After 14 days in national parks with limited access to amenities we were in need of a caravan park to sort ourselves out.
We headed out of Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP and headed gently northwards - not a big drive at all - to Busselton Discovery Park on the highway about 7km out of town. This was the biggest town since leaving home! We had some chores to do and sights to see.
But first the indoor heated pool! James and Jem were delighted by the 34C heated pool and spent the whole afternoon in there until it was time to get ready for dinner. Washing and general tidying up was done at the same time. You never came across more helpful kids with the promise of a swim.We really enjoyed our stay at Busselton even though it only turned out to be one day. After some shopping and a trip to the post office to send some of Jemma's beloved books she has read 25 times each, but cannot bear to part with, and some soft animals (3 of the still-unknown quantity) home we picked Andy up and headed back to the famous Busselton jetty to get our tourist on.
Sea based lunch + chippies on the foreshore.
Amazing playground near Busselton jetty - a fantastic way to kill some time while waiting for our jetty tour.
Pirate ship playground.
Our miniature locomotive to take us the 1.6km each way to the end of the jetty.
On the Solar Express
This is Cecile the Australian fur seal, seen from the underwater observatory. She is a regular at the end of the jetty.
At the end of the Busselton Jetty is an underwater observatory. There are 6 of these worldwide and Busselton claims the title of biggest. As well longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere.
The kids in front of one of the observatory windows. We loved this. Every pole is covered in soft animals and there were loads of fish. We had about 45 minutes in the observatory. The trick was to wait for all the pushy people to take their photos and then we pretty much had the place to ourselves for 20 minutes. We were the last to leave, and quickly hustled to the end of the jetty for our daily selfie and then run for the return train.
Busselton was a great stop and a good transition as we headed for Fremantle and Perth.
Our base for our 4 nights in the Freeo - Perth area was at another Discovery Park at Woodman Point about a 20 minute drive south of Fremantle. Andy has spent a lot of time in Freeo as he has close friends here and used to visit regularly for work and play. We had a few catch-ups scheduled with friends.
We arrived at the caravan park for an early set up as we had a lunch date at 1pm in Fremantle.
Following lunch with friends we headed to the beach for a swim. It was the first wetting of the wetsuits for the kids and they had a fabulous time in the small surf. Managing wet, sandy wetsuits on the road troubles my mind but I am trying to let go of such trifles - no one else seems to worry about these things!
The nose-bleeds at Optus Stadium.
The next day (Sunday) we had another lunch date, this time with an industry colleague and friend of Andy's. It was a really nice catch up and the kids and I got a few local tips for the days ahead.
After that we headed to Optus Stadium to experience an AFL match there. It was a big crowd and the stadium was awesome. Events at the stadium are pretty much serviced by buses only (different to what we are used to at Adelaide Oval ). When we left at three quarter time we had to walk for miles ( a little bit lost?) to find a spot where we could flag a cab back to Andy's mates place to pick up the car.
Some light post modifications (Woodman Point Cazza park) to manage the light coming straight through our tents. Dustpan and occy strap.
At Busselton cazza park we were right next to the amenities block. This was super convenient for night time wees, but the sensor light on our side was jiggered and the lights blazed on all night and straight through our little tents. We were a little light traumatized.
Monday was Rottnest Island day. Here we are at the Fremantle docks waiting for our fast ferry. The forecast looked great and we were excited.
Mural at dock.
Rotto bikers. We hired bikes from the ferry company and rode off into the wind....it was sunny and warm, just a bit windy. We were on a mission to find a beachy spot out of the wind.
The reason we go to Rotto - Quokkas! The cutest little marsupials around.
We found our piece of Rotto paradise, out of the wind and in the sun. Little Parakeet Bay.
Even the Mama had a swim after a quick costume change behind some convenient limestone rock formations.
More beach playing on Rotto.
Bike riding around Rottnest Island. It's hard work. The kids did amazingly and Jemma deserves a special mention here as she is the smallest and lightest of us and was riding the same heavy, grown up sized bike. The roads follow the sandhills around the island so lots of ups and downs and a fair bit of pushing.
One of the local tips - The Bakery! Yum.
Can confirm - delicious!
And just because... Quokka cuteness. They are so sweet and sociable. We were also lucky to see some new season joeys out of their mother's pouches - they are next level cute.
Sign at the general store.
Late in the afternoon a surprise squall blew in with a bit of rain. So we went to the pub!
The skipper of the ferry on the return journey warned that the crossing home would be an "active" one. He wasn't wrong. Jemma had white knuckles and was a little grey by the time we docked in Fremantle. It was a bit bouncy.
Breakfast at Woodman Point - it was pretty cool here in the mornings. We are excited to be heading north into some warmer weather soon.
For our last full day in the Perth area Andy needed to get some work done. He dropped the kids and I at Fremantle train station and we caught the train into Perth, headed for the Museum of WA.
Street art in Perth. Turns out Perth has lots and lots of museums and we were initially, and with great confidence, off to the wrong one. After a quick map correction we turned ourselves around and went almost the same distance again in the opposite direction.
WA's biodiversity is the main focus of their largest gallery. I loved this exhibit as it covered a lot of the amazing areas we had just been through, as well as some of the incredible places we are yet to see.
The Megaladon.
Coral reef interactive
Minerals
The kids loved all the interactive components of the exhibits. We spent half a day at the museum before grabbing lunch and heading back to Woodman Point for some tidying up. We were also headed to a friends place for dinner in the evening.
Our stay in Perth (or near Perth) was busy and went very quickly. I think I can safely speak for us all that we all felt a bit hustled and bustled. and we have left lots to see and do when we return.
We are all super excited for the next phase of our journey in WA as we begin to head up the coast. We have the first 6 nights - 3 at Sandy Cape and 3 in Kalbarri - sorted before having an open itinerary for 14 nights! We have no more bookings until we arrive in Coral Bay on 10th June. This is because the places we wish to visit cannot be booked online, it also gives us some flexibility with regards to the weather. I wonder what the next few weeks will bring?
Ness xx
Royal Hakea
Rugged coastal scenery Fitzgerald River NP
Western grey kangaroo - there was a small family of them near our campsite in Cape Le grand. We saw them everyday.
Grevillea sp?
My first malleefowl! James spotted 2 as soon as we hopped out of the car at an inlet in Fitzgerald River NP. Very exciting.
Hmmm...not sure about this one, but really pretty. I think it's a hakea species.
Again, not sure.
A little shrub with a wattle type pom-pom for a flower. But pink.
Banksia
These spiky ones
And some more
Another grevillea type?
Diversity
I think this is called Chittick
There were 3 biggish frogs in the male toilets at Cape Le Grand - they liked the mop bucket. Ewwww
A super friendly kangaroo
Seedpods on a medium sized tree - they look like underwater mines
One sided bottle brush ( I think)
Fitzgerald River National Park
Cape Le Grand beach - was our home and base for 5 nights
