Friday, 6 June 2014

Week 15: The South West

The trip this week: Esperance - Albany (Torbay Inlet) - Walpole/Tingledale - Busselton - Inglewood (Perth) - Freemantle

Following some hectic miles on the road, we found ourselves up tucked away next to a small inlet close to Albany called Torbay Inlet.  The weather took a turn for the worse so we took the opportunity to pitch the big tent and stay put for a few days.

Albany was close to our campsite so we got loads of swimming (and showers) in.  Kelly is like a fish in the water (especially given that she thinks she is more like a beached whale on dry land) so it is awesome to get some exercise in, especially in the warm pool waters while the wind and rain blow in from the Southern Ocean.

Old bridge at Torbay Inlet

The coastline around Albany is pretty rugged.  There are fantastic walking and 4WD trails which we made the most of while were there.  Driving amongst the wind farms and down to the remote capes was spectacular and loads of fun.


 Albany wind farms supply almost all of the city's power needs


Albany coast line
  
We then moved along the coast on our way up to Perth via Walpole and Busselton.  The vast deserts of WA give way to huge forests of Tindle Eucalyptus aptly named 'Giants'.  Being too tight for exorbitant tourist-trap fees (e.g. paying $15 each for the treetop walk) we enjoyed the views from the bottom. 

Not a bad sized tree near Walpole (Vally of the Giants)
 
Busselton was our last stop before hitting the big smoke where we will be laying low for a few weeks.  The jetty into Geographe Bay at Busselton is pretty damn long (1.8 km to be precise) and not a bad fishing spot by the looks of it.  We saw a local pull in a salmon the size of his leg when we went for a walk at dusk.  

Busselton Jetty Geographe Bay

There is loads more to see in the South West of WA (such as Margaret River etc) so we have planned to do a few weekenders down here over the coming months while we are based in Perth.

That's it for now.  See you next week!

Matt and Kelly

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