Day 1 – Victoria Park to Lesley (a roadside rest area)

Due to fitting in so many things and packing at the last moment we didn’t leave home until about 4.00 p.m. The traffic was slow moving as you would expect at that time of day and by the time we were in the forest on Brookton Highway we were losing the light and decided to stay the night at a rest area. It had been raining a little on the way, but stopped once we were parked up.

We had a hot meal of heated up leftovers. It wasn’t very cold and we didn’t need the heating until about 9.00 p.m. I had a wash and was in bed by 10.30 p.m. The bedding felt cold, though it soon heated up. We have a sheet, then Marie’s quilt, then a doona, then on top a double sleeping bag. It works for the colder overnights we have had on this trip.

Day 2 – Lesley to Boyagin Rock to Pingelly

We slept well and took our time in the morning, enjoying walking into the forest a little way, taking in bird sounds and the variety of plants. It is a jarrah forest, with tall, but not massive, trees.

Leaving at 11.00 a.m. we drove to Boyagin Rock. It was rather cold with misty rain when we arrived, so we had lunch before going out on the walk. It was an interesting walk with changes in vegetation and ups and downs on the way to the beginning of the climb. We felt satisfied by reaching the top of the lower rock and did not continue up to the very top. Stephen checked it out and it involved climbing over rocks (it’s Level 4 walk).

We reached Pingelly at about 5.00 p.m. I had phoned during the day to say we would arrive then and as the checkin is at the craft shop in the Main Street that closes at 4.30 p.m. we would normally have had to call a number, but the shop keeper had stayed back. I’m glad we were on time, but it’s also because the days are short at the moment and we didn’t want to arrive after dark.

The Pingelly Caravan Park is a small, council run park, with everything you really need and nothing extra. It was quite brightly lit overnight, but we had everything closed up to keep out the cold, so it didn’t bother us. Our overhead hatch was open at the lowest setting and we had the bedroom windows on the open, but locked, setting, with the blinds only slightly open, just so we had a bit of air flow. We used a little fan heater instead of the diesel heater.

For our evening meal we went to the Pingelly Pub. The staff were friendly and they have a surprisingly varied menu. We chose the Thai Green Curry, which was very spicy, and an apple pie with ice cream, all very delicious. The pub isn’t fancy, but we were sitting near an open fire and felt really happy. We had tried the pub closest to the caravan park, but their chef was off sick and there were no meals to be had.

Day 3 – Pingelly to Aldersyde

After chores (toilet emptying, filling with water) we went out to Tutanning Reserve. Stephen had read up about it and there is a research station there, but it’s a sort of step wise reserve running between farms and we were at the wrong end. We went for a short walk, then had lunch and a rest. The reserve was quite dry and we didn’t hear many birds, but was still interesting to visit. You can stay at the research station, but it caters for groups, so not really our thing.

I chose the next place to spend the night. It’s just a big parking area next to a hall, with toilets available 24/7. Although it’s a village centre, there is just a town hall next to grain silos. There were fairy lights on the hall for a little while after dark. I put the drone up to help us with putting out the Starlink, and it was useful as Ken Peachey moved the solar panel slightly when they were attempting to fix the leak, so we have to put the Starlink out on the driver’s side only now. We ended up with a good signal, plus we have an updated photo of the roof.

The leak was mostly fixed, but when we had very heavy rain there was still some seepage, so we will be taking her back on July 1st for them to try again. We don’t know if we can do a longer trip this winter as it depends on how Mark is going. But, that would be after Ken Peachey have finished. I also want to ask them to remove the blue capping on the C section as it’s become very shabby. It’s a tricky job as though the blue part lifts easily you also have to remove the sticky part underneath.

Days 4 and 5 – Beverley

We decided to spend our last couple of nights in Beverley. There is a lovely free camping area on the Avon River, with a short walk over the bridge into the town. We had a couple of neighbours, but were able to be well spread out. It was Thursday night and there was a food van that got very busy with many people stopping in for food, as well as us free camping folk. We had a burger and chips, nice because it was an easy meal.

Of course, it was the afternoon by the time we got to the reserve. There was a bit of a road going into the reserve, but no obvious path to the top. We were taking video, but I stopped when climbing as there were lots of stones and I wanted to get there safely. When we got to the top it was hard to see the views as there were so many trees.

We walked up the road a bit and stood at a farm gate to enjoy the beautiful views. We are not sure of the name of the reserve, it was spelt both Poison and Poisen (French for fish, according to Stephen). Anyway, we had a lovely afternoon there.

In the evening we walked to the Freemason Hotel for a meal. We arrived at the same time as another couple from the free camp. We had already seen them at the bakery. Anyway, we decided to sit together. I noticed that the other couple from the free camp were also having dinner there, but in a different section. We spent a lovely time eating fairly good food and getting to know our neighbours. We were fortunately that they like to get to bed early so we finished up at about 8.00 p.m.

Day 6 – Beverley to Victoria Park

We made a slow start in the morning on Saturday. It was a grey morning and seemed to be getting colder as the morning progressed, so we weren’t sad to be going home. We left in the late morning and stopped for lunch at Christmas Tree well, which is about half way. It was getting dark when we arrived home, which I don’t mind when we are driving in the city, but try to avoid in country areas due to risk of hitting wildlife.

We’ve adjusted quite well since arriving home. I realise that the reason it feels strange to be here in cold weather is because we usually leave on a trip in early June, so I don’t really have experience of being in Perth at this time of year.

We shot quite a lot of video whilst we were away and I will process that into a short episode for Youtube.

We had these views from the balcony of our cottage at Rottnest. We decided before going that this was probaby going to be our last annual trip. But, the wonderful location, the convenience of a comparatively modern two bedroom layout, and perhaps the Island itself has changed our minds. We haven’t actually had a choice of place to stay when booking, and we’ve made the best of whatever we were given as we were always on the water front. But this time was different.

We travelled from the Hillarys Ferry Terminal. This was where Eversley has always caught the ferry from her long years as a Rottnest Guide and is convenient given where she lives. But, we were going to Fremantle, lugging our bags on buses and trains, which was definitely a slog. At Hillarys we have free long stay parking and the place for dropping off and picking up our bags is just on the edge of the carpark. It was a sunny day with not much of a swell, so a calm ride.

Another tradition we have is to go to the Dome to wait for the keys to our cottage to be available. As we arrived at about 10.15 a.m. and the keys aren’t available until 2.00 p.m. (though they have given them to us earlier in the past) we have quite a long wait. A brunch, catching up on each other’s news, then some reading help to pass the time. Both Eversley and I had shopping trolleys, me because I didn’t want to wear a heavy backpack and E because she takes food, which meant we weren’t feeling all that mobile. Stephen was also carrying a heavier than ususal backpack.

Monday and Tuesday were fine and mostly sunny, so we felt fortunate to have good weather so late in Autumn. It felt very welcoming.

Almost immediately we entered our cottage we began to have second thoughts about this being our last trip. Walking in to the wonderful view, and seeing the fairly large balcony, with a sofa and dining setting, we felt absolutely wowed. There were pelicans gliding in the shallows and we anticipated beatiful sunrises and even sunsets, though we are on the wrong side of the island to see the sun go down.

Stephen and I usually shop for most things once we get to the island, rather than trying to carry food from home. We had our breakfast cereals, but bought apples, yogurt, bread, butter, milk, nibbles and a salad and small BBQ pack of meat for our evening meal.

Eversley prepared her own food and we sat down together to enjoy our meal. Although we didn’t see the sunset the evening light was beautiful.

The internet through our phones was a bit intermittent, but I had bought the Starlink and it worked sitting on the balcony, despite recording many obstructions. We didn’t leave it out overnight or when we were away from the cottage, but worked out how to use it’s own cord to secure it to the railing. It was a two person job to put it out and take it in because it was plugged into a powerpoint in our bedroom and the cord could then be passed across to the balcony. It held up even when there was a storm on Wednesday evening.

Stephen and I decided we would pay for the now very expensive hop on hop off bus around the island. Even as pensioners we paid $30 each. E. decided that this was definitely over the top and there was enough to do around the settlement. It was unexpectedly crowded as well and we had to queue and wait for a second bus. We got to the stop in the late morning when the day tourists had arrived, our mistake.

At least we had ended up nearly at the top of the queue and were able to have the seats of our choice. Not that Stephen stayed on very long, he got off to go for a walk, with a view to travelling the rest of the way later.

I stayed on the bus until Cathedral Rock where I walked out along the boardwalk. The views are very different on the further side of the Island.

On the way home through the settlement I stopped for a coffee and vegetable pastie at the bakery. On my recommendation Stephen picked up a pastie on his way back to the cottage a bit later.

In the evening we walked to our favourite pub, SunSets, which has views of the setting sun over the lakes. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for the sun, but we enjoyed the ambience and some slightly unusual food, a baked cabbage half with sauce and half a rotisseried chicken with gravy. These dishes were good for sharing between the three of us. There is a fire place and although it wasn’t cold it still makes a good atmosphere.

On Wednesday morning we had a wonderful brightly coloured sunrise, which I missed. Despite two people being up I managed to sleep in. Stephen gave me this photo.

On Wednesday we spent the whole day half expecting a storm to arrive, especially in the afternoon. It didn’t actually come through until about 9.00 p.m. It went on for so long that we decided to bring the Starlink in whilst there was a risk of getting the plug wet, but I think it was OK. The Starlink itself is weatherproof.

We had lunch at Frankies, sharing two different pizzas. After lunch we each went our own way, me to check out the very expensive shop (nothing appealed, so it was more like going to an art gallery) and the others to the museum.

In the evening we had a meal at home, toast and baked beans and some microwaved vegetables. Eversley supplied the veggies and baked beans, we provided the bread and butter. We had also been sharing our supplies of nibbles and chocolates over the three evenings.

On my way back from the settlement after lunch I got some closeups of pelicans and quokkas.

On Thursday morning we packed up our cases for the pickup at 8.00 a.m., then had a fairly relaxed breakfast before our checkout time of 9.00 a.m. At the settlement we went to SunSets for coffee. We looked after Stephen’s gear whilst he went for a walk to the lookout. We had a fairly rough journey back to Hillarys, as mentioned above. As we all love tradition, we picked up our bags and took them back to our cars, then had lunch at the Dome. This is only the second year for this tradition, but it’s enough to feel an important part of the Island adventure.