Day 76: Nannup to Honeymoon Pool . . . Wednesday 9th January

After a really peaceful night we made our way to Busselton where we visited Wonnerup Geograph Marina with lots of expensive yachts and motor-cruisers in the basin complete with even more expensive houses around it. Then off to Peppermint Beach with new developments being built complete with long stretches of sand dunes with no-one around, once again water really warm to swim in, we tried not to stay in the sun too long as it was extremely hot and I had got quite burnt the day before . . . real silly. You expect all Aussies to be golden brown but thats not the case most of them cover up and sit in the shade or cover themselves in maximum sunblock which looks quite amusing. Gradually moved up the coastline to Bunbury through Dalyellop Beach which was frequented by families with young children on small surf boards, they have a lovely time riding the surf. Decided not to stay in Bunbury because the only sites available were BIG 4 and Top Tourist, they are not only expensive but also crowded so we moved inland to the Wellington National Park, Honeymoon Pool near Collie. . . campsite with toilets but no showers, much the same in all the National Park sites. Lovely swimming in the river and rapids nearby not too crowded and fire baskets with every site, Keith loves being in charge of the BBQ and chopping up the wood . . . so it looks like we are going to be ging-gang-goolying tonight folks. As an addendum it only took about four hours for him to knock up spaghetti bolognese on his camp fire . . . impressive eh?

Day 77: Honeymoon Pool to Potters Gorge, Wellington Dam (8K down the road) . . . Thursday 10th January

Further to the last blog, it all kicked off at around 4 p.m yesterday when a group of teenagers arrived crammed into an old car, headed straight up to the camp kitchen area and started to chop wood for the fire baskets and making so much noise shouting at each other. Shortly afterwards the car shot out of the campsite in a cloud of dust and then returned a couple of hours later with reinforcements, namely lads hanging off the back windows (should have read the signs this time but we thought they would be off and gone by late afternoon) but it got worse and worse with the sound of gunfire around midnight Police arrived shortly afterwards with dogs but we think the little darlings escaped further into the forest and couldn't be found. After that it went quiet but Keith couldn't sleep, keeping guard. Left around 10.30 but decided to take a look at Wellington Dam and the campsite at Potters Gorge, while we were there, it was another lovely site with fire baskets again and a cold shower. . . great fun and after finding out if it had been quiet the night before we decided to stay. Took ourselves into Collie to get supplies, send blog off and to receive your e-mails, yes Spencer it had crossed our minds!!!!!! We then went for a walk to see the Dam itself. Met lots of good people at this site and had a good laugh we are sitting around the fire with a really friendly couple from Switzerland, Marcel and Ann-Marie who are travelling around Oz for a couple of years or so and then going off to New Zealand and America for however long it takes. They have brought their Mercedes motorhome over to travel around in comfort and it is really lovely, not seen many Mercedes, or in fact European campers over here. Keith gained a measure of notoriety here as the only person to brave the outdoor cold shower first thing (9 a.m.) don't know whether they thought him hardy or simple . . . I didn't have any guidance for them!

Day 78: Potters Gorge . . . Friday 11th January

Approaching the weekend we have decided to stay at this site. We went once again for a walk around the Dam and beyond down the river valley to the rapids, water was absolutely freezing but great to paddle in and the scenery was lovely for the afternoon and very hot. On our return we headed for the lake with Marcel and Ann-Marie and had a really pleasant swim. Dinner once again around the fire basket with la Suisse (think that's right M) followed by a drink with Roy and Georgina the owners of a state-of-the-art RV (very big motor home) they didn't show us the ballroom but it was in there somewhere. They towed a 4x4 on an A-frame . . . just another example of an Aussie couple living it rough on the road!!!!!! They have been resident in Oz for some 40 years but originated from Ireland and Oldham respectively. Gave us loads of advice and cultural information (a load of old blarney), resulting in another great evening.

Day 78: Potters Gorge . . . Saturday 12th January

Too good to leave . . . so off again for more steaks for the campfire kitchen and newspapers for the campers . . . Keith now applying for a position with the local newsagent as a paper boy . . . the money will come in handy. Took ourselves of to Gnomesville, it's a piece of land by a roundabout where someone years ago left a couple of gnomes and now people from Oz and all around the world bring even more, there are hundreds of them everywhere hiding in and around the trees . . . the kids love it and also the adults behaving like kids (Keith). Back on site, the view from the side of our van, (apparently we have the best spot . . . only to be expected) overlooks the lake with parakeets flying around and landing on the table to get peanuts its quiet idyllic. Frank the warden (we're mates now so first name basis) has invited everyone to the Happy Hour tonight, and most turned up but there are always a few anti-social miserable b*****s. We took our chairs and drinks to Happy Hour at the designated area the idea being that we all had to introduce ourselves and give a little history etc, it all turned out to be good fun with everyone enjoying the crack and the drinks of course. We got a chance to chat to Tony and Peta and Phil and Cathy, two couples, who were long-term friends and were really friendly and interested in what we were doing and what we thought of Oz . . . the stock answer is coming very easily to the tongue these days insomuch as we are really liking it . . . oh yes we are! Fantastic country with real nice people . . . both Aussies and visitors, the place seems to attract the best of everything.

Day 79: Wellington Dam to Bunbury . . . Sunday 13th January

Had breakfast and said our good-byes that begun at 10 a.m and we finally got away around 1 p.m after coffee with Roy and Georgina and we all said we would attempt to meet up again sometime in the future if at all possible. We were both sad to be leaving and Keith will miss his campfire appointment with Marcel (who is a really good camp chef) and the others (who were all really great guys), but we needed to get on power to charge up the computer, camera etc. , or otherwise we wouldn't have left until Monday? (probably sometime in April . . . it was a perfick spot). Roy recommended the Glades BIG 4 site at Bunbury and it's fine (although funnily enough we had passed it 5 days ago and dismissed it as being too busy. Bunbury is quite a large town with all the shops and facililites you now expect in this side of Oz, nice site with swimming pool and the most important, Laundry Room + Iron. It is not however, Potters Gorge which was a magical spot, the memory of which will stay with us for many years, along with the wonderful people we met there. As we left Peta and Tony invited us to "free camp" at their place just outside Mandurah . . . with the promise of a hot shower and toilet on offer they might well see us turn up on their doorstep!

Day 80: Bunbury to Pinjarra . . . Monday 14th January

Went into Bunbury early this morning to find an industrial Car Wash, the van windows and the rest of it were covered with red dust from the dirt roads and Keith spent a good while getting it clean, it looks a lot better now. Travelled along the coastal route to Eaton, Australind, Binningup, Myalup and Preston Beach, looking at all the beaches and the new developments being constructed. Certainly not crowded as most of the holiday makers are returning home as the children have to go back to school by the 4th February. The scenery has become very much scrubland again with not many trees but that's only to be expected as it's very hot here. Came inland to find a site at Lake Clifton (Harvey Estuary) but it was very open and not very inviting so we decided to pass on that. Moved onto Pinjarra and the road heading towards Mandurah found a decent enough site Peel Caravan Park and that's where we are for the night.