Saturday 18 July 2015

Surfing and Gold Digging in WA

Back to our travels in WA and our first stop was actually in Perth to say goodbye to Mazza and Taisiya. A swim at the beach, Chinese dinner in the city, a bottle of wine in Kings park watching the city lights and a sad farewell but see you soon:) We then took the coast route south and did a day trip to Penguin Island just off Rockingham. A short walk around the island, we packed a picnic lunch, went for a snorkel, read our books on the beach in the sun and chilled out. Back on the mainland and although Mitch was away with work we stayed with Laura and the kids again that night and had a nice catch up with some backyard cricket and much less alcohol haha. We moved on to a nice NP with a beach nearby and found ourselves turning into book worms. Now I'll tell you neither I nor Ash have been big book readers, like ever, but we are really enjoying it. And I can also say we are happily still visiting 2nd hand bookstores to get more:) Some lovely country driving through towns like Harvey to see the Big Orange and Brunswick Junction to see the Big Cow but neither were there haha A quick pitstop in Bunbury and then it was down to the Margaret River Region. 
The view back to Rockingham from Penguin Island
We set up Carmen at a caravan park in Yallingup and headed to town for fish and chips on the headland. This was an amazing little beach town we could happily of stayed at for a long time. Before we could go catch any waves though I had to get my board repaired which would take about a week. This wasnt as bad as it might sound, we had so much fun in the Margaret River area even without surfboards for a little bit. We walked a headland to see the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and found secluded little beach bays at Dunsborough. Had a visit to Eagle Bay Brewery, a coastal drive of all the beach breaks and even did a wine tour with some oldies:) A day trip to Augusta was nice too. Another lighthouse, Cape Leeuwin, watching dolphins in the river, big stingrays at Hamelin Bay and driving through the Boranup Karri Forrest with the tallest trees we've ever seen. When my board was ready Ash and I both got out and found a fun little wave at the Margaret River mouth. It was so good to get out it had been over a year since our last surf. 
One of the many beautiful bays around Margs

A cave tour we did at Yallingyup

Surf rolling in at Prevelly

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Smiths Beach, unfortunatkey like a lake but pretty

It was then through some of the south west farm land as we made our way down to Walpole. It was here we discovered we`d done another wheel bearing and it was 12:30pm on a Saturday. Not much is open on weekends if your not in a major city but we did happen to catch a mechanic who said we could leave it at the shop for the weekend and hed look at it Monday if he had a chance. We ran with that and camped in Rhonda the next two nights. Lots of beautiful sight seeing including Giant Tingle trees, Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk, Green Pools, Elephant Rock and gorgeous beaches. After picking up a part from Albany to get Carmen on the road faster we headed to Denmark on Monday and got a good couple of surfs in at Ocean Beach. We ran into some oldies from our wine tour while snorkelling at Green Pools too and had a good chat exchanging travel info as we were heading in opposite directions then.  

Having a dip in Fontys Pool in the country side

Walking amongst the giant trees

The colours at Green Pools were amazing
Up to the Stirling Ranges NP next and we had a really lazy night watching and listening to a storm roll around us through our bed skylight. We did the highest walk in the NP possible the next day, Bluff Knoll (1095m). We were a bit out of our league for this walk maybe but ended up making the summit and returning in a little over 4 hours. Let's say we couldn't sit down easily for a few days haha. With rain everywhere on the forecast we meandered back down to the coast and set up at Cheynes Beach for a couple of nights to just chill, read and eat through the bad weather. Some great free and cheap camp spots saw us stay and drive through Bremer Bay, Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun to get us to Esperance next. The weather was lovely and we even got a surf in and decided to set up camp for 4 nights. We saw a seal at Tanker Jetty, did the Great Ocean Drive tour seeing a wind farm and a `pink lake`, read more books on the beach and spent our 3rd wedding anniversary exploring Cape Le Grand NP. The whitest sand in Australia can be found here as well as some lovely secluded bays:) We also spent one night at Cape Arid NP which had some great tracks but unfortunately too sandy for Gina to take on. A nice beach walk and an ocean view from our camp site on the hill was worth it.  

All smiles at the start of our Bluff Knoll climb

We made it to the top- carpark and ranges in the distance:)

Esperance where we surfed

Taking Gina on the beach in Cape Le Grand NP

Anniversary Margs wine at Lucky Bay

From the south east coast of WA it was up to the goldfields area next, to the bustling town of Kalgoorlie. We did a museum tour, had a swim at the leisure centre and then a brothel tour at Questa Casa:) We highly recommend this tour if you're ever in Kalgoorlie, Carmel the madam was great and gave us a great insight into this booming trade in the gold rush era and how things have changed up until now. Unfortunately the super pit was closed for tourists but we'll come back through here when we eventually head east again. Instead we did some gold panning and got to see some of the big boy toys used in the mines first hand. Lake Ballard followed Kalgoorlie where there was an art installment of sculptures placed all over this big lake. We free camped there and enjoyed the serenity of the peace and quiet in the bush for a night. A great outback pub between the two towns, The Broad Arrow Tavern, gave us a good feed, a good laugh and a memorable experience of a town with only a tavern:) 

Ash driving a super pit truck. Of the 250 tonnes of rock this brings out each trip there might be a golf ball of gold in it!

Outside Questa Casa before our tour

Camping at Lake Ballard

The art installment on Lake Ballard, there are about 50 of these scattered about

Adding our 'tag' to the Broad Arrow Tavern memorabilia

There's not much between Kalgoorlie and York but we did stop in on Callum's farm in Southern Cross for the afternoon. Callum was on one of Springers big headers at harvest time and we hadn't seen him since. We had a good catch up and chat while he showed us a few of his Brahman cattle and his horses on the property. We also got to a place called Wave Rock by sunset which was nice and did a walk on top of it in the morning. It was via the 'Tin Can Horse Hwy' back to York and a lovely dinner with the Springers whilst also helping Claire 'clean out' the fridge:) 
Ash riding 'Wave Rock'

Hippos Yawn, another cool outback rock formation

Hilarious tin horse statues

More horsies

Rocky the 'Italian Stalion'
We still had some time to kill before work would really get going for seeding so we decided to head back to the coast just a little north of Perth as it was pretty miserable weather through here on our way down the first time. A nice jetty walk and  fish and chips at Jurien Bay was lovely and more surfing and sand boarding at Lancelin was fun. We were the only ones drinking at a local pub too one arvo and got a magical sunset all to ourselves. An old school friend catch up was next in Perth, Kelly and her husband Mike. We drank and ate and caught up on life since we finished school, it was lovely. They are expecting their first baby in a few months which was really exciting too! We also visited and did two tours in the Fremantle Prison which only closed down in 1991 to inmates, who still used 'buckets' in their cells due to no plumbing in the prison. A must see in Perth if your there too!
Solitary confinement block

Inside 'Freo' jail, 4 x levels

A quick flight home for Jess and Paul's wedding and to see friends and family briefly was nice. Just a week though and then back to WA to spend easter with the Springers at Dongara. A day at the races followed by a mini pub crawl and a beach swim and rodeo the next day made for a fun filled weekend:) It was then back to York to help out around the farm pulling fences down, putting the seeding bar together and then Springbett baby number 3 arrived, Harry. For the next 8 weeks I was the Springbetts nanny and Ash worked for Agrisearch seeding trial crops again. Work kept both of us busy learning and discovering new things everyday. But as seeding came to an end so would our time in York. An end of seeding party at 'Our house' went off with a bang and another trip to Perth for some final farewells. A day trip to Rottnest was a must before we left also and saw us do 20km of bike riding over the day! One last supper with Tim, Claire the kidlets and Tims parents was a beautiful way to say goodbye to what felt like home for the last 10 months. We are finally going to be heading to the east and we can't wait! See you next blog:)

All the girls at Jess' wedding

Riding around Rottnest on our pretty bikes

Although too cold, a great snorkelling spot at Rottnest

Ash and Steve working hard on the bar

The bar being put back together, every nut, bolt and pipe=)

Science in the field, testing sprays on trial crops

Ash on the back of her research air seeder

In the garden with Annabelle

Getting Chelsea on the bus at sunrise, such a beautiful time of day

Tim, Ash, Me, Claire, Chelsea, Annabelle and Harry





Wednesday 4 March 2015

West Coast Crusin and Work in the Wheatbelt

It was only a leisurely drive from Bullara Station to Exmouth and we found a great spot at the Lighthouse Caravan Park before lunch. We spent our time here beach frisbee-ing, swimming in the crystal blue water, snorkelling on the best reef we've ever seen, watching sunsets from the lighthouse and cruising/exploring the Ningaloo Coastline. Coral Bay was next where we did some more beautiful snorkelling and relaxing on the beaches. A good night at the local (and only pub) watching some footy and eating hot chips as the sun went down. After that it was to Quobba Station where family friends had lived and helped out on the station but we were a bit slow in getting there and they have now moved on (we will see you in Tassy Anne and Bob!). The beach was covered in amazing shells and we spent hours forraging through them and found some rare special keepers. We also spotted some whales off the coast while watching the sunset and had a night inside playing cards listening to the rain patter on Carmen. The weather was still a bit inclement but we drove up the coast a bit to Red Bluff and Cape Cuvier which was a nice scenic drive and left that afternoon for Carnarvon.

                                              Sunset at Exmouth Lighthouse

                                            Snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef

The shells at Quobba Station

                                 Some unlucky bugger didn't watch the tide!

Sunset and whale watching at Quobba

We were hoping to find some plantation work here as we were told they always need itinerant workers short term but we came a bit too late for them. We did find choc coated mango icecreams that day though, so we were stoked. Not much else to do in Carnarvon so we went fishing on the jetty all afternoon until it was too dark to see. We caught 5 bream keepers and had a good barbie that night of chicken rissoles, bubble and squeak and fish in foil with our favourite seasonings. It was then down the coast a little further to Denham and Monkey Mia. We splurged a bit and stayed in the camping resort where we drank passionfruit mojitos, watched dolphins in the bay, listened to live music and watched the sun fall behind the ocean. The next morning I was lucky enough to hand feed a wild dolphin that came to the shores for breakfast before we moved onto an almost free camp ($5 permit for all 3 of us) at Goulet Bluff which had no facilities at all but rich in beauty and awesomeness (we also had it to ourselves). We explored a nearby beach called Shell Beach which was made up entirely of small crushed up shells that they use to make bricks with back in the day and there were also stromatolites nearby (the oldest living organisms on the planet). Jammimg , frisbee and reading took up the afternoon and evening in this magical spot.
Mmm...mango ice creams!!

                            One of the unlucky bream we caught, so delicious

Hand feeding the wild dolphins in Monkey Mia

Goulet Bluff camp spot

The shells that made up Shell Beach

Kalbarri was our next port of call and we stayed 3 nights so we could explore. We drove down the coastal cliffs of Kalbarri NP with some amazing views out to sea, did 10km of walking around Natures Window and Z Bend in the NP and relaxed by the fire in the evenings along the river with fellow campers. A lovely coastal town with a river inlet where we could of stayed a lot longer but our money was running low and we needed to move on. Geraldton was next but it poured down with rain all day and night so we went to the movies that night and then drove further south. We went through a nice beach town called Jurien Bay which we'll have to revisit and then through the Pinnacles which were 1-3m rock stalagmite like formations coming out of the ground with the ocean on the horizon if you looked west. It was still raining so we drove the track through here and then thought what the hell lets go to Perth. It was farewell to Mazza for a little while, she was off to make new friends and adventures in the hostels but she did shout us to dinner one last time which was just lovely.

A surfer at Kalbarri

Lookin hot on the coast trail

The Natural Bridge on the coastal cliffs

Ash havin a swing at camp

All 3 of us at natures window

A panorama of Z-Bend, could see the fault lines and all

A rainbow at The Pinnacles

We basically job hunted for 2 weeks pretty unsuccessfully because no one wanted 2 people, we didnt have the right experience, we only had one car and rent in Perth is expensive! Inbetween job searching though we still did a few touristy things like a tour of the WACA Ground (WA's home of cricket for all those non-sport enthusiasts), Hillary's Boat Harbour, Cottesloe and Scarborough Beaches, Freemantle: Little Creatures Brewery and Fish & Chips and catching up with friends. Ash's cousin Mitch, his wife Laura and two kids Ella and Finnley lived a short drive south of Perth and we decided to go stay with them for a week or so before we got work. It had been about 8 years between visits and we think we made up for it in 1 nights drinking haha. We got to meet some of Lauras family which was lovely, watched Finn play soccer and have his 7th birthday, hung out at the waterfront, went fishing with Mitch in the boat and caught up on life since the last visit.

View from The Bradman room at the WACA

Ice creams again in Freo

Vibin brewery in Freo, so yummy

Watched some of the Avon Descent

View from Kings Park over the Swan River and Perth hills in the distance

Fishing with Mitch, crazy early and cold but a good day at the 'honey hole'

It was while we were here we came across a farm course on Gumtree that had a good possibility of obtaining work on completion. We took the gamble and paid for our 4 day course in York, 100km east of Perth and crossed our fingers. The night before our course we stayed with Tammy and her husband Pete who is a family friend from Evans Head and was on maternity leave after having their 1st baby, Talon. They cooked us a lovely dinner and Pete had some amazing stories from his time in the Australian Army and SAS. The next day we started our farm course with Ley Webster at '2 Workin Oz' and were joined by a canadian girl and a german guy. We got to spend a day in a shearing shed as rouse abouts learning how to pick up and throw a fleece, got to ride and drive in a header, a front loader, a chaser bin and farm utes, learnt about fencing and knots, herding sheep, tailing and docking lambs and lots of other general farm duties. We had such a great time on the farm and we both found it very interesting all the things that go on on a farm that you dont realise. Ley was so helpful and in 5 days she had found us casual work with the Springbett's, a local grain farming family (Tim the son who is taking over the farm, his wife Claire and their two kids Chelsea and Annabelle and Tim's parents John and Chris.) We helped tidy up yards and rock pick at first and then helped out with their family homes and kids too. We were also passed around to other locals in town to help them move out, garden, house sit and babysit. Everyone in town was so lovely and we were happy to help anyone out, we were getting paid and it didn't even feel like work. Ley also found us casual work with an Ag research company, Agrisearch, and we did some field data entry before they did their harvest. This included stuff like counting weeds, counting wheat heads, dating when they flower, hand cutting and weighing samples, pulling rogue samples out of plots, bug catching and counting disease infected varieties. So, so much science behind grain farming that we had no idea about. Taisiya was a backpacker who worked here too for harvest and we got along really well, having her over for drinks and beach trips to Perth together.

Ash in the loader and me in the ute

Drying our wet boots in front of the cosy fire

The yellow canola fields were so beautiful

Flowering notes, we were experts by the end haha

Rogueing was nearly the death of me haha

At about this time we also got our first visitor come to see us, Alex and her then 5 month old little man Louie! We stayed in Perth sightseeing, beaching and even brought them out to the farm for a night. Such a massive effort for her but we loved every minute of it and appreciated it alot.

Sunset and nibbles at Scarborough Beach




After a couple of weeks working between all the locals, Agrisearch offered us full-time work over harvest which is what we needed. We got to drive and sample in mini headers for 7 weeks and got to see alot of the wheatbelt, from Goomalling to Albany. We got to stay on the Springbett's farm while we did all this work and we were very greatful for their generosity. They had some workers for their harvest too and we got to house share with Tim from NZ(otherwise known as Kiwi Tim) and Steve from Germany, having lots of family dinners and jam sessions (both were great on guitar). As it happened to be Claire is pregnant with number 3 and they asked if we could come back for seeding in April to help again. Agrisearch said they'd love to have us back too, so we'll be back to York in April to share our love between the two again.

10 hour harvest day sunset

Our little trial plots we harvest one at a time

Ash in Springers  big header ( like 6x bigger than the research ones)

In the fields, about to harvest some more

Unloading the chaser bin

The end product of canola

Me driving the research header

As most of you who read this i imagine know we also came home over Christmas and January. It was so lovely to see and spend time with our family, growing nieces and nephews and friends. We got to attend Jodie and Mark's engagement party, Christmas with the family, start the new year with a bang, go to a T20 cricket game, do a roadtrip to see Sheree and the boys, Sam and Joe's engagement party, a couple of birthday parties and we ate and drank copious amounts of food and alcohol with everyone. Our next adventure is down to the south-east and south-west of WA and we are very excited, I best keep on top of that blog too. Love us xxx

Jode and Mark's engagement

Meeting little Keanu for the first time

Me, Ash, Kiwi Tim, German Steve, Maree and Taisiya