broome & the port silted up. Now just a small tourist town with beautiful old restored buildings & bay views. The art show was in town & really good.

Next a quick tour of historic Roebourne before a quick run through Karratha – a modern mining financed town & on to Dampier. Visited the North West Shelf Venture which is a massive on-shore oil & gas facility connected to 3 platforms about 130 kms out at sea. We slept to the bright lights & constant hum of the ship loading facility opposite the caravan park.

Mining truck near Dampier

27 July – a day of driving. Dampier to Exmouth. Flat plains, spinifex, scrubby bushes – interspersed with small rocky hills, red rocks & sand – and even some wildflowers. An amazing, harsh & wild country. Booked in at Yardie Creek Homestead caravan park for next 4 nights – just outside Cape Range Nat Park & beside Ningaloo Marine Park.

28 July – Drove to Yardie Creek gorge & had a nice walk up the gorge. Then to Mandu Mandu gorge for a more challenging walk up through the gorge then back along the top. Another great gorge, this time with views of the beach & reef. Finished with a bit of a snorkel on the edge of the reef. The waves crashing over the outer reef looked awesome but the inner reef was quite calm.

Yardie Creek Gorge

Yardie Creek Gorge

29 July – a day for snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef. First Oyster Stack – a difficult entry to the water over sharp rocks but worth the effort – so many different colourful fish, coral, star fish, clams etc – hard to get Anne out of the water. Next stop, drift loop at the aptly named Turquoise Bay, this time an easier entry through pristine white sand to the reef, then just float along with the current. Magnificent! Finished the day watching the sunset from the lighthouse hill. Saw goannas’, wallabies, emu’s & an echidna along the road back to camp.

Anne in action

30 July – a day on the reef. Took a boat cruise to the reef & snorkelled at 2 separate locations. A good range of corals & an amazing number of brightly coloured fish. The highlight was a couple of swims with a magnificent whale shark – awesome. Also saw humpback whales , dolphins, turtles & a sea snake.

Snorkelling Duo

Our friendly Whale Shark

31 July – off to Coral Bay but first a quick detour to Charles Knife road – a really nice drive which took us between two gorge systems in the Dale Range – more cliffs & rocky gullies with views of the sea. Coral Bay has the feel of a beach side resort with a nice little bay which also offers snorkelling on the nearby reef. Downed a kilo of Exmouth prawns for dinner – yum.

Charles Knife Gorge

1 August – a quiet day at Coral Bay. Had a go at kayaking across the reef then some more snorkelling straight off the beach. More amazing corals & a wide variety of colourful fish. Heaven for Anne.