Month: December 2014

Perth to Sydney

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Indian Pacific

Few Days in Perth and the Indian Pacific Train

I had a few days in Perth after I returned from Albany by bus.

Stones Concert

Before I forget, I haven’t posted about the Rolling Stones concert I went to before I left Perth. I was aware that the Stones were in town, but had not thought of going to the concert until the first night. The city was full of people wearing Stones T shirts.

At the spur of the moment, I decided to go to the Perth Arena to see if I could get a ticket. As luck would have it, there were some returns. I got a ticket of the floor. The other people near me had done the same. One was a pomie bloke in his late 30’s. He told that he had been telling his Australian wife how much he liked the Stones. She told him “shut up and go them”. Another was a woman my age who said, “she was meant to get a ticket because she loved Mick so much. There was also a very attractive girl in her 20’s who told me something, but I could not hear what she said.

They played nonstop including their best stuff: Start me Up, Brown Sugar, Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Woman etc. The highlight was You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ with assistance from the UWA Choir (watch the YouTube clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwp3ixWPBqQ

Rottnest Island

I spent a day on Rottnest Island, which is just off the coast. I took the ferry from the city wharf which goes down the Swan River to North Fremantle before heading across to the island. The commentary of the ferry pointed out some of the extravagant houses along the river.

The island itself is worth a visit. The beaches are very spectacular with pure white sand a many shades of blue (I suppose aqua) water. The island got its name from the Dutch explorers who called It Rottnest (Rat’s Nest) after the Quokkas (small Kangaroos) which they thought looked like rats.

Ride around South Perth

I also took a bike ride around South Perth, taking in the University and Cottesloe Beach. It was very windy. I wasn’t overly impressed with the beach.

Long Train Ride

I had decided to take the Indian Pacific to the east coast.

I had been on the train before from, Sydney to Peterborough in northern South Australia in 2009. On that trip I rode on the Mawson trail to Adelaide.

The Perth to Sydney trip is one of the great rail journeys.

A number of people have heard the story about my parent’s trip on the train. Dad was playing in Veteran’s tennis tournament in Perth. He decided to take the train rather than flying. Two days into the trip, a bloke saw him looking out the dining car window. He asked Dad what it reminded him of. Dad turned to the bloke and relied, “yesterday”.

After the tournament my parents flew back home.

I found the trip long (4,962 klms and 75 hours) but interesting. The line from Perth to Kalgoorlie passes through Midland and Northam. There is quite a bit of the ‘wheat belt’ before you hit the desert.

We arrived in Kalgoorlie late at night, so it wasn’t possible to see the ‘Big Pit’. I should have taken the Prospector train to Kalgoorlie at least a day before so I could have checked out the town.

After Kalgoorlie, the train rattles off into the night.

It stops in Cook which was a ‘major’ stop in the past. Only one family lives there now. There is a plague say this is “The Middle of Nowhere’ .It is right.

Before Port Augusta, the line passes just north of a State Park. It is surprisingly hilly in this part of the country.

There is a brief stop in Adelaide before it heads north again towards Gladstone and on to Broken Hill.

I had done the tour of Broken Hill before. Once is enough. For those who don’t know, the city is where Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd (now BHP Billiton), the world’s largest mining company started.

Again, the train rattled off into the night heading to Sydney. The route through the Blue Mountain has some great scenery.

We were delayed coming into Sydney due to a truck carrying cars at the rear of the train, becoming detached. According to the driver, “this happens once in blue moon”. We had two ‘blue moons’ that day.

Circumnavigation of the World Complete

I arrived in Sydney on the 10th of December. It has taken me 229 days to travel around the world.

Just loving it.

Flickr Links

The Stones

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5LABi6

Rottnest and Sth Perth

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk36Srry

Indian Pacific

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6atwk4

Garmin Links

Rottnest

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/644170361

Perth Ride

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/644875713

Albany

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ANZAC Centre

Albany

It was good to be finally in Albany. I had ridden 684 kilometres to get there. Add another 20 kilometres or so riding around the town, that makes over 700 kilometres for the trip. I also took a bus on two legs. This region is only a small part of the State of Western Australia.  I guess that puts the size of this place in perspective.

ANZAC Centre

The main reason for going to Albany was to see the National ANZAC Centre. The centre was established to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand soldiers that left Albany in 1914 to fight in World War One.

The Centre is located on the side of Mount Clarence, overlooking the town of Albany and St Georges Harbour. It is an outstanding museum.

One of the people primarily responsible for the Centre is the brother of my London host. Ironically their Grandfather features in the exhibits. Check out the link below.

Walk

If you are visiting the ANZAC Centre, I suggest that you there via the Padre White trail which starts in the town and takes you to the top of Mount Clarence.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6xGtjt

ANZAC Centre URL

http://www.nationalanzaccentre.com.au/

Dexter Story

http://www.nationalanzaccentre.com.au/story/walter-ernest-dexter

http://www.smh.com.au/national/ww1/national-anzac-centre-lives-up-to-legend-rsl-president-20141029-11dpl7.html

Pemberton to Albany

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Valley of the Giants

Pemberton to Albany

At Pemberton, I was finally where the Munda Biddi trail runs. My route down the coast had taken far from the trail.   I could now give it a try.

I headed out to the Gloucester Tree which is where the Munda Biddi track starts from Pemberton. It is also where the Bibbulmun Walking track also passes the town.

The curious thing about all the pamphlets and maps for the Munda Biddi Track is that none of them have a picture of the symbol that appears on the sign posts you should follow.

You guessed it – I followed the signs for the walking track and not the signs for the bike track!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resorting to the Garmin

I followed the walking track for a few kilometers before it became far too difficult. I had to resort to letting the Garmin take control. That was wasn’t too bad for a while. It led me down forest tracks towards Northcliff. One of the tracks ran fairly close to the main road. It was clear but then suddenly became very overgrown. I decided to persist as I had ridden down a rather steep hill and wasn’t inclined retrace the route.

The track became even more over grown, but I could hear traffic and the Garmin was telling it was on 500 metres before it wanted me to ‘turn right on to the highway’. That 500 metres took forever.

On the Bus Again

The Munda Biddi track from Northcliff to Walpole is apparently really tough. I had already decided to give that a miss and take the bus from Northcliff through to Walpole. It was cold and wet. I had a beer in the pub waiting for the bus.

As we approached Walpole I noticed a cyclist on the road.

I checked into the hostel. Like the in Albany there was hardly anyone staying there. The only place to get a meal was the pub. It looked pretty shabby, but the meal was very good.

I had decided to stay a day in Walpole.

Giant Tingle Tree

The main thing to see in Walpole is the Giant Tingle Tree. This is about 10 klms from town.   The Munda Biddi Track runs near the tree. This time I knew its symbol and was able to follow the trail. To get to the tree, you have to follow dirt road. I could see bike tyre marks in the dirt.

When I arrive at the park area where the Giant Tingle Tree is located, I came across the cyclist responsible for the tyre marks. We introduced ourselves and had a chat. She is a Dutch girl currently living in Kuala Lumpur. She was on a short holiday in WA and had decided to hire a bike to see the South West. We worked out that she had been the cyclist I had seen on the bus the day before. We checked out the tree and headed our separate ways. I rode back to Walpole.

Valley of the Giants

In the morning I head into the town centre for breakfast. I ran into the bloke with the Bob Trailer that I had met in Pemberton. He had ridden the Munda Biddi Track including “most of the Northcliff to Walpole leg”. He said it was really tough and had “ridden on the highway for the last 30 or so kilometers because of the sand”.

I head off to the next stop which was the ‘Valley of the Giants’ – very big trees. This park is about 10 klms off the highway.

When I got to the park I noticed the Dutch girl’s bike. As I was buying my tickets she arrived after doing the ‘Tree Top Walk’ through the trees. We had another chat before she headed off towards Bow Bridge.

I did the ‘Tree Top Walk’ through the Karri Trees and another walk through more Tingle Trees. Check out the Flickr Link

On a Very Tough Rail Trail

Not far from Bow Bridge, I came across the Dutch cyclist yet a again. We stopped for a very late lunch in a rather interesting café. It had a pool with Marron – very large freshwater crayfish.

There is a rail trail into Denmark from the place where we had stopped. It took a bit of finding but we did find and decided to give it a go.   Some of it was very overgrown and sandy. At one point I almost ran over a Tiger Snake. My language was a bit on the ‘French’ side. It was late in the day the snake appeared to be asleep.

The trail improved as we continued. However we came to a point where it was ‘closed’ and we were forced on to highway. The last 14 kilometres in the dark seemed to take forever.  We found the hostel, check in and headed off to the pub for dinner.

Day in Denmark

The Dutch cyclist headed off for Albany to catch the bus to Perth and her plane back to KL.

I spent the day in Denmark dealing with ‘administrative stuff’ including the ATO. They were very good.

Ride into Albany

The ride into Albany was mainly on the Munda Biddi Track. A lot of it was very close to the highway, but it is a good single track with not much sand.

It was great to finally arrive in Albany

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6qX4rk

 

Garmin Links

Permberton to Northcliff

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/637035961

Around Walpole

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/637596387

Walpole t Denmark

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/638903257

NB Whole route not plotted

Denmark to Albany

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/640034430

Augusta and Pemberton

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Cape Leeuwin

To Augusta

I quite liked Margaret River. It is easy to see why it is so popular with Western Australians and other visitor.

I was a bit slow leaving the camping ground due to the need to do some washing. I am so undomesticated.

I had a good breakfast at the Blue Ginger café over the road. It is one of those places that has the right formula for a café. These independent cafes are so much better than the chains like Hudson’s or worse still – Starbucks.

Bike path to the beach

It is a fair way from Margaret River to the nearest beach at Provelly.   There is a bike path which is good to see.

I decided to take the Caves Road to Augusta. This is one of only two options. The other is the Bussell Highway. The Caves Road was not too crowded given it was a Monday.

The road passes through some great countryside with some spectacularly tall Karri trees.

Snake

At one point I came across a Tiger snake. Apparently the Tiger snakes in WA are not as aggressive as those in Tasmania. This one seemed to confirm that and simply slivered off into the bush.

Augusta a bit quiet

It was quite late when I finally made it into Augusta. The place seemed deserted. I had a long chat with the owner for the hostel. He hailed from Leeds and had married a local girl. It seemed that business wasn’t too good and they it up for sale. It seems that a lot of tourist businesses are suffering in WA.

I headed off to the pub for a meal. The meal was ok , but the place was freezing.

Lighthouse

In the morning I headed out to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. I like lighthouses for some reason. They are typically in an interesting spot. Some like this one are at extreme points.

This one is where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. Others I have been too in Australia have included: Point Otway (the most Southerly point on the mainland) Cape Byron (the most Easterly point) and the Tasman Lighthouse on the east coast of Tasmania.

The tour of the lighthouse was interesting.

Bus to Pemberton

The owner of the hostel had told me that the ride from Augusta to Pemberton was “ long and boring”.   I decided to take the bus.

Back at the hostel I met an American women who was also travelling to Pemberton. She is a musician living in Amsterdam.

As it turned out, we were the only passengers on the bus. The driver was a real character. He is an Italian who had lived in Perth for more than 35 years. He still has a very strong Italian accent and is very amusing.

We arrived into Pemberton a bit late due to a problem with the suspension on the bus. The hostel turned out to be am old Timber cutters cottage. It is great.

Tram

I spent the day In Pemberton. I has good community services centre with free WiFi for seniors over 50. One of the benefits of getting old.

One of the tourist attractions is a tram that runs on part of the old railway line from Pemberton to Northcliff. I was a bit of fun.

One the old people staying in the hostel was a bloke who had ridden the Munda Biddi Track from Perth. He said it was very tough. He looked at my bike with the five bags and the ‘slick’ front tyre and said “you will struggle”. He had a ‘Bob Trailer’ and was carrying bugger all.

Flickr Links

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6g3R4x

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6cDUE9

Garmin Links

To Augusta

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/634789733

Cape Leeuwin

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/635889424