Australia - 19th Nov to 15th Dec
We flew overnight from Bangkok arriving in Perth on Thursday 19th.
Two nights in a B&B in Perth
Motorhome Sat 21st Nov to Sat 12th Dec
Perth again Sat 12th, Sun 13th, Mon 14th Dec
Fly to Bangkok Tuesday 15th DecMotorhome travels Sat 21st Nov to Sat 12th Dec
Actual route
We arrived at Perth 7am on Thursday. Nice quiet airport, no hassle. Got a Taxi from there to our B&B in Northbridge.
Although it was early we were able to use our room from 11am so a short walk to Hyde Park nearby. Nice area with many birds and trees.
Medium walk to City centre for a look round.
Our area had many asian restaurants and shops Vietnamese food for dinner on Thu and Fri
Week 1
|
Saturday...Our "motorhome hosts" collected us from our B&B at 9am and drove to their home in Fremantle. So after some food shopping we left Freemantle at noon and drove south to our first camp at Lake Brockman. This was a bush camp managed by the DPAW (Department of Parks and Wildlife) so some facilities !
Very hot at night and our first Kangaroo ! |
Sunday A very short drive to Harvey, A pleasant town noted for dairy and beef. Full campsite similar to many in OZ with many permanent caravans often with a secondary tin roof. Showers/toilets very good EHU as well.
Again very hot so just relaxed |
|
|
Monday. Suitably refreshed we first drove to Buffalo Beach (inevitably !). Lovely quiet beach looking west over the Indian Ocean..Next land west South Africa. Then on via a 4km gravel road alongside Leschenault inlet to Belvidere bush camp. Very dry, Numerous animals and birds particularly green parrots and kangaroos
|
Tuesday South to Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough and Yallingup. Bunbury a busy town . Dunsborough smaller and nicer, shopping in "Coles" then on to Yallingup. First choice full so to the "beach resort". A lovely campsite with luxury cabins free BBQs etc. Very good toilets/showers but small pitches and expensive. Not our "Pint of Beer !"
|
|
|
Wednesday & Thursday. on towards Margaret River and Wharnecliffe Mill Eco-bush camp. A very nice bushcamp but with all facilities. Local walks and bike trails. Thursday we walked about a mile into Margaret River itself for postcards and a very nice cappuccino. Very nice town also with a dump tank and freshwater tap. The camp itself one of our favourites.
|
Friday. South to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, perhaps the division between the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Sunny Bright and breezy.
Then to Sue's Bridge Bush Camp. This again under the control of DPAW. This was a delightful camp.... washing water and toilets a river a firepit and picnic table other campers but well spaced out. Our best bushcamp.
Then to Sue's Bridge Bush Camp. This again under the control of DPAW. This was a delightful camp.... washing water and toilets a river a firepit and picnic table other campers but well spaced out. Our best bushcamp.
Week 2 - only 3 camps this week
|
Saturday - lovely quiet drive through the Karri forests to Pemberton a nice small "one horse town" stopped there briefly and then on to Northcliffe (just the one donkey here). Campsite at a local farm with Llamas and many visiting kangaroos. Sunday a longish walk back to the town to go to the visitor centre for wi-fi. over a dozen orphaned kangaroos were brought there by a local "carer". There was also an excellent pioneer museum.
|
Monday - again an excellent drive on very quiet road (highway 1 !) quite hilly near Frankland mountain.so slow at times...very little traffic . Stopped at Walpole and then on to Ayr Sailean (yes Scottish owners) near Bow Bridge . This was a very good camp with a huge camp kitchen with gas BBQs inside, useful as it was windy. Tuesday Just stayed here on what was also a sheep farn
|
|
Wednesday - Scenic drive to Denmark, a lovely small town and then on towards Albany. We stayed at Roy's place 10 miles west of Albany. Thisn was a bit rough and ready with very limited facilities. Roy (originally from UK) was really pleasant and helpful, quite a handyman who repaired minor damage to the aerial on the MH. His wife is Thai and she enjoyed chatting with Nida. Thursday we went into Albany for shopping etc and bought a nice bracelet for Nida. Water and poo dumping was available. Friday Albany briefly (Water and poo dumping) before driving to Discovery Bay. Here ther was a whaling museum and a small botanical garden, also an animal park where we saw a really good range of animals and birds. all this was located in Torndirrup National Park. An excellent day !
Week 3
Saturday - We lefr Roys place for a 2hr drive to Porongurup (Prongrup) National park a hilly and rocky area. The weather turned cold wet and windy with misty rain sweeping through the region...rather like being halfway up a mountain in the Lake District. We had a short walk to the local shop and cafe in a fine spell. Apart from that we stayed in the camp. A lovely camp with good kitchen/dining room with a lit log-burning stove. Gas BBQ just outside, excellent showers/toilets. Sunday..too cold to go out. The weather really caught us out, we had no warm clothing etc so it was sleeping wearing 2 shirts and long trousers !
|
|
|
Monday - Weather better ! A short drive to Mount Barker again a very pleasant town. Then a very good road to Frankland River. A very small but with an information centre and an excellent "French aire type" overnight area..... well spaced gravel pitches, kitchen with BBQ and our own bathroom cubicle.
Local shop which seemed to sell everything. |
Tuesday - Boyup Brook. Yet more good quiet pretty roads to here. ! stayed just out side in a "Wild Wild West Camp". American memorabelia everwhere a rodeo area and more..harveydickson. Just basic camping but OK for 1 night. A very strange place.
|
|
Wednesday & Thursday Collie.
More pleasant driving to Collie a lovely town originally there because of coal and still dependent on the mining. Our best full camp here. we could walk to the town which seemed to have all shops/services. We bought our camp oven here. On the Thursday went for a scenic drive in Wellington National Park and this was excellent! Local museum and info centre very good !
More pleasant driving to Collie a lovely town originally there because of coal and still dependent on the mining. Our best full camp here. we could walk to the town which seemed to have all shops/services. We bought our camp oven here. On the Thursday went for a scenic drive in Wellington National Park and this was excellent! Local museum and info centre very good !
Friday - West towards Bunbury then the main road north. Pleasant enough overnight in a "Horse Farmstay". just south of Pinjarra. Many other campers but no problem as there was lots of room and the usual facilities. started (and finished at 3am) a book by Stephen Leather.It is available on Kindle along with several others. Well written if a bit violent in places, as indeed the others are. However pleased to have taken up reading again !.
Saturday 2 hr drive back to our hosts in Freemantle |
Summary - Mixed feelings
Posted November 2020 5 years on.
At times we both got fed-up with the borrowed motorhome. Ok we knew it was not as nice as ours. Sleeping not easy ..we did not use the overcab bed.
All a bit old and worn out (Motorhome not me !) seat cushions etc ill-fitting and dirty, badly insulated and sliding windows meaning at times very cold.
Kitchen area cramped and poor..
The good news ALL the camps were fine and a lot of the sensibly priced mid-range camps had very good facilities and so we could cook in the camp kitchen and use showers/toilets. The vehicle had all these but we preferred the camp units.
The bushcamps had fire-pits and basic kitchens so again the cooking problem was eased.
Travelling, visiting and food shopping were all fine. The scenery was very good and varied. Interesting wild-life. Some aboriginal culture and industrial heritage.
Reviewing photos etc has improved our recollections and enjoyment of the trip.
Most significantly no major hassles etc etc
Posted November 2020 5 years on.
At times we both got fed-up with the borrowed motorhome. Ok we knew it was not as nice as ours. Sleeping not easy ..we did not use the overcab bed.
All a bit old and worn out (Motorhome not me !) seat cushions etc ill-fitting and dirty, badly insulated and sliding windows meaning at times very cold.
Kitchen area cramped and poor..
The good news ALL the camps were fine and a lot of the sensibly priced mid-range camps had very good facilities and so we could cook in the camp kitchen and use showers/toilets. The vehicle had all these but we preferred the camp units.
The bushcamps had fire-pits and basic kitchens so again the cooking problem was eased.
Travelling, visiting and food shopping were all fine. The scenery was very good and varied. Interesting wild-life. Some aboriginal culture and industrial heritage.
Reviewing photos etc has improved our recollections and enjoyment of the trip.
Most significantly no major hassles etc etc