photographyperthwa

I’m writing this on Thursday 25th September, 2025, but we actually arrived home on Sunday the 21st. We stayed at Cervantes Caravan Park on Friday 19th September and Gingin Caravan Park on Saturday night.

That means we left Sandy Cape Campground on Friday morning and explored the Lesueur National Park nearby. We’ve been there before and it’s quite beautiful. We stopped at the peak area where there is a carpark and a walk up to the top, which we didn’t do. As we drove on further the normal picnic area had it’s parking areas filled with sand, for some unknown reason, and we eventually found a beautiful viewpoint further on for lunch.

From the park we drove to Cervantes to stay the night. We enjoyed a walk down to the shore from the caravan park. It’s very different to Jurien Bay and there is a fishing port and processing plant which gives a sense of a working village, less of a tourist spot. The caravan park was quite nice, however and we were on grass.

In the morning we drove to the Pinnacles National Park. It has changed beyond recognition with someone on the gate to check our pass, an interpretive centre, and a walkway to the pinnacles. We weren’t allowed to drive through due to maintenance after the rain, but walking amongst the pinnacles is actually quite a good experience. There were lots of other tourists and I can see a time when they may have to limit the walking as well.

From there we headed to Gingin and stayed the night in the little roadhouse caravan park. It’s cheap and we had friendly neighbours, plus a view over fields, so not too bad. In the morning we went to the Gingin Cafe for hot drinks and a shared cake. We enjoyed walking in the park and visiting the tiny church.

In Bindoon we drove through the town and out to the little church further on where Stephen had heard there was a wildflower exhibition and a volunteer run cafe. We enjoyed going into the church and talking with one of the local parishioners who told us that it is run by the people, with visiting priests. It sound like it’s very much a social hub for locals.

The cafe only had sweet food, so we decided to find a place for a picnic lunch. We had been told about a parking area with a walk to views, but I didn’t like parking under large trees. We went to another spot near the brook. Apart from someone on a ride on mower it was very peaceful.

Driving home was a challenge with the sun coming in my side window. We stopped at a layby to wait for it to set and eventually arrived home after dark. We backed the Sherwood up the driveway, but not into the narrow parking space. Our neighbours were away, so it didn’t matter if we blocked the driveway.

I’d had several nights of severe coughing as a left over symptom from the cold I caught from Stephen. The first night home was still bad, but at least I could move around easily and go out into the living area to have a good cough. Fortunately, I seem to be on the mend and from Tuesday night have enjoyed good sleeps without coughing fits.

We’ve come home to a busy week, starting with choir practice on Monday night, Stephen had choir practice on Tuesday night, we had a gig on Wednesday morning, and then went to another choir last night. I was clearing out the Sherwood as she was due in this morning to have the rest of the new blinds installed. I dropped her off at about 8.40 a.m. this morning.

Today has been more restful as I finished off the huge amount of washing in the basket and we’ve done a click and collect shop which I will pick up later. Up to now we’ve had food delivered, a meal on Sunday night and a small shop on Monday.

Before leaving Moora we did our usual van chores of emptying and filling, plus shopping and getting fuel. Fortunately we didn’t have too far to travel as it was still quite rainy. We stopped on the way to the Tuarts Reserve Camping to have a picnic with a view, and realised it was somewhere where we have stopped for lunch before. I didn’t get out to take photos, too windy and cold.

We haven’t been to Tuarts Reserve before. It would be better in warmer weather I think, when the amount of shade would be welcome. The campsite filled up overnight, and someone came in close to us at our spot, I felt sorry for them as we are quite noisy with the water pump, the gas hot water heater, the deisel heater and, to top it off, we are both still coughing a lot.

In the morning we were the last to leave, no surprise there, and drove into Jurien Bay. There is a new bar/cafe on the beach, with a new and rather cute little jetty. We had hot drinks (wait staff always think the chai latte is for me and the coffee for him), plus shared a caramel slice. Then we walked out onto the jetty. The sea is particularly beautiful there.

We came to our campsite at Sandy Cape in the mid afternoon. We were the only ones in our area for small campers, but that changed as the day wore on. Again, our neighbours were the unlucky ones.

The campsite is accessible on a bitumen road and having flushing toilets is a bonus. There is a camp kitchen with BBQs as well, and a camp host keeps things orderly. I’m surprised at the level of vegetation in this area, we are next to a bank of glasses and bushes and there are some trees around the camp as well.

When we walked out to climb the nearby sandune to get a view of the bay and the other side there is even quite a lot of vegetation on the sand dunes. The sunset wasn’t particularly wonderful, but we enjoyed the walk. The beach and water are full of seaweed, so it isn’t pretty as it is in Jurien Bay. But, still, it’s a lovely place to be.

On Monday it was fine and sunny whilst Marie and Geoff were getting ready to leave, but we took longer and clouds and rain came in. We went to the Wildflower Walk on the edge of Wongan Hills, but I didn’t fancy getting out in the wind and rain. I was also a bit tired from packing up and getting washing done at the caravan park. It is worth it because we think that we won’t need to do another wash before we head home on Sunday.

We stayed two nights in Moora, enjoying visiting cafes and going on another wildflower walk yesterday morning. The new free parking area for self contained vans is very convenient for shopping and just walking around the town. The council have provided lots of caravan bays in a newly paved car park next to the railway and in the town centre, near the clock tower. On Monday when we arrrived we went to the French cafe, but found it was closed, so then walked to another cafe for lunch.

We went to the French cafe for breakfast yesterday before the wildflower walk. Once again we found it has a lovely atmosphere and is patronised by the locals. Molly, a little white dog has access inside through a doggie door into a wire crate, and of course, has full access to the rear yard where she can be spoiled by people sitting outside.

Stephen had walked to the IGA on Monday to do some shopping and he made tea Monday night of lovely salad and canned tuna. A light meal that suited how we were feeling. Yesterday we went to the butcher and bought some marinaded lamb chops for our evening meal. They were really tender when cooked.

After driving to Candy’s Bush Reserve to look at wildflowers we chose a different place in the carpark for our second night. There are long bays, so that caravans can stay hitched up, and shorter bays with a car spot next to them. We felt that staying in one of the shorter ones would leave room for the caravans. On Monday night we only realised at 7.00 p.m. that we were parked under a tree and couldn’t get a good satellite connection, so we actually moved to the bay in the middle of the car park. When choosing our next spot we remembered to keep and eye out for trees.

This morning we went to the dump point near the shire hall, where there was an extra tap for drinking water. We also did some shopping at the IGA to cover the next couple of days. Whilst driving this afternoon there was rain most of the way, but it’s fine this evening and we are parked for the night at Tuarts Reserve, a lovely sheltered spot fairly close to Cervantes.

We have quite a lot to fit in before going home. We want to have a night at a beach campsite tomorrow night, then head south to the Pinnacles, then over towards Gingin for a night so that we can call in a Bindoon on Sunday to attend events at the wildflower festival. Then home, whew!

The wildflower walk (Candy’s Nature Reserve). at Moora was quite wonderful. It took about an hour to do the 1km circuit as I kept photographing flowers, squatting down, getting up, etc. No orchids, but I found unusal flowers that I don’t remember having seen before. It was cloudy and cool, ideal for pottering about in the small, grassy woodland.

I felt sad when Marie, Geoff and Glenn drove away on Monday morning, we imagined them arriving home and feeling happy to be back. I hope they enjoy reading what we did next.

Friday 12th September, 2025

From Eagle Rock Campground we went to the village of Beacon, which was recently in the news quite a lot due to disappearance, then rescue, of a young backpacker who had been working there. It is tiny, with one general store and a fuel station that is so nondescript that we drove past it and only located it after asking at the General Store.

The only option for staying in town was the caravan park. It was one of the council run parks, with clean factilities, an excellent camp kitchen, some cabins and marked camping/caravan sites. Now that we have fine weather for a few days it feels particularly cold overnight, and even during the day there was a cold wind.

We also found out that we have a plumbing problem, there is a leak into the underseat locker which flowed into the kitchen cupboard. I wasn’t able to identify where the water was coming from, but when we switched off the hose connected to the van, the water stopped flowing. There was no leak just using the internal water tank, so that is what we are doing. We realised that that was the source of a water flow we had noticed at Merredin, but as the van was slightly tilted towards the driver’s side, the water did not come inside.

On Wednesday it was time to head towards Wongan Hills. We took the opportunity to have one more overnight at a rock, this time Mollerin Rock. It is fairly flat and spread across a wide area. It’s one of the rocks that was used by early settlers as a water catchment, though we didn’t actually see the retaining wall.

I looked for orchids, but could only find everlastings and other flowers we had already seen. Some orchids are very hard to find, of course.

At Mukinbudin on Wednesday we stopped to have lunch and do some shopping. We wandered into the cafe that is part of the hotel looking for coffee and lunch options. The girl behind the counter said that the little pop up fundraising cafe would be our best option and have nicer coffee that she serves. She said it’s her personal preference as well, but don’t tell anyone.

So, that’s where we went. The cafe is run by volunteers, with home cooked food, and it’s purpose is fundraising for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a small orphanage in India. We sat inside the small, renovated station building and had the opportunity to chat with some locals who asked for our help opening a bottle of water.

Yesterday we stopped at Koorda for lunch and enjoyed fresh out of the oven zucchini slice in the small cafe within the IGA store. We also did a small shop.

We arrived in Wongan Hills at about 2.30 p.m. and had a cup of tea and a rest. Marie and Geoff walked over later to welcome us and we decided to have dinner in the pub later. Marie and Geoff picked us up and drove us back from the pub.

Saturday 13th September, 2025

Yesterday we had a busy time, shopping, including getting RAT tests, and then relocating to the caravan park. There was no problem with checking in at about 11.00 a.m. I had a brief chat with Matt who was at Kings Park to see the wildflower exhibition. After resting, I did the washing, we had more than our two laundry bags and I thought I was overloading the washing machine, but it worked out. Most of the washing went into the dryer, but I put some on our outside line. It was quite warm and very windy, so it dried well.

We sat outside for a while with Marie, Geoff and Glenn, swapping stories and enjoying cheese and biccies. Then I went inside to tidy up a bit, after washing there is a lot of putting away, then put on our evening meal, stirfried chicken and veggies.

It was a busy day and my cold has intensified a bit, so am not feeling very well. Stephen has had these symptoms for more than a week now, but keeps going and enjoying walks. Our testing was negative for Flu A and B and COVID, so it must be something else.

Sunday 14th September, 2025

Yesterday I rested due to not feeling well. Stephen and Geoff went on the wildflower walk that was our reason for coming to Wongan Hills. It was quite challenging as it was hot out in the open between 11.00 and 2.00 pm, but they say it was worth it. They went to the nearby Wildflower Walk and there were lots of orchids there, so I’d like to go there before we leave tomorrow.

In the afternoon we went up to the Mt O’Brien Lookout, well worth going as it gives quite an overview of the surrounding areas.

In the evening we went back to the pub for steak dinners. There was a mixup with the orders and Stephen and I waited for quite a while before checking things out. Once sorted they got our meal to us quite quickly, which was appreciated. We all went in the car, quite squeezy in the back with Marie, Glenn and I, but we make it work. Marie took Glenn home after he finished, so we had more room on the way home.

Today a strong cold front is coming through, with very high winds. We are just on the edge of it, according to the map and we had some sunshine this morning even though there was a strong wind. The front appears to be coming through now, with rain and strong gusts. We have an excuse to stay sheltered in our vans.

We spent two nights in Merredin. There were showers, some heavy rain and lots of strong wind. Stephen’s cold had freshened up and we mostly spent time in the van waiting things out. I did a load of washing at their excellent small laundry and, as we were running out of food, went to the service station next door for takeaway food. It wasn’t that good, but made a change for us. We had noodles, peas and tuna for tea and actually considered it to be a very tasty meal.

By Sunday morning I really wanted to move and we did all of our tasks before 10.00 a.m., then went into the town centre for shopping. I bought more food than usual due to the sense of deprivation (not real, just ‘sense of’) and we felt really well stocked up. We came to Eaglestone Rock Campground, intending to stay here for lunch and head on to Mukinbudin, but it is so nice to be in the bush again that we decided to stay the night. Then, another night. So, here it is, Tuesday morning and today we really will pack up and move on.

There don’t appear to be any designated walks here, though if it is dryer a walk around the lake would work. Did I mention that as well as a substantial granite outgroup we are on the edge of Campion Lake, which is part of a salt lake system in the area. There isn’t much water in the lake, but the heavy rain means it’s a bit soft and muddy at the edges.

This is quite a popular campground, though a lot of people have left and only a couple of new campers have arrived. We just noticed a woman riding an electric scooter coming from the caravan near to us. Just shows you don’t have to be fully fit to travel in a caravan. Her husband favours a bicycle. They have a very long caravan and their dual cab ute has a large tray at the back, we assume that is where the scooter travels.

Although it was sunny yesterday and we woke up to sunshine today the cold wind makes it rather challenging to go out, especially for Stephen who still has cold symptoms. He chose the middle of the day for a walk yesterday and would have been out for at least an hour, so not too bad for an invalid.

We do have wildflowers here, some patches of everlastings and many others.

Friday 5th September, 2025

So, after three days of sunshine and exploring we heard that rain was on it’s way and have come to Merriden to sit it out. It seems wise to be on a firm site and to have power and water on tap, as it were, for a couple of nights. Although we woke up to a beautiful sunny morning by the time we left our campsite the wind had picked up and clouds were gathering.

We left home on Tuesday morning, heading for York. Of course, as it was on our way, we stopped first at Mundaring to buy bread and have lunch at the nearby cafe. We also shopped at the Coles supermarket. It has been a very busy time, with one choir working hard on songs for a variety of gigs and Stephen singing all week with the WASO Chorus getting ready for the Friday and Saturday night concerts.

Last Friday I experienced quite strong vertigo and nausea and couldn’t eat for most of the day, though the left over curry in the evening was enough to tempt me.

Various communications from Matt’s staff kept me up to date with his flu like symptoms and visit to the local Urgent Care clinic where the doctor panicked and sent him off to Emergency at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital. Thankfully he was provided with staff to wait out the long hours until they eventually realised he wasn’t ill enough to admit to hospital and he was discharged with antibiotics. Apparently he has Influenza A. And no, although I sometimes brought it up with staff, he hadn’t actually been vaccinated.

I went into the hospital on Saturday and waited with Matt and his support worker until he was discharged. Not fun, and Matt was clearly very tired after being all night in hospital. Fortunately, the staff got to change shifts in the early morning, so they didn’t have quite such a long time in hospital.

On Sunday Stephen and I went to visit him at Villa 3 and sat outside so that we felt safe from catching what he had and me giving him what I had (I had worn a KN95 mask at the hospital). Unfortunately Stephen picked up a virus, likely from his colleagues in the choir and has cold symptoms at the moment. I still feel a bit under the weather, but not actually ill.

On Monday we tried to get ready for the trip, but still had a very intense rehearsal with the new Mackie St group. This is for the more dedicated members who want to have a good choir and do gigs in nursing homes, etc.

So, that left Tuesday to finish off getting ready, we could have left it a day and gone on Wednesday, but we were keen enough to make sure we had done most things, except the shopping, before we left. We’ve talked with Matt a couple of times during the week, and this morning he definitely seems to be back to his normal self, and we didn’t feel worried about leaving, especially as we won’t be more than about 300kms from Perth on this trip.

York has a free camping area just across the river from the main part of the town, with a swing bridge over the river. We scored a spot overlooking the river, very pleased as one of our favourite things is camping next to rivers, the sea, and perhaps even a swimming pool. At least, that is what we have ended up doing here at the Merredin Caravan Park.

On Wednesday morning we did some more shopping and drove to a campsite at Kwolyin, which is between Quairading and Bruce Rock. We stayed two nights so that we could spend yesterday visiting Kokerbin Rock, which is about 12kms from the campsite.

Apparently camping was once allowed at Kokerbin, but they realised it was too small for the number of visitors and it was hard to maintain the nature reserve. So, they moved the campsite to Kwolyin. It is a large campsite, with different areas for tents and caravans. There are flushing toilets, a campers’ kitchen and some BBQs. Campfires are allowed in winter as well.

We could see everlastings from the van, but the orchids were also there in abundance, just one variety which we haven’t yet identified.

Yesterday was cool, partly cloudy, with lots of sunshine. We found the walk around the base quite easy, with lots of interesting rock formations (there is a Wave Rock, the Devils Marbles and an historic well), as well as a walk to the summit. We were checked out by a resident wedge tailed eagle, and apparently judged to be harmless as we were allowed to continue on our way.

Stephen and I walk separately, and he went for the summit walk first, whilst I took the little diversion to the well. I joined him on the summit walk (we didn’t go to the top, just high enough to get wonderful views), then I walked back and he went off to see the well.

On the way back I had a wonderful encounter with an echidna, which initially walked across the path, then decided to pretend to be a rock or a plant. This wasn’t very successful as I had enough zoom on my camera to see it breathing. Anyway, it stayed still as long as I was close, then moved away when I started walking again.

We didn’t see any other walkers, but I came across a large arrow drawn in the gravel pointing off the path. That could only mean one thing and there it was, an orchid, quite different to the ones we had seen at the campground. We didn’t see any other flowers on the walk, surprising us because there were everlastings and several clumps of orchids at our campsite.

After we both arrived back at the Sherwood and had a cup of tea I put the drone up to get some photos and practised taking a panorama of the area. Moderately succesful, but I had to work through a tutorial first, I’m not sure if I had a choice on this, but I guess it was useful as I don’t fly the drone often enough to remember how all of the controls work.

We arrived back at the campsite and chose a different spot this time. On our first day I had gone too fast through a wash out and tipped the Sherwood around rather badly. The Starlink fell on the floor and I had to fix a shelf over the stove which had slipped out of its fixings. Also, we were in the tent area and I felt a bit guilty about this and wanted to sort of make ammends by staying in the caravan area. However, there was no section for little vans like ours, so perhaps we were OK.

This morning we packed up after a leisurely start (most mornings on the road have leisurely starts of course), and headed to a cafe in Bruce Rock. Stephen had an enormous cup of chai and I had my usual flat white. I used the cafe wifi to send a couple of photos and videos to Matt using Whats App, which his support worker set up for him. She said it works better than other apps for photos and videos. Facebook is for old people, I gather.

We did some more shopping (we tend to do small shops in the towns along the way) and it helps to support the local communities which often provide very good campsites with good facilities. Flushing toilets are rare, but much appreciated.

We planned to stop at a nature reserve for lunch, but the wind was picking up and I didn’t want to park amongst trees, so we didn’t have lunch until we had booked in here, after 2.00 p.m.

We managed to forget about turning off the inverter and it’s RDC switch, fortunately it just caused the breakers on the post and in the van to go up, and after switching off everything we started again. I had written notes on the bag with the electrical cord about switching off the inverter and RDC (this is under the seat, but accessible through the side hatch). We use an internal switch normally, but it does leave the inverter in standby mode, and you have to switch it off properly when plugging in.

However, after some fiddling we managed to have a good lunch and settle ourselves in. Then came the rain, which had held off despite the threatening clouds.

Friday 22nd to Sunday 23rd August, 2025

We belong to the Astronomical Society of WA who are leasing a site in Tammin for the group. Last weekend the Chairman and some others volunteered to go there to do some maintenance, mainly mowing, as with all of the rainfall the grass grows quickly. As viewing was also part of the weekend agenda Stephen decided we could go as well.

We set off at about 10.30 a.m. and stopped in at Mundaring to buy bread from the wonderful Mundaring Bakery that I used to patronise when visiting Mum in Mt Helena. We had hot drinks and continued on our way to have lunch at Meckering. Stephen made some lovely sandwiches with our new loaf.

When we arrived at the Tammin site the men had already done quite a lot of mowing. They suggested parking near the viewing area, which worked out well for us as we were able to park on an almost level site.

In the evening we organised our own meals and a couple of the men set up telescopes with cameras for astro photography. I was able to provide a little bit of help for someone setting up a Seestar S50 for the first time. It involved doing software updates, of course!

Although the day had been quite cloudy the clouds cleared for a few hours and we all got some good images, including us on our Seestar S50.

The next morning the men, four of them, got into more work before we all went off to Cunderdin for a birthday celebration lunch at the pub. We enjoyed talking and getting to know each other a bit better. On the way back to the site it started to rain and from then on we had almost continuous heavy showers until evening.

The rules of the club had been changed at the last committee meeting to allow fire on site and they had set up a fire pit chimney. One of the men used a small electric saw to cut wood that had fallen. It was damp, but surprising burned quite well once we threw everything at it to get it started (cups of petrol, matches and a firestarter). If you want to know how many amateur astronomers it takes to light a fire, the answer is at least three, with others to give encouragement and advice.

Having the fire meant that instead of retreating to our separate caravans, etc. we all sat around the fire chatting and having our evening meals (again separately supplied, but eating together). One of the men had packed up his wet tent and left after our return from Cunderdin, but we were joined by another man later.

We were fortunate that we had a few hours break in the rainfall to enjoy the evening. Sunday morning it was still fine, but the journey home was a bit challenging as it rained most of the way. Stephen and I had hot drinks at the newly opened Gypsy Cafe in Meckering, bought fuel in the service station near the Northam lookout, and then went to the Dome in Mundaring for our lunch.

Matthew came to tea, bringing his own dinner and a cake to share. We had discussed it with him on Friday morning before leaving. It meant that we could have a scratch meal in the evening without having to cook a full meal, as I like to do for him when he comes. It worked well and we might do this again in future when coming back from trips.

It has been particularly cold and wet this last few days, but should fine up later in the week, with daytime temperatures getting warmer. The rain and cold meant that Matt and Stephen did not do any gardening, which is what they usually do when Matt first arrives home.

Tuesday 12th August, 2025

The day began with me doing various household tasks and packing up for a picnic lunch in the Sherwood. Stephen worked hard on his music for the Western Australian Symphony Chorus, which has a concert at the end of this month. Tuesdays is when they rehearse and he was making sure he was well prepared.

We set off for Serpentine Falls at about 11.30 a.m. It’s only half an hour drive from Victoria Park. On arrival we went on the walk down to the falls. The brook was running fast and, as I’ve seen on other photos recently, the falls was in good flow, thanks to all the rain we’ve had.

We had managed to find a fairly flat parking space close to the disabled parking, which was good us for having our lunch. The carpark was very busy indeed, lots of people, like us, taking advantage of a rare sunny day. We had leftover mash and meatballs, heated up, and salad and cordial.

After lunch we had a bit of rest, then walked up to the lookout. There is a view of the falls, but it entailed walking downhill again, so we gave up on that idea and just enjoyed looking over the city. There were some people on a shaded rock and after they left we went there too. It was quiet for a while until some children, freshly out of school, came to clamber on the rock. They had accompanying adults who apologised, but we assured them that we had had enough peace it we enjoyed seeing the children. But, the peace when they left was very much appreciated too.

There were quite a few wildflowers, including donkey orchids, on the walk to the lookout and I took some very bad photos of them. Oh well, at least it was fun.

When we arrived home it was time for Stephen to scramble to get ready for choir. He made a cheese sandwich to eat on the bus. I sorted out things in the Sherwood and brough in our dishes and the electric frying pan for washing.

We thoroughly enjoyed the day. We so much appreciate having such a beautiful place to go that is reasonably close to where we live, with views and wildlife, mainly birds, but probably other animals we didn’t see. It was very refreshing and should keep us fairly topped up until we go away.

Yesterday we went out in the Suburu to fill up the gas bottle at BCF. I was able to get a couple of flannelette shirts for $15 each, quite a bargain as they look to be good quality. We then went to the RAC to have a headlight globe replaced. We had to pay for the globe, but the installation was free. Afterwards we went to the Kent St Weir for lunch and a short walk. Although it was sunny it was fairly cold. After all, it’s still winter.

In the evening we went to see the finals of a prize giving for singing students at the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), which is still in Mt Lawley until the end of the year. We heard six students perform and felt that any one of them deserved to win. There were two categories, classical and music theatre. The students I chose didn’t win, but I hope they are able to have careers. One of the presenters said that being in the arts is now one of the most secure jobs as it can’t be replaced by IA. Let’s hope this turns out to be true.

We drove to Mt Lawley, although we can catch buses straight through, as I felt it would be more comfortable afterwards to drive home. But when Edith Cowan University moves into the city next year we will catch buses always. We are looking forward to having WAAPA so close. There are free concerts during the day and lots of other theatrical events by the students.