After leaving Kalgoorlie we traveled through Coolgardie and onto the Wheat Belt. The belt was bordered by the Rabbit Proof Fence where the sign claimed it as the longest man made structure. This was interesting because a few days earlier when we crossed the dog fence on the Nullarbor it also claimed the record as the longest man made structure. Has anyone got a Guinness Book of World Records?
Our first night on the Wheat Belt was spent at Wave Rock. We spent the morning exploring the rock and nearby ‘Humps’ where a cave with indigenous paintings (mostly hands) can be found. Then it was on to the coast. About half way we encountered a sign advising we were entering a Wave Zone. This had us perplexed as we were far from Wave Rock and still farther from the coast. Some time further on the mystery was solved with another sign advising ‘People around here wave to say hello’! The next sign read ‘Wave Safely’.
At Albany we learned the difference between English and Flemmish brickwork on an historic walking tour of WA’s first settlement (actually it was an outpost of New South Wales at the time). We toured Whale World the site of the last whaling station in Australia and viewedspectacular coastal scenery.
Then it was a few days spent in the Land of Giants, firstly visiting the Red Tingles in Walpole and then the Karri in Pemberton. We climbed the Glouster Tree where an old fire spotting tower is located 60 metres up a Karri, went on a tram ride through the forest and a tourist drive to inspect more giant trees. Joy climbed half way up the Bicentenial Tree another even larger fire spotting tower 75 metres up another Karri tree while Adrian remained earthbound suffering from his earlier effort. Friday night we feasted on marron a local freshwater crayfish washed down with a local shiraz. Very nice.
In the morning it was not so nice, we could barely make in down the 3 steps from the van as our legs were not functioning. We traveled on to Margaret River and decided we would do some sight seeing that did not involve walking or climbing. Took a scenic drive to Cape Leeuwin where the Southern and Indian oceans meet (also the location of a light house). Masochistic Joy bought tickets for the lighthouse tour: “We’ll just do the tour and not go up the lighthouse”. The tour was of the lighthouse! 176 steps up, 176 down: painful!
Sunday was a day of decadence: wine tasting, cheese tasting and chocolate tasting. Adrian could still barely walk but Joy insisted on visiting one of the region’s limestone caves: 500 steps down, 500 up.
We are now in Perth but more on that another day.
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