Crossing things off the list

The fire breaks were complete, not a blade of greenery in sight.(crossed off the list). The spraying worked very well and we are patting ourselves on our backs because this year we had to do it all ourselves as our spraying contractor retired earlier in the year. Our first attempt at spraying was hilarious - we have a big tank which we fixed on the back of the quad bike and Michael drove whilst I walked behind spraying, well that way the theory in practice the quad is not a true agricultural quad bike so does not like just idling along, it was either stop start or at it's slowest speed me running behind frantically trying to spray! Funny enough to do but must have been hilarious for anyone watching. So Michael rigged up a spray boom off the tank at the back of the quad bike. First attempt resulted in a poor spray pattern and the loss of a couple of sprinklers but after a couple of modifications, stage two worked a treat. He was able to drive around the block and we were surprised that one tank did the whole area - before we used a contractor we used to drag the tank around on a trolley and it took about 4 refills to do the whole area. The fine mist of this new spray boom is obviously more economical.

We borrowed a tractor from a neighbour and slashed the grass in the paddock, I cleared around the trees with my favourite Christmas present from last year - Honda brush cutter.
 After a couple of weeks all the weeds had died and I started my work - much harder than driving the quad around, I slashed the tall grass, tidied the edges of the breaks and then raked the dead leaves and rubbish off the break area so that it is free of litter. That took a week. We then had a couple of small piles of grass to burn, after applying for a permit to burn, and that was the completion of the compulsory 'gardening'. (off the list).

         This is Michael on his first drive of the quad, he's a lot more confident now, doesn't look nearly as terrified.

I took part in the National 'Birds in Backyards' count. Everyday for a week I spent 20 minutes noting the birds that I could see in our back garden. At the end of the week I had spotted 52 birds from 16 species. I was thrilled to have been able to include a Little Eagle that flew over the house one afternoon and then rested on an old tree stump and had a preen before slowly flying around the front yard before heading out over the paddock and being harassed by a much smaller Magpie Lark. After the week was up I noted another 4 species in the area. I couldn't include the Australian Magpies in the study because I didn't see them during my 20 minutes, we hear them every morning around dawn though and some evenings we can see them arriving 'home'.

We delayed our trip away in the motor home and got stuck into a couple more jobs around the place. A few months back Michael had installed a couple of LED lights in the motor home one was an awful colour and made everything look like it was on a mortuary slab, the other one was great. We didn't have a receipt but remembered that we had bought the good one from Masters home improvement store so we went back to get some more for the rest of the interior - they no longer sell that type. Typical.
So we bought one from a lighting store - didn't work because they're not enough oomph from the battery to start it. The solution - buy online. We not only found what we wanted but bought some other led lights to replace the reading lights under the shelves in the motor home.

Whilst we waited we decided to complete the job of closing off the orchard and back garden so that the kangaroos no longer steal fruit or bring ticks into the back garden. We loved watching them slowly hop along the back verandah and drink from the bird bath or frog's pond but they were rather clumsy, knocking over sprinklers and when they started to eat the frangipani leaves and then the plums off the tree we decided to act.

We call this one 'Blaze' 'coz of the white flash on her face. She won't go thirsty, we're installing a water bucket outside the fence so she can continue to visit (and bring her young).

Who would have thought that there were so many different types of pool fencing - flat top, spear top, loop top, cream, black, blue, grey or green, and there are at least 3 different heights (we know because we have panels which are 3 different heights!) We were looking for cream loop top to match what we already have and as glass panels are now the fashionable pool fence material and have dropped in price we easily found some in the northern suburbs.
Unfortunately Michael pulled a muscle in his back the morning that we were to go down in the late afternoon and collect the fencing but luckily the couple selling were both home and readily helped load the trailer for us.
The next day I managed to unload whilst Michael spent the day in bed, with painkillers. We're following the current doctrine with a day, or two, in bed resting with painkillers then up and gentle movements. So the installation of the fence was put on hold. There's always some little job to do and if not feeling energetic there's plenty of sewing waiting in my craft room or we could both retire to the recliners and catch up on our reading.

Whilst the fence is on hold we continue to enjoy our visitors, this year it's a little family - Mum, Dad and baby. We're definitely going to have to make water available outside the fence, somewhere visible from the house.

This year we 'discovered' Jo Nesbo books and the detective Harry Hole. We got them out of the local community library which has all bar the second in the series. They are so good, even reading them out of sequence does not spoil the enjoyment. They are 'stand alone' crime books. We are keeping our eyes peeled in all op-shops for that elusive second book. (Cockroaches).
We've also read nearly all the Vince Flynn books featuring Mitch Rapp and I've enjoyed some books by Marian Keyes. (I think of her as a cross between Maeve Binchy and the tv series Coupling).
We both really enjoyed reading a couple of books by Kate Atkinson but unfortunately the library does not have any more by her - I had to treat myself to one  (full price!)from the shop for my birthday. It's so good that I'll be keeping it too, not passing it on to the library.
The library is in a small building down by the foreshore in Guilderton and is manned by volunteers every Saturday morning from 10 to 12. They have a great range of books, all in A1 condition. It costs $5 a year membership and I'm very happy to be a member, we've certainly had good value this year.
I used to volunteer at another community library near Neergabby, Greenacres. It was started years ago by a local lady who put a few sheds on her property and opened up her book collection, it proved very popular and the locals and the shire added books to the stock but unfortunately the lady got sick and died. The library closed but a few years later her daughter took over the property and re started the library. Around this time the Guilderton library started up too.  Greenacres never attracted a large membership and the books were all donations but it had a steady 'core' membership, sadly the new owner passed away too (in her early 50s - lung cancer). So, thankfully Guilderton library is going from strength to strength and for the time being at least is providing us with some very enjoyable reading material.

South Australia is no longer on our itinerary for several reasons:- the weather in South Australia is HOT at the moment and every time I check online there's a fire alert or fire weather warning for the areas that we would be visiting, Flinders and Eyre Peninsula.
Michael's pulled muscle has meant he can't travel long distances, and to be honest the seats in the lounge area of the van are not the most comfortable, also that long list of jobs to be done is still sitting there waiting. If we go anywhere it will probably be the south coast of WA but at the moment the weather there is a mix of rain and hail, flood or fire warnings - the best place to be certainly seems to be home!

So we continue to order things online - finally getting around to buying a diesel heater for the motor home. We bought two, one for our good friends Ralph & Hanny. When they arrived we put them both in the motor home and headed down to spend a couple of days with R & H. We two girls could natter and shop whilst the boys checked out instructions and possibly got started on the installation of the heaters. The weather was pretty awful, more thunder and lightning but we set off southwards. Just before we left the electricity went off meaning that Michael had to disconnect the switch and open the shed door manually. In the distance we saw smoke and by the time we were ready to leave we could smell it. There was a rather large plume on the horizon, in about the same area as we'd seen smoke a couple of days earlier, nothing to panic over. We headed south - passing several fire engines  heading north. Obviously that fire was a large one. We had a lovely couple of days with R & H, the boys enjoyed themselves messing around down in Ralph's shed and Hanny and I managed to do a bit of Op-Shopping. (Hanny has the cast off her leg and is now getting out a bit more with a 'boot' on.)  We chatted and had a very convivial time without television or radio, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the world. Friday, two days later, we headed home. Once home we went online to see how long the power had been off, and what news there was of that fire that we'd seen.
OMG! What a shock, the fire had been out of control and at one point on the Wednesday afternoon our estate had been placed on a 'prepare to leave' alert. We had not seen any signs of a fire on our route home but  it seems that the fire was heading for the estate but had been brought under control. Ignorance was bliss - being south of the city we couldn't have done anything anyway but we were totally unaware of the emergency so were relaxing and enjoying ourselves.  We gave a silent thank you to the shire for making everyone more alert and aware this season, but no one could have predicted such an early damaging storm. There were 11 lightning strikes during that storm and then a mini tornado hit the area. Fingers crossed that this is our only fire emergency for the season.

Ralph has progressed with the installation of the heater and we have ordered more hose and Michael has been asking more people about their installation. Looks like we might be ready to do some work. We have finally discovered a disadvantage to living in Australia - the temperature is too high to check that the heater is working - the thermostat means that it won't switch on, it's too warm!!

So we didn't go away, not even to the south coast of WA.
 The time passed quickly and now it's almost Christmas. We have started the socialising and have caught up with a couple of friends for lunch. Next week our friends from Geraldton are coming to have a couple of nights 'stopover' on their way into Perth for a family Christmas. We plan to have a barbecue with them and a couple of neighbours, an early Christmas celebration. The actual Christmas days will be just the two of us, as usual, and then we'll get ready and head off for the NYE Celebrations in the country town of Dumbleyung.
They are celebrating 50 years since Donald Campbell set the world water speed record, in Bluebird, on Lake Dumbleyung in 1964. We are heading along in our motor home, with Ralph & Hanny and a couple of Citroen friends to join in the celebrations, camping the night on the town's oval.
We'll probably spend a few days touring around the south before heading home for the start of 2015 - another year of travel. This year will see more organised travel than free style motor homing,
 I wonder which we'll prefer when we look back at the end of the year!?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to us all!!

Spring is sprung

September is the first of the spring months, the time when the rains lessen and the ground starts to warm up and the weeds start to grow. The first bit, about the rains lessening didn't really happen but the weeds growing bit, that did. So September became our garden month. We pulled out weeds from the 'house garden', we pruned and removed shrubs from the area of bush closest to the house and then when it wasn't raining we burnt the cuttings. When we moved up here, to our current abode, we planted lots of shrubs and small trees around the house to act as a windbreak from the almost constant 'sea breeze' and as a privacy screen from the passing traffic. Our previous house, in the Serpentine area south of Perth had what is referred to as 'non-wetting sand'. Water just sits on top of the surface and doesn't penetrate so getting plants to grow was really hard. When we moved in up here, we brought that experience with us and planted very heavily, expecting over half the plants to die. How wrong could we be - the soil here is excellent loam and everything we planted, thrived. The result was a quite overgrown area around the house. We know of worse 'fire hazard' places but we decided to reduce our fire risk and therefore removed several trees and shrubs that were too close to the house, our boundary ones can stay, so we keep our privacy. The difference is dramatic and we'll have to see if the house gets a lot hotter in the mid-summer months.
My Christmas present last year, a lovely brush-cutter, has had a lot of use and will be getting some more in the next couple of weeks. Michael had a few problems getting his quad bike to run smoothly but he's resolved those problems and had been very ingenious and mounted the herbicide spray tank on the back, fitted a spray boom and successfully sprayed the fire breaks all around the block. There will be more work needed to remove all vegetation before we are 'legal' but already the weeds are turning brown.
We're now having a break from work and are off to the Motorhome Combined Chapters State Rally.
(I still can't get used to referring to the groups as 'chapters' without thinking about leather jackets and motorbikes. )The rally is held every year with a different chapter organising and is held in a different country town each year. Some towns are keener than others to host the event but as it can bring over $10,000 to the town in one weekend, lots of places are happy to see us. This year, it's almost local for us, it's up the coast in Cervantes. The shire, Dandaragan, had previously been noted for its' quite inhospitable approach to motorhomes but they have come 'on board' now and the event is promising to be a success. The rally runs from Thursday to Tuesday with the usual events happening - a dinner on Saturday night, disc bowl competitions, various games and a 'market day' where locals and campers can set up a stall. Ralph and Hanny have not been to a state rally before and although just returning from another trip away they were going to join us and head along this year.

Well, the best laid plans etc.... our plans to head off to the Rally with Ralph and Hanny were scuppered when Hanny twisted her ankle so heavily that she broke both the bones in her ankle and had to spend a week in hospital with her leg raised, to get the swelling down before they could 'pin' and 'plate' her ankle.

Taking advantage of the closeness of the Rally venue we headed off mid morning intending to stop at one of the scenic lookouts  on Indian Ocean Drive but the drive was a short one and we ended up driving all the way to Cervantes and the Rally site, arriving and checking in before lunch. We knew that we would not be 'early birds', the usual 'bed wetters' and others would be pouring in the gates as soon as they opened at 7.30am and the organisers, of course, would be set up a couple of days before the official start. There was no queue and we were soon guided to a spot, during the course of the afternoon more vehicles arrived and by the end of the day we were no longer on the end row of parked motor homes. We had probably been around 150th to arrive, out of the final 168 motor homes. (we had been 45th to register).
On the drive north I had mentioned to Michael that I didn't expect to see our friends from Albany, not expecting them to drive all that way north for a weekend, but the very first people that I saw once we'd parked were said friends from Albany. They had come to the rally, stopping over on their way north to visit their son, who was working up near Port Hedland. We had a lovely long chat and then went searching for other familiar faces. There were lots of friends, some seen recently, some not seen for many months which is what these gatherings are all about.

The little town of Cervantes doesn't have a many shops, just one small parade but it is on the coast and the beach is lovely. Beautiful white sand, which is nice and compacted so walking along the beach is relaxing without getting fine sand in your shoes or sinking down. Very pleasant to stroll along, and a bit of exercise which is a counter balance to all the social eating and drinking which happens at these gatherings.

The weather was great, being on the coast the wind blew constantly which helped keep the temperature down as the sun shone on us all.
Time to get out the sunscreen and work on the tan.
The Rally was well organised and there was plenty of time to catch up with old friends. The local community was involved in the catering and there was a cooked breakfast available each morning, and a lunch choice most days.
The evening entertainment was the standard amateur music, unfortunately so common. Loud and discordant, some die hards took to the dance floor but most folks drifted back to their vans for an early night or a night in front of the tv but Saturday night is always THE night at a Rally and this year the theme was 'Space' and some of  people really did do well with the fancy dress - we were unaware of the theme and so came unprepared, unlike our friends Mike and Judy....

And where there are aliens there's always The Doctor.

There was very little organised for the last day of the rally so we headed off home after saying goodbye to our friends, this took a couple of hours so it was almost lunchtime when we set off.
So we did stop for lunch enroute this time, stopping at Nilgen Lookout.

 Then continued home - arriving early afternoon. We had the van unpacked and were settled in our comfy chairs by 4pm.
As we would be home for a little while we put an ad in Gumtree - the online 'paper' to sell our little yellow Getz, and no sooner had I posted the ad (at 8.00pm) than the phone rang (at 10.30pm). This was on Wednesday night and the lady came on Saturday morning, paid the cash and drove off!
We will miss our little yellow friend but I'm getting over it, I've earmarked some of the money for a gondola ride in Venice next year!

The lovely weather has left us for a while, the last couple of days we've had storms and rain. Yesterday the rain storm that passed over us turned to a hail storm as it headed south towards the city. On tv last night they showed some areas looking as if they'd had a snow storm the ground was covered in white.

We have couple of weeks to complete the fire breaks and all our preparations before heading east to South Australia, and that will be another post.

Holidays within a holiday

Michael's niece, Clare, flew in from Canberra late on Tuesday night. She opted to go straight to an inner city hotel for the night, spend the next day sight seeing Perth city before catching a train out to Joondalup where we would meet here around 6pm.
In the meantime our dear friends, Ralph and Hanny were returning home from their trip to Darwin. They would be passing our place early Wednesday evening and would love to drop by. We told them to come early afternoon and then they would be able to join us for a meal in town with Clare. They readily agreed and arrived around 3pm, towels at the ready to shower and change clothes.  Then we drove into town to collect Clare off the train. She arrived just a short while after we got to the station (just as well 'coz we parked in the 15minute waiting zone.)
We all went to our favourite eatery - Angkor Cafe. Not flash but very good food.
Ralph and Hanny chatted about their trip and Clare told us about her day in Perth, where, as the showers kept sprinkling she went to the theatre to see David Suchet in The Last Confession. Afterwards she got to meet him and had a photo taken with him. How are we going to top that!
(Don't know what showers she was on about, it was a lovely sunny day at our place, I'd done the washing and got the towels dry)

Getting 5 people and luggage in a Getz is very squeezy, just as well that a few days earlier we had bought a Tucson. (Found one on sale on 'Gumtree'. Very nice 2009, automatic, a/c and cruise control)
Plenty of room for us all. We were still fumbling with the cruise control (different to the one in the motor home) but lots of space and very comfortable.

The next morning we had a very relaxed chatty start and after lunch Ralph and Hanny headed south, home.
We took Clare out to Guilderton foreshore and lookout then further up the coast to Lancelin. The weather was lovely, a little overcast but not cold like Canberra.

That evening we decided that a couple of days further north would be nice, so we phoned up and booked into a superior chalet at the Dongara Tourist Park, "your retreat on south beach", for the next 2 nights.
Clare was excited to be having 'a holiday whilst on holiday'.
So the next morning we headed off, back up the Indian Ocean Drive. We stopped in Jurien Bay to have lunch at the bakery and then up to Dongara, well almost, the park is actually in Port Denison, near the harbour.We arrived, as we said we would, around 3pm and checked in. The staff were very, very pleasant (unlike the staff we'd encountered a few years ago at a different Dongara caravan park who were so extremely rude and unpleasant that the overseas couple who arrived after us left in tears).
The chalet was a really lovely size, plenty of room and a balcony out the front with uninterrupted ocean views.

Michael and I struck lucky and got the bedroom with the huge queen bed, (and tv and a/c), Clare had her choice of one of the four bunk beds in the other bedroom.
We drove into Dongara, walked up and down the main street, bought a few essentials, crisps, nuts, wine and (non-alcoholic) beer). Then headed back to enjoy 'happy hour' on our own balcony.

Staying right next to the ocean there really was only one choice for dinner - Fish and Chips.

The next day we were off day tripping. We headed towards Geraldton but stopped off at the Greenough Village, just 25km south of Geraldton. The Greenough Flats form the flood plain of the area near the mouth of the Greenough River. During the 1960s it became a thriving agricultural area and Central Greenough developed as the local administrative centre, with schools, churches, stores and police station and courthouse.
 We hadn't actually stopped and had a look around for about 30 years so were overdue a visit. It was a very nice way to spend a morning. There were no crowds and the alpaca kept us company as we wandered around. There are several buildings in the settlement that have been restored and feature displays from that time.  In the restored school (just one room) there were sheets of paper with questions in the elementary school bursary exam from "The Education Circular" Western Australia, 1898.
We didn't fare too well - how would you go?
 Here are a few examples ....

If 450 people wanted to travel a journey of 250miles at three-farthings a mile, what would all the fares amount to?3

How many hours from 9 o'clock a.m. on the 1st June to 7 o'clock p.m. on the 30th June?

When and where was the battle of Waterloo fought? Who were the commanders on either side? What were the results of the battle?

Whom did Queen Victoria marry? Give a short sketch of his character.

                                          Anglican church

                                              Catholic church

                                           The Cells/Lock Up

After a cuppa we headed on to Geraldton where our first port of call was the Cathedral. Clare appreciated the exterior of the building more than the inside, she was not a fan of the horizontal stripes. We decided on a 'fast food' lunch, but the queue at the Subway sandwich bar meant it took a while. With subways in hand we drove up the Sydney Memorial and ate lunch in the park alongside the memorial. After enjoying the views out over the town we headed out towards the Chapman Valley but turned Eastwards and made our way out to Mullewa.

We arrived in Mullewa at 14:59 just as the volunteer, church guide and the museum guide were going home. We couldn't blame them and beg them to stay longer because they were both about 80 years old, had been there since before 10:00am and had not had lunch. (we did ask). The church is regarded as the jewel in all of Father Hawes work.
We left Mullewa and continued over the country to Mingenew before heading westwards, back to the coast at Dongara in time for another happy hour as the sun set.

Another take away for dinner, Chinese this time (strangely Clare was able to have Spaghetti Carbonara from the Chinese!)
Our two days had gone so quickly, it was time to head home again. We took the scenic route south so that we could enjoy some wildflowers en route.  There were lots around but the spectacular 'wreath flowers' were still a couple of weeks away from blooming.

        This is not a snake, it's a 'grass tree' formerly called 'blackboy' flower spike.

Another day, another day trip.
We headed off to WAs oldest inland town, York. We stopped for lunch in Northam on the way.
In York we did a quick driving tour of the town and then parked in the main street, outside the Old Gaol. We stuck our heads into the old Courthouse and enjoyed playing Criminal (Michael), Witness(me) and Judge(Clare).

The lady was so friendly and chatty that we  paid our fee and went for a tour of the Courthouse complex.

Graffiti on the wall on one cell, you can see below and to the left of the 'cowboy' there are couple of 'calendars' marking off the days. These cells were only meant to be for a few hours, or overnight but were obviously for a lot longer.

        The shackles were only in the 'Native Cell'. The other cells were single occupancy.


Another day, so another day trip.
We headed south and visited a shop in Kelmscott that sells a huge range of English produce. Clare had limited luggage space (carry on only) but managed to find room for 6 tubes of Wine Gums.
Then we were off to Fremantle, we stopped for lunch at a cafe on the edge of a shopping centre. Clare spotted it as we passed by so we turned around and parked. When we walked in we thought it was a 'book cafe' but after sitting down and ordering we realised that it was a 'Christian cafe'. Nothing wrong with that - the place was very clean, the food was fresh and tasty. If we're ever driving down South Street in that area again at lunch time, it would be our first choice for lunch.

Then we drove to Fremantle. When we first arrived in Australia we lived in a block of flats in the centre of Fremantle. It was great, then the America's Cup came to town and the town got a massive face lift.
 It was even better.
But since then it's been slowly going downhill. Fremantle council is 'green', and as such really does it's best to discourage cars in town. As a result the businesses are in decline and quite a few of the big stores have left town for large shopping centres. (this is Australia - everyone has a car, people do not walk to local shops. )
Flying in the face of things Freo, we drove around town. We passed the old Prison, the Warders houses (Jaylu Flats) and the Police Station and courthouse. The Police station is now closed for renovation (as is the whole court complex and some lovely old cottages). We drove down High Street and discovered that the Police station is now in the old Commonwealth Bank building. Not quite sure how a police station on a one way street works.
We drove around the Port and then out of town, across the river and up the coast towards home.
We drove along Cottesloe beach front passing what is likely to be Australia's most expensive home, the recently restored 12 bedroom, Tukurua. We're so glad that it has been restored, it's always been such a lovely house in a fantastic location. The asking price is around $50 million. (we drove on)







The house was built in 1896 as the summer residence of WAs first attorney-general Septimus Burt
During WWII refugees from Singapore and returned servicemen stayed at the house.
Miss Dorothea Cass inherited the house in 1945 (from her mother, a relative of Septimus Burt).
Miss Cass, the first woman in WA to graduate with a bachelor of arts at UWA, left the house to Ted Smith when she died in 1994. She did not have children and had never married. She had met Mr Smith through friends and asked him to water the garden and live in a small cottage, to help her look after the house. Their 22 year friendship was never romantic and Mr Smith feels that he was left the house 'because she knew I wouldn't squander it'. 
Mr Smith spent from 2003 to 2009 restoring the house but now he's approaching 82yrs old feels that it's time to 'downsize'. 
(photos courtesy 'Perth Now' web site. info courtesy West Australian web site) 

One day left. Clare was catching the 23:55 flight so we had a whole day to enjoy. We decided on Hillarys Boat Harbour for lunch despite the rain. The showers did lift enough for us to have a walk along the boardwalk, checking out the boats. It was a bit too chilly to eat alfresco so we sat at a table inside at Dome cafe. A lovely lunch.
Then we headed northwards up Marmion Avenue, past the new beach side suburbs. As it was Wednesday and just after 14:00 the homes in the various Display Villages were open for inspection - in we went.
We built our house about 15 years ago and there was a fashion then for certain things, a 'shoppers entry' doorway from carport to kitchen. All the builders at the time had similar designs. Designs change but the similarity between builders doesn't. The current 'in' thing is a separate preparation area in an area just behind the main kitchen.
We called into one of the land sales offices and looked over the blocks to be released. The block sizes are getting smaller, new houses are almost touching their neighbours when they are built in these developments.  There were a few absolute ocean frontage blocks on the plans but their release date was still in the ether, "at least 10 or 15 years away, we will sell the blocks nearest to Marmion Avenue first, where we are building a shopping centre, high school and where the station will be". The railway's extension is still in limbo, so the whole project is slowing. Not for us then, the salesman looked aghast when I asked if any Retirement villages were included in the development!

Then we continued north to Yanchep and turned to follow the coast to Two Rocks were we did another driving tour around the town and marina before heading back out to the Indian Ocean Drive and home.
Clare's 'holidays whilst on holiday' was over.
We took her to the airport, which was as busy as it is in daytime. Perth has midnight flights to Eastern States so that they arrive at their destination after their 6:00 curfew. It works.
Perth people are used to flights arriving and departing in the early hours of the day. They still have one of the world's highest 'meet and greet' numbers. So if you fly into Perth do not feel embarrassed about making your relatives or friends come out to the airport at some ungodly hour - they were expecting it once they knew you were coming.

So we were back home and had no excuse to put off the gardening.....except that we both got sick with winter head colds.

House sitting

Oh Dear,
             after re-arranging hair appointments, packing bags, sorting out food and making a dash to the shops at the weekend to buy a new camera - (more on that later) we drove 300kms north, to Geraldton to house sit for friends.  We arrived at 3.15pm and were greeted with, "You're early, a whole day early!"
Oh S***!
Totally my fault.
 But as we're house sitting for friends it's all okay, we get to spend another 24 hours together.

Now back to the camera - we both trekked out to the area of bush where I'd planted some shrubs to provide feed for the endangered Carnabys Black Cockatoos. We were going to take photos to send to the organisation that provided the plants and is coordinating the project. All set but all we could see in the screen was black with a small diagonal line of light, looking at the front of the camera we realised that the lens cover was not opening. Nothing we tried worked, and there was no way I was going on holiday without a camera, so I checked out a few online prices and decided that a trip to Officeworks was required.
I now have a Nikon Coolpix L29.  Having got a new camera we got braver with our attempts to remedy the problem with the old one,  Michael just cut the cover off.  (which is what I'd suggested but it seemed a bit too radical). It still works beautifully just doesn't have a cover over the lens.

Now we are in Geraldton, we have our instructions on what goes where in the house, how to feed the worm farm, and what day the rubbish is collected. After a couple of great days with friends we waved them goodbye and they drove off leaving us alone to enjoy the Batavia Coast.

We spent time finding the important shops - IGA Supermarkets and Bunnings hardware.
The IGA stores are independent grocery stores,  they are completely different to each other. In Geraldton some stores charge more (much more) than others and the advertised 'specials' seem to be "more like guidelines really, not a code" to quote Pirates of the Caribbean.
I indulged Michael and we walked up and down every aisle in Bunnings. Very different to metropolitan stores, a different range of goods. We didn't buy anything but had a great time.
On the way home we made a quick stop at an Op shop, 3 more books to add to our reading matter.

The next day we 'let the day air' before driving to the suburb of Bluff Point to see one of Father Hawes buildings in town.We are great fans of Father Hawes and have visited most of his buildings in WA, just a couple to see here in Geraldton and one in Carnarvon and  we'll have done the lot. Some churches we have still not been lucky enough to view inside but that doesn't detract from their beauty. Here in Geraldton we still had to visit Nazareth House, The Hermitage (unfortunately not open to the public, it's fenced off for restoration) and The church of St Lawrence. The Cathedral is obviously the largest of his work, the church at Mullewa is perhaps the most dramatic and  we love the little Chapel at the Cemetery for it's simplicity.

 Nazareth House is now a private nursing home/aged care facility, but we parked in the car park for a quick look. The original building can be seen between the modern facility. They have done a good job of blending styles.  Then we drove just a little further along Chapman Road to see the church of St Lawrence.
There were two churches marked on our map, but we didn't know which was which, just that the Anglican and Catholic were almost opposite each other. The first one we came to was the Anglican church of St George.  (actually built to complement the Father Hawes church across the road), a very attractive church. They run a little 'cottage' Op shop, which was open - usual story - 5 books this time, total cost $5.
Then we crossed the road to St Lawrence's school (it's school holidays so nice and quiet). The church in the middle of the school buildings was an ugly 1970s brick but tucked behind it was a sweet, little stone chapel, built in 1936. Some of the building was demolished to build the ugly 70s church but at least some of it is still standing and in use but what a pity about the sterile surroundings. It makes St George's look even better.

We took drive through town, past the port buildings and down around the point of the harbour past the old lighthouse (1897) before heading back to our 'home'.

The next day was the last day of the school holidays and we decided to go to to the WA Museum - Geraldton, which as well as being a good museum is currently hosting a Da Vinci Machines special exhibition.
Our reasoning for visiting now being that it may have a lot of families as it's school holidays, but next week it'll probably have large school parties.
We arrived just after 10am (have to let the day air) and were proved right, it was nice and quiet.
There were only a couple of families at the Da Vinci exhibition- an interesting but slightly disappointing show. Lots of 'models' of the inventions, all beautifully made but you couldn't get a real 'feel' for things as they were rather blandly displayed and there was no scale to help the total visualisation.
 Maybe some of the original drawings didn't show dimensions, and as some were never actually built I suppose it doesn't really matter.
 There were the usual stupid errors on the information cards too - everywhere we go we find an error, a simple spelling mistake or totally absurd grammar, don't people proof read anymore?
(Better double check this post).

                         There were a few  paintings on show - including The Last Supper.

                                      and of course, The Mona Lisa -

                                 actually, there were a couple of Mona Lisas on show!

They show the 'before(lt) and after(rt)' cleaning, with the colours a lot brighter and vibrant after. Apparently the path is red because it was still unfinished, Da Vinci kept making changes to the painting and the path was still in 'undercoat'.

After the Da Vinci circuit we went on to explore the rest of the Museum.
A room dedicated to HMAS Sydney which disappeared off the coast of Geraldton in 1941 and was finally found in waters off Steep Point, near Shark Bay in 2008.

I've cheated a little here and have copied some info from web sites for info on the exhibits, if you want to skip the history lesson feel free.

On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy with an impressive record of war service, was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. The loss of the Sydney with its full war complement of 645 remains Australia’s worst naval disaster. The Kormoran was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 were rescued. The fate of the Sydney remains one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries with not even the location of the wrecks established until 2008.
(courtesy of National Archives web page)


 There was another room dedicated to Shipwrecks, including the Batavia. The Batavia left Holland in October 1628 on her maiden voyage. On June 4th 1629 she struck a reef in the Abrolhos Islands and sank.

Survivors managed to reach a nearby island, later known as "Batavia's Graveyard". The ship's Commander Francisco Pelsaert landed on a nearby, smaller island. Finding themselves stranded on barren and virtually waterless islands, Pelsaert set sail in a long boat to fetch help. He took with him the skipper, Jacobsz, and 35 others. A second boat carrying 10 others followed. Unable to find water on the mainland they set sail for Batavia, more than 900 nautical miles away along a largely unknown coast.

During the voyage Undermerchant Jeronimus Cornelisz had conspired with other officers to mutiny and seize the ship for its cargo and the purpose of piracy, but the vessel sank before his plans could be realised. He formed a select band of men and devised a new mutiny plan.

Those who might oppose the mutineers were sent to surrounding islands and instructed to find water. A reign of terror ensued as Cornelisz's men began murdering those remaining, beginning with the sick and the injured. Eventually, as numbers dwindled and bloodlust took hold, wholesale slaughter took place with little secrecy. Survivors sent to the other islands were hunted down and killed if they hadn't already succumbed to thirst or hunger.

The men Cornelisz had sent to perish on Wallabi Island unexpectedly found water. Led by a mercenary soldier, Wiebbe Hayes, they learned of the murders when one man managed to escape and swam across to join Hayes. After fighting off two attacks by the mutineers, Hayes raised the alarm with Pelsaert when he returned from Batavia in a rescue ship.

The mutineers were tried on the island for the murder of over 120 people. Interrogated and tortured for 10 days until they signed their confessions, seven were hanged. Two of the youngest mutineers, Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye, were sentenced to be marooned on the Australian mainland, where they became the first known European residents of Australia. No further contact with them was ever recorded.

In June 1963, the Batavia was discovered relatively intact when lobster fisherman, Dave Johnson, showed two Geraldton divers, Max and Graeme Cramer, bronze cannons and anchors in the waters off Morning Reef.

Two ruined huts found on West Wallabi Island, thought to have been built by Wiebbe Hayes and his soldiers, are believed to be the oldest structures built by Europeans on the Australian continent.

(taken from Australian National Heritage Website).

A cannon from Batavia at the entrance to the Shipwrecks Gallery.

The original stone portico intended for Batavia Castle. Discovered located aft of the Batavian's partial stern section.

Map showing some of the wrecks off the West Australian coast. More are to be found to the north and the south. (The Gilt Dragon, being off the coast at Guilderton).

We then wandered around the rest of the general exhibits,in the Mid West Gallery, a very good display with lots of information and detail about the local area.

Without the Special Exhibition the entry to the museum is 'gold coin donation'. It's well worth a visit for the Sydney and Shipwreck Galleries alone.

As we left the museum we couldn't resist just one more visit to the Mona Lisa- upfront and personal.

                               



We went home for lunch and then went out to visit other friends who live in the 'northern suburbs' of Geraldton. We had afternoon tea with them, arranging to return next week and have lunch together.
The evening was quite warm, no need to put the heater on, and the next morning was bright and sunny - one reason to spend winter in Geraldton.
Next day we drove into town to check out the Farmers Market, held every Saturday morning in Maitland Park. Sorry to say it was quite a poor affair, only about 6 stalls, 3 selling coffee and the others selling expensive vegetables or pickles.
As we were in that part of town we went to Queens IGA, behind Stirling Shopping Centre, opposite the Cathedral. This was better, more like a metro IGA. A large bakery section, a good deli section and not overpriced. This will be our 'local' whilst in town.
We drove down to the Railway Markets but just did a 'drive by', once again very few stalls and nothing caught our eye. We took a slow drive home cruising through the coastal suburbs of Beresford, Bluff Point and Sunset Beach. The beaches are really lovely with plenty of parking and picnic spots.
We had lunch at home and then sat outside reading but by 3.00pm the weather forecast was proved right and the clouds rolled in off the ocean, followed by wind and rain. The thunder storms gathered around 4.00pm. As we're still in Western Australia I'm ever mindful of possible power outages in storms so I spent a few minutes looking for candles and torches. By the time I'd found them the storm had passed but the wind and rain stayed with us.
The next day was dull and overcast, perfect for a lazy day at home. (The kind of day that teenagers have and working folks dream about - doing nothing.) The weather forecast is for  a few days of this weather but I hope that being 400kms north of Perth we'll fare better.
The next day, I was right, the sun is shining again. There's a cool wind blowing but it's looking good.
We explored more of the suburbs of Geraldton and found some really lovely beach side areas.
We visited every op shop and shopping centre.
Then we drove up through the Chapman Valley to Northampton for lunch.
Lunch was a very nice pea and ham soup with a toasted cheese sandwich (the day's special). But with a 25 minute wait once we'd ordered, it wasn't what you call 'fast food', but it was very tasty and we do not have to worry about time.
When we got back to Geraldton we went to the Visitor Information Centre and  booked a treat for ourselves- a trip to the Abrolhos Islands. We fly over the whole area, spot a few wrecks and then land on East Wallabi Island for an island tour and afternoon tea. Splendid.

That afternoon we went to the Cathedral. We have visited a couple of times before but now we were going to have an official tour. There were about 6 of us on the tour and we got a delightful insight into the church today as well as the history of the building. Our guide was rightly proud of the Cathedral and showed us a photograph of the laying of the foundation stone,with her grandfather standing in the crowd of workers laying the stones.
A lot of the artifacts in the crypt had been packed away by the bishop (perhaps over zealously) in anticipation of the building being closed for restoration. In deed when you look closely you can see the cracks in the plaster and the stone work. Apparently the 'dome' is made of asbestos and is going to be replaced with glorious terracotta tiles, as in the original Father Hawes design. It will be even more splendid when done but the funds are still a little short.

The next day we had another lazy day before the excitement built the following day - the day of our flight.
the weather was perfect, sunny and around 23 degrees.
After lunch we drove out to the airport and after the usual safety talk we climbed aboard.
It was a lovely smooth take off and we had a great view over the city of Geraldton and then out over the port and across the ocean to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands The islands lie 70 km off the coast and are made up of 3 groups with a total of 122 islands, covering an area approximately 110 kms north to south.
22 of the islands are home to rock lobster fishermen, there are 8 aquaculture sites and the Latitude Pearl farm has a total water area of 367.9 hectares. They produce 3 different pearls, the Leeuwin Current is the reason that they are the world's largest producers of exquisite black pearls.

We were able to spot the small remains of two wrecks, the Zeewyk (wrecked in 1727) and  another whose name I've forgotten (wrecked in 1906).

          If you look closely on the edge of the surf you can see the rusty remains of the wreck.

Rat Island is the base for the local rock lobster fishermen. They used to only be able to stay on the island for 3 months, during the fishing season, but the season and rules have now changed and they can stay 12 months - if they really want to.
 We flew over the reef and were enthralled by the size, the colours and beauty of it.      FANTASTIC.
Then we banked and the pilot contacted air traffic control in Geraldton announcing our landing on East Wallabi Island.

We got out and following our pilot  walked along through the scrub to the ocean and then along the beach to Turtle Bay where we sat in the shelter to enjoy afternoon tea. After a welcome cuppa and the obligatory lamington (a very Aussie cake, which tastes even better at scenic locations), we carried on with our island tour.

We were delighted to see a little local Wallaby, an Osprey and absolutely amazing and fantastic scenery. Unfortunately the only turtle we saw was the shell of a long dead one.
All too soon we headed back to Turtle Beach, collected our esky and headed back to the landing strip.
Once again the take off was very smooth, we  flew over Morning Reef, the site of the wreck of the Batavia.  But the waves obscured any view of the actual site, apparently on calm days you can see the gash in the coral where the ship struck. It was very easy to see how she could have run aground.
It was 4.00am when she hit the reef and it was obvious how the reef would have been almost impossible to see. On the small island nearest to the wreck site some graves have been discovered and the whole island is being 'tidied up' with only a few shack remaining now.The search for further graves continues. The story of the wreck, the sailing back to Batavia (Indonesia) for help, a mutiny and survival is a fascinating one.

All too soon we're heading  westward and once over the ocean spend our time intently watching the water for any signs of whales. The 'white horses' on the waves were confusing most 'sightings' but we both feel happy that we did see a couple of whales making their way north.
The coast was soon in sight and we were over the port and marina.

 From the air we spotted the Cathedral, the Sydney Memorial and the little San Spirito Chapel at the cemetery, before descending with glorious views across over the Chapman Valley.

Then we were safe back on the ground.
What a truly wonderful experience, a great day out.
It is listed in tourist brochures as one of the things to do when in Geraldton, but I reckon it's the no 1 on a must do list. It cost $240 each and was well worth it.

As the day was almost over, the sun about to set, we drove out to do another on the 'things to do' list.
Sunset at the Sydney Memorial. The setting sun's last glow on the 645 seagulls of the Memorial was really lovely. It's a beautiful spot and a beautiful memorial.

The wing tip of the flying seagull (number 645) marks the exact location of the wreck of HMAS Sydney. The brown area is land and the exact latitude and longitude are noted. There are 644 seagulls around the edge of the pool. Another beautiful, simple, quiet and moving memorial.

The statue of the woman looking out to sea, waiting for her menfolk is one of my all time favourite art works.

What better way to complete a holiday day out in a coastal town, fish and chips for dinner.
Very nice they were too.
The next morning those clouds were back, lucky we went on the flight yesterday.
We were just about to leave the house but had to delay about 20 minutes whilst the rain came down.
Then it cleared and we were out - down to Marine Terrace and a walk along the foreshore in the sunshine.

Michael tried out the outside 'gym', but we didn't want to overdo the exercise and drove around to the next car park and walked along the boardwalk to a lovely landscaped park, and observation deck, a nice modern landscaped area. A quiet oasis, with lovely views back over the town. There were a couple of wind surers doing very well, enjoying the great weather.
A very pleasant and welcoming place, much like the city itself.

Then we drove out to the West End, the spit of land sticking out into the ocean, where the lighthouse is. We explored  all the streets and found the small holiday shacks delightful, noting that there were a lot for sale. (They are only on lease, cannot be rebuilt and the area is destined for redevelopment - not high rise though).
Then we drove through the suburb of Beachlands - this is now our favourite suburb. Some lovely large old houses and the area is 'coming up' as there are a lot of older fibro,ex rental homes being bought and renovated. The area is just behind the Cathedral, walking distance to town and great beaches.
No Sale though, we are very happy were we are but  just can't help looking at real estate where ever we go.
We'd just got back home when the rain returned, this time yesterday we were sitting on Turtle Beach.

The next day, Sunday, and we decided to revisit the Chapman Valley. The Chapman Valley Historical Society Museum is open Sunday afternoons (and Weds. am) so after lunch we set out. AT the museum we chatted to a family from Geraldton whose mother was from the Chapman Valley. She was donating some items to the museum relating to their days on the farm. You could hear her oohing and aahing as she recognised items and names on display. It was great to chat to her and learn a bit more local history.

As the sun was still shining we took a scenic route home, through glorious bright yellow fields (canola).

Our last week in Geraldton began with a trip to the library to check emails, using the free city wi-fi (available all along the foreshore but the strongest signal is in the library.) The library was closed until 1.00pm so we'll have to leave it until tomorrow as we have a lunch date.
We revisited our friends just north of the city and enjoyed a splendid lunch - an assortment of curries including a liver (lambs fry) rendang and a goat curry. After such a  sumptuous meal we had a light dinner and spread out in front of the telly.
The next day, another 'doing nothing' day, after a quick library trip.
Shouldn't have too many of those days so the next day, we decided on another museum.
We drove up to Northampton to the Motors and Machinery Museum. As we turned north onto the North West Coastal Highway we just managed to get in front of a huge, wide load convoy. We had a lovely 30 minute drive up to Northampton, no traffic ahead and none behind. In Northampton we parked and had a coffee to sit and watch the convoy go by but we got bored waiting, and after 40 minutes headed across to the museum.
The caretaker was having a little nap when we arrived so we left our money on the table and quietly walked around.

 After about 15 minutes he woke up, went outside to do some work, spotted our car and came in to find us. He was a very nice man and it turns out that he is the 'railway man' in town. He is responsible for the tourist development of the Mary Street Railway precinct and he lives in the delightful cottage behind the old station in Mary Street. (The cottage has a lovely wrought iron work gate featuring a train, that I took a photo of previously). He was full of information about the development of Northampton and we learnt that Mary Street was the second station in town, the original station being just along the road from the museum. This original site is being developed as a tourist site with a lot of work being done to unearth the old platform and buildings. After an exhaustive museum tour we went along to the old railway site.

A very good interpretive display, a credit to the town and to this particular gentleman.
Then we took the scenic route home, through the canola fields of the Chapman Valley.

We had a couple of days left in Geraldton and we had 'done' most of the town. We re-visited some op-shops and found more books! (new stock or we'd missed them first time around?)
Then one day on our way home, with nothing better to do, we detoured to have a look at a car dealership selling the Great Wall SUVs. The price is certainly right but the interior was too squeezy for us. We checked out other models at the showroom - Kia Sportage. Much better! But at double the price not an immediate option. We didn't manage to get away before the sales rep got chatting, but he was very pleasant, not at all 'pushy' and before long we had seen the entire Kia range. Then he started to show us the used cars and there was a Hyundai Tucson City (2WD not 4WD). We had looked at buying a Tucson back in 2009 but had missed out as Hyundai had stopped manufacture. Now we had so many thoughts and options that we were getting very confused and I think we each thought that the other might make a rash decision so we retreated back home to consider all the options. We had no immediate intention of replacing our lovely yellow Getz but with 419,000+ kms on the odometer we are starting to gather our options.
We thought all night, slept on it, and the next morning went to the library and used the free wifi to check out the availability, prices and reviews of used Tucsons. There were a reasonable number in the Perth area so we decided not to buy in Geraldton, some 300kms away from where we live. When we get home we'll have a look at options closer to home. (a new Kia Sportage would be nice but those dollars would pay for a good many holidays.....)
So, decision made, we headed home for lunch and then spent the afternoon packing and cleaning the house ready to lock and leave and head home the next day.
We enjoyed another glorious sunset, viewed from the lounge window.

We have enjoyed our time in Geraldton and the surrounding area, exploring and discovering quite a lot.
All good things come to an end and we have to attend to things at home, gardening, clearing, painting...........
All to be done before November 1st when burning season finishes and fire breaks must be in.
It won't all be work though, we have Michael's niece coming to stay for a week and we have promised a full week of outings. That is sure to be another blog.