NW WA Tour - Perth to Sydney

Wednesday 10 August

Up late today and out to  Kings Park and Botanic Gardens. This is a magnificent green space and very large. We were greeted by masses of Australian wildflowers, the colours and displays were stunning. Unfortunately we had been given a very minimal map at the shop so it was difficult to understand where we were heading. We found lots of plants we wanted to identify but very few of them had labels.

In all I wass very disappointed with the excursion as we only had an hour and our map gave no indication of where to find the things we wanted to see.

Getting back to the bus on time was a rush and by the time I got to the Maritime Museum at Fremantle I was tired, hungry and shaking from low blood sugar. The first thing I did was share an early lunch with Lesley. This gave me enough energy to wander around the area (not the museum itself) while I waited to meet Jeanette as arranged.

There was such a lot outside the museum including a working steam museum with a huge lathe and other smaller model sized machines and a tall ship (the Leewin 2) was berthed.

When Jeanette arrived we visited the Sewing Shop in Fremantle which had a very poor selection of fabrics but we did enjoy our coffee and cake next door.

We then went for a drive through Fremantle and up to the lookout. Back down to the museum where we met the others and soon boarded our boat for a cruise (our 7^th) back up the Swan River to Perth, waving goodbye to Jeanette as we left.

On the cruise we had a great view of some dolphins as they passed and lots of yachts racing in the evening light.

Back to the motel for our last dinner together and to organise our bags for flights tomorrow.

Thursday 11 August

An early rise and out on the bus by 8am for our drive to the airport. The signage at the airport for bus drop off was lacking and Allan ended up in the wrong drop off lane. The tyrant in charge made him drive all the way around the airport to come into the next lane even though there were no cars dropping off in the lane we had been in. This made our unloading rushed to the point where we were denied the opportunity to say farewell to some of our fellow travellers including Allan, our driver.

Our flight back to Sydney was as good as any flight can be. I was sitting with Ralph with is broken and was able to help with opening drinks etc. We arrived early in Sydney and once we sorted bags and said goodbye to the Sydney people I was in a taxi and home to meet Arianne, Geoff, Jen, Ivy and Ponyo.

On reflection it was a great holiday with only a few things to list on my feedback form. I look forward to travelling with ChristianFellowship Tours again.

NW WA Tour - Geraldton to Perth

Monday 8 August

We had a very lazy start to the day which left me loads of time for photos and diary. We arrived at the Anglican Cathedral at 10 ish and had a short service and talk by the bishop. The highlight was almost an hour singing in the choir loft with the organist. Apparently the acoustics from the choir stalls is fantastic for those below.

At noon Graham came to meet me, and Carol and Gill joined us. We four went to the Dome cafe (a WA chain) for a delicious lunch on the waterfront. We then bade farewell to Carol who wanted to see the museum.

Graham then took Gill and I to look at two fabric shops. One was quite ordinary and the other was closed on Mondays so no luck buying fabric.

Graham then drove us down to the port area past the huge grain silos and ore storage facilities. He explained what each area was for and how it all worked. While there a Skewa landed on a pole by the water.

We then got onto talking about wind generation so Graham drove us out to a huge windfarm (about 120 turbines) just south east of Geraldton. It was quite awesome to see the size and extent of it all.

We had a bit of a drive looking for a solar farm but gave up and instead drove north again stopping to walk into the scrub and find wildflowers.

On then to Ellendale Pool. This is a beautiful picnic area with not many people around.

On the way out we found more wildflowers and then Gill saw an echidna. So again we stopped for more photos.

We then joined the road into Geraldton from the east and to top off our wonderful afternoon we had a clear, beautiful double rainbow.

It was interesting to see the variety of crops and sheep again and to talk to Graham about various farming practices in the area. Back to the motel for a coffee before bidding Graham farewell and going down for dinner.

Tuesday 9 August – Gill's Birthday

This morning we left Geraldton and headed south through Dongara and on through farmland and scrub. We saw a large flock of emus and lots of wildflowers of course. These included Banksia, cycads, xanthorhoea and many others.

Morning tea was at a park in Eneabba.

We then drove west towards Leeman through magnificent wildflower country with no opportunity to stop but once we hit the Indian Ocean Drive we struck sand dune scrub again with very occasional glimpses to the ocean.

We had about an hour at The Pinnacles and really could have had more time. It is a really amazing place with great displays at the visitor centre. The walk is fabulous giving a variety of views and vistas.

Our lunch stop was at the Cerventes Bay Tavern.

On our way south again we passed the fields of Xanthorhoea I remembered from the last time I came through with Jeanette and Graham. Thousands of them! I saw a few kangaroos grazing amongst sheep and cattle.

A comfort stop at Guilderton which could have been a beautiful spot had it not been rainy and windy. We all returned to the bus very quickly.

As we left Guilderton we saw a beautiful rainbow again.

Then we hit the city – the first in 26 days. The traffic was awful, the traffic lights kept changing to red as we approached them, it was raining, it was dark and it was peak hour in an unfamiliar city!

Eventually we found our destination and collapsed into our room to get ready for dinner. I rang Jeanette to organise tomorrow and went down for a great buffet.

Once back in our room it was our homework to fill in our Census forms ready to hand in tomorrow.