Nele & Andrew Around Oz: April 2011

iStay River City Apartments, Brisbane, QLD

Day 67 – 24^th April 2011

iStay River City Apartments, Brisbane, QLD

Kicked off the morning with another run & swim down at Swanbourne Beach. Cleaned up the van, cleaned out the fridge and some other chores before leaving the van at Yeo & Ling's to head to the airport. Yes we’re off to the other side of the country, Brisbane for a wedding. We’re now sitting in the Qantas Lounge enjoying a few beverages and nibbles, whilst catching up on our blog before we catch the plane, we feel like we are living the highlife now, enjoying the comforts of the Lounge and staying in a hotel over the next couple of days – it feels like we are going on another holiday - a holiday within a holiday.

Enjoying a drink at Qantas Lounge, Perth airport

Ready for take off

In the air

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

Day 66 – 23^rd April 2011

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

Drove to Swanbourne Beach for an early morning run & swim. Had breaky at the beach before driving into Kings Park for a picnic lunch. Nice spot to see the city of Perth on the river, especially at night. From here we went into town so Andrew could get a haircut so he doesn’t look too scruffy for the wedding we are going to in Brisbane on Monday. Afterwards drove to a nice spot along the river in South Perth for tea. From here we retired back at Yeo & Ling’s place for a good night’s sleep.

Boab tree in Kings Park, Perth

Picnic at Kings Park

View of the city from Kings Park

Perth by night

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

Day 65 – 22^nd April 2011

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

This morning we were treated with a beautiful breakfast cooked by chef Yeo. Afterwards it was time to say goodbye to our wonderful hosts as they took off on their holiday to Bali. Yeo and Ling, thanks for having us stay over. We had a wonderful time and appreciate the hospitality!

We got on our bikes and rode to City Beach where we enjoyed a refreshing swim (30km return). Back at the van in South Park we decided to drive to Cottesloe Beach where Andrew went for a run before we cooked tea and headed back to Yeo’s place.

Chef Yeo

Yeo and Ling off to Bali

View of Perth city from South Perth

City Beach

Seagull at City Beach

Bike riding in Perth

Sunset at Cottlesloe

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

Day 64 – 21^st April 2011

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

We booked our van in for a service (135,000kms – we’ve driven 7,500km so far!) so we dropped it of early morning. We took the bikes on the train to Perth city where we had a wonderful breakfast in this French Bakery ‘Jean Pierre Sancho’ on Hay Street. Afterwards we walked around in the mall and had lunch at Secret Garden tucked in a backstreet between Hay Street and Murray Street (hmm, Nele ate a yummy frittata and Andrew a fetta and beetroot wrap). For dinner Yeo and Ling took us to their favourite Chinese restaurant ‘Chi’ on Albany Highway, Victoria Park. Great food! Had the opportunity to stay at Yeo and Ling’s again tonight.

Lunch at Secret Garden, Perth

Perth

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

Day 63 – 20^th April 2011

Yeo & Ling’s Place, South Perth, WA

Said goodbye to Fay and Eddie. Thanks for your hospitality and letting us park the van in your driveway!

Drove to Rockingham where we had a look at Mersey Place with views of Penguin Island. Then went for a walk at Cape Peron before having lunch and a look around town. After lunch we drove to the carwash to give our van a well overdue scrub. It looks like new again! Drove into Fremantle for a quick visit as we have seen it before and continued on to South Perth where we caught up with Yeo and Ling (friends of Andrew). They took us to the wonderful “S & T Thai’ restaurant in Northbridge. Very authentic and so yummy!!! For spiciness you can choose between * (1 chilli), ** (3 chillies), *** (6 chillies) and ***** (10 chillies). We went for *** and it was spicy (but yummy).

Andrew with Fay and Eddie

Rockingham

Cape Peron, Rockingham

Car wash

Dinner with Yeo & Ling

Fay & Eddie’s Place, Mandurah, WA

Day 62 – 19 April 2011

Fay & Eddie’s Place, Mandurah, WA

After breakfast Eddie showed us around Mandurah and surroundings (the manmade cutting joining the Ocean to the Estuary, a scenic drive along the estuary and the million dollar homes built along the canals). We were shouted a nice ‘fish and chips’ lunch at Nino’s at the Marina. In the afternoon we just relaxed and went for a walk before enjoying a nice bbq tea with Fay and Eddie. Eddie showed some pictures of Andrew’s great-grandma and other family members. It was a very interesting evening.

Serpentine River in Mandurah

BBQ with Fay & Eddie

Fay & Eddie’s Place, Mandurah, WA

Day 61 – 18^th April 2011

Fay & Eddie’s Place, Mandurah, WA

Walked the Chudith trail to Nanga Townsite (3.8km return – 50min) before leaving the Reserve and driving to Mandurah via Pinjarra (had a look at the suspension bridge across the Murray River) and South Yunderup (a town with a lot of canals). After lunch we drove into Mandurah and had a swim before catching up with Fay and Eddie (distant relatives of Andrew, mum and dad of Robin). We parked our van in their driveway and were able to hook up to power and water.

Pinjarra's suspension bridge across the Murray River

Fay & Eddie's driveway

Nanga Mill Campsite, Lane Poole Reserve, WA (near Dwellingup)

Day 60 – 17^th April 2011

Nanga Mill Campsite, Lane Poole Reserve, WA (near Dwellingup)

Drove to Nanga Mill Campsite (further in to the Reserve). Along the way we passed by Chudith Campsite which looked really nice – however you have to book in advance – same for a number of campsites in this Reserve. From Nanga Mill campsite we walked the ‘King Jarrah Trail’ (18km – 4hr 30mins return). Back at camp we went for a refreshing swim at Stringers Campsite (just up the road from Nanga Mill) in the Murray River.

Crossing the Murray River

King Yarrah Trail

King Jarrah Trail - burnt out Jarrah

Hugging the King Jarrah

King Jarrah Trail - Murray River

Baden Powell Campsite, Lane Poole Reserve, WA (near Dwellingup)

Day 59 – 16^th April 2011

Baden Powell Campsite, Lane Poole Reserve, WA (near Dwellingup)

Started the day with a short walk to Martins Tank Lake (nothing special) and decided to move onto Mandurah and visited the Thrombolites at Lake Clifton along the way. Decided to bike our way around Mandurah (Venetian Canals, marina, town beach – had a swim, eastern forshore, old Mandurah Bridge, War Memorial. Drove onto Dwellingup where we caught up with some distant relatives (5^th cousins) Robin & Phil. They showed us the Nanga Bushcamp they run and own which was really interesting to see. The camp is able to cater for large groups and even weddings – great spot for weddings as the venue and accommodation are all in one. Camped at Baden Powell for the night – a very popular spot in an open forest environment.

Martins Tank Lake

Thromboltes

Mandurah - Venetian Canals

Mandurah - Marina

Nanga Bush Camp - Robin and Phil

Baden Powell campsite, Lane Poole Reserve

Martins Tank Lake Campsite, Yalgorup National Park, WA

Day 58 – 15^th April 2011

Martins Tank Lake Campsite, Yalgorup National Park, WA

Walked to Wellington Dam (12kms return – 4hrs) along the Collie River which was a nice walk. We stopped along the way for a photo opportunity where Andrew got stuck on a rock in the river and had to take his shoes off to get back. Back at the campsite we had a refreshing swim in Honeymoon Pool (beautiful) and some lunch. Moved on to Preston Beach and set up camp at Yalgorup NP (5km of fairly corrugated road – campsite not worth the trip).

Collie River

Collie River - photo opportunity

Collie River - had to take the shoes off to climb back

Collie River

Collie River - Rapids

Honeymoon Pool

Preston Beach

Honeymoon Pool Campsite, Wellington National Park, WA

Day 57 – 14^th April 2011

Honeymoon Pool Campsite, Wellington National Park, WA

Started the day by shopping in Busselton where we then moved onto Bunbury via Tuart Forest NP Scenic Drive and a stop at Capel Vale Winery for some tasting. Had lunch at Wyalup – Rocky Point Basalt Rock followed by a short stroll to the lighthouse and a swim at Koombana Beach. Drove onto Wellington NP via Gnomesville (to Nele’s delight – a collection of over a thousand gnomes nestled under some trees on the side of the road) and Lennard Scenic Drive. Camped at Honeymoon Pool campsite – very nice well worth a visit, in hindsight we would have stayed a couple of days here.

Capel Vale Winery

Bunbury - Basalt Rock

Bunbury - Lighthouse

Gnomesville

Honeymoon Pool, Wellington NP