Repairs to your body are a little scary and difficult, but it is the recovery that sucks. Two weeks of doing nothing, rest, recline, do Nothing.....as if that isn't hard enough! I've read 8 books, watched 5 movies, done 236 digital jigsaw puzzles and played a billion games of cards and sudoku. Then, still "Taking it easy" I've broken out to walk the neighbourhood. Well it is a bit boring, to say the least. So as we are off to India very soon, I have been on my best behaviour and if we don't get out of this house for a few days someone is going to be very sorry........Will?
This is the most exciting thing I've done in weeks, because the sun came out. Help me..
We have some family in Dongara, who we haven't seen in years, so decide to head there to start with, and see what else comes up. Day one, we take our sweet time chucking some clothes and bedding into Dixy, stop at the shops for some food and drinks, back home because we forgot our Thermos flasks, and we Cannot go anywhere without them, then hit the Freeway north. Not wanting to go too far each day, as usual, we made it just north of Jurien Bay, to Sandy Cape. It was an old camping area, just shacks and sand dunes, from our childhoods, now is owned and managed by Parks and Wildlife. Fees to pay, designated camping spots, clean Eco toilets, but still plenty of opportunity to hide in the dunes and feel isolated.
Nice little camp at Sandy Cape, with a nice little fire.
After finding our spot, popping the top and organising our chairs and sundowners drinkies, we headed to the top of the dunes to relax over the beach views. Taking some deep, relaxing breathes, looking out to sea, I spotted a whale "Flippering". How lucky are we, amazing views and now a whale waving at us. Watching it carefully, the awe and amazement soon died, as we realised it wasn't a whale, but a boat reflecting back at us. It never moved, or disappeared.......DOH! Bloody old eyesight!
Atop the dune, enjoying the views.....is that a Whale?
It looks secluded, but behind those dunes are many hiding campers.
This trip we decided to trial a new plan for Day one of travelling.....no cooking, just buy a cooked chook, some buns and salad, so if you push too hard, arrive late, or are just plain buggered, dinner is easy. It is a good plan, and left us with plenty of chicken for tomorrow's lunch. Winner! So Will got a small fire going (we'd bought a bag of wood for this purpose) and we sat enjoying the stars, some port and a chicken roll. Doesn't get better than this.....
A tip for women! Instead of leaving filthy toilet paper to ruin the bush, take a couple of these to use as rubbish bags. Put your used paper in these, so you can cleanly store your rubbish in transit. They are scented and hygienic. Better than leaving in the bush to take 100 yrs to degrade. No one enjoys seeing your "paper streamers" fluttering at the roadside stops.
Morning one was Father's Day, so I should have got up first and sorted out a nice coffee for Will, but he needed to "go" first, so he was up and off. When he got back, he told me he had sorted coffee. Hey? When? How? Well, the caretakers of the camping area, also operated a coffee and fast food van! Huh, what a fantastic idea. So back Will goes and collects two delicious, hot coffees, for us to swig while eating our nuts and berries for breakfast.
Happy Fathers Day Willsie, Coffee?
Great thinking by the volunteer caretakers......who doesn't love an easy coffee?
Nice start to the mini adventure. Next, we drove to Port Denison, via Cliffhead, before locating The Pekaars residence, just north of Dongara. We arrived, got molested by Anne's four pooches, and headed back to Dongara, to the pub, for lunch and a catch up. It was a lovely day, and we really enjoyed chatting to Mrs P and Anne, about their new life on their little farm. We will definitely visit again, they are so welcoming and it is lovely.
The beach at Cliffhead. Childhood memories here for sure.
Port Denison....more kiddie memories, but I thought this was Dongara....
I remember playing on that foreshore.....where is the Yellow Submarine?
Viewing point at Port Denison.
What a groovy little home on the farm.
Hello Mrs P....this is my second mum. Wonderful lady, sorry for taking so long to catch up.
Anne and Willie, some beers and a great sunset view. Very nice!
Anne is teaching herself the farm life, and loving it. She is amazing! Fixing, building, the whole lot she does!
Mrs P, is 80 and out walked me. Lesson for me....keep moving, a little bit often!
Day three saw us head inland to Walkaway, for two reasons. One, it is a much more pleasant drive to Geraldton, and two, Anne had told us about an initiative the Geraldton shire have organised, called the Art Drive. It heads south from Geraldton, then east towards Walkaway and Mingenew, then North to Mullewa, before returning west to Geraldton. Along the way, local artists have created sculptures depicting life in the region. It will also give you a good view of the wildflower season here. Here is the link, and you can download a booklet explaining the art with a map.
Nonuts.......forever a clown......
Parked at the Walkaway Museum, to check out the Art in the park.
Two of the sculptures, the sheep and Wildflowers, and the horse in the background.
This one depicting the Wildflowers. All using recycled materials. Clever and pretty.
We didn't follow the trail, but did stop and check out the art on our way past. Well worth a look. Dixy's pump tap was leaking, so we stopped in Geraldton to get a new one, and stocked up a bit of food, before heading out to Horrocks beach, west of Northampton. It is a very quiet little beach village, and having never stayed here, we thought we should. It was nice, and we managed a good bit of relaxing.
Our spot at the Horrocks Caravan Park. Had a nice view, but we don't like those trees that drip sap.
I went for a very short walk to the beach, which was quiet and empty.
The boat ramp and jetty, it was a nice afternoon, slightly windy.
Wood bug on my Hellinox chair....it's a monster!
Checking on the maps, we decided to head east on some back roads we have never done, and enjoyed a very relaxing cruise through the farming region, spotting many grey nomads following some scenic/heritage trail, checking out old halls, churches and other historical sites. There really is plenty to see out this way. Almost at Mullewa, we spotted some more of the Art Drive art, a good excuse to stop and stretch the recovering body.
Yet another interesting piece of art. Those shiny things are actually bottle tops.
What is left of a little village, shut down in 1985.
This one is a banksia, I believe.
Can't show you all of them, you'll just have to come see for yourself. It was very cute.
In Mullewa, we found it full of caravans and Nomads, making it difficult to get fuel and find the other art works in town. So we just departed, heading for Coalseam. My mum told me, we used to go there heaps as kids, but I don't remember. Good reason to check it out. Driving towards Mingenew, we found yet another art piece, before getting on the dirt, seriously corrugated, Coalseam road. "Suitable for all vehicles", the info said! Maybe you should grade the bloody thing first, before you say shit like that. Poor Dixy, she did not enjoy it one bit. We had to go super slow, as she was bumping along, rattling and shaking so much, we thought she might break. But we made it!
Dixy passed a massive train, and there were so many flowers. The pics never quite show you.
Smell that? Frickin everywhere.....
Leaving Mullewa, heading towards Mingenew.....Very cool!
This old hall would have held many a big dance in it's day.
Last one for us, representing the community links and how the farmers hold each other up.
The good side of slow, is the amount of time we had to really enjoy the scenery. The flowers! Wow, just magnificent. Wall to wall colour and fragrance. In amongst all the farms with lush crops, there is a little breakaway, that is beautiful. The Irwin river runs through it, (well not literally, now anyway) and it is the site of the first coal mine in Western Australia. It wasn't a very successful venture, as the seam was very shallow, and not good quality. But thanks to the miners, this lovely camping area was discovered and we can all enjoy it today.
Heading down into the gorge at Coalseam.
Flowers, flowers and more flowers.......
There are a few short easy walks, some fossils to find, and a bazillion Wildflowers and birds to check out. The toilets were superb, clean, not at all smelly, and even had a little crate for book exchange. Great idea! So I found a book, I've run out of digital ones (and no phone reception to get more), and got stuck into it. No time to waste, as I didn't have a book to exchange, I felt it necessary to finish it and leave it here.
We have a nice view of the Irwin river.....
The Irwin river bed. It was flowing very slightly,
Orange Immortelles, one of my favourite ones....really cute and bright.
Dixy enjoying the view.
These were another of my favourites. The clusters had a range of pinks and white. Pretty.
We had a lovely evening, chatting to other campers around the communal fire, for which we donated our remaining wood, and drank More of our Port. It rained over night, and that (combined with the need to finish the borrowed book) convinced us to stay another night. So we did more relaxing, and reading, and relaxing, until the sun came out to open up the flowers. Which was almost lunch time...he he he .
Halfway through the book, don't interrupt.
Trying to cook dinner out of the wind. It was a bit cool.....
Will made me come for a short walk to check out the little mine shaft, and it was amazing to find all the different flowers out on the breakaways. This is an easy drive from the Big City, so get out here quick people, before these flowers finish.
Looking down into the very small mine shaft. Not a job I would have liked.
This was our veranda. You can also see the coal seam across the river bed.
Thursday morning came fast, with more light rain, so we packed up and headed up to the look out, before heading to Mingenew and doing the big (450km) drive to home. We took the Midlands road, through the Wheatbelt, which is more quiet and very pleasant. We only stopped for food and fuel, and arrived home about 4:30pm. It was a short but satisfying journey, and we met some more great people. Dixy has suffered a minor injury, with one of the welds on the Bullbar fracturing slightly. Nothing Will can't fix, but gave us an annoying squeak for most of the trip home. But the solar panel worked a treat, and we stayed dry and warm, with everything we needed. Thanks again Dixybus....you are a winner!
View from the lookout.....you can see the coal seam, even though it isn't clear in this pic.
A nice person put this sign up, thank you, we would have missed the tiny orchids.
Weather turning crap, but it is a beautiful spot.
View to the south, from the lookout.
Reno update, roof is on, and front patio progress......yay!
Plumber has been and put in pipe work.......things are starting to happen seriously now.
Friday is Doctor visits and cabinet selection. India is racing towards us, and we have lots to get done. It is going to be a very busy four weeks.
Coalseam, well worth a visit.
