September 25, 2021 by blainie

See you next time

I just realised I never posted about our trip home from the Tree Chalets. So I better do a quick recap now.

We actually really wanted to stay longer as it was so lovely there, but alas, it was time to say goodbye.

All packed up we headed off. We stopped for morning tea by a random body of water in Dwellingup.

Then on to the town of Balingup, which we really liked and we had THE BEST bacon and egg toasty in a small cafe there. We will be returning here.

Heading off and on to other towns we stumbled across “Gnomesville” which is pretty much exactly what you think it is. LOTS AND LOTS of garden gnomes which have been left by people over many years. It was pretty cool, but gnomes are a little creepy really.

Then it was on to Wellington State Forest and the VERY impressive Wellington Dam mural. So large.

We had a bit of a drive and walk around the surrounding areas and made a mental note of appropriate areas for future camping trips. It’s really lovely around here.

And then, ladies and gentlemen we headed home again. All in all a good trip if a little (well a lot really) rainy and cold. We are crossing our fingers for sunshine on our next trip!

August 11, 2021 by blainie

Winter Break part 3

Facing another day of rain and storms, we pondered what to do with our day. We eventually decided to drive to the Boranup forest and see the Karri trees.

We drove through the town of Cowarumup and had to stop for an obligatory photo with one of the many cow statues they have around town. And a visit to the lolly shop.

Then on to the trees. And trees there were. It was quite spectacular. We went for a bit of a hike through them, but didn’t go too far as the skies were threatening once again.

We drove up to a lookout spot to have our coffee. When we got there, there was a family up there all frantically looking at their mobile phones trying to work out why people were there. “There must be SOMETHING! “ I overheard one of them say. They just couldn’t understand that maybe people just liked the view. Anyway, the view was lovely, and we had our coffee and a blueberry muffin whilst enjoying it.

After our snack we drove on to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse but not only was it freezing and windy, it was also incredibly busy so we moved on. We headed towards Augusta with the hope of getting some lunch.

Alas, it was not to be, so after a quick look at some beaches we headed back to camp. Actually we stopped off at the Margaret River Cheese factory and bought a couple of things first, which ended up being our late lunch.

Not from the Margaret River cheese shop, but still delicious

Had a bit of a wander around the property and finally saw some kangaroos.

That was pretty much it for today. Mostly a lot of driving around and looking at trees. Nice, but would’ve nicer to have done a proper hike. Oh well.

August 11, 2021 by blainie

Winter break Part 2

So it rained a lot throughout the night. A lot. It was also very windy. We were a bit worried that some of those beautiful Eucalyptus trees might fall down on us. Luckily they didn’t. It was nice and cosy and warm inside the chalet, but the hiking we had planned to do was just not going to happen.

Instead we cooked up some farm fresh eggs for breakfast and had a large cup of coffee and enjoyed the views from the breakfast corner.

Unfortunately we couldn’t see any kangaroos.

We decided to drive down to Cape Naturaliste and see how the weather goes. There were patches of sunshine intermittently but then suddenly from out of nowhere it would pour with rain.

Anyway, we made it to the coast and it wasn’t raining so we went for a bit of a walk. It was lovely for most part, until it pelted down with rain when we were right at the top of a hill with no shelter anywhere in sight.

We were told that there may be a chance of seeing some whales. We looked but couldn’t see any.

We saw a lot of rainbows over the three days so that was a bit of a bonus.

By the time we had got back to the car we had dried off from our drenching and we decided to go look at a rock called Sugarloaf rock.

When we got there, it was windy but not raining, but as soon as we walked up the stairs on to the viewing platform, guess what happened? Yes, that’s right, driving rain and gale force winds began. We took shelter as much as possible under our rapidly deteriorating umbrellas and waited for it to pass.

Sugarloaf rock was actually really cool to look at. It was so wild and woolly seeing the waves crashing on the rocks. Like something out of Zelda or something.

Wild n woolly

Having had had enough of nature for the day we decided to head into Margaret River for lunch. Neither of us could remember the last time we had been there. Maybe 10 years ago?

With the promise of barbecued meat, we decided to go to the Settlers Tavern for lunch. The last time we had been here was when my band Burgers of Beef played there, so it was a bit of a flashback.

After some initial disappointment with the menu (turns out the barbecue meats were mostly not on offer), Steve settled on the fish tacos, and I got the only BBQ offering which was lamb ribs.

Our concerns were quickly eased as the food was actually incredibly delicious and we wondered why we hadn’t been back sooner. It was really nice and chilled there and we actually didn’t want to leave.

The day was rolling on, and the storms were rolling in, so after a quick coffee at Yahava Coffeeworks, we headed back to the chalet.

Running through the trees

We had Japanese curry for dinner

Then I had a bath in the cool outdoor bath. And a gin and tonic.

August 9, 2021 by blainie

Winter break

During the July school holidays we went on a quick 3 day trip to stay at a place called Tree Chalets. It was just out of Busselton in the town of Acton Park. We knew it would be cold, because middle of Winter and all, but we weren’t expecting all the rain, all the time. In fact two out of the 3 nights we were there we experienced cold fronts that we usually only get once or twice a year. We are so good at timing these things. The last trip we took, a cyclone came straight through. We had planned to do a bunch of hiking trails, but it wasn’t to be.

We drove down on the Monday. It’s only about 3 hours from home. We stopped in at Busselton for lunch at a new (well new to us) brewery. It was pretty decent. The beer was nice. We both had fish burgers, but I foolishly got mine gluten free. It was fine, don’t get me wrong but gluten free almost always disappoints. But I didn’t want to start the holiday off with a stomach ache, so what can you do?

We tried to have a bit of a wander around Busso, as it’d been quite some years since we had last visited, but the weather was so disgusting we decided to give up on that idea and head to our accommodation.

Tree Chalets are about 10 mins inland from Busselton. We managed to make it there before the storms hit. There are only 2 chalets there, set amongst a Eucalyptus plantation. Really quite serene and beautiful. The best thing was that the fire was already lit when we arrived.

The rain held off just long enough for us to have a bit of a wander around the property. We tried to spot some kangaroos but I think they were all hiding from the rain.

The chalet said it provided breakfast for your first morning. I’m not sure how much food people eat for breakfast, but there was more than enough here to feed us for the whole 3 days we were here. The farm fresh eggs were our favourite. Also, the avocado seemed to replenish itself after we ate the first one…haven’t solved that mystery yet…

Even though it was cold and rainy, it was nice just hanging out and chilling by the fire. We made a Japanese hot pot for dinner which was really delicious. It was cooked in my new portable mini cookers. And they worked a treat!

The hot pot turned out really good and just what we needed on a cold stormy night.

May 29, 2021 by blainie

Homeward Bound

Time to go home again. But first a walk around the salt lakes and surrounding areas. We had heard you could swim (well float) in the salt lakes, but we saw no evidence of this.

We saw this cool old bus that we guess one day drove people around for tours of the area

One last look at Wave Rock

Before we left Hyden, we stopped by Mulka’s Cave. Inside were hand prints from many, many moons ago. We didn’t take any photos inside as it didn’t seem right to do so.

Then we headed off, bound for home. We stopped by the local bakery and picked up some crossiants and a local Mulberry preserve which we had for our morning tea at a rest stop.

And before we knew it we were back in the big smoke of Perth. Stopped by BCF to refill the gas tank before heading home.

Overall a great trip, and would definitely recommend hiring a campervan! It was great fun and very convenient to have our coffee right there whenever we wanted! Would do again.

May 17, 2021 by blainie

Road to Hyden

We liked it at Hopetoun but sadly we only had one night there. The warmer and sunnier weather made it even more appealing. We really would’ve liked to stay longer. But, Wave Rock was calling so after a relaxed breakfast and morning beach walk we bid adieu to Hopetoun.

We stopped for fuel on the way out of Hopetoun. It was an unmanned fuel station which was a bit interesting.

Drove through Ravensthorpe again and then along so long straight roads before we arrived in Hyden in the early afternoon. We set up at the caravan park before heading off to see the famous Wave Rock (which was within walking distance from our caravan park) Blainie had never seen Wave Rock before. Steve saw it back in 1996 when he first visited Perth. It’s a pretty cool rock. All wavy and stuff.

It’s actually illegal to NOT take a photo of you pretending to surf on it

We walked up on top of Wave rock and looked at the view.

Then we did a little walk to see another rock named “Hippos Yawn” – see if you can tell why it’s called that.

We wandered around a bit more before heading back to the motorhome for dinner. Dinner consisted of all the stuff we hadn’t eaten over the last few days.

Actually before dinner and before it was too dark we headed back up to the top of the rock and watched the sunset.

It was actually warm enough for us to sit outside on our Kmart chairs and have a drink. For a while anyway, then it got desert cold.

May 12, 2021 by blainie

Twilight…I only meant to stay a while….

The weather was looking a little better today. We were hopeful that our last two days would be rain free. Today we were leaving Esperance bound for Hopetoun.

But first we had to drive the coastal loop just out of Esperance and check out some more beaches. We stopped at Twilight Bay first and it was indeed stunning. And the sun was almost shining.

We continued to drive around the scenic loop to see what else we could see. We saw some more stunning coastline and a wind farm.

It was all really lovely but we decided the Twilight Bay was the pick of the bunch, so we headed back there. We opened the back doors of the motor home out towards the ocean, and sat there and enjoyed some coffee. Living the dream indeed. We would’ve stayed here all day if we could’ve.

Unfortunately, time waits for no man or something and we had to get a move on and get to Hopetoun. So we said goodbye to Twilight Bay and headed off.

On the way Hopetoun we got stopped by some road work. And then this happened.

We drove down a road called Jerdacuttup Road for what seemed like forever – and we listened to Perth band The Triffids as we did so – in particular Jerdercuttup Man . Quite fitting.

The road went on for so long we wondered how there could possibly be a town at the end of it and wondered if we had made a huge mistake. Luckily, Hopetoun eventually appeared and we found the caravan park and set up for the evening.

It was feeling a little warmer so we decided to go and have a look at the beach (maybe even a swim?!?!) but when we got there, the sun had gone away and it got cold again. It was still nice though.

We got cold so we went back to sit in the sun at the caravan park and have a drink.

We decided to go have a bit of a wander around town before it got dark, what with it not raining and all.

The most exciting part was Blainie getting to jump on a big bouncy thing in the ground.

The weather wasn’t too cold so we decided to take some beers down to the beach and watch the sunset. although the sun doesn’t set over the ocean here which is kinda weird for us Perthies.

We made pasta with pesto for dinner.

Then another game of parks. It’s nice at Hopetoun, We liked it here. The nicer weather helped for sure.

Extra tricky for Steve to play with no glasses

May 11, 2021 by blainie

Not so Lucky Bay

The weather was still questionable when we woke up this morning.

The one thing we really wanted to do whilst down this way was to visit Lucky Bay at Cape Le Grand National Park. With promises of bright blue water, sand as soft as icing and possible kangaroo sightings how could we resist?

So after breakfast and some general motorhome duties we set off bound for Lucky Bay which is about 60km out of Esperance.

The Tweedy Show was on whilst we were driving there so we listened to it through the car stereo and Blainie watched it (Steve was driving). (FYI The Tweedy Show is Jeff Tweedy (from Wilco)his wife and two sons on Instagram Live playing songs and talking about whatever happens to come up live from their lounge room In Chicago. They started doing it during the height of COVID last year and have continued on. It’s very entertaining if you like that sort of thing)

It was quite a nice drive and eventually we made it to Cape Le Grand National Park.

There’s other things to see and do here – some cool mountains and hikes and stuff but we headed straight for Lucky Bay. When we got there it was still quite cold and drizzly, but was indeed quite beautiful. Can only imagine what it’d be like on a calm, warm day.

We went for a walk along the beach. There were no kangaroos in sight, but oh my god, the sand! It was so soft and white! Like snow or cornflour or something.

So we were having a lovely, if slightly cold time, when Steve somehow managed to drop his glasses and have them swept off into the Southern Ocean. After about an hour of searching for them, we gave up hope and went back to the motorhome for lunch and a coffee and some chocolate.

Making cheese toasties – bit of a messy campervan

After snacking and getting over the trauma of Steve losing his glasses, we decided to go for a bit of wander. There was a trail up some rocks so we trekked up there to find some quite amazing views.

The day was slowly coming to an end so we had to head back in to Esperance. We decided to get Fish and Chips for dinner because, well you can’t have a coastal holiday and not have fish and chips. They were fairly average.

After dinner, Steve did some really fun things like emptying the waste water and such.

May 10, 2021 by blainie

On the Yoda gen

It rained A LOT over night. Like constant rain all night. The campgrounds were pretty mushy in the morning. We were really hopeful that that would be the end of the rain.

Today we were packing up and heading on to Esperance. The thing with a motorhome is, is that there isn’t really all that much packing up to do really because everything is in it already.

Unfortunately the rain was here to stay as we headed towards Esperance. We had a brief coffee stop and wander in the small town of Ravensthorpe.

Cool Amok Island artwork on silos in Ravensthorpe

Kept driving and arrived in Esperance in the late afternoon and set up camp at the caravan park. Went for a bit of a walk along the foreshore. It was nice but quite cold and windy (but not too much rain)

It was getting cold and dark so we headed back to the campsite, and enjoyed a bevvie and some crisps.

Then we cooked up some very average (though expensive) sausages with gluten free rolls for dinner.

It was cold and rainy and dark outside so we just stayed in and played our National Parks board game until we fell asleep.

May 5, 2021 by blainie

Happy birthday to B

Day 2 of our road trip and it was Blainie’s birthday today. We woke up to find it pouring with rain. After breakfast and coffee in the motorhome we pondered what to do with the day.

The weather cleared a little so we decided to go in search of some beaches. We found a lovely beach and went for a walk, but it was rather cold and slightly rainy.

It was a bit cold, so we decided coffee in the warmth of our motorhome was needed. We found a car park with a nice view.

After coffee we went for a bit more of wander around.

Stopped in for a beer and chips at the Bremer Bay Brewery. Beer was ok. Chips were average. And we judge a place based on their chips – I mean if you can’t get chips right, what hope do you have?

Drove around a bit, then decided to have another coffee and an Easter rabbit and a game of Masters of the Universe UNO, because, really what else is there to do on a cold and blustery day?

Special Masters of the Universe UNO rule

And then before we knew it, it was time to head back to the campsite and sort out some dinner. After such a cold day, Japanese curry was in order. Luckily we had some Pokemon and Doraemon microwave curry and rice on hand.