Bremer Bay, WA

Very crowded over NY14/15 and by far the most expensive at $65 per night 

Ratings: ** Surroundings *****

The stunning colours of the Australian landscape captured in an image at the sheltered Native Dog beach on a windy day. Moments of quietness away from the noisy exuberance of holiday makers staying in our camp! This beach got its name from the dingoes which inhabited the area before the settlers arrived. Most of the dingoes were shot by the farmers in the 1960s because they attacked their sheep but the problem remained with feral dogs (the result of the remaining dingoes interbreeding with domesticated dogs) continuing to attack the sheep.

A 2 kilometre walk from the campsite through bushland opens to reveal this picturesque bay.

Short Beach which was my favourite beach...rock pools to explore (back to those childhood days!), the silica white sands, swims in the cold azure blue waters of the Southern Ocean and casting out a line with the sun coming up over the ocean.

Jerramungup, WA

Ratings: CP ** Surroundings *

An array of honey eaters waiting for us to fill the bird bath on a very hot day: New Holland, Brown and Brown- Headed honeyeaters. We stayed at the small town of Jerramungup on our way to Bremer Bay. The town was established for returning servicemen who were given land there in the 1950s. The Aboriginal name apparently translates to "the place of upstanding yate trees" which are a type of eucalypt.

A Western Grey mother and joey keeping cool among the yate trees in 40 degree heat.

Porongurup, WA

Balancing act on a very difficult site!

Rating: CP ** Surroundings ***

No Micah... not to the village; let's go to Castle Rock! That's our travelling home in the background.

Time to reflect on this ancient landscape after a 570 metre climb. Karri and Marri forests lie below Castle Rock in the Porongurup Ranges and, in the distance, the Stirling Ranges rise from the plains. The Aboriginal name for the Stirling Ranges is apparently Koi-Kyenunu-ruff meaning 'mist moving around the mountains' and Bluff Knoll (Bular Mial) is sacred and home to a powerful ancestral being.The Porongurups are around 1000 million years old and the granite domes were formed from a massive bubble of molten rock that rose from deep in the earth's core and pushed upwards. Weathering sculpts the exposed rocks into rounded shapes and valleys.

Kaleidoscope of colour as the sun sets behind the Porongurups.

Walpole, WA

Christmas at Walpole!  Arrived at an almost empty caravan park but by Christmas Day the hundred and fifty site were taken.

Ratings: CP **** Surroundings **** 

Forest walk amongst ancient karri, tuart and red tingle trees on the edge of the Walpole-Nornalup inlet which is almost surrounded by national park. Bird song permeates the cool air and sightings of the tiny songsters are a challenge. Sealers and whalers used timber from these forests for their boats in the early 1800s and stock camps were established along the coast in the 1850s. Permanent settlement began in 1910.

Fishing with Pelicans.... casting out a line from the jetty hoping to catch our evening meal.

Silver Gull on Walpole Inlet in the evening light. A time for quiet reflection.....and a glass of local wine!

Mount Barker, WA

Time to rest after a walk! We now have a two roomed home set amongst the eucalypts for the first time since leaving Stoneville.

Ratings: CP ***  Surroundings **

Mount Barker Hill (according to sources in the town, the Aboriginal name for the hill is "Pwakkenbak") offers views of the Stirling Ranges and the Porongurup Ranges. Fertile vineyards make this area one of Australia's most awarded wine growing regions with Riesling, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

Kulin, WA

 Ratings: CP *** Surroundings ***

"The Chair"...a single chair found on glittering salt crystals looking out over Lake Jilakin which is a hyper saline shallow lake covering approximately 100 hectares.

On the way down Jilakin Rock, an enormous granite rock overlooking a stand of Jarrah trees, woodlands, Jilakin Lake and wheat fields. It seems to have created its own environment where plants and animals have adapted to extremes of heat and cold. Acacias and other trees, lichens, fungi and grasses thrive on the rock which formed millions of years ago when a large mass of molten rock pushed up into the earth's crust. The magma cooled and crystallised and erosion removed the soil exposing rock. It seemed I could feel this ancient land as I stretched out on the rock, lizard- like and content.

Flower Filly, one of the 75 tin horse sculptures along the 20 kilometre Tin Horse Highway which leads to the venue of the annual Bush Race. The quirky sculptures have been created by local farmers using scrap metal.

Narembeen, WA

"Let's go...it's time to plough our lands!" (except that it's still harvesting season in the Central Wheatbelt). Narembeen is an Aboriginal name meaning "the place of female emus" (the Noongar Njaki-Njaki clan come from this area). The town was established in 1922 when sandalwood, wool and sheep were farmed. The very informative Grain Discovery Centre tells the history of grain growing in Western Australia from the early settler days until today using diagrams, posters, photographs, electronic media and exhibitions of paraphernalia from bygone days.

The morning after...Narembeen welcomed us with caravan-shaking gusts of wind, an stunning aerial display of lightening against a darkened sky and rolling thunder followed by pelting rain. The early hours of the morning brought the clattering of hailstones on our roof and a terrified Micah sharing our bed! Damage was minimal- a few dents to the bonnet of the Patrol and to the aluminium door of the caravan storage cupboard. Others in the park weren't so lucky!

Ratings: CP * Surroundings *