Perth here we come

With our market bargains packed away we head back on the highway for Perth. There is so much we could do on the way and after much debate and discussion we decide to head inland for a town called Gingin. No, there is no distillery there but rather the AIGO and the GDC. The Australian International Gravitational Observatory and the Gravitational Discovery Centre. The million dollar question is who had more fun, Robbie, Robbie or Robbie! 

A quick reminder for us that we share this highway with many others.

E.C.S

So close to Perth.

We almost missed the turnoff into the Gravity Discovery Centre. The drive in presented us with the most beautiful display of wildflowers.

Inside the centre we had an incredible experience with hands on experiments in physics and astronomy with a focus on gravity and cosmology. We were only there for 2 hours but could have easily spent all day. The centre is the public education face of  the AIGO, which is part of a world wide network of lasers which turn the earth into a hypersensitive network for the purpose of proving Einstein's theory that gravity travels in waves.

  

A storyboard of the universe from the Big Bang up until the present day.

On the road again. This day will also be recorded as the first time of this trip that we have plugged a destination ino the GPS. Destination Gooseberry Hill, approximately 30klms east of Perth.

E.C.S as we turn off the highway into their suburb.......

This would have to go down in the history of our trip as the best and most beautiful caravan park we have stayed at.

Not a bad site, would you say! And all to ourselves!!

Looking back up at our site from behind their dam. Now we understand what was calling them home from Melbourne.

They jumped for joy at the thought of heading to the Godden's and they jumped for joy on arrival. Kids voted this the best caravan park ever, lovely hosts, yummy clean fresh water and spotless ablutions!!!

The first night of many dinners together. Michele treated us to a home cooked roast dinner with roast vegies. The kids seemed to just take off from where they last left their conversations two and a half years ago. Unfortunately for Andy, the man of the house, he was in hospital having his appendix out. We also had the pleasure of meeting Michelle's mum and nephew who are also staying in the house and will be joining us all for a week in Albany in a few days time.

On our arrival, after a quick tour of the house the kids disappeared....there was jumping to be done, sliding on a home made slippery dip, scooters and bikes to ride. It did not take long for our crew to feel at home, maybe half an hour tops!!! It also did not take us long to discover the best seat in the house. A day bed swing, hand crafted in Indonesia, was soon to become our favourite spot. Sun on your face, beer in hand, looking through their gazebo into their back yard, what more does one need!

It still feels quite surreal that we are actually in Perth, and like the kids, after only a few hours, we also feel totally at ease. We guess it is not so much the physical structure of the house but the familiarity and hospitality of the people within that can make a strange place feel like home.

Jumping for joy in Jurien

Fortunately for us, one of the friends we farewelled last night decided to stay in Jurien Bay for a couple more nights so we were able to do some more four wheel driving on the beach! It is always better to have company on such trips just in case you find yourself in soft sand. More so when your caravan manager sends you off with unclear instructions and you find yourself on a track that is far more suited for quad bikes than cars!

A 2klm long tight squeeze for Nads and Tony's Landcruiser, but nothing that a full body respray won't fix. Luckily our Prado is a little skinnier so just a few scratches for us. This route was supposed to take us onto the beach where the river meets it providing some great fishing and swimming opportunities.

Hooray, we eventually made it on to the beach...

......but where to now the drivers discuss?? The beach appears to be getting thin ahead and what sand is there very soft. No problems, so we return and try a different route to get out and.....

 ......all of a sudden we find ourselves driving alongside the main highway, with only a fence between us and the main road. Eventually we find an opening, regather our bearings, accept the defeat of our original plans and take the easy option for a drive on the beach.

We find a spot a little south of the main beach and the men fish and the kids and Linda swim. We also meet a very groovy kite surfer who shares some of his local knowledge and tips about the local eagle ray who visits fisherman looking for an easy feed from your bait. He also answered the question on pub versus tavern for dinner should the fishermen not catch anything. Subseqently the ray comes a visiting, sorry no pictures, the fishermen caught nothing and the pub provided a great feed!!!!

The following morning the packing process seems to move a whole lot faster as the kids are strangely co-operative. We farewell the Lewis's once again as they head on to Karrinyup for the next month and we head to GOOSEBERRY HILL in the eastern hills of Perth and the GODDEN'S!!!!!!!

Yippee!!!!

Yahoo!!!

Ooh yeh!!!

Despite all the excitement of getting to the Godden's, Linda cannot pass up the opportunity of searching for prezzies at the local market.

When Benj was in Grade 2 he made himself a new friend, a young boy all the way from Perth. We soon found out that he also had equally nice siblings and the parents were not too bad either. Over the next 2 years firm friendships were forged all around. Sadly, they decided to return to W.A., but first they purchased a caravan and did what we had been dreaming of.......6 months around Australia. During our farewells it was promised that should we ever find ourselves on the road, we must come and stay with them. Who would have thought, 2 and a half  years later this is exactly what we were about to do.  

The Pinnacles

This morning we have a quiet day around the van as we make time to do some journal writing, van cleaning and most importantly, hang out down at the beach with a young sea lion that lives around the jetty and the floating swimming pontoon. We then have an early dinner and head out to see the famous Pinnacles. The Pinnacles are a series of limestone pillars that rise out of the yellow sand within the Nambung National Park and we are told that they glow impressively during sunset and sunrise. The following are a series of pictures that we feel require no commentary. It was a pretty sensational couple of hours....................

Jurien Bay

Entering the  Jurien Bay Caravan Park we had the most wonderful suprise when we arrived. While negotiating our van into its new home for the next 4 days, we find ourselves staring at a very familiar rig. As we were scanning the park for the owners of this van we hear a 'hello!!'. Turning to our right we find ourselves staring right into another old/new friends van. We met this crew back in Broome and last saw them in Coral Bay where we had said our fond farewells. The kids were excited as they had a jumping pillow to play on with friends and us oldies, with beer, wine and dinner in hand, settled down to catch up with old/new friends, just one of the many treasures on this trip.

 Next morning, with three cars full, CB radios in tune, torches and lunches packed, we join the guys for a day of adventure. First stop only 10 klms north of our park we find ourselves at  Sandy Cape Beach, boasting beautiful clear blue water, white sand, dunes perfect for sand boarding and apparently pods of dolphins and sea lions who regularly visit.

Diamond Bay beach at Greenhead. The mounds of seagrass reminded us of Balnarring Beach.

As much as we could have stayed at the beaches all day we drove onwards to the Stockyard Gully National Park. To get there we had to first find Pearsons Track, off the Leeman-Eneabba road, and get ready for some more 4WD adventure.

6.5 klms of this rough track to get to our destination.

Here we have the Stockyard Gully Tunnel caves to explore. This historic cave is about 300 meters long, and was created by a river that ran below ground level. In the droving days, cattle and sheep were held in the tunnel, which was then blocked to form a natural stock yard.  

The Stockyard tunnel is part of a more extensive cave system that follows the creek bed and honeycombs the area. As the creek carved out bigger caverns in the limestone, sections collapsed creating the entrances we see today.

Benj and Gary climbing up to explore a small cave they spotted.

After walking the 300 metres of the tunnel we walk back through to where we started.

Spectacular W.A. Christmas trees in flower.

Situated north of Jurien Bay, off Indian Ocean Drive, Grigson’s Lookout offers a stunning view of the surrounding coastline, pristine beaches and hectares of flora.

Tonight we farewell our new/old friends as they are moving on tomorrow. Like we seem to say all the time, it  is not just about the spectacular places we are privileged to explore, but the people we have been lucky to meet, share a drink and our adventures with. Sue and Di we cannot wait to share a bottle of red and some yummy food with you back in Melbourne. Tony, Nads and Ruby bring on some more 4 wheel driving and Gary and Lynette may the next year be safe and full of wonerful adventures.......watch out for the rock!!!!!