Back in Adelaide

It started raining in the night and was still raining in the morning when we left Streaky Bay and the rain kept up pretty well non stop for the next 2 days. We stayed in Port Augusta so that we could have a look at the Wadlata Museum, it is well worth a visit - it was a good thing that we had some indoor activities to keep us busy.
Our UK friends headed off to Wilpena and we headed to Adelaide in bright sunshine.
This is our second time "all the way round" and we have had lots of fun, seen some fabulous new places and met many interesting people. Heading north has the extra bonus of avoiding a cold and wet winter and once again the Suzi has performed impeccably.
This is my last blog for this year, Greece and Turkey are on next year's agenda - sounds like fun!

Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay has provided a good opportunity to do some more fishing (mostly fishing rather than catching), but after a couple of false starts some success using razor fish as bait - a good meal for both the fishermen and the pelicans who crowd round the cleaning table.

Esperance, the Nullabor and on to Streaky Bay

I am writing this from Streaky Bay, we crossed the Nullabor in drizzly rain and unbroken grey skies and didn’t stop except to refuel and overnight, so made the trip in good time. We celebrated with Ceduna oysters and a glass of sav blanc - very nice!
Esperance lived up to its expectations of being a beautiful place, we had a good look at Cape Le Grand National Park and our UK friends were brave enough to swim, the water is straight off the Southern Ocean, cold and beautifully clear.

Crabs and Wave Rock

We are now heading east, the first time we have driven in this direction for about 5 months, which of course means that we are now travelling towards home. We stopped in Albany where there is a pretty harbour, historical buildings and crab boats! We bought some live blue swimmers for our tea - we cooked them in the camp kitchen, as you can see we are dining in style!
The famous granite Wave Rock was next on our agenda, it meant a side trip of nearly 400km but it was worth it.

Valley of the Giants

Do you know what a Tingle Tree is - we had never heard of them either! There are some of the oldest and largest species of eucalypt trees and some we saw are up to 400 years old. We visited the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk (near the town of Walpole) - a 600 metre walkway which rises 40 meters above the forest floor and gives a real bird’s eye view of the forest. A bit scary for those like me who don’t much like heights particularly as the pathway also sways! We are back to winter weather, cold wet and windy.

Pemberton and Walpole

The towns of Pemberton and Walpole are famous for their majestic forests and tall trees, especially the karri and tingle trees.

In Pemberton we took the tram ride through the forest, the track was through scented bushland, lots of native shrubs in flower and views of forest giants. The Gloucester Tree has a peg ladder and if you are fit/brave enough you can climb to the platform at the top and have a fantastic view over the forest. This tree was originally used by rangers to detect forest fires. We are now in Walpole and yesterday it rained all through the day, there are some sunny breaks this morning and we plan to do the tree top walk.

Margaret River

Cowaramup is 20km north of the township of Margaret River and has been our base to explore the area. We had a good look along the coastline which is famous for its surfing beaches and visited the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse which is on the most southerly point of the mainland and where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. There is spectacular coastal scenerey and wineries at every bend of the road. Too much to see in one visit. Next stop Pemberton and its forests.