June 2021

As we left Dongara & The New Age Caravan Club we headed past the sand dunes. They remind me of Mr Whippy ice creams. The weather was overcast with a touch of rain here & there. We popped the seat warmers on in the car, what luxury.

The road signs warn us to be cautious of wildlife in the area. Kangaroo's, Emu's & Echidna's were about. We saw one Emu on the roadside upright & many Kangaroos at the roadside eating the lush green grass in the paddocks as we drove by.

There were also moments of blue skies and dry roads.

We elected for a grassy site at Karrinyup Waters on the back row behind the camp kitchen & ablution block. It had a nature reserve behind us which was quite peaceful. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Annette the first night at the restaurant. Annette dropped in for a cuppa as she drove home from work the next day, Monday her workday. We shared plenty of laughs.

Just one or two of the many playgrounds for children scattered through the park.

A lake & picnic area behind the small caravans & tent sites. Th ducks certainly love the pond.

Meet Lucy. We visited her Monday.

Ian cooking our chops for dinner in the camp kitchen.

One of the three pools on-site, 2 are heated. One day we will have a dip.

Our trip home was via New Age, Perth. Where Adrian looked after us with some warranty issues. We missed catching up with Rick by ..that.. much, but we were thinking about him. We left the New Age yard by 3pm to drive home. We drove down the scenic South West Highway. We stopped at Pinjarra.

Saw a lovely rainbow. We tried to find the pot of gold at the end, but to no avail. Next time hey.

We noticed lots of flashing lights ahead, but couldn't work out what was going on. A little way down the road we passed them. It was 3 trucks loaded with car, the top of a crushed caravan & the last with the crushed bottom of the caravan. I hear you ask, how did we know that. Well Deborah had the cb on & heard the drivers talk to a passing truck & describe just that. It sends a chill down your spine when you see this sort of thing. Someone's misfortune. It does however keep your mind on the task with clarity & the weight you yourself are towing. Ours is 3 tonne.

We drove past the Brunswick Peters Ice Creamery as the sun was sinking in the sky.

We made it home by 6.30 pm Tuesday night in the dark. We hadn't backed Melba in by night before. We prepared for the reversing manoeuvre. On went all the outside lights. Windows down for the instructions. Well what can I say other than she was backed in by the professional. Yes Ian, you did it successfully again. What a legend!
That's it for this trip. Where ever your going, enjoy the journey, stay safe & remain alert.
Remember to have your rest stops along the journey.
Cheerio for now!

Only takes one night at Guilderton & the sandbar closes over again.

We got a bit sporty at Moore River, Guilderton.
In the van we travel with our putters & some golf balls. Guilderton just happens to have a a mini golf course. We had two rounds of golf. First round Ian scored 2 holes in 1. Second round we each had a hole in one. Ian won convincingly so Deborah had to buy the fish & chips for dinner.

Thursday morning we headed off to Dongara for a very wet drive.
We arrived and set up in amongst another 14 New Age Vans & there owners. The park puts on nibbles for the park guests which we all partook. They also put on pancakes Sunday morning at 9am. We hope to hit the road around 8.30 so we have asked our fellow travellers to eat our share.

The Big 4 Caravan Park is right on the beach. The beach is now no longer there. A big rock wall has been put in place to prevent beach erosion. Each night we fall asleep to the waves crashing on the rocks. It's quite relaxing. Close by is the Harbour for the fishing & crayfish boats. Each day we walked along the foreshore as the sun was shining each day, it was beautiful & warm. Of a night we had a few showers.


Deborah certainly took in the sun and sights.

And the evenings started off fine.

Recently the Shire of Irwin has introduced fees for camping on Indian Ocean Drive.

We had a drive around Dongara. Ian found the library. We also visited the local opportunity shop.

Tomorrow Sunday we head to our new Destination Karinyup Waters, Perth for 2 nights.

We decided to catch up with the New Age Caravan Club @ Dongara, Port Denison.
But why not extend it we thought. So we threw out the challenge to attend the Pinjarra Festival.
Annette Smth & Michele & Gary Jones all excepted the challenge. So for the WA Day Long Weekend we all made our way to the Pinjarra Caravan Park.

Friday
We all arrived one by one to have a wonderfully relaxing weekend.
First night we cooked up Chicken, Leek & Potato soup & purchased some delicious sour dough. Yummy as.

The great people at the park provided a huge pile of wood beside the fire pit we used throughout our stay.
It didn't take Ian long to get a very warm & welcoming fire going. Those flames are so mesmerising.

Saturday
After our obligatory morning coffee or tea we hit the festival. There were loads of entertainment for the children, and all free too.
Very interesting displays, arts & crafts & the op shops were open in town & ready to sell you a bargain.

Deborah even met a few of her favourite mates...

She even got a bit cheeky.

The Pinjarra Caravan Parks local resident.

Saturday night we all gathered at the Jones's cabin. ( Note due to Gary's dodgy finger they were unable to bring the van. Wishing him a good recovery. ) Lasagne provided by Annette, wonderfully tasty with salads from Michele & Gary. Yum.

Sunday
After the obligatory cuppa & Anzac biscuits we all headed back to the festival to see the things we missed the day before. Including the Machinery Shed Museum, stalls & more second hand shops in town.

Then @ lunchtime we slipped into the Pinjarra Bakery for a bite to eat.

Dinner for our final night was a BBQ cooked by Gary & salad provided by the Jones's. It was an exceptional night.
Ian had the final fire stoked & warmed us. Great work Ian! That night we had beautiful clear skies & stars above.

WA Day Public Holiday- Monday
The Jones's were the first to hit the road.
The rest of us needed a heart starter coffee, hitched up & hit the road.

Fabulous news : Everyone texted as they arrived home safe & sound. News to our ears.

We were stopping for a break just North of Two Rocks & luckily came across a Driver Reviver stop.

We headed to Guilderton, Moore River Caravan Park for 3 nights. It's our old stomping ground.
Pay 2 & stay 3. Fabulous news to our ears.
There are about a baker's dozen of vans here. It doesn't happen very often but we arrive at Guilderton to find the sandbar open. It is both empty & quiet in the park. A great place to relax & energise.