The Australian Wild West

We departed Perth in a hired car, heading toward the southwestern corner of Australia for further explorations in the state of Western Australia (WA). The first part of our drive took us nearly 300 miles, through forest and bush, on skinny, winding roads, to the small hamlet of Denmark, located on Wilson's Inlet. We stayed in a fantastic chalet close to Ocean Beach. The weather was somewhat similar to summer in SF, with cool temps and misty skies, but that didn't dampen our jolly spirits. We toured around the area, visiting coastal National Parks, which were everywhere. We hugged a rugged coastline dotted with huge granite boulders and calm, greenish pools of sea water. The town of Denmark is tiny, with only one small street of shops and cafes, so we "home cooked" our meals in our country cabin's kitchen - something we've not done in months. We saw the iconic kangaroos and wallabies (smaller roo's) from just outside our kitchen window ("boing-boing").

The road trip continued, and our next stop was to be the tiny timber town of Pemberton. Along the way we stopped at a high-in-the-sky Treetop Walk. This was quite an engineering feat in itself, a walkway over 400 meters high that soared above the canopy floor and reached the tops of the giant trees (hence the name "Treetop Walk"). The narrow walkway sways back and forth while you look down, and across, at humongous Karri and Tingle trees, both types of giant Eucalyptus tree that grow "down under." Later that day, we stopped at a cute beach cove were we saw 4-foot tall pelicans that allowed us to walk right up to them (see pic). We continued the journey through the southern forests, where more large trees and green under bush lined the roadways. Once in Pemberton we checked into a cabin at the local "caravan park," which is a more traveler-friendly version of what we call an RV park back home. Caravan parks have affordable cabins for rent, complete with bathrooms and kitchens, and are set-up with all the supplies needed. We spent two nights in the sleepy town, exploring the area, which is packed with more National Parks, hiking trails, and large "climbing trees." There were adorable little parrots, locally called "28's" for their calls, which apparently sounds like they're saying "28" to some of the Aussies. These were also very friendly birds, especially when we had seeds in hand. As you can see, they landed all over us!

Leaving the inland forests behind, it was finally time to hit the beach! We traveled through more rolling countryside, kanga's and large emu (like an ostrich) on the sides of the road, to the town of Margaret River, which is an area known for world-class surfing beaches, famous Aussie wineries, and hundreds of deep, limestone caves, and we experienced each of these aspects of town in due course. Margaret River is quaint and friendly, with lots of surf shops and cute boutiques. We got more food supplies at the market, then headed 8 km east to the beach side village of Prevelly, where we've been staying in a beautiful home. Originally, we'd booked the studio cottage out in their backyard, but the owner's (adult) kids had to move back in to the cottage, so we were given the option of staying in their large and lovely home, while they took a few days of holiday time away to visit friends in a town up the coast. Our house is a 5-minute walk to the local beach, so once settled, we quickly grabbed the beach gear and headed to see the giant waves and soft, white sand. This is really a spectacular and rugged coastline, and we were so happy to have sunshine and pleasant weather for our visit.

We spent one sunny morning lazing on snow-white sand, playing Frisbee at a beautiful, nearly deserted beach, and then explored "Mammoth Cave" that same afternoon. It featured some downright amazing stalagmites and stalactites, and several huge chambers, deep within the cool earth. We topped the day off with an Aussie wine tasting at a sprawling vineyard called Xanadu, and then had a tasty pizza with a bottle of freshly purchased bottle of wine at our new home away from home in Prevelly by the sea. Today we're heading around more coastline toward the beach town of Yallingup - for more waves and wines ...

stay tuned!