Today, post wedding, a few of us headed down to Il Cibo in Fremantle for a delicious brunch. Good restaurant that I would love to return too. Bec and Steve leave for Bali today, so tonight Chris, Merelyn, Mal and I will probably settle on a quiet BBQ in the park. Tomorrow, Mal and I are heading south towards the Margaret River region for a couple of weeks.
What a beautiful wedding it was. The weather was perfect. The ceremony was held down by the banks of the stunning Swan River at Mosman Park, with Rebecca, Rosie and Chris arriving by boat. Bec looked absolutely beautiful and so was Rosie. Steve and Creed looked pretty good too!!!! The wedding was casual with gorgeous native flowers and many special touches. Following the ceremony the wedding party and parents (Derek and Therese, Chris and Merelyn and Mal and I ) went back by boat to Little Creatures Brewery where the reception was being held. Fun for all was had with the 3 fathers giving speeches, Mim (Bec’s grandmother) reading a beautiful poem of Bec’s life that June(Mim) had written herself, finishing off with Bec and Steve having a few words. Molly, the MC was very amusing.
Below, are a few photos I took. I am looking forward to seeing some better ones.
We have spent the last couple of days relaxing and really enjoying ourselves.
Exploring the Swan Valley, Coogee Beach, Cottesloe Beach, Mosman (beautiful spot), more of Fremantle, so many places.
Today we started the day with breakfast at “The Blue Duck” at Cottesloe Beach with Chris (my ex husband) and Merilyn (his new wife). It was a delicious breakfast. With ocean views extending to Rottnest Island, and a refreshing sea breeze, The Blue Duck in Cottesloe Beach is an ideal spot for breakfast or a quick coffee. This restaurant’s unpretentious interior is simply decorated, with a wall of windows maximising views of the beach. We all enjoyed our breakfast judging by the empty plates. After finishing our breakfasts, the staff then bought some huge, just cooked, complementary muffins. We couldn’t help but try them. It would have been rude…..well that’s Merilyn and my excuse anyway !!!
Following breakfast, Mal and I headed out to the Swan Valley. We had a good day visiting places such as The Chocolate Factory and Feral Brewery. Just thirty minutes drive or a two and a half hour journey by river cruiser, the Swan Valley in the upper reaches of the Swan River is Western Australia’s oldest established wine growing region.
Famous for its orchard-lined roads, peaceful areas, international wineries, gourmet food producers, restaurants and cultural attractions, the Swan Valley makes the perfect day trip from the city of Perth.
Yesterday was Mal’s birthday and all he wanted was to go to his favourite eating and drinking spot “Little Creatures”, and relax for a few hours. You didn’t see me complaining, although we walked 10kms to get there, and I did have a slight winge halfway through the walk. (we started walking at 11.30am…so a bit hot!!!). Anyway, we eventually made it. Enjoyed lots of WATER (we were hot), wine and boutique beers, calamari and the best Chilli Mussels I have ever had. I have had a few serves of their chilli mussels over the years, and they have never let me down. We enjoyed the afternoon and took lots of photos of some of the brewery’s unique features. Hope I don’t bore you all with too many photos, but I loved them all and wanted to include them all for memory’s sake. We ended the afternoon with a serve of nachos (lucky we had exercise getting there) before catching a taxi home. Mal enjoyed his day very much.
We are here in Fremantle after approximately 7000km’s across Australia. We have seen soooo much. Amazing.
For those that don’t know, we are here for Beck and Steve’s wedding on the 4th March. Last night I enjoyed Becks “Hens” night with her girlfriends. We started the night at Whispers Wine Bar in Fremantle and then on to Istanbul Turkish Restaurant. At the end of what was a fun night I believe some of the girls then headed to South Beach for a night swim. Dress was optional, and as I haven’t heard yet this morning, hopefully all got home safely and are not in the lockup!!!
Yesterday, Mal and I spent the day exploring Fremantle. The Freo markets are great. Fremantle is full of interesting shops and cafes, and is very arty. A beaut place to spend many, many hours. We will be enjoying our time here over the next couple of weeks. We lunched at our favourite spot down on the waterfront….”Little Creatures Brewery”. Beck and Steve’s wedding will be at Little Creatures!!!!!!
We spent all day yesterday exploring Denmark and and the surrounding area. So much to see in that area, we would need more days. Lots of galleries and artisan places.
Went out to Shelley Beach in the West Cape Howe National Park. A stunning spot and good salmon fishing area. Very secluded. We then visited the “Valley of the Giants and Tree Top Walk”. Great to see. Huge “giant” trees. Many of the trees were over 400 years old. The Tree Top Walk, for me who hates heights, was very scary. It moves !!!! But worth doing.
Tomorrow we start heading towards Perth. Saturday night is Beck’s “Hens” night. Beck and Steve’s wedding is on the 4th of March at “Little Creatures Brewery” in Fremantle. We are looking forward to it. It will be fun meeting more of Beck’s friends at the hens night.
We are really intrigued by the history associated with Albany. Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth. As of 2009, Albany’s population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state.The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a part of King George Sound. The Central Business District is bounded by Mount Clarence to the east and Mount Melville to the west.
Albany was founded in January 1827 as a military outpost of New South Wales as part of a plan to forestall French ambitions in the region. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town served as a gateway to the Eastern Goldfields and, for many years, it was the colony’s only deep-water port, having a place of eminence on shipping services between Britain and its Australian colonies.
The town has an important role in the Anzac legend, being the last port of call for troopships departing Australia in the First World War.
Albany is the oldest permanently settled town in Western Australia, predating Perth and Fremantle by some two years.
We are enjoying our time here and doing a great deal of exploring. There is so much to see.
What a beautiful spot Esperance is. We are spending a few days here, and besides this morning, the weather has been perfect. Actually, unlike the North Coast of NSW, we have been having great weather for all our trip so far. We have enjoyed plenty of sight seeing here in Esperance as well as bike riding and walking. Our camp site is on the beach next to the bike track, so very handy. Our neighbours are all Italian decent (3 italian groups…except 1 wife maggie) so have had a great time. The other night we all got together…lots of fun including italian nibblies (dried broad beans) and sweets (Taralli). We will be keeping in touch with Vince and Anna who live in Freemantle, when we arrive in Perth.
We enjoyed going to the movies with Vince and Anna the other day to see “The Iron Lady” starring Meryl Streep. Very good movie…In The Iron Lady the central figure is no fiction. Margaret Thatcher is one of the most famous, most controversial living Englishwoman, a reclusive widow now known to be in poor health and not entirely in command of her mental faculties, but who still hovers over all our lives. Virtually everything and everybody in the movie is shown through her distorted vision as her faulty memory calls up her past. Thatcher was a tough lady !!!
We set off across the Nullarbor. I have had many people say to me that this part of the trip will be boring…how wrong were they. Yes, there are stretches where we had to entertain ourselves…more good music and conversation, but there is so much to see. The ever changing landscape, the incredible views in many spots, the unique roadhouses every couple of hundred kms, watching Mals knuckles when the road trains pass us and trying not to look at all the road kill…kangaroos, emus, wombats etc. Sad. The animals don’t mix well with the road trains. We had a mission to find the most expensive fuel…$1.92 a diesel litre. A captured market !!!
The first night we slept by the side of the road again, but on a cliff overlooking an amazing view of the Great Australian Bight. See the photos below.
The second night we pulled into a sheep station that offered somewhere to park the van. It was called Fraser Range Sheep Station, and we both enjoyed the stay a great deal.
Hopefully you will enjoy my photos that show our trip far better than I can describe.
We left Port Lincoln and started heading across South Australia towards Western Australia. Tomorrow we hit the Nullarbor. I am so looking forward to that part of our trip. Mal has crossed it once before in 1976, but it is all new for me. Mid morning we arrived at Elliston….”The Australian Salmon Capital”….a tiny fishing village on a small bay overlooking the ocean. There was wilderness before and after Elliston, although we stopped at a roadside “help yourself” store selling beautiful wood fired oven baked bread. Of course we had to try some….it did not disappoint us!!!
Our next stop was Streaky Bay….a beautiful spot overlooking Streaky Bay and the Southern Ocean. I was intrigued by the fact that most of the town was owned by a “Beck”. I wonder if our daughter Rebecca (Beck) has won lotto and not told us ?????
That night we slept on the side of the road. Very relaxing. You will see a picture below of our amazing sunset. All good, except I can’t understand why some travelers have to throw rubbish. It was everywhere at this stop. So lazy !!!
Well we are getting close to leaving here and to start our trek up to Streaky Bay and Ceduna and then crossing the Nullarbor. About 2000kms. A VERY long way.We hope to arrive by next Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Internet may be unreliable, so there probably won’t be any new posts until we arrive in Esperance. I am sure we should get some interesting photos on the way over, so keep posted!!!
Had a great day today exploring the Coffin Bay area about 40kms from Port Lincoln. Famous for their oysters (Coffin Bay Oysters), they don’t let you down. We see them everywhere. We could even buy them in the butcher shop. Settled on “oyster” seafood curry for lunch. Delicious. We drove out through Coffin Bay National Park. You will see from the photos below how stunning it was.
Port Lincoln
We are here for a week….love it….
Fishing is one of their main industries. Port Lincoln is known as the “Seafood Capital of Australia”, so we are looking forward to many seafood meals….oysters, lobster etc. With it’s 14,000 population, Port Lincoln is a major commercial centre for the Eyre Peninsula.
Ok…today we had oysters (yes again Bec) for lunch and King George Whiting for dinner. It is great here. So many walking tracks, a camping site with huge water views and lots to do.
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We left Victor Harbor 3 days ago, heading up through Adelaide, Port Pirie, Port Augusta then down the coast to arrive in Port Lincoln this afternoon. We will be staying here a few days as it is a pretty spot with plenty to do.
On the way we found a perfect “gem” of a spot really just by accident. There was a small sign on the side of the highway pointing to “a heritage jetty”. Mal loves jettys so we headed off the road to another almost deserted town with what is apparently the “longest timber jetty in Australia”. 1.8kms. The town is called Port Germein and was stunning. Heaps of old stone buildings looking over the jetty and the Spencer Gulf. We could live there!!! I even found the house I loved…but not for sale! The main thing that keeps the locals busy is crab fishing (and farming). Port Germein is one of the reasons we bought a caravan. Just having the ability to find spots like this and pull up and stay, is the reason we are out here exploring.
We had a great night last night sharing dinner with our neighbours, Karen and Jim from Adelaide.
Today we picked up the second bike we had ordered and enjoyed a ride along the coast bike track, before heading to the well known Cafe / Restaurant “Flying Fish” at Port Elliott. We had a delicious lunch and could see why they are so well known for their fish and chips. Not greasy at all.
Tomorrow we are heading back up through Adelaide towards our next stop, Port Lincoln. We will probably take about 3 days to get there and plan to stay a few days there.
Beef in Beer
(Recipe requested by Karen and Jim @ Victor Harbor)
Ingredients:
1 kg gravy beef or chuck steak
1 pk french onion soup powder
half to one can beer
Cube meat, toss in onion soup powder to coat and place in casserole dish.Add beer (half can), cover and cook in a moderate slow oven for 3 hours. Stir once or twice adding more beer if necessary. Add a pinch of nutmeg and chilli (both optional).
Serve with potato mash and greens.
Blade or skirt steak can be used ….cook for 2 hours…but I believe it has less flavour.
A great tasting and easy recipe…if cooking in the caravan add at least an extra hour (depending on your precious caravan oven).
If cooking in the camp oven over glowing coals, cook for only 2 hours.
30 January
We arrived in Victor Harbor yesterday and have decided to stay for 4 nights. It is a lovely spot, with what looks like plenty to do. We also have to catch up on a bit of work. (can’t be all holidaying and no work unfortunately).
This morning we took a long walk across the bridge over to Granite Island where all the penguins nest at night. It was a great walk, especially as we are getting a reprieve from the very hot temperatures. (around 40 degrees.) Beautiful views.
While we were working away in the van this morning we heard a huge groan and then an almighty crash. A gum tree came down on the van just near us. Bugger. Usually this sort of thing happens to us. Tomorrow we have been invited for coffee at the home of friends we met at McLaren Vale who live here in Victor Harbor. As Victor Harbor is a larger town, we will also be trying some of their many restaurants.
It is now the evening of the 30th. We have decided to stay in Victor Harbor until this Friday the 3rd February. We ordered new bikes which will arrive on Thursday. We love walking, but feel bikes will boost our exercise that bit more. We ended up catching up with our new found friends, Yvonne and Dave this afternoon, enjoying our visit very much. Nick, we went to a great Indian Restaurant tonight. You would have loved it.
………Forget the Indian Restaurant last night. It was delicious, but must have had food colouring, 621 or msg added as we were wide awake all night. A huge storm hit at 4am, so we did what most caravaners have to do, we pulled the shade screen and awning down in terribly strong winds in the dark. We were not the only ones doing this at 4am! We actually got a couple of hours sleep after that. Oh well….caravaning.
28th January….
Today we went to one of my long awaited restaurants that I drag Mal along too….”The Star of Greece” in Port Walunga, SA.
We were not disappointed… Amazing food, service and yes…wine. I forgot to mention the views. Did I mention the food !!!! We really enjoyed our meals. Too good to be true.
We have spent a lovely couple of days in the Barossa Valley. We leave tomorrow to travel via Hahndorf, to McLaren Vale.
Yesterday we explored the Barossa, finishing up at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop Restaurant. A good way to end the day. Eating and stocking the larder with delicious food.
Today we explored again, visiting Tanunda Winery then ending up joining a group of people at the “Australia Day Whistler Wines Celebrations”. This included wine (!!!) , Aussie Lamb Burgers, Tug a War (bad when the rope broke on the first go….lucky they had a spare), Sack Races, water balloon games, the Barossa Thong Throwing Competion, horse carriage rides with two of the most beautifully looked after and behaved horses I have ever seen, (and I’ve seen a few) and a good band playing. Fun for all ages. We were proud to be Aussies amongst such a friendly group.
Tuesday 24th, January
We left Silverton this morning after Mal had the pleasure of actually showering in the rain. He took his soap and enjoyed washing under one of their rare rain storms. We visited Pro Hart’s Gallery in Broken Hill. What a great artist he was. We then drove from Broken Hill to a small “Ghost Town” called Terowie in South Australia.
In the early 1900’s it was a busy town as it was on the main train line. This train line closed in 1960, and the many incredible buildings shut up, as happened right throughout Australia, including Wilcannia as earlier mentioned. These buildings still stand in memory of these times. The only people we have met are a young Lebanese couple running the fuel stop. Tonight we are camped next to the old train station with the buildings still standing.
It is now evening, 9pm and still very light, and we have no water. We have run dry….thanks Mal….no cup of tea, no shower, no toilet (lucky we have a shovel), no clean the teeth (I will use his beer for that…??????). Lucky we have plenty of bottled water, but really???
