Perth

After three months travelling through rural and remote areas, being in the big city was quite an adjustment.  Navigating busy motorways,  rush hour and SO MANY PEOPLE was almost a culture shock!

Our time in Perth doubled as an opportunity to catch up with family who were visiting. We based ourselves in a caravan park in the northern suburbs of Perth, within 20 minutes drive of the CBD. As a bonus,  the children were able to take full advantage of the playground,  jumping pillow,  two swimming pools and spa pool.

On our first day,  Nana and Grandad took the two older children to the zoo (via bus and ferry -  very exciting!) while Mats, Stella and I drove 45 mins south to the next town,  Fremantle.

It was love at first sight! The architecture is stunning,  with some of the buildings along the waterfront built by convicts in the early 1800’s (ancient by Australian standards!) I hadn't realised how much I missed the sense of historical context and the old architecture until I was there.  At 101 years old,  Canberra is sorely lacking in this area.

We first visited the Roundhouse,  a convict built former jail,  complete with gorgeous views of the Indian Ocean and a tunnel underneath which was used as a means of quickly unloading whaling boats,  and later as an air raid shelter in WWII.

We followed the waterfront along to the harbour,  where we marvelled at the immense size of the container ships.

No trip to Fremantle would be complete without a visit to the famous Little Creatures Brewery,  so of course we had to check it out for ourselves. Great beer did not disappoint,  but the big surprise was the fabulous made-to-order pizza.  My pesto,  roast pumpkin and pinenut may have been the best pizza I've ever had!

Our second day saw us returning to Fremantle with the entire family, this time by train.  The public transport system in Perth is fantastic. Free buses cover most of the city every 10 minutes or so,  running on three colour coded routes.  The train was just as easy to navigate,  although not free.

Our destination was the Maritime museum,  at the request of Luka,  in celebration of his 8th birthday. Mats,  Grandad,  Luka and Freya enjoyed an hour long tour of an Oberon class submarine,  the HMAS Ovens,  while Nana,  Stella and I explored the exhibits.

From there we headed to the Shipwreck Museum (also a birthday request) to see  treasures salvaged from some of the many shipwrecks along the Western Australian coast.  Luka's favourites were silver coins from the 1400’s (real pirate treasure!),  part of the hull of the Batavia and a skeleton (real bones,  not a replica) of one of the crew members from the Batavia.

Our experience was made even more special by the lovely curator who was so delighted to hear that Luka's birthday request was a visit to the Shipwreck Museum that she gave him a personal tour, highlighting objects of most interest to an 8 year old. She also presented both Luka and Freya with a souvenir coin.

The next day we rode the free bus right across Perth,  from the east side to the west,  where we explored a little of the massive Kings Park. Our first stop was one of the many playgrounds (of course!) where we enjoyed a picnic lunch before wandering around to the botanic gardens and the war memorial, which has great views of the Swan River and city centre.

The next stop was the Rio Tinto nature based play space -  a fantastic play area which tries to recreate the type of play children can have in a natural environment. The creek was great for paddling on a warm day,  and the “fallen” log bridges much more fun than a regular bridge.  There were caves and tunnels to be explored,  a very high treehouse and materials for building a bivouac/cubby/fort.

We probably saw less than a quarter of Kings Park, but were very impressed. What a wonderful asset in a city environment.

We barely scratched the surface of all the great places to see and things to do in Perth due to limitations of time,  but were very impressed by its liveability,  with fantastic green space and enviable public transport system. 

Bunbury and Gnomesville

We prefaced our visit to the Dolphin Discovery Centre in Bunbury with a warning to the children that as wild animals,  the dolphins do not perform on cue and there's no guarantee of even seeing one. So it was with great delight that we rushed down to the beach less than 10 minutes after arriving to see a young male dolphin swimming in the shallows, clearly visible,  at times only a couple of metres from the beach. He stayed for 10 or 15 minutes, before swimming off again.

We ventured inside then,  to inspect the displays of sea creatures. Two octopus kept us entertained for quite some time as they interacted with us,  squirting water,  pressing a tentacle against the glass tank and changing colour and shape. There were tanks of clown fish,  seahorses,  freshwater crayfish and starfish.  We saw the clown fish being fed and were able to touch a star fish. We experimented with placing an assortment of sea creatures under a microscope to examine more closely and got very close to a recuperating marine turtle in the rescue area.

Our afternoon was spent visiting a completely different creature -  garden gnomes.

Gnomesville was started by locals in the early 1990’s to brighten up a new roundabout. Passers-by added to the collection and it soon became a tourist attraction.  The gnomes had to be moved to the side of the intersection as they outgrew the roundabout and the collection has kept growing ever since. Tens of thousands of gnomes and other garden ornaments decorate the side of the road,  stretching back into the forest for about 50 metres.

The children adored the gnomes and raced around looking at all the different types. I was impressed by the sheer number of gnomes but mostly enjoyed the natural environment.  The area of Gnomesville is a lush green forest complete with a trickling brook, lined with ferns.  It was idyllic, my idea of paradise. It was a pleasure to wander through the forest,  across little wooden bridges as the creek meandered down the valley. 

The Pinnacles

The geology explaining the formation of the Pinnacles is still a matter of debate among experts.  Apparently they're too young (only 500,000 years) to warrant much research. However they were formed,  there's absolutely no doubt that they are extraordinary and whoever first discovered them must've had quite a shock! The surrounding area is typical coastal land - white sand dunes partially covered by scrubby shrubs and succulent plants. In the midst of all the normality is a patch of alien landscape in such contrast to the surroundings that it looks artificial!

The sand is bright canary yellow and perfectly uniform in size and colour. 

The pinnacles themselves look like rock termite mounds. Sharp pointed rocks ranging in size from ankle height to 2.5 metres.

 The overall effect looks like the set of a movie set on a hostile alien planet.
The kids had a great time running between the pinnacles and hiding behind them,  while Mats and I took plenty of photos. 

Lynton Station and Geraldton

Because we'd had such a great time at Hamelin Station,  we gladly followed their recommendations for another farm stay and so we came to Lynton Station.

Unlike Hamelin,  Lynton is a working station, with sheep and cattle. It is also the site of a former convict settlement,  with the remains of a village built in 1852.

We set up in a sheltered spot beside the shearing shed as the gum trees along the driveway had indicated that we should expect some wind.

We first explored the old stables which have been transformed into a museum of farm implements. From there,  we hiked up the hill to the Governor's residence,  a magnificent two storey building with wide wrap-around verandahs providing breath taking views of the surrounding farms and out to the ocean. Sadly the house fell into complete disrepair over the past century, but is in the process of being restored. The exterior looks amazing,  but inside has yet to be attempted.

The rest of the village lies at the end of the farm driveway and ranges from a few rocks in the tall grass,  to some buildings with foundations only or just a couple of walls,  through to two fully restored.

We took great interest in wandering around trying to imagine life in the 1850’s, when the baker,  blacksmith,  magistrate and infirmary would all have been bustling. The little cemetery apparently contains 11 graves but only three headstones remain - two infants from the same family and a mother who died in childbirth, along with her newborn son. It was a very sobering reminder of how fortunate we are to live in these times,  with access to modern medicine,  clean drinking water etc.

While staying at Lynton, we drove one hour into Geraldton,  enjoyed a stroll along the waterfront (where we were lucky enough to see a tall ship,  returning from the 400th anniversary celebrations at Dirk Hartog Island) and visited the Western Australian Museum.

The museum had excellent displays of local wildlife and birds,  stuffed and mounted,  which were very interesting,  but our favourite exhibit was the shipwrecks. The coastline in this area is infamous for its many shipwrecks, some of which have been explored and artefacts salvaged. It was extraordinary to be able to touch the actual cannon from the Batavia, which was cast in the Netherlands more than 400 years ago.  Artefacts included cups,  ammunition, buttons,  scraps of cloth and a large collection of silver coins -  actual pirate treasure!

Our time at Lynton Station wasn't entirely devoted to history lessons though. A lovely retired couple from Bunbury invited us to join them at the top of the ridge to hit some golf balls into an empty field below. Mats,  Luka and Freya had a fantastic time perfecting their long shot. 

The couple generously gave us their clubs and balls to keep,  so Luka and Freya have been entertained by hitting the balls into an old box in our campsite in addition to enjoying the simple pleasures of farm life. 

Shark Bay

Shark Bay is not nearly as scary as its name suggests. Like Ningaloo,  the region is renowned for spectacular beaches and an abundance of marine life.

We based ourselves at Hamelin Station,  a former sheep station,  now owned by Bush Heritage Australia and preserved as a wildlife reserve.

The old station buildings have been restored and repurposed; the shearers quarters are now available as accommodation, while the farmhouse has been turned into a large camp kitchen and dining area with all the amenities. The shearing shed is set up as a museum and was a highlight for the children.  Luka in particular gained a real insight into the hardships of a shearer's life and was overhead educating other guests.

At the front of the property was a  lagoon,  which was home to an enormous variety of birds.

Just a few kilometres from the station is Hamelin Pool,  a World Heritage bay which contains Stromatolites - tiny organisms which form clumps  like large undersea mushrooms.  Completely lacking in visual appeal,  these strange life forms are nonetheless the cause of great interest due to the fact that they have not changed or evolved in over 3 million years,  and are believed to be the original source of oxygen which lead to the atmosphere being the way it is. In essence,  all living things,  plant and animal,  owe their existence to the humble Stromatolites!

Our next stop had amazing visual appeal.  The unimaginatively named Shell Beach is comprised entirely from the shells of tiny cockles,  just a few millimetres across. The hypersalinated water is responsible for the cockles lack of growth.  Despite the water being stunning -  crystal clear up close and turquoise from a distance - it's too salty for most marine life in this bay.

We had a wonderful time paddling in the water and playing with the shells before driving to Eagle Bluff lookout where we saw some small sharks from a safe distance.

The highlight of our stay at Hamelin Station was the people we met. The caretakers went above and beyond their duties to assist us and were fantastic with the children.  They loaned us powerful binoculars to watch the birds,  provided art and craft materials  for the kids to use and engaged them in animated discussions.

Our fellow guests included a family we had met previously,  who have a 5yo daughter,  so she and Freya had a lovely time playing together.

On our last evening,  a new arrival who was well known to the staff introduced herself as an artist, and offered to take all the children for a walk the next morning to collect natural materials and create a collage.

Luka and Freya spent nearly two hours with Sandy,  working on their collages and discussing patterns and texture and had a fantastic time.

It's wasn't until the next day (and next town) that I took up Sandy’s suggestion to have a look at her Facebook page,  only to discover that she's a nationally acclaimed artist of some renown! Although that has no impact on the children's experience,  it makes us realise what a remarkable opportunity we had. 

Carnarvon

Carnarvon was once a thriving port town. Trains and wagons loaded sky high with bales of wool would converge at the mile long jetty for shipping to European markets.

Around the time of World War 2, as the world demand for wool lessened, a brave entrepreneur imported banana plants from Singapore and diverted water from the  Gascoyne river to irrigate them. His experiment was a success and Carnarvon is now one of the leading banana growing regions of Australia,  and proud home of the “original lunch box banana.“

As you approach the town from the North West,  the arid scrubby landscape alongside the highway is suddenly replaced by plantations growing bananas,  mangoes,  avocados,  tomatoes,  potatoes,  onions and even some citrus.

The primary growing season is over the cooler months, so many of the plantations were between crops,  however we visited Bumbak’s Plantation to try their famous home made mango and banana ice creams.

The historic district is based around the jetty and adjacent lighthouse, and comprises a railway museum,  shearers hall of fame and the lighthouse keeper's cottage.  The One Mile jetty is a famous landmark and the antique Coffee Pot train provides a unique perspective but unfortunately it was not running at the time of our visit due to high winds.

We braved the wind and climbed to the top of the old railway water tank for spectacular views of the jetty and coastline.

The highlight of the historic precinct was undoubtedly the Lighthouse Keeper's cottage. It is fully furnished as it was in the  1930’s and we took great delight in quizzing the children on what the various old appliances and household implements were.

Our favourite attraction in Carnarvon was the Space and Technology museum.   We enjoyed our visit so much that we returned the following day!

The site is dominated by several enormous communication dishes which can be seen all over town.  These dishes played an instrumental role in communicating with the Apollo 11 space mission,  among many others.

The museum is packed with memorabilia and artefacts of the assorted space missions,  educational resources about space,  and souvenirs of visits by famous astronauts including Buzz Aldrin. There's also an Apollo 11 launch simulator,  which Mats,  Luka and Freya thoroughly enjoyed. 

Ningaloo Marine Park

The Ningaloo reef is world famous for being one of the few places in the world where you can have the opportunity to swim with whale sharks. Unfortunately we missed the whale shark season but still very much enjoyed our stay.
We camped in Cape Range National park,  just behind the sand dunes,  80 metres from the ocean.

We had four wonderful days of walking on the beach,  building sandcastles, exploring rock pools.  Luka and I tried our luck snorkelling but with little success. Due to the constant onshore wind the sea was rather choppy and the water murky due to the disturbed sand. Despite this,  we were very fortunate to see a couple of  turtles,  a blue spotted stingray,  a large blue-green sweetlip fish and many ghost crabs from the beach. Around the camp and in the dunes were dozens of kangaroos and at least one emu.

We visited the turtle information centre and learned about the life cycle of marine turtles,  who will start nesting along the beaches very soon.
The visitor information centre also had excellent information and displays of the local wildlife and marine life. We also watched a video filmed by a scuba diver at the Ningaloo reef.  Despite it being just television,  the fact that it was filmed so close by made it seem highly relevant.
The downside of camping so close to the beach is that we had problems with strong winds for our whole stay. We removed our awning after it nearly flew away,  put away or tied down  anything that might move and put extra tie-down straps on the camper trailer.  Despite these precautions the canvas flapped noisily and we got little sleep.

Overall,  however,  it was a remarkable and extremely worthwhile visit.  I would love to visit again during whale shark season,  perhaps when all the children are old enough to snorkel.