Cervantes to Geraldton

Cervantes takes its name from an American whaling ship which was wrecked off the coast in 1844, but we immediately think of the famous Spanish writer.

Just about every street in town has a Spanish name; I saw Mallorca St and Talavera St as I went out for an early morning walk down to the beach.

I was awake early. Motel rooms have a big advantage in that you can park your car right outside the door, but they have an enormous disadvantage in their paper thin walls. There were some hyper-active children awake before 6.30 am. The beach was calling:

Lots of boats were being launched. The caravan site was packed and threatening to overflow onto the sports oval.

I spent a bit of time sorting out my belongings before I hit the road again. In my haste to depart Perth, I had somehow put in 10 tops and only one bottom, no shorts, few items of underwear and no sleepwear. I decided to remedy this in Geraldton at Target and/or the local charity shop. I stopped in Dongara to visit the bakery with the best pies and treated myself to a chicken and veg one, which I ate sitting under a tree in the park.

I received a text from the hotel in Geraldton telling me my room was ready so I could check in early. Good news, since I was pretty tired after yesterday’s excitement and the stress of trying to get away and beat the lockdown. People from Perth are supposed to wear a mask and a kind man checking into the hotel at the same time as me offered to buy me one as he was stocking up for his family.

I had a long siesta and only woke up just in time to do my regular walk along the promenade as the sun was going down:

Today's paper about the lockdown.

Perth to Cervantes: escape from lockdown

I’ve just escaped from another lockdown !  This morning I took JL to Kent Street Weir, where volunteers take people for rides around the park in trishaws. This was a really nice thing to do: half an hour being pedalled around.

Setting off in the trishaw.

JL walking on the weir bridge.

JL was interested in the history of the weir, so I captured this info from the display boards for him.  He remembers the old wooden structure, which was later replaced by a stronger steel structure. To the right of the weir is salt water and to the left of the weir it is fresh water.

After the ride we were sitting on a bench enjoying a picnic, when I got a text from C warning of an imminent lockdown of the Perth and Peel Region. I needed to move, as I couldn't afford to be stuck in Perth. I had bookings in Broome and the Kimberley that I didn't want to lose. Apparently, there had been a leak in a hotel quarantine hotel, where several guests had caught the virus from a returned traveller from India. The person had left the hotel after 14 days and gone to stay with someone in the Perth suburb of Kardinya. They later tested positive and so did the person they were staying with. These two people were out and about in the community which is what prompted the lockdown. All of this seems to suggest that the virus travels in the air between hotel rooms. This hotel is the Mercure and is the oldest of the hotels being used for quarantine.

I returned in great haste to our apartment in Burswood and threw everything I could into the car. Fortunately, I was pretty well packed in case of this eventuality. A few things did get left behind, including some frozen food I'd been preparing for the trip, some fruit as well as my beer and wine supplies - (especially bad news!)  I then drove JL back to Koh-i-Noor Aged Care Home and proceeded to drive north as fast as I could. On the way I heard on the radio that the lockdown was to begin at midnight, and it was only for 3 days over the Anzac Day weekend. I could have waited till Tuesday, but who knows if it will be extended if more COVID cases emerge in Perth.  This was a risk I didn't want to take, so I was determined to get away asap.

I drove as far as Cervantes, and decided to check-in at the Pinnacles Motel. This was not easy, as there was a queue and the phones were running hot. The one woman at Reception was being hassled on all sides, some phoning up to cancel and others, like me, desperate for a room. She finally gave me one for $100 - can't complain at that!  I went for a walk to the beach just as the sun was setting:

Cervantes sunset.

Looking north.

Looking south.

Greyhounds and Grazing

Greyhounds

Who knew that they came in so many colours?  On Friday, there was a meet-up of greyhound owners for a 3.5 km walk starting at Kent Street Weir.  All the dogs are rescued from the racing industry, where they are put down when they are no longer bringing in big $$$. They make gentle and loving pets, but must always be kept on a lead in case they revert to type and chase smaller creatures. 

At first the dogs were suspicious of one another.
There were a few growls.

C and Rocky, eager to get going.

Canning Regional Park has lovely walking trails.
The dogs brought a smile to the faces of other walkers.

A group of volunteers pedal around with trishaws,
giving free rides round the park.

This is their vehicle.
I booked a ride for JL next week.

There is a nice coffee spot at the end.

Grazing

Perth City Farm held a Great Grazing Market today. It was to showcase produce from the south-west, and to teach people how to make a splendid grazing platter. Alannah MacTiernan was there to open the event in her capacity as Minister for Regional Development, Agriculture and Food. She didn't dress up for the occasion. As usual, her hairstyle was modelled on Boris Johnson's. No photo!

Experts preparing a huge platter.

Too beautiful to eat (almost!)

Apples and pears in abundance.

Fuji apples (on the right) are my favourite.
She gave me two.

Milford Winery had a stall.
I bought some Brinjal Chutney.

It was a bit early for wine-tasting. I had hoped to have breakfast, or at least brunch, but the queue for coffee was too long. In the end I had to settle for a taste of cumquat-infused gin!

Perth City Farm is a community vegetable garden.
It is run by volunteers.

Some of my spoils.

I also got various freebies: potatoes, apples, bananas and a piece of honey-flavoured muffin.

Potato and rosemary traybake,
inspired by a free cookbook.

Down by the river

Some of the Bushwalking Group asked for some easy mid-week walks, in the Perth area and accessible by public transport. Today was the first one. The weather was glorious: a perfect Autumn day (warm and sunny but only 24 degrees after a very cool start of 11 degrees). 

We walked from Canning Bridge as far as the Bluewater Grill at Heathcote, where we stopped for a long coffee break. Val and I caught up with all the news and we were reluctant to leave the lovely spot to keep going again.

These easy walks are set to become a monthly event as ageing joints prevent us from doing 15 km as we used to!

A Walk in the Forest

We had lots of rain today. A bushwalk was scheduled for Pickering Brook, but the forecast was so bad that the leader decided to cancel at the last minute. There is a severe cyclone warning for up north, and Perth is getting the tail end of it. However, a few of us didn't get the message or decided to go anyway. It has been too hot to walk for weeks, so a walk in the rain seemed like a nice change. Jack strode off, intending to do the entire 11 km route, but three of us decided to walk for about an hour and then turn back when the rain got too heavy (which it did!) The trees were dripping wet and the track was muddy, but we enjoyed being out in the forest.

Twisted and gnarled tree.

Grass Tree.

Grass Tree close-up.

Top left and bottom right are "water bushes".
The flat leaves collect and retain water.

This is the Munda Biddi Trail,
a long distance bike path,
but no cyclists today!

Banksia recovering from a fire.

A Walk in the Park

At the end of the month, I’m planning to drive up to the Kimberley. To remind myself of some of the plants I’ll see up north, I went to Kings Park botanic section to see what is in flower at this time of year. There are parts of the garden devoted to each region. This is a tiny fraction of what I saw:

The plant diversity in Western Australia is pretty amazing in itself, but there are also lots of endangered species to think about.

Hairy Sucker Grevillea;
Tiny ground cover, vulnerable in the dry Wheatbelt.

Eneabba Mallee.

Phalanx Grevillea.

Round leaf Honeysuckle.

This really is soft and silky to the touch;
the cultivated variety not so much.

Grevillea intricata.

Hakea rhombales.

Kingsmill's Mallee, Pilbara.

Acorn Banksia.

Looking down on the Old Swan Brewery and the river.