Up and running!!!!

Evening all.    As this is my first effort,  it will be a brief account of our trip so far.   Next ones will have photos,  I hope!

The trip on the Indian Pacific was great.   Off train excursions in Broken Hill,  Adelaide,  Cook,  and Kalgoorlie were informative - for different reasons in each place.   Who knows where Cook is?   Who's ever heard of Cook?   It's like a town in the old western movies - sagebush,  dust,  deserted buildings,  rail line - except the train engine isn't powered by steam - and a population of five (5).   It's on the longest straight stretch of rail line in the world!  and used to be the meeting place of the guage change.   There is a railway station,  a gaol,  a dunny,  hospital,  school,  swimming pool (filled with granite now),   and country club (tennis/basketball court).   There are also a million flies!!!

The food on the train was superb.   Two course breakfast,   three course lunch and dinner.   Took photos of the menu - and the meals - for later publication.   Everything,  except the souvenirs,  was included in the fare - all you could eat and drink,  including spirits.

Picked our car up in Perth on Tuesday morning,  and commenced the trip south.

Drove to Bunbury,  where we stayed for two nights.   Our motel was across the road from the beach - Back Beach,  if anyone is interested - so beach walks were a must.   The weather was sunny,  cold and windy!!!   I don't think the wind ever stops blowing in this part of the world!   It's wind,  not breeze!!!!   Not a lot of time here,  so didn't do a lot.

To Augusta on Thursday. 

 Made Busselton for breakfast,  then walked the jetty,  did the Observatory at the end,  and caught the train back.   Interesting Observatory - the only one (I think) in the southern hemisphere that doesn't feed the marine life.   Old,  unused pylons support a wealth of sea life of many varieties.   Have photos,  of course!   It was overcast,  cold and windy in Busselton!!

Next stop was Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse.   We did a tour of the lighthouse,  even though it is a working lighthouse.   Of course,  they are all automated these days.   The life of a lighthouse keeper and his family was an extremely hard one;  so many rules and regulations for the family to follow,  eg all schooling was done at home,   when the sons turned 18 they had to leave,   no outsiders were allowed to stay.    There were three lighthouse keepers,  working shifts,  day and night.

Lunch in Dunsborough,  then to Yallingup to check out the surf for Nick.   Unfortunately,  it was very windy - have I said that before? - with rough seas,  so no surfers out.   Sorry Nick.

Mammoth Cave was our next stop.   Huge cave that actually went under the road.   Spectacular inside,  of course.   This was a self-guided tour,  so we could take our time.   Lots of steps down,  lots of steps up!   When we came out it was p.....g down rain,  and we got wet.   Didn't go well with the freezing cold and wind.

Finally arrived in Augusta.   Our accommodation had a gas heater;   warmed us up very quickly!!!

Slept in Friday morning - wet,  windy,  cold!!!

Cleared up later,  so we went to Jewell Cave.   This was a guided tour and lasted about an hour.   We were told there were about 250 steps down,  so that meant 250 steps back up.   If we didn't think we could make it,  it was best we didn't go at all!   This cave was just incredible!   The roots of the kauri trees come down looking for water,  and cling to the stalactites.   The other geological features are something to behold.   I can't remember the names,  but they are beautiful.

From Jewell Cave to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.

Again did the guided tour.   We were told by Ray,  our guide,  that National Geographic had deemed the view from this lighthouse to be the third best in the world,  only beaten by Mexico and Hawaii.
The view from the top was spectacular,  360 degrees of ocean and hills.   This is where the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean meet.   You can almost see the line - waves from the Indian Ocean coming in at an angle to meet the swell of the Great Southern Ocean.

We were talking to a man outside the IGA who was playing golf Friday afternoon in the Masters.   They hold the Masters here every year in November - Augusta! - the golfers amongst you will get that,  won't you?

On Saturday we went to Hamelin Bay for a looksee.   Nothing there that appealed to us,  but there were people on the beach,  and a caravan park.   Also,  an icecream van!!   The water was a beautiful teal colour,  but that was it.   Very disappointing.

From there to our first,  and probably only,  winery.   Hamelin Bay winery is set in the most beautiful surroundings.   We did the wine tasting,  but didn't buy any.   We haven't had good experiences buying from the wineries.

After lunch we went to the pub for a beer and a bet.   The beer was great,  the view over the Blackwood River was lovely,  the bets were ******,  very similar to yours Pam,  Vernon,  Paul,  Dianne!!!!!!   Weird way of betting over here - all done on a machine by the punter.   Guess how long it took me to get the hang of that????   No wonder I couldn't win anything!!!!!   Had dinner at the pub,  then home to bed.

Sunday we left early for Albany.   More later,  with photos,  I hope.

Hope all is well with everyone at home.   Give our love to all and sundry.