Day 71: Denmark to Walpole . . . Friday 4th January

Could do with a good navigator out here Ron, as my sat nav keeps talking dirty to me but he doesn't seem to get us lost. Last night
met a young couple from Belgium both PhD's doing research in Perth University and struggling to get permanent employment, would apparently earn more driving a truck in the mines. . . some things
never change. Dropped into Denmark for coffee this morning and to send off the latest blog and then onto Walpole and the Valley of the Giants with it's tree-top walk. Denmark was such a pretty area
with chalet type houses + verandahs nestled in the hillsides. Last nights' stay was in a quant campsite with only 3 toilets and 2 showers and they were set out like little rooms from the 1950's, one
Aussie thought it was very strange, like something from a weird movie. We mentioned that this was idyllic compared to some of the "Deliverance" sites we had stayed in, at that stage I could see Keith
standing behind him humming the theme tune from Alfred Hitchcocks "Psycho." Still more Wineries and lovely winding roads with large trees. . . we decided to take an alternative route to the Valley of
the Giants which had delightful scenery not dis-similiar to Britain. The valley is a collection of gigantic red tingle trees up to 400 years old and a tree-top walk constructed of metal with large
counter-leavered spring walkways some 40m up in the tree tops. Great views but because of their flexibility and depending upon how many people were walking across each span, they were reminiscent of
a choppy boat ride. Those that decided they didn't like heights half way across, tended to race to each corner platform. The whole experience was brilliant and not too expensive $8 each (Geoff that
roughly equates to under £4). Found a large campsite at Rest Point, Walpole Inlet with Stumpy the sting-ray about 4/5 foot across, luckily with the barb missing from his tail. He looked
enormous and you could see him approaching the fish cleaning table from a distance. . . the water started to ripple, the kids loved it. . . truly amazing but couldn't get photos he's the same colour
as the water.

Day 72: Walpole Inlet to Fonty's Pool at Manjimup . . . Saturday 5th January

Good start and headed for Mandalay Beach named after "The Mandalay" ship wreck of 1911, fantastic place then on towards the South
Western HWY through to Manjimup, Keith had found a site in the camps book which he really wanted to visit as it had a spring water fed swimming pool. This was a really nice, very quiet site with
definitely no sting-rays in the pool, but it did have a well-equipped laundry which we made use of. About 6 o'clock in the morning we heard what seemed to be shot-gun fire and Keith assumed that that
were shooting rabbits, but I told him it was in fact an automatic bird scaring device . . . yeah well I would, wouldn't I? . . . I didn't know it was to scare white tailed black
cockatoos though, which are apparently a protected species. Protected species or not this is a fruit growing area and the farmers do their best to discourage the little b*****s without resorting to
shooting them!

Day 73: Manjimup to Augusta. . . Sunday 6th January

Left Fontys Pool this morning and back down the South Western Highway to Pemberton and then Brockman HWY to Augusta for supplies,
thought it was Saturday we appear to have lost a day but not on our side!! Through really lovely countryside, once again lovely vineyards . . . one complete with jetty culminating with a gazebo (see
pic). Moved onto the Caveworks to see the stalagmites and stalactites at Jewel Cave which had been discovered in the 1950's. It was brilliantly set out and included a guided tour, last time we were
anywhere like this was in 1969 in Wookey Hole, Somerset. The cave was a long way down and some people found it difficult climbing back up the stairs to the surface. In fact we couldn't make out if
the woman behind us was having an orgasm or heart attack, she kept saying "Oh it's lovely" whilst gasping for breath, we left her somewhere down there before we were asked to give mouth to mouth or
maybe a tissue. Our Belgian friends had told us about Hamelin Beach and the Stingrays around the relic of the old jetty, so finding a good vantage point looking down on the sea we managed to spot
several large black shapes and made our way to the shore, we were not disappointed. Unfortunately the camera does not show what we saw, they came very close to Keith when he waded out but apparently
'most' of them are quiet docile however Keith wasn't about to wait and find out. Great experience for us Brits to see such an amazing sight. Travelled back just outside Augusta for a site that wasn't
crowded . . . it's really nice.

Day 74:Augusta to Margaret River . . . Monday 7th January

Had a good night at Westbay Retreat, lovely rustic campsite with plenty of trees to form dividers between campers. Travelled along
the Scenic Coastal Drive (through another National Park, the forests of which seemed to be enchanted) to Redgate Beach, loads of people surfing, swimming and generally enjoying the day. Good surf and
a couple of the guys were being filmed or photographed but they were very good. Stayed for a couple of hours or so and then moved onto Prevally Bay the surf can be very impressive because the
Margaret River meets the ocean there and creates good surf . . . that info comes from a reliable local source. We arrived at 1.30 p.m and it was quite calm but a few hours later it started to pick
up. Took photos but we could benefit from a wide angle lense in such circumstances. By mid afternoon there were windsurfers (attached to a parachute) and sailboarders in double figures, the former go
out so far and at such speed, they ride the waves in and then out-run them, switching and doing a "360" manoeuvre then flick themselves over the end of the wave and it all begins again . . . they
look so skillful and unlike surfers they don't have to paddle out again for the next wave. I'm sure you surfers out there have a name for the windsurfers and it's probably rude. Found a site for
tonight at Margaret River but it's so crowded they just pack people in, we have a pitch in the new construction area - not good, and has all the signs of being "less than peaceful".

Day 75: Margaret River to Nannup . . . Tuesday 8th January

We are getting old hands at this campsite lark and can read all the signs . . . The Margaret River boys, well that's what they
called themselves . . . a group of about six surfers . . . had dinner and then went out for the night to the local town got back about 12 a.m. and decided to have a chat and play some music but we
just put our ear plugs in and away we went. We were thinking about playing "Shut Up" by the Black Eyed Peas during the night if it got really bad!!!!! Continued this morning along the Scenic Coastal
Drive to Canal Rocks, Yallingup and Smith's Beach well-known surfing mecca. We passed through many vineyards (or wineries as they are called here) and a couple of breweries, the vineyards in this
part of WA double as coffee shops, restaurants and art galleries and they have amazing frontages, no expense spared to give the right impression (see photos). Yallingup Reef was a coral beach and the
kids were snorkelling in the pools between the coral having great fun. It was muggy and quite overcast although the pools were very warm. Headed towards Dunsborough which is quite a developed town
with a modern shopping centre, it's all comparatively new and a different vibe to the east coast, we purchased some dinner for tonight and went off to find somewhere to eat lunch. Found a turn-off
straight to the beach, once again lovely sand with small bays and warm shallow waters . . . swimming time and it was lovely, but I still find myself looking around and getting a little twitchey. Met
a lady with a couple of kids and Keith ended up swimming with one and building sand castles with the other . . . bless. As we assumed that most sites would be crowded we ended up moving off to
Nannup, a little inland.