Day 6 - Perth to home

Woke up early at 06:00 but then back to sleep for a while, then breakfast, drop bags and go for a walk. 

The hotel was next to a steep set of stairs called Jacob’s ladder which was popular with exercise nuts - people were walking up and down, using twigs to note how many times. 

We went up to get to the botanical gardens, it was over 200 steps and hard work for an unfit 59 year old, but managed.

Walked along path through the gardens , weather was great, sunny and warm and the views over the bay were stunning.

Walked back to the hotel, back down the steps and popped into the cafe next to the hotel for a coffee and ham and cheese sandwich.

Got the hotel to call a taxi and got to the airport and through security early.

Flight was pretty busy but not full, yet when I tried to change my seats online earlier it showed as full. 

There was a big guy sat next to me who spilled over into my seat but moved to an empty one once we'd taken off so Song and I had a seat between us.

Flight was uneventful, went quickly and we were back into the Melbourne cold, on the skybus then the train back home to the cat who meowed when she saw us and the dog who didn't seem too bothered.

Had a great time, saw lots and drove a lot.

Day 5 - Rottnest island

Song woke up at 05:30 and therefore I woke up at 05:30 but I tried to sleep a bit more which I managed, got up at 06:30. 

Walked down to the ferry, got there in plenty of time so sat with a coffee. Weather was chilly and overcast with rain threatening.

Managed to score a seat right up the front of the upper deck because it was open and the seats were wet, but Song put her raincoat across 2 of them so we were ok.

We’re going there mainly to see the Quokkas and I fear Song’s phone will explode with all the photos.

Ferry trip took about 90 minutes, the first hour a cruise of the Swan river with commentary which was interesting. Saw a dolphin on the way.

Got to the island and it was a bit cold so put on our jackets that we’d only just put away. We had 30 minutes before the bus tour so wandered around and saw our first Quokkas - cute and tame, lots of photos were taken. 

The bus tour was good, the same guy who did the boat commentary was the guide and it was fun. Stopped at a lookout and saw a couple of humpback whales, unusual for the time of year. Also saw 2 Osprey nests, one with an Osprey sitting on it. The nests were huge piles of sticks.

The island has some spectacular beaches and coastline.

Got dropped back at the main part and grabbed a roll from the bakery, more Quokkas and more photos.

I didn’t know much about the island, I thought it was mostly empty and mainly a wildlife reserve but it’s basically a resort island with coffee shops, restaurants, shops and even a small cinema for the kids. It gets packed out during peak season and you have to book a year and a half in advance for some of the accommodation.

Had a couple of hours before the boat back so went for a walk, the sun came out for about 10 minutes and then it got chilly again. Song decided she wanted more Quokka photos so I decided to get a beer and sit down with a view of the bay with Perth in the distance.

Started to rain heavily so couldn’t go for a walk so just sat undercover and waited for the boat back - a bit disappointing but can’t do anything about the weather so just relaxed.

Song went to take more photos of the Quokkas.

Back on the boat and back to Perth, decided to look for somewhere to eat rather than go back to the hotel. Tried a seafood place where we got off the boat but it was fully booked so decided to go back to the tapas restaurant we went to the first night and have the set menu again because we’d only had a roll for lunch and were both hungry.

Over full again, walked back to the hotel and watched tv before sleep.

Day 4 - Cervantes to Perth

Not much done today; woke up at 06:00, earlier than expected, packed up and drove down to the beach to have a look and then on our way back to Perth. 

Same as before, roads good and very little traffic. 

Stopped off for a pee and a coffee, then another look at the beach, then back on the road.

Needed to fill up with petrol before dropping the car back, had to turn off the freeway to find a station but still had plenty of time to get the car back for 11:00.

Decided to drop the bags at the hotel first and I took 2 wrong turns for which I blame Google, the directions weren’t great. Managed to get the car back at 10:58, making the most of the hire period.

Walked into the city stopping to look inside the cathedral, then wandered about the shops a bit before looking for somewhere to eat. Settled on a Vietnamese place but when we got there saw it was more of a takeaway place and also had a big queue, so decided on the Japanese next door. Good choice, it was really good, I had a special lunch box which had miso soup, tempura, sashimi and teriyaki beef. Song had a sashimi and tempura plate. 

Wandered around the shops again and sat down for a coffee before heading back to the hotel. 

Spent a couple of hours watching tv downloads then went out for dinner, chose a Vietnamese place and had pho, mine was ok, not great, and the place was pretty busy for an early Tuesday night. 

Walked back to the hotel, did a lot of walking today, then watched more tv and slept, up early tomorrow to visit Rottnest island.

Day 3 - Geraldton to Hutt Lagoon and back to Cervantes

Didn’t sleep too well, bed was very soft and the fridge in the room kept buzzing every so often and woke me up through the night. 

Woke up at around 06:40 and tried to sleep more but gave up and got up at 07:00. 

Had a shower and breakfast and went for a walk on the beach. It was warm but overcast and then started raining so sheltered under a tree. A guy in his yard asked if we wanted to shelter under his house which was nice of him, but the rain wasn’t too bad so we thanked him but didn’t bother. 

It stopped after about 5 minutes and we went back, packed up and drove off towards Hutt Lagoon about an hour away. It’s a pink lake, and if you’ve seen the new Qantas ad, it’s where the kids are singing. 

Roads in WA are really good, probably spent some of the mining money - all in good condition and no potholes, not like our trip to Sydney. 

Not much traffic again, and we noticed most vehicles are white (probably because it gets so hot here), and are mostly Utes, camper vans, caravans and trucks. The weather was what we were getting used to - overcast, sometimes sunny, sometimes raining.

Arrived at the lake, there was a lookout with a few people, but it wasn’t very high and the lake didn’t look particularly pink.

We got back in the car and drove up the road to a toilet and got chatting to a retired couple who had a caravan and spent about 20 minutes talking about travel, camper vans and cruises, a very nice couple.

Back to the lake and there were a few more people there, including an “influencer” in a bikini with her boyfriend taking photos, because of course there was. 

The lake looked more pink now, I think it depends on how sunny it is, the time of day and the cloud cover. 

We walked around a bit, spoke to a guy who had a drone and his photos really showed how pink it was from a high vantage point. 

Song took loads of photos, it really looked amazing, quite unusual. We’re now thinking of getting a drone.

Back in the car, back to Geraldton for lunch. Seemed to be quicker getting back, pulled in to search for a place to eat and found somewhere that looked decent. 

Turned out to be a great find. I had beef cheeks in a ginger and soy sauce with black rice and asian slaw, Song had Brussel Sprouts with aioli, prosciutto and pomegranate. Both were excellent.

Went for a quick walk and Song found a jewellers, I waited outside and wandered about, waiting for her to come out with a big grin and a few bags, but she didn't buy anything and my wallet breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in the car, a 2 hour drive to Cervantes - we need to drop the car back to Perth by 11 so the closer we can get, the better.

It was an easy drive again, not a lot of traffic and I think I went about an hour without seeing a car going in the same direction, just put cruise control on and followed the road. 

Got to the motel just as it was getting dark and starting to rain at around 17:30, checked in and looked on Google for something to eat. The good news was that there was a restaurant just opposite the motel that did a nice looking seafood platter which we decided we would share. The bad news was that it was closed even though Google said it was open. Looked at Google again and most places were shut or back in a town we'd passed 30 minutes ago, but a lot of them were also closed because it was a Monday.

Asked at reception and she said there were 2 options - a burger / pizza / kebab place or the service station that sold burgers / pizzas / kebabs. Not feeling like any of these, but bereft of choice, we headed in the pouring rain to the cafe, only to spot a grocery store that was open but about to close, so decided to do it ourselves. Grabbed some sausages and veg, then I spotted some cans of soup and Song found some instant noodles so decided that was good enough. Lucky for us we didn't pick the sausages because when we got back to the room we discovered it only had a microwave. So a bit of a low-rent dinner but that's the risk when you stay in a small town off-season. The room was also a bit basic, even though it was the best in the area. I can see why most people around here have a campervan or a caravan, the accomodation options are limited.

Checked on the cat - we left the cat at home and the neighbour kindly agreed to go in twice a day to feed her and keep er company for a while - we'd set up a couple of webcams so we could see what she was up to, plus I'd bought a gadget that allowed me to turn the reverse-cycle AC on and off remotely, and I could also VPN into my PC and play videos for her to watch. I think she was having a better time of it than us.

We need to get up early tomorrow to make sure we get to Perth in time to drop off the car, so would try to get a decent night's sleep.

Day 2 - Perth to Geraldton

Slept well but woke up early at around 6 which was 8 in Melbourne. Pottered around for a bit, had cereal for breakfast which Song had bought in Coles the day before then checked out, dropped the bags and walked to pick up the car. The weather was overcast but warm, with dark clouds over the bay heading towards us. 

The car pick up was a bit further than I thought but we got there just as the rain came down, pretty heavy. 

Not sure what it’s going to be like out of Perth but we can’t do anything about it so will just have to see.

Drove back to the hotel to pick up the bags and grab a coffee then we hit the road.

Traffic wasn’t too bad, but it was raining quite a lot. 

It was about a 5 hour drive, but with stops would probably be nearer 8.

The road was good, but after a while the rain really came down and I had to slow to around 70kmh because visibility was really bad, but luckily there wasn’t much traffic.

It eased up after a while but it alternated between rain and sun for a while. 

We pulled off at a place called Lancelin to look for something to eat, it was a small town so didn’t expect much and we were right, but found a cafe that was decent enough and I had a BLT and Song had a chicken wrap with salad, both were good considering. 

Had a quick look at the beach which was a bit smelly due to some large piles of seaweed, and there were more dark clouds threatening,

Back in the car and on the road again, heading to The Pinnacles, a load of stones (much more interesting than it sounds. 

The landscape along the drive was a bit dull, just scrub and bushes for the most part, but very green, it seems like it rains a lot. There were also the occassional white sand dunes which were nice. We also saw a couple of wild goats, so there you go.

By the time we got to The Pinnacles the weather had cleared up and the sun had come out, but it was still a bit cloudy.

The Pinnacles were amazing - thousands of standing stones, some a few centimeters tall, others a couple of metres and everything in between. You are allowed to walk among them, but not allowed to climb or sit on them - which of course we saw people doing. Arseholes.

I'll post some photos, it's well worth visiting if you go to Perth, you can get a coach trip.  

Back in the car and then a non-stop drive of about 3 hours to the hotel in Geraldton. I did consider stopping for a break but didn't need it, the road was good (one stretch was just straight for miles), not much traffic, no rain and if I did stop I might have ended up driving in the dark which isn't a good idea.

Got to the hotel just as the sun was setting, dropped the bags and looked for something to eat, decided on a place right next to the hotel - decent enough again, I had fish and chips and Song had a seafood platter. Both meals were good and it meant we didn't have to drive anywhere.

The hotel was comfortable enough, had a bit of an 80s / 90s vibe and was OK, but places in this area are limited so it was fine.

Watched a couple of episodes of The Crown (we've just started to watch it in honour of Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee - not really, we've just run out of stuff to binge) then slept.

Western Australia Take 2

Last year we nearly got to travel to WA; we managed to get as far as sitting on the plane before seeing news that WA would turn interstate travellers back, resulting in us getting off the plane before it left.

We’ve decided to try again and are currently sitting in the airport at the gate waiting to board.

We have 6 days, booked a car and a trip to Rottnest Island with a day or so in Perth.

The flight is just over 4 hours, hopefully we’ll get to actually take off, our first domestic flight for 10 years and our first flight for about 3.

Ah the joys of air travel I’d forgotten about - the plane was delayed by about 50 minutes, there was a screaming baby a couple of rows behind me and a few people who had their masks under their chin the whole flight. Arseholes.

I had a beef pasta thing on the plane which was ok, and a glass of wine because why not?

Got out of the airport and it was raining heavily but not cold. Took a taxi to the hotel, and discovered the bin in the room was full of empty KFC and McDonalds rubbish - luckily the cleaners were just outside and they were very apologetic but it wasn’t a big deal, just lucky I found it straight away.

Dropped the bags and walked into the city, just 10 minutes away. 

I wondered if Perth was still in lockdown and nobody told us because it was empty. Everything was closed and there were about 5 people around. 

Walked a bit further and more people started to appear, but still pretty quiet considering it was a Saturday afternoon - a lot of the restaurants were shut, and looking at Google most of them didn't open till 17:30 / 18:00. We were 2 hours behind Melbourne, and it was now 16:00 which was approaching dinner time for us in Melbourne.

We walked around a bit and found a Tapas place attached to the Intercontinental Hotel, and it looked OK so we went in to ask if we could book a table for when they opened, but it turned out they had just started serving, so we sat down and checked out the menu - looked pretty good and in the end opted for the 'Madrid Menu' which was a set menu for 2 with lots of different dishes. I was tempted to order a side of something because it didn't look like it would be enough. It was $65 each, which wasn't too bad. I also ordered a beer, because why not?

The first course came out, a plate of toasted bread slices with tomato on top plus a bowl of olives. Very nice.

Then a plate of bread with the thinly sliced ham from Spain, with a small piece of cheese. Very nice.

Then a plate of patatas bravas, and one of calamari, and one of chorizo. A large amount of chorizo and potato. 

Feeling a bit stuffed, Song said the last thing was a plate of churros, the doughnut things.  

But instead came a plate of steak, and one of tomatoes.

Finally out came the churros, 8 small doughnuts filled with chocolate. I really couldn't eat anything else, then I realised they were doughnuts filled with chocolate so forced myself. Song said she would have one and I could have the rest, but she had 3, obviously saving me from myself.

Hoping that was the end of it, paid the bill and left before they offered us a wafer-thin mint.

I usually over-eat on holiday, but not usually for the first meal.

We were the first there, but when we left it was pretty full, popular for a reason.

Really nice and great value. 

We walked back to the hotel, it was still warm and lightly raining.

We pick up the hire car tomorrow, will probably skip the next 5 meals.