West Australia

Postcards from Hannah and Xavier

Posted on March 6, 2015 by John Sear
Nullarbor links golf
Whale bone at Thistle Cove
Xavier at Wave Rock
Seadragon find at Thistle Cove
Hannah at Lucky Bay
Nullarbor Links golf
Fun at Thomas River

Postcard from Xavier

Recently we arrived at Four Mile beach. We set up camp and walked to the beach. We all thought it was the best beach because at the start they saw a snake and when they got on the beach Dad and Mum found dried seadragons. The cool bit was that it was Valentine’s Day. Then the next day my Dad came to the beach with me and found his favourite animal dried. It’s a leafy seadragon, but its head fell off.

I wish I could go back soon.

Postcard from Hannah

Recently I have been across the Nullarbor. The first stop was Cactus beach. It was really nice and it was really good because we met some kids from Perlubie Beach and they were coming to Cactus beach. We were very lucky to get some friends to play with that we already knew. After Cactus we went to see Fowler Bay. We didn’t stay there, though we stayed somewhere nearby that was called Fowler Bay National Park. It was full with rubbish but we made sand dune houses out of sand. We had a factory, a toy world, and a caravan park. We mainly spent all of our time up in the dunes.

In Eucla we met a girl called Amber. She owned a park. She let us feed the chickens, the sheep, the geese and the horses. She even let me ride the horse, let me look at the  sheep, geese, and the chickens and horses. Amber has two horses and they are called Dolly and Matilda. We rode Dolly because she was a 20 year old pony and Matilda is a lot wilder than Dolly. My favourite horse was Dolly because we got to ride Dolly and feed Dolly.

Amber does school of the air. I would think it would be awesome to do school of the air.

We fed Matilda an apple and some horse biscuits. We only fed Dolly horse biscuits when Dolly was good and did what we said.

Categories: australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, South Australia, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , | 6 Comments

Esperance and surroundings

Posted on March 4, 2015 by John Sear

We finally had to leave Quagi to re-stock supplies and get some water in the tanks again. A couple camping next to us kindly donated an inflatable boat for the kids that they no longer needed.

Lucky Bay
Chilling on the beach boulders
Wild brumbies
Wharton Beach break
Wreck on Quagi beach
Wharton beach
Hellfire bay
Dugite at Cape Le Grand
Beach at Thomas river
New Holland Honeyeater
Hannah and friend at Lucky Bay
Mt Arid peak
Dunn Rocks camp
Sand storm at Dunn Rocks
Salmon at Dunn rocks
Emus in dunes at Dunn Rock
Lucky Bay
Stonehenge, Esperance
View east from Mt Arid
Dolphin bay
Mt Arid western panorama
Quagi beach rocks
Boating in Thomas river
Mt Arid peak
Brumby in front of Frenchmans Peak

Next stop was Cape Arid National Park and a campsite called Thomas River, ideal for the inflatable boat. We drove the length of the beach, over 24km, then along some 4WD tracks to beaches beyond. Ranger Jo, who was brilliant with the kids told us how to get to the Mt Arid walking track, and even lent us some boogy boards. The next day we conquered the mountain which offers amazing views over the picturesque beaches and park. The mountain itself is very barren with little vegetation and lots of bare rock but well worth the 3 hour return walk. Back at camp I even managed to catch some super-sized herring that were delicious. From Cape Arid it was tempting to head further east to Seal Creek, but we chose to turn back West, passing through to see Duke of Orleans bay and Wharton beach which must rate as one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia, with its pure white sands stretching into the distance. Our next destination was Cape Le Grand National Park and Dunn Rocks, where we could camp on the beach. We arrived as the worst winds we have encountered so far whipped up from the south, giving us a true desert sandstorm experience that piled several tonnes of sand in a pile behind the trailer annex. There were thousands of mouse footprints on the sand in the annex the next morning and it began to look like we still had a stowaway! The weather improved though and before long we were swimming and fishing and the salmon finally arrived for us to start catching dinner! The kids loved playing on the rocks by the camp and Hannah even found a python in a crevice. She also found the mouse again and after it bit her a short chase across the sand saw it dispatched with my leather sandal. No more footprints since! From Dunn Rocks we had planned to head back west beyond Esperance again after checking out Lucky Bay and Le Grand beach campsites, both of which tend to be quite hard to get in at. Arriving at Le Grand first we fell in love with the place and grabbed the last camp spot, a sheltered little spot between the trees, 50m from the beach and with a kids hideout amongst the scrub. Lots of snakes here, a couple of coastal pythons and plenty of Dugites, apparently number 13 on the list of world’s most venomous snakes. Late one evening I stumbled out of the tent to hear the pitter patter of footprints scuttling into the undergrowth, and fearing another mouse infestation I grabbed a torch in time to see a crab disappear into a hole in the undergrowth. Phew! With the crabs and snakes I think we’ll be mouse free for a while. Rob and Kris, who we met crossing the Nullarbor, were at the same campsite, told us that there were wild brumbies that visit the beach daily. Hannah was thrilled and makes it her daily ritual to get as close as possible. It’s just a matter of time before the carrot supply gets raided. The kids have finally been introduced to Geo-caching too and with a few nearby we should be teaching them how to navigate expertly very soon.

We visited nearby Lucky Bay, famous for photos of kangaroos on the beach, but found a cramped and crowded campsite, a beach covered in knee-deep weed, very swampy and compared with other beaches we have seen, only worth the visit for the “kangaroo on a beach” photo. At least some of the roos were obliging on that front

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Natural World, Offroad, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, Walks, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Back to the Coast again

Posted on March 3, 2015 by John Sear

Heading south again we decided to have a brief stop at Four Mile Beach in Fitzgerald River National Park. The ocean was angry so swimming was not on the agenda, but a spell of beachcombing definitely was. Walking down to the beach we encountered a small but very beautiful green snake with a brown head and black collar. Anyone who knows what it is please let us know.

To our surprise on the beach we then found two dead weedy sea dragons amongst the weed, and then the following morning we found a leafy sea dragon, most likely washed up in the recent rough seas.

Seadragons washed up on the beach
Banksia flower
View of Four Mile beach
What snake is this?

Packing up the next day we headed back East to Quagi beach, a campsite nestled in thick Banksia scrub, with a few Eucalypts. The bird life here was incredible and we stayed for several days. We found more bee hives along the rocky shore, and I managed to get stung on the head by a particularly angry bee. A few days were spent here doing homework and slowing the pace down.

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Categories: australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , | 6 Comments

Wave Rock, Hyden and other rock formations

Posted on February 19, 2015 by John Sear

West of Eucla, we stopped briefly at Cocklebiddy and headed down to the Eyre Bird Observatory. The road to the escarpment was pretty rough but we had to unhitch the trailer to get the last 12km to the observatory. The road was very soft and sandy, making it a fun ride in.

McDermid Rock
Caiguna blowhole
Wave Rock
Sand track into the observatory
The Breakaways
Amanda at Eyre Bird Observatory
Kids catching Wave Rock
Australian Bustard
The Original Telegraph Station at the Eyre Bird Observatory
Granite-Woodlands road
Hippos Yawn
The Breakaways

Whilst very little remains of the original telegraph station (1877-1897), the later built telegraph station now acts as a tranquil rest for bird watchers and bushwalkers. The caretakers showed the kids the weather station and took measurements, a task performed 3 times a day. The building also houses an interesting museum that the kids loved due to the amount of bones and preserved animals there. We had a quick bird-watching bushwalk and headed down to the beach, over one of the most challenging dunes we have encountered yet. The beach was tough driving so we made a hasty exit and departed.

The explorer, Edward John Eyre, passed nearby in 1841, on his epic 1500km journey from Fowlers Bay to Albany.

Back to Cocklebiddy for an overnight stop, then saw an Australian Bustard (a bird, not a person!) in the morning before commencing a long drive to Norseman. This stretch saw us diverting to find Caiguna blowhole, driving for 20 minutes in the worst dust roads, only to find it back by the main road on our return. Tidal airflows blast through many such blowholes on the Nullarbor, some over 70km/h. Jumping into them offers instant air conditioning on hot summer days. The next stretch of road is the longest straight road in Australia – 146km of boring driving.

Past Norseman we continued on towards Hyden via the Granite-Woodlands track, stopping overnight at McDermid rock. A brief stop at Disappointment rock was far from it! We watched a small bush fire working its way towards us, until it got within a kilometre, when we had to press on to camp before sunset. McDermid Rock is actually a mini-Wave Rock formation and an impressive sight, but to avoid disappointment see it before the Wave Rock. The road took us past the Breakaways, another obligatory stop offering more rock formations and beautiful colouration in the rock.

Wave rock was impressive but quite busy. Having seen pictures of it as a kid growing up it was great to see it in reality. Well worth a visit.

 

 

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Natural World, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Eucla

Posted on February 14, 2015 by John Sear

Arriving in Eucla we headed straight for the Telegraph Station that has been engulfed by sand. Movement of sand dunes along the beach slowly overtook the station following a rabbit plague in the 1890s that ate all the vegetation that stabilised the dunes.

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We then set off looking for a beach camp and once again found a maze of 4WD tracks leading everywhere except where we wanted. Anyone watching from the escarpment would have been amused to follow the trail of dust billowing up behind us as we negotiated the multitude of paths. Finally we gave up and headed back into Eucla for the night and enjoyed a dip in their pool, refreshing after several days of inhaling dust from remote tracks. I got some local knowledge and found that one of the sandy paths we had tried actually lead to the jetty and beach and I was keen to go so I dashed down before the sunset. With just the car and no trailer in tow it was a lot easier to get through the sand but I wasn’t expecting to pop onto the beach so quickly. A great photo opportunity indeed and the time of day offered great lighting.

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Beach, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Mitsubishi, National Park, Offroad, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , | 5 Comments

West Australia – here we come

Posted on February 12, 2015 by John Sear

Just as we approached the West Australian border a wild dingo calmly crossed the freeway in front of us. It was our first on the trip. We pulled over for lunch to eat some residual items that we knew would be lost through quarantine. 25km short of the border the coastline becomes a sloping descent rather than precipitous cliffs. Whilst a dirt road to the beach beckoned we gave it a miss and the kids had fun catching desert cockroaches in the car park. These insects were of herculean stature, buzzing past slowly everywhere. We swatted a couple for closer examination.

Big Roo at Bordertown
Desert cockroach
Hannah tees off
Xavier putting
Oscar sticks to the fairway
Golf Challenge completed!
Nullarbor Links
Amanda chips onto green
Desert cockroach
Big putt required

At the border we decided to play another Nullarbor Links hole to relieve the boredom of long straight roads. The straight par 3 hole looked a doddle, but when the clubs were handed over without balls, “because everyone loses them”, we noticed the fairway was largely rocks and dirt and it wasn’t long before balls were ricocheting into the bush in all directions. Armed with two clubs, one for striking the ball, the other for defence against abundant brown snakes, we zigzagged our way up the fairway several times, as we all wanted a go and we only had two balls. Best score of the day, two over par, 5.

50m away as we crossed the border we had a good chat with the quarantine officers who spoiled the kids with chuppa chups. We surrendered the few remaining items we hadn’t been able to eat then drove through. Here we are in West Australia after almost 15,000km on the clock.

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, Animal Action, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Camper Trailer, Car, Challenges, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Mitsubishi, Photography, South Australia, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

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