20 Dec 2016

Levitating for Joy! Post 100!

I don't think it's an over explanation to say that I cackle with laughter whenever I get a shot of a bird mid jump. Cackle... with laughter. As if there is any other kind of cackle. Cackle with sadness.... nope. Laughter.
Happy 100 posts!!!!
Anyways... I thought we would share the joy here!








 






That last one is not really jumping, but ooooooo it is so cute!

10 Dec 2016

Snake!


Here is a snake! Very few live ones we have seen on our travels, and this guy is probably the biggest. He was around 1.5-2 m long. He is some sort of python. He was sunning himself on the road, so we tried to move him on. It took a while as he was reluctant to move. But we eventually got him to get off the road.

8 Dec 2016

Angie and Graham In A Bigger Tree


This is the Giant Tingle Tree. Another red tingle just down the path. They used to let you park your car in these big trees, but they trees didn't like it so they put an end to that.

7 Dec 2016

Angie and Graham In a Big Tree


This is us inside a red tingle tree just outside of Walpole. They are cool trees as the living part of the tree is just below the bark. The insides burn in fires, but they keep living as the outside doesn't burn.

6 Dec 2016

What A Week!

This past week has been amazing! Well, a little more than a week. We have been travelling with some friends from back home who we have met up with a couple times in the past few months. We met with them in Margaret River this time.


Our first day together was spent on a home made wine and cheese tour. It was amazing. We went to any and all wineries that caught our eyes. They all have free tastings which is awesome. That part of the country is a magical free sample land. In addition to probably 50 types of wine we tried many cheeses, chocolates, liqueurs preserves, olive oils, sausages, ect....It was a lovely day.





The next day we headed east into the big timber area surrounding Pemberton. We had already visited this area so we went back to some of our favorite spots and discovered some new ones. One of the highlights of that area is the fire lookout trees. They were used to spot fires for several decades, but now can be climbed to use as a lookout. 


We all headed our wheels further east the next day and passed by Walpole and the Giant Tingle Trees. That night we camped at a very lovely place called Peaceful Bay. In the morning we backtracked a little and went the Treetop Walk in the Valley of the Giants. It offers a really interesting look into the canopy of the beautiful karri and tingle forest.


Our next stop was Denmark and we checked out the coast there before heading on to Albany. It was a lot bigger than we expected! It was more like a city than the small towns we had been passing through occasionally. It is a lovely city of 30,000 though. We spent the night at a free camp near town after climbing (driving 95% of the way) to the top of a hill near town for an amazing view.



The next morning we checked out the rugged coast that lines the southern coast of the peninsula which protects the harbour. The Gap and Natural Bridge did not disappoint. It was north from there after a big restock of food and water. We went to Porongrup NP and climbed to the top of Castle Rock and the Granite Skywalk. It was a tough climb for our legs that were not used to climbing, but a good warm up for the next morning.






Waking up in the Stirling Ranges NP, we headed to the base of Bluff Knoll, the highest peak in SW Western Australia. It is just under 1100m It was a very steep hike. Only three km each way, but it took nearly two hours to get to the top. The view was absolutely spectacular. Just amazing and well worth the tough hike. We were down by 1PM and the rest of the day was spent driving east, ending up in Munglinup. 



The next morning was a quick drive the rest of the way to Esperance. Now Esperance is known for its beaches. It did not disappoint. We explored the beaches near town then headed just 45 mins out of town to Cape Le Grande NP where we camped for two nights. 



The first morning we spent just hanging out at the beach at Lucky Bay right near the campsite. It was a bit chilly, but lovely in the sun. The beaches are so white it is kind of unreal, also the sand is super squeaky. And when you combine the fact that the beaches are squeaky with the fact that kangaroos come on the beach, it is pretty funny to listen to them moving around.



That evening we went for a little bit of a hike up Frenchmans Peak. It turned out to be a highlight of this part of our trip. We got up about half an hour before sunset and stayed for a little bit after the sun went down to do a bit of light painting and take some - if I do say so myself - very pretty pictures.




And that is where we are. Our friends are heading back to Perth tomorrow, and we don't really know what we are doing yet. Hanging out inside the camp kitchen of a caravan park right now, avoiding the super windy and cold day.

I hope you enjoyed!

Hoppy Thing


Here is one of Australia's bouncy creatures. It is either a large wallaby or a smallish kangaroo. We have not yet been able to divine a difference.

5 Dec 2016

There be Goblins!


Angie in the mysterious Goblin Swamp!! That is actually how it is described in the national park brochure...Kinda funny but totally true! It is strange as you are just walking though a nice forest then all of a sudden with no warning, this!

4 Dec 2016

Classy Campers


We have been traveling for the past little while with some friends of ours. This was the day after we did a bit of a wine and cheese tour around the Margaret River area. We felt very fancy! It was a lovely evening sitting around the campfire that night!

3 Dec 2016

Creeeeepy Bug


This is a very creepy bug we ran into a few days ago. It runs with the narrow end first which was surprising to us...We have no idea what it is, but we kinda reckon it is poisonous....

2 Dec 2016

Frog


This is a frog. We found him in a wonderful place that Angie will no doubt write more about!

1 Dec 2016

Boranup

This is the van parked in one of our favorite camping spots. This is at Normal just near the magnificent Karri trees. We have finally left the Margaret River area now an are heading east along the south coast. It is absolutely spectacular an just truly gorgeous!