PERTH TO KALGOORLIE

DAY 87 – PERTH TO KALGOORLIE                             Tuesday, 27^th September

Some of the beautiful wildflowers in WA

More of the beautiful wildflowers in WA

David and Beth with their rigged up protection for the tent.  Aren't they clever?

Up early this morning and crept out of the house at Mazenod with four children and all their sleeping equipment in tow.  Of course it was raining when we were trying to pack up so everything got wet, but we were in a bit of a hurry to get out of the school carpark before the morning rush!  We left just before 8am after saying goodbye to Hokey for our trip to Kalgoorlie. 

It is a journey along the path of the Perth to Kalgoorlie water scheme, which set up a pipeline from Mundaring Weir to Kalgoorlie in 1903.  It still operates today, providing water to 100,000 people along the way where water is often scarce.  A fantastic achievement today, let alone 108 years ago!!

We had a good day in the car, with the kids trying to do a bit of their journals (rather unsuccessfully on the uneven road).  We had lunch at Southern Cross and then arrived in Kalgoorlie a little after 4pm.  The caravan park is not much and to make matters worse it is raining.  So tonight, David and Ben set up the (not waterproof) tent underneath the awning, and then David and Beth rigged up a tarpaulin down the side of the awning so that the rain would not reach the tent!  Let’s hope it is successful.  I am very pleased to say that it has not been an issue for us up until now.  With the exception of Kings Canyon and a brief shower in Kalbarri, we have not seen the rain!  Hoping for a nice day tomorrow to check out the “Super Pit” open cut gold mine in town!  We might even witness a blast!

PERTH

Holding the pretend nuggets at the Perth Mint

The Swan Bells

Ringing the 300 year old bells of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

With their certificates as bellringers

At the war memorial at Kings Park

Overlooking Perth from Kings Park

With a Boab tree, overlooking Perth from Kings Park

David and Bridget on the tree tops walk

Beth and Sarah on the tree tops walk

Stacks on Daddy - Kings Park

Our beautiful babies - walking through Kings Park

Isn't this just beautiful?

DAY 86 – PERTH                                                                                                Monday. 26^th September

Woke up to horrible wet stuff falling from the sky this morning!!  Completely outraged!  Not great, camping in the rain when everything is wet.  Have cold feet for the first time since Alice Springs!!  Lucky we have been able to sleep in the house at Mazenod for the last two nights. 

But being a tourist in the rain is never much fun.  EVERYTHING GETS WET!  Anyway, we parked in the city and walked to the i-City Volunteers at the Information Kiosk who could not have been more helpful and who were in for a long chat which meant that we did not get to the Perth Mint as early as I would have liked.  The Perth Mint was really interesting.  They only manufacture commemorative coins now and gold bullion.   They are the only mint in Australia now which does this, the Brisbane and Adelaide Mints having closed down decades ago.  It is a beautiful old building and has quite a few child-friendly things to do.  For example, you can try and pick up a gold bullion worth about $200,000.  It weighs about 12kg and the kids were most impressed that Daddy could do this.   However, when the all stood on the scales which tell you how much your weight in gold is, they were quick to point out that selling Daddy was the best option for a secure future, given that Daddy was worth about $3.6m!!

They were able to hold up mock nuggets of gold and have their photo taken and were really impressed with the information provided during the gold pour.  In a theatre which used to be the old furnace room with about 15 furnaces in it, they now heat one furnace to 1300 degrees Celcius and melt down the same gold bullion each hour and show how it becomes “liquid gold” and then cools to become gold bullion again.  The same bullion has been melted down about 33,000 times in the last 15 or so years.

From there we hopped on the free CAT service CBD buses which are fabulous and went to see the Swan Bells.  Twelve of these bells were hung in St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square in about 1725 and tolled for Nelson’s victories and then his death at Waterloo, for the coronation of each English monarch since that time, and during the World Wars.  Because they were making the bell tower sway when rung, they were going to be melted down for new bells to be cast but a deal was struck to give them to Western Australia for the bicentennary in exchange for which, WA would provide the metal necessary for the new bells.  Since that time, they have regretted their decision and there has been some discussion that they want them returned but …

 We missed the demonstration bell ringing but were lucky enough to get the chance to ring the bells ourselves.  So, with the help of a professional bell ringer, we rang the bells of St. Martin-in-the-Fields for all of Perth to hear!  What a beautiful sound those three hundred year old bells made.  Of course the kids were pulled up in the air by the huge ropes!  Very funny to see.

From there we took the bus up to Kings Park which surely has to rate among the world’s most beautiful parks!  The view over the Swan and Canning Rivers is stunning. The park has the most beautiful array of flora from all over Western Australia and a fantastic tree tops walk.  It was all so beautifully maintained – no doubt with the help of some of that beautiful mineral royalties money!!  Western Australia is indeed a wealthy state.  The weather had cleared by then and it was a picturesque afternoon!  We were all exhausted by the time we climbed the DNA tower, walked back to the bus, caught the bus back to the carpark and then drove home to Lesmurdie via the supermarket.  Of course, as is the way when you are travelling, we realised at 8pm that we could hear air hissing out of one of the rear tyres and that our back tail lights were not working!  Not what you want to hear the night before you leave on a 600 km trip. 

David was fantastic and changed the tyre in the dark by himself, while I stood and watched with a bottle of red in my hand.  We finished the night, as usual, chatting away to Hokey until midnight.  It was so lovely to be able to have that time with him.

PERTH (FREMANTLE)

DAY 85 – PERTH   (FREMANTLE)                                                                 Sunday, 25^th September

Woke up to brilliant sunshine again today which was great for our day in Fremantle.  We made it down there in time for 8:30am Mass at St. Patrick’s Basilica, celebrated by David’s old boss, Fr. Paddy Moroney, who then took us out for coffee afterwards on the “Cappucino Strip” which is a gorgeous strip of coffee shops and CLEARLY the place to be on a Sunday morning.  The kids all think these Oblate priests are the best!  So far, they have been given pizza, coke, ice creams and now milkshakes!  I think they want to take them home with us!!

With a statue of some of the many child immigrants who came through the Port of Fremantle

With the famous "winged keel" of Australia II

At the Maritime Museum with huge ships arriving in the background

With the "crew" of Australia II

We walked up to the Fremantle Markets and gave the kids each $10 to spend.  They were in heaven but of course with such important decisions to make it took a long time to get through the market with their precious cargo!!

We went down to the wharf to see the Maritime Museum of WA which was reasonably new and really well done.  They had exhibits on diving over the last century, and lots of information on animals found in the waters of WA, and the docks of Fremantle.  But far and away the most exciting exhibit was the Australia II yacht and the famous winged keel.

We caught up with some friends of Anne-Marie and Christopher’s who live just outside Fremantle and got back to the van around 6:30 for some dinner and bed.  Another late night chatting away over a lovely WA red with Hokey for the adults however!!

PERTH (ROTTNEST ISLAND)

The view from the lighthouse looking back to Fremantle from Rottnest

Looking out to Green Island

Geordie Bay

The kids counted 52 of these little darlings!

Some relaxing time on the beach at Thompson

Up close and personal with a Quokka

Sandcastle building - they are having withdrawal symptons!

The beautiful coastline of Rottnest Island

DAY 84 – PERTH  (ROTTNEST ISLAND)                                                     Saturday, 24^th September

Up early this morning and, having no water or power to the van (and in desperate need of a wee, because we couldn’t get into the house so early!) we headed off to McDonald’s for breakfast and toilet stop.  This is my idea of hell, but the kids thought they were in heaven!!  We had to be at the B Shed terminal at Fremantle Dock at 7:15am for our trip over to Rottnest Island on the fast ferry.

I couldn’t believe how many people were there for the early morning ferry, but I suppose many would be employees of the island.  It was an absolutely perfect day for the trip – blue skies, calm waters, and a perfect 23 degrees.  The waters between Fremantle and Rottnest are treacherous and there have been many ships wrecked in that passage.  In fact, last Wednesday they had shocking weather and the ferry crossing took 2.5hrs and there were 7 metres waves!  Everyone was seasick.  Fortunately for us the weather was beautiful and it only took 30 minutes to get there.  Don’t think I could have done it last Wednesday!

David had done a great deal of research so we had an itinerary all organised and printed out!  Instead of hiring bikes we bought an all-day bus ticket (about $100 cheaper!) which you can hop on and hop off at different points along the coast road.  So we began our journey around the island taking in the sights and sounds - although not too many sounds because there are no cars permitted on the island so it is REALLY QUIET!  We saw some beautiful beaches and hopped off the bus at the Lighthouse (Wajemup Lighthouse – Wadjemup meaning ‘land across the water’.  We did some fairly serious Quokka spotting on our way up to the lighthouse and had fantastic views across Thompson Bay to Fremantle from there.

We walked to the Green Island lookout and saw some RAAF planes performing some manoeuvres overhead.

We took the bus back to Geordie Bay where there is an extraordinary amount of holiday accommodation (for which you need to go into a ballot over summer) and the only settlement other than Thompson Bay on the island.  The walk was just beautiful and it really makes you feel as though you are miles from anything.  You would not believe that you are only a 25 minutes ferry ride from Fremantle!

We went on a “Reefs, Wrecks and Daring Sailors” tour along the coast of Thompson Bay and learnt of the ferociousness of the reefs in front of us and the  many ships which have been wrecked right on Fremantle’s door, having travelled from England around the Cape of Good Hope and all across the Indian Ocean!!  In fact, only last Wednesday they had such shocking weather than the ferry crossing took 2.5 hrs with 7m waves and all the passengers were seasick!! 

We had lunch with the Quokkas who sat under out table outside the Rottnest Bakery in the mall!  We then went on a Quokka tour with a lovely lady, but she insisted on walking whilst doing the tour so we couldn’t hear a thing, but the kids were charged with being the “Quokka Spotters” as they had the best eyes!  We saw a mother with two babies, one that looked about 5 months old and a baby, still without any hair.  The kids were in heaven and told me that the TQC for the day (Total Quokka Count) was 52. 

CERVANTES TO PERTH

The Abbey Church at New Norcia

The Monastery at New Norcia

Lighting a candle in the Abbey Church

St. Marcellin Champagnat - the Marists cared for the college for quite some time

DAY 83 – CERVANTES TO PERTH                         Friday, 23^rd September

Lazy morning this morning.  Minister for Tourism (Daddy) forgot there was a tour at New Norcia at 11am so we were travelling along like the Grey Nomads.  Beautiful country heading inland from Cervantes.  Very green and treed – wind farms, cattle and sheep grazing, and wildflowers. 

Bridgie lost ANOTHER tooth in the car this morning – ably pulled out by her eldest sister.  Honestly, I don’t know how people survive with the number of teeth she has left!!  The tooth fairy will go broke and I will have to start pureeing her food!

New Norcia is a small town with a beautiful Benedictine Abbey which is now on the National  Heritage list.  The buildings are absolutely beautiful, rising out of the countryside – enormous buildings using colourful stonework.  Quite a feat for the monks in the 19^th century.  Whilst about 8-9 monks still live there, the buildings are primarily used for retreats, school camps and youth groups.  We wandered around the buildings and the cemetery there with its many graves of the monks who lived and worked there since 1848.  The Abbey Church has beautiful frescos of the Stations of the Cross and the kids loved walking around the church and asking about the paintings and which Station they could be.

We drove then through the Swan Valley with its HUGE houses and vineyards and stopped in at Houghtons Winery for some wine tasting while the kids ran all over the beautiful grounds.  It felt a bit strange doing a purely “adult” thing after all the “family friendly” activities we having been doing!

Off finally to Perth to purchase some chocks (left at Karijini National Park!) and then to Mazenod College where our good friend Hokey (Michael) McMahon was waiting for us.  David taught here for 6 months in 1996.  Hokey was the priest who helped us with our marriage preparation and who was present (although unable to officiate!) at our wedding.  The kids were all excited to meet him as Daddy had informed them that Hokey was the person who told him to marry Mummy.  So they decided, without Hokey, they would not exist!  Anyway, he was an absolute favourite very quickly, providing them with pizza and Coca Cola!!  (“We are NEVER allowed to have this at home!)  We all slept in the van parked in the Mazenod carpark that night so we managed to put the kids to bed and have a lovely evening with Hokey, having dinner, drinking wine and catching up on people and stories. 

We caught up with Fr. Moroney and Fr. Hughes (who was a hero, providing the kids with Magnum ice creams!) whilst watching the Hawks go down to the Magpies in the Preliminary Final (what a tragedy!)

KALBARRI - CERVANTES

Ross Graham Lookout - Kalbarri National Park

Beautiful Bethany

Bold Bridget

Tremendous Tess

Brave Ben

The HMAS Sydney memorial in Geraldton

The Pinnacles at sunset, Cervantes

The gang at the Pinnacles - NB the jumpers!!

The Hansens at Hansen Bay - true story - at Cervantes

The lovers at the Pinnacles

DAY 82 – KALBARRI – CERVANTES                                  Thursday, 22^nd September

It was an absolute precision operation this morning!   Everyone had a job to do and we were on the road by 7:30am and off to our first two gorges of the day.  Hawk’s Bluff and Ross Graham lookout were not far off the road so we made a quick dash for it.  Again beautiful views of the Murchison River.   The second one was named after the first teacher and headmaster at Kalbarri School who died in the 60s aged only 30.  Kalbarri would have been such a small town in those days; it must have been such a shock for the community.

David really wanted to get to Hutt River Province which is owned by a man calling himself Prince Leonard.  Apparently he seceded from the state of Western Australia in 1970 because the state of Western Australian had never been claimed as British Territory.  He now runs his own principality with their own currency and defence force.  It originated because there was a quota on the amount of wheat he was able to sell in the 1960s which he did not like.  David was fascinated and would have loved to have met him and had a chat.  Sorry, but the lawyer in me just thought he was an absolute nut!  Anyway, unfortunately we did not leave ourselves enough time and just had to keep going to Geraldton for the tour of the HMAS Sydney memorial.

This is one of the most beautiful memorials I have ever seen.  The HMAS Sydney was lost with all 645 hands on 19^th November 1941 after a short battle with the German raider,  the Kormoran.  They had been searching for the wreck for years and it was only found in 2008.  In 1998, it was decided to organise a permanent memorial for Geraldton.  The Rotary Club held a Sunset Service on the 19^th November 1998, with just a flagpole and a rock, during which an entire flock of seagulls flew overhead and headed out to sea.  In 2002, the permanent memorial was unveiled – a Dome of Souls made up of 645 silver gulls, representing each of the men who lost their lives.  A bronze statue looking out to sea – The Waiting Woman – represents all those left behind.  She has a wedding ring on and a tiny anchor on her necklace.  All 645 names are engraved on the wall outside the memorial.  It was very impressive.

We had lunch in the park and then drove down the coast road to Cervantes where we set up the van and then went out to the Pinnacles for sunset.  Since David had been there in 1996 a huge amount of work had been done to increase tourism.  You can now drive the car right through the middle of the Pinnacles and stop along the way to take photos.  David was right.  At sunset, they are particularly beautiful limestone features as they cast long shadows over one another.  It stretches out like tombstones in a cemetery.

We visited Hansen Bay (yes, really!!) and Lake Thetis, where there are more stromatolites.  Yes!  They LIED to me at Hamelin Pool!!  But apparently these are the only TWO places (sure, I say!)  Daddy was excited, but the kids all looked like “Been there, done that!”