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| South Coast, near Denmark (WA) |
We had 21 days of 30 plus weather! Obviously the curse has been broken. The past few days have been cooler - 24-26....but we are managing. As much as this is a 'holiday' of sorts, it has also been steady work the past three weeks - Rich is back to working seven days a week - and Joan just can't leave the editing of her papers alone....but that ended today. Rich will be writing - forever - it seems.
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| stalictites |
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| limestone stalictite |
Now, having suggested it has been all work - we managed to sneak away, along with a travelling grad student, to Margaret River area and south for three days last weekend.
Two hours south of Perth - we came across limestone caves. Apparently there are three hundred of them in the area. The one we went down into (about 60 metres) was a babe - only about 400 million years old. It was discovered about 140 years ago by an Aussie immigrant, and has developed into quite a tourist stop over the years. Fortunately, this is late fall, and there are very few tourists beyond us....just the way we like it.
It was hard to believe this one was not a blanket with pinked edging....but no - just millions of years of dripping limestone!
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| art -fully-done -winery |
After being in a stuffy, oxygen deprived cave, it was time to find beaches....but Rich won out - so we managed a winery stop first. This was a great little place ----there are over 50 great little places in the area - This one, however, was home to an interesting artist, and a farmer (we think it was the "Farmer's Daughter) who was starring in a TV reality show called "The Farmer Wants a Wife" Now - only Australia, in our minds, could have this as a hit show - farmers are held in some reverence here - Anyway, we had actually watched part of one show only several nights earlier. The 'farmer' served us wine, and told us how the series would end for her - though it was not airing until the next week. She was the only 'she' on the show as farmers go...the other 5 were male. - Oh - that is - one for each state.... The show has been running 6 seasons - maybe this can be a substitute for Canadian Idol? Canaaadian Cowboy? Canadian country bumpkin? Canadian Cultivator Needs a Hitch?
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| double dude |
Finally - the beach. Can you believe it? We stumbled across a surfing competition. OK - technically the competition did not start until the next day, but all the stars were there rehearsing. We knew they were star surfers - well, at least good amateurs - because the prize board had $50,000 for first prize and slightly smaller increments for a number of other prizes. We watched the surfers - both female and male, until the sun set. And - there are some gorgeous sunsets beyond Saskatchewan.
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| surfer photos |
They surfed above, around, under each other. It was amazing no one came in on a stretcher....or rather - left on a stretcher.....or maybe that is why the sharks stay at bay...in bay....hmmmmm
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| sunset |
The surfers looked like they took this seriously. We heard several different languages being spoken, again a sign this was attracting international attention - The sign at the top calling it a 'world event' had been our first clue....but you know how that can get overused at times. Anyway, we managed to see the free event - training - and we awed by their abilities. And - they didn't seem to want to leave the water - As the sun set, twenty or more remained in the water, looking for that ONE perfect wave>>>
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| dolphins? |
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| more roos |
Into Margaret River for the night - but not before spotting some kangaroos - always a pleasant diversion.
Next morning we did the Gray thing - see how far you can drive on back roads until you almost run out of gas --- We made it to a pace called Walpole on the southern coast of Western Australia - and found, along with great coastal scenery , several spectacular National Forests - spectacular because of the height of the trees - phenomenal!
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| up in the air |
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| nice trunk |
We came across a tourist thing - a walking path suspended near the tops of the trees - and wandered about it. The trees, tindles, are often quite hollow at the trunk. It is hard to know how they remain standing....but most do for hundreds of years.
Again, too much heat, so, off to the beach - This time we found one that was devoid of people - and wandered along the coast, climbing up rocks a kilometre down the coast.....until we decided there was a tide and we were at risk of being cut off from land....It would have been a better story, but we are getting to the age where wisdom is beginning to trickle in at times. -
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| beautiful coast |
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| traversing rocks |
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| tide in- out - ?? |
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| billabong |
We scrambled back, drove inland, found a billibong, waded out to some rocks in it, had a refreshment and - almost felt like we were on the canoe trip on the Churchill - ah - except the water was incredibly warm.
We had managed to get ourselves about six hours from Perth - and in such a small town that we had the 'small town rooms attached to the local bar' experience - relatively cheap, no bedbugs, no sirens....all good. A quick drive home the next day with a few scenery stops - and finally - tea and scones with clotted cream! The ultimate treat!
We have only 10 days left in Perth - then a week between Adelaide and Melbourne!
Post script: Oh, and by the way - Rich's bike is working out well - he has a 45 minute ride to DAFWA when meeting there, or a 5 minute ride to campus. The previous DAFWA option was a bus and ferry ride that took 1hour 45, or a walk that took 2 hours plus....and he has wheels, technically, so is happy. He excitedly found Joan a bike several days after getting his - The next day she went for physio and was told -the worst thing for the shoulder is bike riding.....jog, walk, run, jump, unicycle maybe....but do not bike!!!! - ah well, some Aussie is happy about getting a bike off her hands....and the next renter of the apartment will be happy to find two bikes and a helmet in the courtyard (maybe).
More to come ---
We flew from Perth to Adelaide -Rich now has the Qantas 23 kilo rule down to the last gram....which is good, considering they charge $15 per kilo over their luggage limit. We're sure we didn't invest enough time in finding out what is wonderful about Adelaide - because it appeared somewhat limited - though we did see a few tremendous pieces of architecture. The Aus tour book we had with us suggested Adelaide was 'bland' ---and we had some trouble proving the book wrong. However - our real purpose was seeing the countryside around Adelaide -and that was all we knew it would be. It was particularly lush this fall, and the vinyards were turning colour, so there were great crimsons and golds against a rich green background. 
Unfortunately, most of the roads through the park were still ( as in, for more than two months) closed from flooding that had occurred in early February. We were unable to get to much of the area we wanted to see....We also managed to get caught in a wicked rain storm - fortunately it was short-lived. Had it not been, the roads might have been. The only real adventure was when Rich and a kangaroo got into a tangle - We were driving and fortunately for kanga and car, the breaks worked well, kanga did one full roll, got up and hopped away. We checked the bumper....no damage...all was well!
