For The Love of Travel

First stop, the Colony Concept – second generation beekepers Sarah and Simon Green have been operating their apiaries since 2001. Free from chemical and antibiotics, the honey they produce is 100% raw, unfiltered, unpasteurised. Learnt about the lifecycle of bees…day 1-the Queen lays an egg; day 4 -egg hatches into larva; workers feed the larva; day5/10 -larva grows and spins a cocoon; day10/22 -inside the cocoon the larva develops into an adult bee and joins colony; day 32/40 using wax in abdomens, begin building honeycomb cells and wax cell caps; day 40/43 -bees become guards protecting the hive from invaders; day 43 onwards – bees go out foraging for pollen to eat and nectar to make honey. Bee longevity: 1-2 yrs for the Queen, 15-38 days in summer and 150-200 winter days for the worker bees and up to 55 days for the drones.

Next to sample Olio Bello products – such delish oils (and cosmetics). I bought their Premium, 5 fruits pressed (oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, lemons and limes) and parmesan infused oils. Yummo! And they have a glamping area that looks very spesh!

I visited Gracetown to check out Cowaramup bay as I saw publicity about the Margaret River Pro (an event on the prestigious World Surf League World Championship Tour). I believe I saw some of the worlds top surfers practising in advance of the weekend’s competition @ North Point. And a wistful doggie waiting for its owner to return from the waves.

Discovered Left-handers Road beach, what an awesome stretch of pristine white sand and rolling breakers…the wind was blowing and I got a very slight delicious spray of salt water on my face from about 200m from the waters edge…

I met up in Margaret River with a representative of Broome and Beyond, from whom I have rented the camper. Tracey and her husband had come up with the solution of attaching a long strap to the tent roof, to make it easier for me to open and close the top – brilliant, and really appreciated the customer support. They really have gone ‘above and beyond’.

Made my way to Bridgetown caravan park for an overnight stay.

Drove through Wagin, a delightful little country town of 1500 population, in the wheatbelt region of WA with main industries of wheat and sheep farming. It is home to the “Giant Ram”…..hahahaha! Nothing on Goulburn’s offering but!!!!

Just around the corner was Parkeyerring Salt Lake, with a surface area of 800 acre, part of a chain of wetlands in the wheatbelt, the area’s traditional owners being the Noongar peoples. 18 species of waterbird have been recorded around the lake. Eucalyptus, acacia, melaleuca, and samphire are vegetation found on lake fringes. Loved this image….wasn’t expecting the shape of Australia (minus Tassy) to appear!

Then another 120kms to the township Lake Grace, which has an immense lake system stretching 50 kms long and 7.25kms wide.

I admired the historical mural that celebrates the region’s female pioneers.

On the advice of the Tourist Information staff, I headed about 10 kms down the Pingrup – Lake Grace Rd, to capture a drone image of a little pink salt lake.

Another 100kms to Wave Rock Caravan Park for the night.

Headed south to see the Lake Clifton thrombolites – an easy morning boardwalk in the Yalgorup National Park to view the living rounded rock-like limestone colour structures, formed by micro organisms. The micro organisms are able to precipitate calcium carbonate from the waters as they photosynthesise, forming the mineralised thrombolite structure. I launched the drone and was surprised to discover the gorgeous lime green water colour on shore’s edge.

Feeling energetic, did another boardwalk along the mangroves in the Leschenalut Inlet waterway in Bunbury.  The Leschenault estuarine system has a high diversity of microfauna and a large number of migratory waterbirds.

Stayed overnight at the Southern Stars Holiday Park in Anniebrook.

Continued south to Point Piquet – lots of people fishing, with shouts of excitement about the shoal of salmon that flowed past. Some lads landed 5kg trophies to take home to Mum that night!

Eagle Bay beach, near Dunsborough, in Meelup National Park is a long expanse of white sand interspersed with the odd natural rock groyne. Crystal clear calm waters make for easy bathing.

Travelled on to check out the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, built in 1903, a 20 metre limestone cylindrical tower that still uses the first order Fresnel lens made by the Chance brothers. A delightful cottage cafe with artwork from locales on the walls, and delish coffee too.

Continued onto Smith’s Beach – a well known swimming, surfing and fishing location. What a shock to learn this beautiful pristine location is facing the threat of sewage being dumped by developers. I’m writing to government to protest!

Stopped off at Yallingup Gugelhupf to check out the pastries but decided to stay strong and just take a pic of offerings. Discovered Kathleen’s seat @ Yallingup with a fab outlook of Canal Rocks – what a view! And a seagull photobombed, hah!

Olive Hill Farm campground @ Margaret River overnight, after a stop at Vasse Felix winery to get a nice red.

After arriving at Perth airport, caught a taxi to pick up 4WD…and got an hour’s orientation to vehicle and tent enclosure. A lot to take in.
Off to Fremantle for the first night’s sleep ‘on board’. En route, visited Hillary’s Harbour and Marmion Beach, just as the glorious sunny weather was about to change to ’stormy’.

The first night’s camping at Fremantle Village Caravan Park was character building – had real difficulty lowering and anchoring tent, and then closing the following morning! Lots of help from obliging campers to be able to go on my way.

My first day was on Rottnest Island, getting there by express ferry. Fun facts: 

1. history extends as far back as 50,000 years ago, when it was still connected to the mainland of Western Australia; Aboriginal artifacts suggest there was significant human occupation until ~7,000 years ago when the rising sea levels resulted in the separation of the island. 
2. Without boats, Aboriginal people on the mainland weren’t able to make the crossing, leaving the island uninhabited for the next several thousand years. Rottnest Island features in Noongar Aboriginal mythology as Wadjemup, meaning “place across the water where the spirits are”.
3. The island remained uninhabited until Dutch sailors landed in 1658. This marked the beginning of the European exploration and settlement on the island. In 1696, Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh spent 6 days exploring the island before giving it the name ‘t Eylandt ‘t Rottenest (“Rats’ Nest Island”) after the quokkas which he mistook for giant rats. 
4. A couple hundred years later, William Clarke and Robert Thomson received land grants from the British Swan River Colony for pasture land and town lots to be built on the island. In 1831 Thomson moved his family to the island and began building up the island’s main settlement at Thompson Bay. Pasture land for hay production was developed west of Herschel Lake, while several salt lakes were harvested and the salt was exported to the mainland.
5. Throughout the majority of the European exploration and settlement, Rottnest Island communicated with the mainland of Western Australia through semaphore flags and flares. Up until the 1880s, a manned lookout at Bathurst Point included a signalling station, which conveyed shipping information between the island’s Wadjemup Lighthouse and Arthur Head on the mainland. Wadjemup Lighthouse has undergone many upgrades throughout its history, continuing to be in operation today by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. 
6. Rottnest Island still goes by many names – known as Wadjemup to the local Noongar people, and colloquially known as Rotto. 
7. Today, it is a popular holiday destination, with 500,000 annual visitors. 

I jumped on the bus shuttle and spent a delightful 6 hours exploring the island. My favourite spots – Little Salmon Bay (swimming and snorkelling in clear shallow water);

Cape Vlamingh (the most westerly point and exposed area of the island, with rolling breakers);

the Pink Lake area (there are 12, and I saw the 2 Pearse Lakes). Plants like beaded samphire, coastal bone fruit, grey saltbush and coastal pig face are close to the lakes edge.

Grabbed a coffee and a late lunch from the Rotto bakery and discovered a cheeky quokka looking for an opportunity to sneak in for a bite, as well!