Glimpses of Australia part 1- Western Australia

24 Sept to 6 Oct 2024

The final leg of our journey from Exeter to Perth was delayed and we eventually landed in an almost deserted airport at 2am. Passport control, baggage collection and biosecurity checks were all carried out quickly and efficiently. Indeed I was disappointed that the biosecurity man didn’t want to look at my pristine walking boots and waterproofs and gaiters which I had washed repeatedly to remove all traces of soil and debris but instead was content with a verbal description of my efforts to comply with biosecurity regulations. By 03.30am we were already checked in to our hotel.

24 September – after our delayed arrival, we had a late and leisurely breakfast at 09.30am before wandering around the centre of Perth. We ended up at Elizabeth Quay, exploring a bridge and walkways on reclaimed land.

We climbed the millennium monument – an impressive but controversial bell tower, designed to look like a boat with sails, with a ring of 16+2 bells, twelve of which had originally been at St Martin in the Fields (Trafalgar Square, London). There were many other bells on display including the Anzac bell which is chimed daily at noon.

We spent the afternoon visiting Kings Park – many war memorials, tremendous views over the Swan River and an enormous botanic garden where over 3,000 of the 12,500 plant species in Western Australia are represented.

A 750 year old giant boab tree was moved 3,200km to its current position in the gardens.

A 620m long glass walkway at treetop level above a canopy of eucalyptus trees is a highlight.

There were more fine views from the top of a double helix shaped tower.

25 September – we caught a train to Fremantle, passing the large showground where the Royal Perth Show was taking place. We walked through the town past many historic buildings to reach the round house. This is the oldest building in Western Australia (1831), the original prison in Fremantle and was built in line with the principles espoused by Jeremy Bentham meaning that all the cells could be seen from a single central position.

A visit to the sail-shaped maritime museum occupied most of the day. multiple displays relate to the history of the port, naval history, ships of all ages as well as racing yachts and solo sailing round the world.

We walked through the now bustling town to Fremantle Prison.

Built by convicts in the early 1850s, the prison closed only in 1991 following riots in 1988 and the growing realisation that it was no longer fit for purpose. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010 when its cultural status was recognised as part of the Australian Convict Sites. I went on a guided tour which included visiting the room where inmates sentenced to death were hung as recently as 1964 – a sombre sight.

We walked back through the town and enjoyed dinner at the historic and very busy National Hotel bar before catching the train back to central Perth.

26 September – we had breakfast at 7am before walking to the Barrack Jetty on Elizabeth Quay to board the Sealink Ferry for Rottnest Island. The journey gave us an opportunity to see the sights of the Swan River. We were near the front of the queue to board the boat (the early start had a bonus) so we sat on the upper deck. We saw the skyscrapers of the Perth CBD receding into the distance and looked at Kings Park high above us and the glass walkway where we had been walking two days previously.

The banks of the Swan River certainly seem to be where the affluent have set up home in the area – huge houses and gardens, yacht clubs and marinas. Actually it reminded me of cruising up the River Fal in Cornwall but on a much larger scale.

We saw the port of Fremantle from the water before a rather rough thirty-minute sea crossing to Rottnest Island, spotting a whale in the distance as we went.

Hiring a bike would have enabled us to make a circuit of most of the island. However, we had decided to walk and concentrate on a few sights of interest including salt lakes, the Oliver Hill gun post, the highest point of the island at Wadjemup Lighthouse and a causeway built using aboriginal prison labour.

We also saw numerous birds including stilts, black swans, sandlings, cormorants and ducks as well as two fairly large lizards.

We were almost back at the settlement before we saw any quokkas – small marsupials – and most of them seemed to be in the main street posing for visitors.

I walked up to the quiet, wooded Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial ground, a sacred site where hundreds of Aboriginal prisoners were buried in unmarked graves, a sobering moment before the return voyage to Perth.

27 September – this was the day to pick up our first hire car, leave Perth and travel south to Margaret River.

The first stop was in the Yalgorup National Park to walk along a boardwalk and look at thrombolites on the shoreline of Lake Clifton. These are fragile deposits, at least a thousand years old, formed by micro-organisms which precipitate calcium carbonate from the water as they photosynthesise. The thrombolite- building micro-organisms are believed to resemble some of the earliest forms of life on earth which existed over 650 million years ago.

Our next stop was near Preston beach for lunch, just after we had seen two kangaroos hopping across the road. As we ate, we were entertained by some parrots.

There followed a short stop at a lookout point and a drive through forests of tuart trees (a type of eucalyptus which grows only on coastal limestone in southwest Western Australia) and past lakes.

At Busselton we had a longer break and I took the long walk to the end of the 1800m long jetty. It’s the longest in the southern hemisphere. The jetty was earmarked for demolition after Cyclone Alby hit in 1978 but a big campaign spearheaded by a Busselton pioneer descendant who spent fourteen hours per day for fourteen days walking up and down the jetty helped to persuade the State and Shire Governments that repair should be attempted. Since then its suffered further storm and fire damage and refurbishments have cost many millions of dollars. However it is impressive and was certainly busy with visitors walking its length, journeying along it by train – a relic of the railway line into Busselton from Bunbury – and enjoying its attractions including an underwater observatory, one of only six natural aquariums in the world.

28 September – as it was a Saturday, we took the opportunity to stroll through the town and visit the weekly famers’ market where there were stalls ranging from a farmer selling a single variety of vegetable or fruit to more commercial outlets.

We spent some time exploring the fascinating settlers’ museum and buildings which appeared to be entirely run by enthusiastic volunteers. The schoolhouse was double the standard size as it served three groups of settlers. There was a small home and various farm buildings all furnished with artefacts of the period. A fascinating film depicted some of the original settlers from the early twentieth century reminiscing about their journey, their expectations and their actual lifestyle in Australia. It is positive that this film footage showing settlers who lived through the time has been captured for posterity. It really brought home to me the difficult and in many cases unexpected challenges faced by those pioneering people.

After lunch, we drove to the Blackwood River area through mile upon mile of bush full of trees and shrubs as well as large swathes of cleared land used for farming.

We walked to look at the river and the structure of a large timber bridge crossing the river.

We discovered a Pioneer Memorial erected in 1985 to remember the original settlers who had arrived from 1923. Behind it was a timber building used as a club house which looked as though it was a repurposed standard settlers’ dwelling.

We returned to Margaret River. I walked into the town to book a table for dinner and spotted a fire appliance being refilled with water from a hydrant near the restaurant. The fireman gave me a recommendation for the restaurant before going on to tell me that he had spent the afternoon fighting a car fire – apparently young people steal a car, drive it into the bush then set fire to it! It turned out that he knows Exeter as he has a relative in the Marines – it’s a small world!

29 September – we drove to the scenic Cave Road and headed north, turning off initially to look at the exterior of Ellensbrook Homestead. This was a house built by some settlers in what is now a pleasant clearing in the woods close to the sea where they farmed the land assisted by Aboriginal servants.

We continued our journey along the Cave Road passing vineyards, breweries and a venison farm. We reached the surfing beach at Yallingup and stopped to look at the huge waves and spot many birds including cormorants, shags and gulls.

We drove further on to Cape Naturaliste where we enjoyed a guided tour of the lighthouse, built in 1903 and manned until 1996. The views of the coast and of migrating whales in the distance were spectacular.

I went on to walk from Cape Naturaliste along the coastal footpath (part of the Cape to Cape track) back to Yallingup, while my husband drove round and met me. The path was initially surfaced to the spectacular Sugar Loaf Rock – sadly I didn’t see any of the red tailed tropic birds which nest there. After that it became a very sandy track making for difficult walking but nonetheless I was in Yallingup at the appointed hour.

30 September – we drove south to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse situated at the other end of the Cape to Cape track from Cape Naturaliste. We saw the point where the Southern and Indian Oceans join, although there were no obvious currents to see when we were there. Rock parrots congregated on overhead power lines near the car park but always flew off just before I took a photograph.

We had a booked visit to the Jewel Cave with its huge and impressive stalagmites and stalactites. The guide showed us examples of other cave formations – a very long hollow straw which is almost the longest known example in the World as well as irregularly shaped straws making odd shapes, pillar formations and shawl formations. Lighting was used to enable the formations to be seen at their best. The cave has become inactive so no new formations are developing.

The commercialised Jewel Cave contrasted with the Giant’s Cave which is on Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park land. It’s still an active cave with dripping water and formations continuing to evolve. The experience is self-guided. My husband stayed above ground at reception chatting to the Park Ranger while I descended with a family group visiting from Perth. We were each equipped with helmet, headlight and a spare torch to negotiate vertical ladder climbs, tight spots and gigantic chambers in the dark for more than half a kilometre to the 86m deep cave. Fresh from my earlier tour of the Jewel Cave, I was able to identify straws, pillars and shawls as well as the more obvious stalactites and stalagmites. At one point there was quite a scramble to negotiate up the rock but overall it was easier than I had expected and an enjoyable experience.

We journeyed on in the car to Redgate Bay and I persuaded my husband that I could walk along another part of the Cape to Cape Track north to the Margaret River estuary. I almost regretted my choice when the initial walking was difficult over soft dune sand along the beach.

Eventually I reached a creek entering the sea and saw a very welcome path sign. My map was really too small a scale to be very useful, although if needed I had the option to turn my phone on and access the topo map which I had downloaded.

The path deviated a long way inland and seemed to be much further than I had estimated. However it was a scenic bush walk and there were footpath signs helping me to navigate the veritable maze of tracks and paths.

I even saw a kangaroo feeding ahead of me then later spotted a further two kangaroos.

I was concerned about the time and imminent dusk but fortunately I reached a busy road high above the Margaret River with an impressive viewpoint.

The path continued downwards to the car park above the beach and next to the river. I arrived just before sunset.

My husband had spent the time watching surfers trying to surf the bore wave upstream from the mouth of the river.

This had been an action packed and full day.

1 October – the drive from Margaret River to our next overnight accommodation at Albany was dominated by miles of Karri Forest. We stopped at Pemberton to buy the required parks pass and drove on to the Gloucester Tree. Sadly it’s closed for climbing at the moment so we satisfied ourselves with a walk through the forest. I would have been keen to try the aerial walkways and zip wires but agreed that was an activity that’s possible nearer to home and there wasn’t really enough time.

The small town of Northcliffe where we stopped to eat lunch under a sun shelter commemorating women pioneers looked interesting.

However our journey hadn’t ended so we travelled through more karri forests, stopping at a lookout across the Walpole Nornalup National park towards the coast.

We stopped again at the Marine Park near Nornalup Inlet where there were more giant karri trees. My husband banned a diversion to view the Giant Tingle Tree as he said it was along too much gravel road. Our plan was to return to this area during our stay in Albany but unfortunately weather warnings with gale force winds curtailed our travels over the following couple of days.

Albany turned out to be a huge place with lots of roundabouts.

2 October – the walkway from the beach at Ellen Cove near our motel to central Albany was initially along a footpath with frequent interpretive boards describing the visit of Charles Darwin in The Beagle, when he collected specimens and formed hypotheses about the formation of various geological features. The boards also described how he had to push his way through the dense bushland to reach early settlers at Strawberry Hill Farm only a short distance inland (perhaps ten minutes brisk walk from the beach today).

Having arrived in central Albany we walked past the preserved buildings of Stirling Terrace, only a stones throw from modern buildings.

We visited Brig Amity and saw at first hand the cramped conditions in the ship which carried convicts to Australia in 1826.

We walked back to our motel by a shorter route past the Dog Rock before driving to Torndirrup National Park. Unfortunately the tracks to the reputedly stunning Gap and Natural Bridge were closed but we did walk to some natural blowholes (not blowing at the time).

I had planned to attempt a walk to the end of Bald Head Peninsula but a local man returning to his car after fishing advised us that there was a weather warning for gales starting later that afternoon. We had indeed noticed an increasing wind. Instead we spent a fascinating afternoon visiting an old whaling station complete with the ship and all the processing plant.

Included with our ticket to the whaling station, was admission to the adjacent wildlife park where we saw kangaroos, wallabies, cockatoos, snakes, lizards and more. It was sad to see the animals in relatively restricted spaces but some were there for their own protection because they had become injured in the wild.

Returning to our motel, there was just time before dark for me to climb Mount Adelaide to look at the views over the sea. I could see that this was an area with lots to see including the Princess Royal fortress, remains of twentieth century fortifications and the National Anzac Centre.

3 October – this was the day we had planned to return to the Walpole-Nornalup National Park including the spectacular tree top walk as well as visiting Conspicuous Cliffs. Sadly there was a weather warning of gale force winds and advice against travelling. It was likely that the National Park could be closed.

We had a rapid rethink and decided to drive to the town centre. The roads were almost deserted. The impressive Museum of Western Australia was open including a lighthouse exhibition, a history of space exploration from an Australian perspective as well as permanent displays including a history of settlements and treatment of the First Nations people by the settlers. I was shocked to realise how racist the official system had been with an apartheid like regime operating right up until 1963. The exhibition finished with consideration of the future including conservation issues and generation of electricity using “green” methods.

We spent the afternoon walking up to Mount Adelaide to view the Princess Royal fortress, the twentieth century defences and artefacts and to visit the Anzac Museum, which included exhibits relating to Gallipoli and the Western Front. Another building considered the Second World War. It was all fascinating and well presented. There wasn’t time to look at everything.

I felt quite fatigued from all the museum visiting, interesting and informative as it was. Hence as an antidote I walked briskly up to nearby Mount Clarence. I strolled through a poignant double avenue of trees, each one commemorating a local fallen soldier. A bagpiper was playing near the end of the avenue and the melancholy notes accentuated the sombre atmosphere.

I reached a lookout point with views over Lake Seppings before climbing further to the Anzac memorial and viewpoint and then to the Padre White Lookout where there were more views.

Steps led off the summit. I descended these and reached a granite trail. I was concerned about slipping on the wet rock but in fact there was a reasonable grip on the granite. More by luck than design I managed to alternately contour and descend the hill to emerge on the road reasonably close to our motel.

We were impressed to buy fish and chips with locally sourced fish – Spanish mackerel and cobbler were offered as caught by the local fishermen – the best fish and chips ever!

4 October – the wind had settled so we headed for Pongorup National Park. The Granite skywalk was our first objective – a 2.2km uphill trek through the forest then a scramble with a couple of sections with fixed hand and footholds up gullies. The first step was definitely the most difficult. A fixed and enclosed ladder led to the summit walkway which circumnavigated the top piece of granite.

There were amazing views over the Stirling Range and towards the ocean. It was brilliant but I still couldn’t persuade my husband that he could climb it. He was satisfied with the view from the lower point – agreed that was impressive but the top was even better.

We also passed the interesting balancing rock.

We drove round to the aptly named Tree in the Rock car park and started together to walk a circuit track.

There was a lot of ascent and my husband decided that he had done sufficient uphill walking for one day so he returned to the car. I continued uphill and reached a granite ridge with excellent views.

Eventually I was at the far end of the ridge and began to descend. At a col there was an option to walk up initially steep granite rocks and slabs to ascend a further top (Devil’s Slide walk). Some of the granite was wet from a nearby stream. This made it slippery and difficult. I thought I still had a long way to go as the footpath sign stated an hour each way from the branch point and I had only been going for fifteen minutes.

However a family descending assured me I had done the most difficult bit over the wet rock and just another fifteen minutes to the trail end. Indeed this was true and soon I reached the “End of Trail” sign. I enjoyed amazing views both to the Stirling Range and to the Southern Ocean.

The descent was easier than I had expected and then there was just a stretch of gradually descending track before reaching the car park.

We returned to Albany, detouring to visit Emu Point at the far end of the bay from our accommodation. There weren’t any emus but there were four pelicans with enormous beaks.

5 October – a long drive back to Perth, mainly following roads through deserted bush and countryside and with a high speed limit of 110kph. Our first stop was Cranbrook – named after Cranbrook in Kent rather than after the new town development in East Devon. There was a lovely café and a shop as well as a large children’s play area. Plaques explained that the community had received grants from National Government to improve facilities.

We drove past many dried out salt lakes and huge fields of sheep.

Eventually we stopped again at a small town. There was meant to be a sheep museum and shearing shed but it looked as though this had closed down. The whole place seemed closed on a Saturday afternoon apart from two petrol stations with convenience stores plus takeaways and a coffee caravan in the riverside car park.

The landscape of scrub, sheep farms with huge fields and dried out creeks continued all the way to Perth. We were back in the same hotel for a single night before embarking on the next section of our travels.