Blogalog Epilogue.

We reluctantly complete our journey, via port Fairy to catch up with Karen & family. All is well in the port of fairy. Whilst there we receive a call from home to say that Roxy is unwell, initial diagnosis, an obstruction due to eating bone with insufficient chewing. Unfortunately it turned out to be slightly more complicated, with pancreatitis caused by a suspected tumour in her stomach. So we are now back to a family of 4. Roxy was buried on the farm in a Private family service.

Roxy AKA Fluffy (seasonal) was loved by all. RIP.

For the figures we think we covered about 24,000 KM. We were not only amazed by how big this country is but the fact that there are constant changes to the outback. I presumed that we would pass through miles of nothingness, this was far from the case. With mountain ranges constantly appearing, changes in vegetation we were in awe of our surroundings for the entire trip. We did of course have the bonus of rain through the centre prior to our arrival which added colour to areas that may have been barren previously.

As for us, well you could liken the first couple of weeks to a defrag, all of the clutter was put in order & then we set about taking in as much as we could, on foot, by bike, by crawfish or even swimming to the odd location. We worked well as a team, each with our own specialities, there was harmony around our camp. We had no equipment failures, no puncture's, several small birds & some lizards perished on the front of the truck, most unfortunate I would have prefered them to be feral cats that we encountered across the country. Several fish also gave themselves up along the way for our sustenance. Annie has acquired new skills & shows some promise as a hunter gatherer.

So should you find yourself at a loose end, or fortunate enough to have long service leave or just have time on your hands, then simply pack some stuff into the car, get yourself up to highway #1, wait for a break in the caravans, hop on in and go see.

Thank you to all our followers, be you contributing or silent, we have enjoyed your feedback as we moved around the country. As for us it is back to work for now, we have had a taste & we are hungry for more.

See you all soon. (unless we have seen you already).

The fun stops here!

With what should have been a new record for crossing South Aust (dis allowed due to wind assistance) we are back in the state of Victoria. After enduring 2 solid wind events in 4 days we have literally been blown home. The wind did settle for 2 days while we caught up with Trev & Tam  - our Kimberly friends, in Victor Harbour, nothing like been shown around by the locals. The Fleurieu peninsular is in peak condition.

We will miss taunting from afar & we look forward to seeing your pasty faces soon. I have bent my last quality built Chinese tent peg for this trip & Annie has Hay fever, so we must be close to home. There will be an epilogue posted from Cherbourg Ave on our return. We are currently in Nelson. The wind is blowing, it is raining, we remember where home is! For the moment.

I wanted this bloke in the truck, Annie said no! He is happy in his own environment.



We are Melbourne bound.

We noticed some mountains in the distance while in Albany, so it was decided that we should investigate. So it was off to the Stirling range, our choice of hill to climb "Bluff Knol", a 1050 M ascent in 3 KM.

It was a beautiful day, the real challenge though was the 60km north west wind, in a few locations it tried to remove us from the mountain. The view was stunning, back to Albany & out across the plains to the north.

If you look closely you can see the truck & crawfish in the carpark. We slept well that night.
On to Esperance, Eucla, Cactus & now Streaky Bay, the skates are well & truly on. We did a 928km day, we would have done more only Annie purchased sugar free toffee's, so we ran out of energy??? This was the clincher for the Coight Trophy, in my view, what is a toffee with no sugar? A wax wrapper with goo in it.

At this stage we both feel like dropping into Melbourne, say Hi to you all, re fuel & continue on out the other side. We are looking for sponsors????

We best put the skates on!

A look at the map of Australia has revealed that we are a long way from home, with 2 weeks to go, mmmm we may have to start getting up early & Annie may have to forgo coffee in bed, every morning, we may even have to set a new record for distance travelled in a day, not normally more than 300km.

Anyway Albany is a beautiful place. Much to see & do, would love more time here but we must move on.

A bit like the prom with a city in it. "A story", we had been at Whale world which was gruesome but interesting, Annie & I had finished the tour & 3d movie then we wandered up to the top of one of the tanks that not so long ago would have had 21,000 gallons of whale oil in it. We were standing there marveling at the view when we noticed a southern Wright whale, sneaking up on some fishermen. "Jesus Blue is that your breath"? Asks one.

"No it's not my breath", completely oblivious to the 40 tonne fish that they could hook up at any moment. All of this unfolded about 200 meters from where there had been 24,000 whales dragged ashore cut up & cooked.

"Get the net Blue I am on to a big one"!
We had best be off now. See you all soon.

We Turn East.

Augusta is a corner of the country so we have little option other than head East, so we are on our way home. One thing I love about WA is they do not have as many rules as us back in the nanny state, here should you choose to climb a tree, then climb the tree. In Victoria, you will do an induction, wear fluro & talk to your lawyer so that we know who to blame should something go wrong.

Who said Grizzly bears can't climb trees? 70 meters up he went, in wind & rain, until he was cozy at the top only to find what he doesn't like about WA - filthy pigs had been before leaving cigarette butts!

So then we walked around Warren Np. then into the crawfish to bag a couple of tasty pearch for dinner.

After 3 days in pemberton, we head back to the coast via Denmark to Albany, where we will reside until the Saints relegate the Swans to pre season training camp.

Hope we are not here too long?

Bunker Bay shark attack

We visited Bunker bay last week, it is a lovely picturesque bay, protected from the prevailing SW wind, but it still receives swell, I would have ventured out in my fur seal grey wet suit had there been a little more swell.

probably the last place I would have expected an attack to happen. A tragedy for all concerned.

 

The South West Corner.

It is god damn freezing- at last I hear you say. We leave Perth & head down to Yallingup, sad to leave the relo's in Perth but we must move on. The features of this area are wine (both types red & white), surf & caves. Wine has been good, surf average, caves brilliant, we have done Jewel Cave & Ngilgi Cave both exceptional.

I forgot to mention Lighthouses, we did both of those as well. The past 3 days have been spent in Augusta. We like Augusta (even though it is freezing), it is a bit like WA's Malacootta, rugged coast with a river full of fish, & lots of exploring. Annie bailed out on me on our latest adventure, apparently I was being childish.

The truck made it through, Annie took a couple of deep breaths, got back in & we moved on to some more subdued activities, like watching the Saints smash Carlton at the pub to book a home final.

Then we sat & watched the Ducks go about their business - a lovely corner of the world.