We stayed two nights at Olive Hill Farm and walked through the beautiful woodlands three times. When we woke up on Sunday we had our morning cuppas, then walked through the woodlands to the river. We felt so laid back that we decided to stay for two nights. We didn’t go anywhere else, just enjoyed being in the shade by the van. We called Matt at around 4.00 pm and had a FaceTime session with the signal cutting in and out. Then we went for another walk down to the river, enjoying the evening light and sense of peace.
This morning we had scones with jam and cream and some socialising with the other campers. Benji, our host, had a little stall with meat, haggis and some cheeses. We bought sausages and cheese. Next time we go I hope we get to hear Benji play the bagpipes. He calls me Susie, which I realise is a Scottish thing, like him being called Benji. We met his mother Jennie walking in the woods a and she told us that the woods were planted 40 years ago by some artist who owned the farm. It was her idea to make the walk through the woods a winding path with labels on the trees and that certainly added to the experience.
We had thought of going to the Berry Farm for morning tea, but even I couldn’t face more treats, so we went into town to dump our toilet, get water and do a little shopping. I was disappointed in the bakery Benji recommended as it was more of a cafe than a place to buy delicious bread. They didn’t have the bread I wanted sliced and didn’t actually do slicing, and it was back to the IGA to buy some sliced rye bread, which is rather nice. Then down to Augusta to park up for our lunch and afternoon rest.
We used to visit a fish and chip shop called Colourpatch in Augusta in the days when we stayed at Vicki’s place in Karridale. We are parked near there at the rivermouth but Colourpatch has been upgraded to a bar/cafe and doesn’t open until Wednesday (closed Mon and Tues) so we may or may not stick around to try it out.
There are a few caravan parks here, but very expensive. There are also a couple of campgrounds with toilets and showers that are a much better price. We have booked into the one without power at $25 per night. The other campground has power and water sites, but may be about $10 more per night.
We had thought of spending a few days in this area, then going to free camp on the beach between Denmark and Albany. Because we have less time than our original plan we decided it would mean too much time on the road and too little time to relax. We’ve decided to explore this region for the rest of our holiday.
I ordered a ridge monkey, a cast iron cooking implement similar to a jaffle iron, highly recommended by English van travellers. It arrived two weeks ago, but spent time at the front house in our block of units due to the neighbour not actually living there and the address being slightly wrong. It is now in the hands of our next door neighbour and I can’t wait to try it out. I had hoped it would arrive in time for this trip and it did, but we didn’t know. It will help with making the most of the more limited cooking facilities in our van.
We have chosen to stay at the Boogaloo Campground here in Augusta. We don’t have power, but there are toilets and showers available and the price is right, $25 rather than at least $40 for caravan parks. We don’t need power, but Stephen is keen to have a full shower after days of just basin washes in the van. I might even go for a shower myself.
Is Augusta always windy? It is in our experience. The advantage of the wind is that even if it is hot, if we are by the sea it stays cool enough in the van. We’ve been sleeping under our warm doona every night so far, and the temperature seems quite cool now, so perhaps we will tonight as well.
A couple more photos from the woodland walk at Olive Farm. It was $20 per night there and well worth it. We almost ran out of drinking water there, we could have bought some drinking water quite cheaply, but only realised when it was getting dark and too late to contact our hosts.
We watched some kite surfing at our park up near Colourpatch this afternoon.