HOLIDAY  2000

July 2000 we headed down to the South-West of Western Australia.  

ALBANY

When we visited Albany in 1999  I had found the place where I wanted to scatter my son Michael's ashes.  It is called Stony  Hill and is a beautiful wild windy scenic spot overlooking the Southern Ocean. 

If you want to have a look at the photos, please click on  I go to Nature to be soothed

       Rainbow over Stony Hill

BREMER BAY  to  RAVENSTHORPE

We stayed in Albany for 2 days and then drove to Bremer Bay, which is a lovely holiday spot, with very good fishing and scenic bays etc. There is also an excellent Bakery there, and here is a picture of Peter in front of the kind of make-shift building, in which the Baker turns out his delicious baked goods and displays his art-work.  We stayed overnight at the Bremer Bay Motel where the accommodation is excellent, and about 8 a.m. the next morning were startled by a VERY loud persistent knocking on our door.  When I went to open it I was confronted by a very startled man wearing fishing clothes, and obviously ready to head out for a day's fishing, who apologised and said "Sorry!..... I'm sure he said he was in Room No. 18!"........ and with that he went off mumbling, in search of his friend.

We packed our lunch and thermos of tea and on our way to Ravensthorpe where we were due to stay overnight, we visited Fitzgerald River National Park.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Even though it was a little early in the season there were already many wildflowers in bloom, and when we stopped at Point Ann we were delighted to see very close in shore several Southern Right Whales.  Apparently this part of the coast is frequented by whales which come to calve here usually during the months of July.

          Banksia Coccinea -          Hakea Victoria    

RAVENSTHORPE to ESPERANCE via HOPETOUN

Travelling from Ravensthorpe we decided to call in and see Hopetoun.  This little coastal village is really laid-back.... a real holiday place.   The day we were there there was torrential rain, which prevented us from taking the scenic Southern Ocean Road (gravel road) and we had to head back along the bitumen road to Esperance.  We travelled along the Southern Ocean Road for about 12km before we had to turn back as the road was awash.  The views we saw at various points along that stretch were spectacular and we both felt that we would like to visit there again, perhaps in early spring when the wildflowers would be in abundance.

ESPERANCE & SURROUNDING AREA

The beautiful Bay of Isles at Esperance, where you can see whales, dolphins, seals, many different kinds of sea birds, and the most wonderful clear blue bays with beach sand as white as snow.

We visited quite a number of the local scenic spots in the 5 days that we spent in Esperance - there are many day trips that can be taken, with most roads being quite suitable to travel without 4WD.  Esperance also boasts a Wind Farm, as it is quite a windy town.  The Wind Farm supplies about 16% of the town's total electricity needs. 

Another example of the many magnificent bays and coves which are so plentiful in the Esperance area.

We went on a half day cruise on the "Sea Breeze" - a catamaran which takes tourists into the Bay of Isles.  The day was very cold and quite windy, but the sky was mostly clear with only the occasional very light rain shower.  The skipper took us very close to several small islands which are home to New Zealand fur seals, as well as Australian sea lions.  While we were stopped at one island a pod of at least 50 dolphins appeared alongside the boat.  They seemed to be mainly females with very young ones swimming alongside.  It was quite a spectacular sight, and we were all thrilled to have seen these wonderful creatures so close.  There were also a couple of sea-eagles following the boat, and waiting for a fish snack, which when it was thrown in the air, they would swoop down at great speed and pick up with their talons.  The cruise normally stops for a tea break at Woody Island, but the skipper felt that the sea was too rough and the swell too high to make a landing possible.  We hope that next time we make the trip we will be able to land at Woody Island as it is a wildlife sanctuary.

During our stay at Esperance we visited Cape Le Grande National Park which is quite spectacular.  There are many sites of interest to visit and many very scenic spots to camp or swim, including Lucky Bay, Hellfire Bay (which was incredibly cold when we visited) Rossiter Bay, and Thistle Cove.  Once again we were lucky enough to see several whales at Cape Le Grande Beach.  At most of the places we visited we were usually the only people about, or occasionally we would see another car, and at most half a dozen people at any place.  I guess it would be different in the summer when this would be a tourist mecca.

HYDEN & Wave Rock

Regretfully we ended our stay in Esperance and headed inland for Hyden to visit Wave Rock.  The Rock is a spectacular outcrop and is quite something to see.  The town of Hyden has built up very good tourist facilities and has an excellent motel as well as caravan parks for tourists to stay.  Associated with the facilities at Wave Rock there is a very nice Wildlife Park, which has many native animals displayed.  The bushland surroundings are very appealing, and we were thrilled to be able to get close to a couple of Koala Bears.

    Koalas would have to be the among the cutest animals on this planet!  

They usually appear to be so placid and laid-back.

There were also many white & albino kangaroos - which are most unusual, as well as  many different kinds of birds and parrots etc.

We were away for about 2 weeks and would have liked to have stayed for much longer, as there were many more places we would have liked to explore.  We'll definitely be heading down that  beautiful part of Western Australia again in the future.

Links to my other pages

    Memorial Web Page for my son Michael

 

 

Memories of Michael