Way out West in OZ, Australia: Dec 2009

 

PERTH: 30thNov: Our first full day in Perth and we took a ferry ride over to Sth Perth for a great view of the city. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the relaxed time on the water and wandering around along the beachfront.The 3 swans in a row , with the city in the background put on a great show for us.

 

John spotted his most favourite EK Holden, how good is the colour!! LIME GREEN , so he snapped a few shots of it and then realised there was a couple cuddling in the back, lucky he didn’t get caught as a voyeur….We then wandered around the Kings Park and Botanical Gardens and enjoyed the beauty of the specimens. John found his long lost great great great maybe relo, so we had to snap that too!.

 

Our accom in Perth was in East Perth and it was right on an inlet to the river so the morning breakfasts on the deck were so peaceful and a gorgeous spot to start the day.

 

Ann stumbled across the rocks to capture this water bird sunning itself by the river, it was woth the effort when it spread its wings in all it glory. The Bell Tower at the Barrack St wharf rings it’s bells constantly. We thought about going in for a tour, but with them wanting $18 ea to watch them being rung we thought we’d just listen to them from the outside instead and treat ourselves to an ice-cream instead.

ROTTNEST ISLAND

Our next stop was to Rottnest island and the gorgeous white sands and azure blue waters had us in raptures and the cameras were clicking from both of us.

The history of Rottnest is interesting and somewhat brutal at times as it was an aboriginal penal settlement for many years and so many died on the island, as well as being used for a barracks and defence battery in WWI and an inernment centre during WWII . It has been a holiday desitination for the last 50 years or so and many of the same families return each year. The architecture has been maintained , so it is a great place to wander and soak up the history and then the beaches are to die for, with beautful bays abounding.

 

The quokas are everywhere and rule the island. They get under your feet when you sit at a restaurant and they even jump up to try and take food from children. On the day that this photo was taken though, this was the only quoka in sight, they must have all been having a strategy meeting somewhere else on the island!

The Hotel Rottnest was our place of abode for 3 nights, and it has undergone a refurb recently and it is the spot for all to gather at night and late afternoon. We had a fun night watching some music on our last night, it was great to watch young and old enjoying some live music on a balmy evening.

This stingray was HUGE , it was a good 2 metres wide, and it appeared in the water just after John had a swim, glad we didn’t see it when he was in the water. The guys getting out if this boat were lucky they saw it before they entered the water and waited until it went on its merry way.

 

Bike is the prefered mode of transport on Rotto and John was into it, finding many ways to transport all our beach gear around to the various beaches. The umbrella was a must but Ann still got burnt under it, so she was very careful after that.

There are so many beautiful beaches on the island so it was just a matter of finding the best one out of the wind as it can really blow around that place. This was Pinkies beach and  like so many  there was hardly a soul around despite there being so many people on the island.

This is The Basin probably the most popular swimming pools on the island being protected by a series of reefs opening to these  amazing reef pools

Rotto is very popular with Perth boaties and they flock there for the protected bays, exceptional fishing, stunning beaches and great sailing.

There is also good surf on the southern reefs when the wind is right but it was blowing from the south every day we were there

MARGARET RIVER REGION, south west WA

Our next stop was Smiths beach in the Margaret River region just south of Yallingup.

We are staying at Smiths Beach Resort a stunning award winning designer resort behind one of the most picturesque beaches on the coast but again so far no decent surf just very small waves on crowded wind blown reefs that have not being worth the effort

Beautiful one day, perfect the next, shame there’s still no surf, maybe tomorrow.

The resort is set in the dunes behind the beach so that you cannot see anything from the beach and it features an excellent restaurant and bar.

 

At the end of the beach is a stunning set of rock formations called Canal Rocks, stunning granite boulders set in heath fields.

 

The colours of the sunset on the rocks really helped our tans

 

In the jaws of the rock monster at canal rocks watched over by the rock queen

Looking back to Yallingup and Cape Naturaliste

The sunset was truly amazing  just like some of the best in central australia

The Region around the Geographie  Bay is truly stunning with a series of beautiful bays from Dunsborough to Bunker Bay where the Quay West resort is located. We had lunch there and checked out the investment opportunities there ( not too bad )

 

The Water was crystal clear and the sand pure white with an abundance of rock pools to enjoy.

 

Of course the region is just as famous for its wines and there are just so many wineries to choose from. Most also seem to have cafes or Restaurants with them and they are just so close to where we are staying the choice is just too great.

Yallingup is a beautiful little settlement and like so many along this coast they are set on there own in amongst the coastal bush and very autonomous in their rugged environments. The Yallingup Caves House was built in 1930 and is the social centre for the coast and has been a honeymoon destination in WA for the past 80 years

 

some more close up views of the beautiful Canal rocks with the bridge that links two of the natural canals

 

We spent a day down at the Margaret River region about 30 mins south of Smiths looking for Surf and Art Galleries. The surf at Surfers Point was a mess and the beach break was no better so it was the galleries and the Karri Forests that won out this time.

Our last attempt at finding a wave took us to Conto’s an isolated beach down a long dirt road but what we found was spectacular but no waves.

Boranup Karri Forest was the next stop just off Caves road south of Margaret river where found a special place where they allow humans to cross the road so we thought we would try our luck, and yes we did get to the other side.

The Karri forests were truly wonderous, thick and pristine.

It’s now the 9th dec our 31st wedding anniversay and another beautiful but windy day, we went down to Meelup beach and found another gem with beautiful shady grassed picnic areas and the best toilet block ever decorated in mosaics and in perfect condition. We have not seen any graffiti down here must be a bunch of well adjusted families living around here.

Our next stop was lunch at Vasse Felix Winery to celebrate the momentus day and a superb lunch was had to the max in a stunning setting. ( thanks to Kerry & Andrew HR for the recs)

 

The meal had an interesting effect on both of us, Ann hugging a tree and John behaving like a stuffed coachroach.

The sights all around this region are so varied that you could be costantly stopping to shoot the next piece of scenery, this was typical of the varied landscapes , vineyards surrounded by thick virgin bush.

Our last day in WA was spent at another beautiful bay out of the wind followed by a bush walk amongst the coastal wildflowers and the stunning coastal vistas and then lunch at Bunkers cafe.

 

These were just a few examples of the coastal vistas that are around every corner

back home tomorrow after a fabulous 12 days in WA