Perth - Margaret River - Esperance (Australia)
04 January - 12 January 2016
04 January - 12 January 2016
If only for some stronger emotional attachments and a little more resilience I could have been touting the proficiency of stroopwafel makers in Sandringham, marveling to at the audacity of erwtensoep vendors in Cottesloe to drop in hints of cumin and lemon myrtle in their offerings or even lauding the wonderful cafe culture of Fremantle, which we all know would suit the place to a tea. But hey, the Dutch just weren't that into us. New Holland didn't have that tulip growing potential of Rotterdam and their clogs just wouldn't cut the mustard of the arid Western shores. It's a shame, we could have had a hell of a team to support come World Cup time, even if we have been classified as the eternal chokers.
Although Willem Janszoon hit the top end in 1606, it was Dirk Hartog that fired his vessel across the Southern Ocean in 1616 and left his little pewter inscription for all Aborigines to 'marvel' at who would have copped a mouthful of Dutch, had they have had a written language. The Dutch discovery unfortunately discounts out of hand the 40,000 years of Aboriginal history with Australia but still brings us to the question of what if? Could you imagine contemplating the wonderful canals of the Swan river as you mitigated aggressive cyclists whilst on your way to a dyke building convention...sigh, if only.
A five hour flight from Sydney and three hours behind the rest of us, its sometimes to forget those guys over there. I mean their reluctance to join the Federation way back when reminds me of those indecisive girls at school that just had way too many options but realised, almost too late, that the best think since Hageslag was about to escape their grasp. Still, for all their isolation, we tolerate them sand gropers because the eternal absoluteness of geography is that they will forever remain over there.
Perth has some great beaches, that is a fact, and Fremantle is engaging, actually Fremantle is a little more than that, its like dropping into your mates places, who also happens to be a muso and has a hippie style apartment in a great location. You know that you're going to have a great time and probably end up drinking a little too much.
About an hour off the coast of Fremantle however is the real highlight. I'd heard about the wonders of Rottnest island (Rotto) but the Dutch didn't do it any justice by naming it Rats Nest island after the quokka population that inhabits it. A little surprising in itself as these little creatures are substantially bigger than your average rodent, nowhere near as disgusting and behave significantly differently. Sometimes I think a load of fermented juniper berries had these clog clapping cheese munchers as high as a kite when terminology was being discussed...maybe...maybe they were just high, we can only speculate. In any case Rotto is significantly larger than I anticipated, 18kms2,has a much larger population than I thought and more interestingly, has some mighty fine beaches and, to add even more butter to the pan, has the most southern tropical outcrop of coral. Why wouldn't you want to make a visit here? Well, other than the fact that I truly believe that the $70 cost for a round-trip is a little bit of a touch up.
Not only can Australia be a harsh, dry, arid place to have to endure, but also, contending with natural phenomena are part and parcel of who we are. On the day Inga and I pointed our vehicle south to Margaret River, a bush fire swept through an area immediately south of Perth. Having a perimeter in excess of 390 kilometres this thing was brutal. Aside from cutting the most direct access route for us and turning what should have been a 3hr journey into something like 8hrs, it was the scene that surround this rampage that was mind blowing. The smoke from the fire itself was so dense and extensive that it created its own weather system - almost a self perpetuating fire generator if you consider a lightning strike a possible match.
Margaret River itself was quite the draw card. I say that with my real reference point being the winery at Leeuwin estate. Absolutely stunning. Wineries in themselves are small plots of adult escapism, extensively well manicured, immaculate in presentation and purveyors of the most precious of liquids. Adult Disney Worlds, but this place was something else, and I know for a fact we visit several other wineries but don't recall either their names or the way they looked with any real clarity, so was the impression that Leeuwin Estate made.
I should have dedicated more time to this area. I should know better as I always say that about any wine region I've passed through and can only really say that the only place we've ever done justice to was Stellenbosch, just outside of Cape Town. Like so many before and inevitably so many more to come, this will need to be left to another day.
The next few days we spent carving a path across the South Western coastline, passing through Denmark, staying overnight in Albany and then eventually settling in the town of Esperance for a few nights. Our goal here was to spend some time analysing what apparently is some of the whitest sand beaches in Australia, if not the world. The oddly named Hellfire Bay, and the somewhat appropriately named Lucky Bay in (Fedde) Le Grand National Park - 'Put your hands up for Detroit' why don't you - makes the fantastic claim of being bleach white. I mean, they have a process by which every granule of sand is hand bleached over a period of several days and returned to its original location, a process which is completed twice a year (???).............OK, so if you believed that line then I'd suggest you go and finish of that bottle of wine now. Never the less, the sand is in fact impressively white and its contrast against the deep blue of the Southern Ocean epitomises what it is to be on the south-western shores of this continent. Of course the ever so tame kangaroos also sign-post this locations as being unequivocally Australia.
Making our way back to Perth on our final full day also allowed us to stop in at the relatively well known tourist trap of Wave Rock, just outside the town of Hyden. I call it a tourist trap because really its unimpressive and actually verges on crap. Moderately captivating for 3 seconds and then disheartening immediately after, I admonish myself for years of muted anticipation, and then, the time spent to logistically put ourselves in the path of the site, and even more so, to actually visit it. It simply looks like a wave in rock form. OK. So freakin' what. The allure and fascination of that lasts for longer than it will take you to read the remainder of this line. Now that you have you can read about all things touristy that will suck notes from your wallet here - Wave rock sucks balls - just be aware, Wave rock really does suck balls, so don't be afraid to let the people know.
Making our way back to Perth was effectively doting the I and crossing the T on our Australian tour of discovery. What an impressive few months it was too. Unexpected in many ways for me, I'd always down graded both my want and desire to see Australia for all things foreign. A mistake in some ways, both from a patriotic and financial perspective, I recognise now that we do have the goods to warrant a mention in people's bucket list.
So let me say this to all of you wanting to come - 'Where the bloody hell are 'ya'
Perth has some great beaches, that is a fact, and Fremantle is engaging, actually Fremantle is a little more than that, its like dropping into your mates places, who also happens to be a muso and has a hippie style apartment in a great location. You know that you're going to have a great time and probably end up drinking a little too much.
Rottnest Island - Western Australia
Rottnest Island - Western Australia
About an hour off the coast of Fremantle however is the real highlight. I'd heard about the wonders of Rottnest island (Rotto) but the Dutch didn't do it any justice by naming it Rats Nest island after the quokka population that inhabits it. A little surprising in itself as these little creatures are substantially bigger than your average rodent, nowhere near as disgusting and behave significantly differently. Sometimes I think a load of fermented juniper berries had these clog clapping cheese munchers as high as a kite when terminology was being discussed...maybe...maybe they were just high, we can only speculate. In any case Rotto is significantly larger than I anticipated, 18kms2,has a much larger population than I thought and more interestingly, has some mighty fine beaches and, to add even more butter to the pan, has the most southern tropical outcrop of coral. Why wouldn't you want to make a visit here? Well, other than the fact that I truly believe that the $70 cost for a round-trip is a little bit of a touch up.
Not only can Australia be a harsh, dry, arid place to have to endure, but also, contending with natural phenomena are part and parcel of who we are. On the day Inga and I pointed our vehicle south to Margaret River, a bush fire swept through an area immediately south of Perth. Having a perimeter in excess of 390 kilometres this thing was brutal. Aside from cutting the most direct access route for us and turning what should have been a 3hr journey into something like 8hrs, it was the scene that surround this rampage that was mind blowing. The smoke from the fire itself was so dense and extensive that it created its own weather system - almost a self perpetuating fire generator if you consider a lightning strike a possible match.
On the road to Margaret River - in the midst of some raging fires
Leeuwin Estate winery - Margaret River - Western Australia
Leeuwin Estate winery - Margaret River - Western Australia
Leeuwin Estate winery - Margaret River - Western Australia
I should have dedicated more time to this area. I should know better as I always say that about any wine region I've passed through and can only really say that the only place we've ever done justice to was Stellenbosch, just outside of Cape Town. Like so many before and inevitably so many more to come, this will need to be left to another day.
Raging fires outside of Esperance - Western Australia
On the way to Esperance - Western Australia
Outside of Esperance - Western Australia
The next few days we spent carving a path across the South Western coastline, passing through Denmark, staying overnight in Albany and then eventually settling in the town of Esperance for a few nights. Our goal here was to spend some time analysing what apparently is some of the whitest sand beaches in Australia, if not the world. The oddly named Hellfire Bay, and the somewhat appropriately named Lucky Bay in (Fedde) Le Grand National Park - 'Put your hands up for Detroit' why don't you - makes the fantastic claim of being bleach white. I mean, they have a process by which every granule of sand is hand bleached over a period of several days and returned to its original location, a process which is completed twice a year (???).............OK, so if you believed that line then I'd suggest you go and finish of that bottle of wine now. Never the less, the sand is in fact impressively white and its contrast against the deep blue of the Southern Ocean epitomises what it is to be on the south-western shores of this continent. Of course the ever so tame kangaroos also sign-post this locations as being unequivocally Australia.
Hellfire Bay - near Esperance - Western Australia
Hellfire Bay - Esperance - Western Australia
Hellfire Bay - Esperance - Western Australia
Hellfire Bay - Esperance - Western Australia
Lucky Bay - near Esperance - Western Australia
Can you get any more Australian than this photo?
The crystal clear waters over Southern Ocean over the whitest sand in Australia - Lucky Bay - Western Australia
Making our way back to Perth on our final full day also allowed us to stop in at the relatively well known tourist trap of Wave Rock, just outside the town of Hyden. I call it a tourist trap because really its unimpressive and actually verges on crap. Moderately captivating for 3 seconds and then disheartening immediately after, I admonish myself for years of muted anticipation, and then, the time spent to logistically put ourselves in the path of the site, and even more so, to actually visit it. It simply looks like a wave in rock form. OK. So freakin' what. The allure and fascination of that lasts for longer than it will take you to read the remainder of this line. Now that you have you can read about all things touristy that will suck notes from your wallet here - Wave rock sucks balls - just be aware, Wave rock really does suck balls, so don't be afraid to let the people know.
Wave Rock - Hyden - Western Australia
Surfing wave rock - about the only fun you can have in Hyden
Making our way back to Perth was effectively doting the I and crossing the T on our Australian tour of discovery. What an impressive few months it was too. Unexpected in many ways for me, I'd always down graded both my want and desire to see Australia for all things foreign. A mistake in some ways, both from a patriotic and financial perspective, I recognise now that we do have the goods to warrant a mention in people's bucket list.
So let me say this to all of you wanting to come - 'Where the bloody hell are 'ya'
