Lunch by the Sea

Val chose the venue. It was the best! We went to Floreat Beach Kiosk: not an actual kiosk, but a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating:

We both chose a Caesar Salad. There was also free sparking water on tap, which I’ve never seen before. What a good idea.

After lunch we went for a walk south. All along this coast, the views are lovely. The cranes of Fremantle docks are just visible in the distance. A few wildflowers were out:

Hardenbergia

Looking out to sea

Can this really be the middle of winter?

Burswood Bridges Bushwalk

It was a good turnout for the latest bushwalk: 15 people. It started literally just down the road from where I live, so there was no excuse! We met at Taylor St Carpark and set off eastward, crossing the bridge to Heirisson Island:

It must be years since I explored this island, even though it’s just on my doorstep. It’s bigger than I remembered:

Looking back across the river

There was a lot of standing water after all the recent rains and several people wished they had brought better footwear.

We all decided on the shorter version of this walk. We did around 11,500 steps or 6 kms. It’s a while since I walked so far, so I felt very pleased with myself at the end.

A group getting prepared for the zipline: no thanks!

Lunch at the end of the walk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heirisson_Island

Winter Sun

The TV weather forecast suggested that today would see the last sunny day in Perth for a while: so  make the most of it!  There is something called SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder which is best avoided. I took their advice and drove to Cottesloe Beach.

Normally it’s hard to find a parking spot in summer, but there’s no problem in winter. One issue was huge piles of stinky seaweed which recent gales had brought ashore;

Working on their tan!

A few brave souls were in the water, though the waves were reminding us that this was not a summers day:

Looking south towards Fremantle.

I was content to observe everything from the shore, though I did have my shorts on to soak up the sun!

"Perth weather: City records hottest July day in 32 years as temperatures almost reach 26C"

Home

When you come home from holiday, you sometimes feel like you need another holiday to recover from the first one! This year was no exception. The first problem I had was that my heating had broken down. We had some very cold mornings, down to 3 degrees, and the coldest of every state capital in Australia. I suppose it was a shock to my system especially as I’d just come back from Broome.

The next thing, to add insult to injury, was a speeding fine in my letter box. This was from Dongara on my way up north. How could this be? I never speed? What’s more, I had been going slow in order to conserve fuel. I can only think that there is a speed trap near Dongara where they catch motorists on the Brand Highway as they come into town. JL used to shrug off speed fines, saying they were an “occupational hazard” for him. I am still annoyed, but if I managed to drive all those kilometres up north and back, I should just consider myself lucky.

Now the good news: E has celebrated a big birthday! She was born in England on the longest day. In Australia she celebrates it on the shortest day. She has taken up baking and produced a spectacular cake:

My portion

The strawberry collapsed just as I took the photo! 

On the day, we went out for lunch at a nearby Japanese restaurant:

Everything was delicious!

It's called Sumeshiya.

Geraldton to Home

My last day was lovely and sunny: blue skies allthe way! Quite a change from the downpours in Carnarvon. I stopped several times to stretch my legs and enjoy the scenery.

Beekeepers Road is one spot where we were taken on a wildflower walk in the past. Today it was all about the Banksias:

Beekeepers Rd (all gravel)

There is also a particularly good 15 minute circular walk through the bush at this rest area:

It was a pleasure to arrive back home to discover that the Cleaning Fairy had visited in my absence. What a wonderful surprise!

Carnarvon to Geraldton

I had dinner at the Hospitality Inn, Carnarvon, last night. I chose prawn laksa. The prawns were good, but they had put in too much coconut cream. I realised that the two chefs were Indian, so it would have been better to go for curry.

The main problem was tour group who got more and more noisy. I saw their bus said Austopia Tours.  The chef said they were going round Australia. I was keen to avoid them in the morning, so I asked the guide what time they were having breakfast. She looked annoyed and said 7 o’clock. I set my alarm and resolved to be in by 6.45. She saw me waiting and said with a smirk: it doesn’t open till 7.00 am.

Fortunately breakfast was not so noisy and that was the last I saw of them.

The next problem was the weather. It had rained heavily all night and there were pools of water everywhere. Leaving town was a big sign:

PLAN NOT TO TRAVEL

ITS NOT WORTH IT.

But I had to travel. Driving south , it was like going through paddy fields in China. Near Wooramel, water was flooding over the road, flowing fast from left to right. I watched a 4WD go through the torrent ahead of me and decided to risk it, I didn’t get swept away!

These pics were at the Wooramel Roadhouse. The next is at a rest stop at Galena Bridge:

After all the excitement, I finally made it into Geraldton. I’m staying at the Backpackers which is right on the front, It’s very quiet. I only saw 2 other people here. I had a beer at the Ocean Centre Hotel next door and then went for a walk along the foreshore in the late afternoon sun:

The Batavia Replica is still there.

Onslow to Carnarvon

It’s a long drive off the highway to get into Onslow, but always worth it. Before settling in for the night, I went out for a walk along the foreshore. There was a mobile van serving Indian food and lots of people were spreading out rugs and having a picnic. My apartment came with a full kitchen, so I was planning to cook the squid given to me by Gonzo.

I walked as far as the war memorial:

A beautiful setting

Onslow Salt

This morning, on the way out of town, I took this photo of the heaps of salt. To the right is the conveyor belt that takes the salt out to a jetty where it is loaded onto boats going to Japan. JL and his son set up this operation and it’s going from strength to strength.

On the road again, there were some rain showers around the Tropic of Capricorn. Now in Carnarvon, it looks like being a wild and windy night; no point in walking along the Fascine which is what I normally like to do.