Southwestern Oz

First, here's a photo from Rottnest Island that a nice, fellow Canadian took of us...



After seeing the desert area above Perth, we decided to travel south to the more forested southwest, known for wineries, wildlife, and of course nice beaches. It was quite a change in landscape with much cooler nights and mornings. Highs of 24 seemed “brisk” – how messed up is that?? It was nice to be out of the desert though with beautiful parrots everywhere and lots of kangaroos too. We stopped for a swim in Bunbury and had visitors – three dolphins swam right by us! Too cool!



Margaret River is famous in surfing/windsurfing for its big wave spot that always seems to get the biggest, cleanest waves on the west coast. It’s quite an intimidating spot though since the wave breaks onto such a shallow reef, affectionately known as the surgeon’s table. In fact to launch windsurfers, a keyhole had to be made using dynamite. The lack of wind close to shore adds to the difficulty. Chris had no intentions of windsurfing here because of its reputation but today was “not too big” in Margies terms so after about two hours of convincing himself he thought he should give it a try.

Chris making sure his gear is ‘just right’ – don’t want any mishaps here. The only other time Chris looked so nervous was before Aimee walked down the aisle.



Chris launches through the keyhole.



Lots of waves were over mast high but Aimee points out that none of the ones that Chris caught were that big. Chris’s quote: “Did you notice that my hair is still dry? I was too scared to fall!”





Margies is also known for its cruiseship/tour bus clientele, there to indulge in the 105 wineries that mark the region and local artisans.

While looking for one of these artisans, we stumbled upon Yallingup Beach, just north of Margies where we found crystal clear water, perfect for an afternoon snorkel.

We left Margies and headed south to Denmark, home of Steve and known for its out-of-this- world beaches and surf. Along the way, we found the coolest camping at Hamelin Bay in which we parked our camper on a sand dune. Hamelin Bay also had spectacular sunset swimming.



We were greeted in Denmark by very cold and rainy conditions. It was our first rain in Oz and we didn’t like it. After taking a look at Ocean Beach which was so beautiful even in the rain, we felt even more depressed about the lack of sun. After a day in Denmark and with four more days of the same forecasted, Chris on a moments’ notice, literally, informed Aimee of the change in plans and within an hour, the two were on the road back north to Gero, 8 hours away where the wind was still blowing and the temps were in the 30’s…




The drive back saw the rainy skies turn into sunnier ones which allowed for this beautiful sunset picture over a farming landscape.



Chris got 2 more solid days of windsurfing in at Gero. Our extra time in Gero saw us exploring more of the city and that’s where we came across this gem of a swimming spot.





As always, Aimee working hard to find an internet connection in the middle of nowhere, this time, the woods.



We're off to Perth tomorrow and flying to Melbourne on Monday...

More updates soon!

Cheers,
a&c