A quick getaway and some jumping dogs

We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Albany with a group of mates. We hoped to stay for the week but only had time for the weekend. It took quite a bit of arranging for us to all be available the same weekend but we managed it. We didn't have long and will be back, but wanted to make sure we could see the Field of Lights before the exhibit packed up. The lights were definitely worth the look as well as listening to the story on your device as you walk along.

A close up

We stayed at Emu Point Caravan Park which was a very nice spot, especially because we could take a nice stroll along the beach and then chill at our campsite. We checked out the GAP and Natural Bridge where we got very wet. We watched the clouds roll in off the ocean and then got drenched. We were surprised at how fast the clouds moved. We also explored the town-we got an awesome view from Mount Merrivale, we stopped by the sweets store,  the gelato shop and a whiskey and gin distillery

I still wouldn't cross this bridge

We went to the Condingup Community Fair which the P&C put on as a fundraiser for the school. We decided to make a day of it and took the camper out so we could stay late and listen to the live music. It was a fun day with all sorts of stalls and competitions, my highlights were watching the loudest car in the Beaut Ute competition, the team tractor pulling competition, the dog high jump and listening to the live music at the end of the day. My little feet were tired, but I look forward to the next one!

These dogs can jump higher than me

A Crackin' Good Time

All to ourselves!

We’ve been making sure to put our camper to good use and have been making some little tweaks to it along the way-like installing some shelves and adding solar panels. 

We spent a weekend out at Alexander Bay which is just over an hour’s drive from town. The campsite is lovely and there's plenty of spots to camp on the beach too. It was very windy, but we managed to tie ourselves down! There were so many secluded beaches to explore where we had it all to ourselves!

The place to be

We even rescued some people who had been bogged for two hours trying to get off the beach with their boat. They were very appreciative and threw us some beer and fresh fish they had caught (which we turned into fish and chips!) Whilst we didn't need the reward, its always the right thing to do to help someone out. You'd want help if you were stuck! We were surprised that several people would have driven past them and didn't stop to help.


We'll definitely be back to explore more out east of town, we checked out Cape Arid National Park and Thomas River and maybe this will be the spot to stay next time.

We went to a pretty different sort of show! Nathan 'Whippy Griggs' came to perform in Esperance and it was definitely worth a look. I've seen a bit of whip cracking at markets up north, but never a full show. He had a lovable, sometimes cringe worthy personality and put on an awesome show. Make sure you check it out if you have the chance. 

On fire!

I also had a very awesome patrol. Seven of my buddies came down to have lunch with me. They asked me to save them a spot on the beach, so I put cones out! We had such a lovely time and I hope they come and visit me next time!

I went for a scenic flight up the coast too! It pays who you know! We flew along from 11 Mile Beach up to Cape Le Grand and spotted a lovely little pod of dolphins and it was a beautiful day.

Over Lucky Bay

In-tents Holidaying

What a whirlwind of exploring and celebrations! The Christmas festivities started in Esperance with the Christmas Pageant followed by Edge of the Bay which included a music festival, skate competiton and much more! From there we went for a drive to look at Christmas lights this was filled with Christmas music, hot chocolate and child-like wonder. 

I then flew to Perth where it was all hands on deck with the annual Darge family Christmas party and then attended a few more parities, and then the celebrations continued on the big day with lots of cooking, eating and drinking. 

The weather was hot and I was appreciative of cold cocktails and a refreshing swim in the pool. We even braved the shops on Boxing Day (I found lots of things on sale!)

House on wheels - Simple set up, A+

Then, the other half returned from celebrating with his family in NZ and we headed for Dunsborough to play with our new camper trailer (I gave him the right half for Christmas, and I got the left!) 

It was a bit of a pain that we couldn’t fit in to the same caravan park as mum and dad and my cousin, but we made it work most days and then managed to stay with them for New Year’s Eve. We went four-wheel driving near Hamelin Bay (which proved a little treacherous for the eggs in the fridge – lesson learned, although only one broke!) and went round to Three Bears near Yallingup. 

We bought lots of champagne, chocolate, cheese, a yummy chocolate liqueur and a passionfruit curd which we are very excited to make scones for! We ate ice cream, ate at breweries, paddled at Meelup and snorkled at Dad’s Secret snorkelling spot near Bunker Bay.

Injidup Beach, Yallingup

 After Dunsborough we farewelled the family and camped our way back to Esperance. We stayed at Black Point and gave the car and off-road camper a real work out. This was a really nice spot, there was a big surf break where the waves formed below the cliff face (alleged surf break, we could not work out how to get down there) and around the other side of the headland were stepping stones which looked like dried, cracked lava. There, we relaxed in a small rock pool while we watched the surf crash in front of us. I was amazed by the sand here, it was very fine and very yellow, almost like ochre.

As we left Black Point we drove down to check out Jasper Beach, it proved to be difficult, but we made it out without tears or killing each other. We explored Beedelup Falls and the Cascades before setting up for the night at a little caravan park just outside Walpole. The next morning, we got pies and cakes from a little European bakery (possibly the best sausage roll I’ve ever had) and did the Tree Top Walk. Then we made a stop at the BCF in Albany before heading home to Esperance. We had loads of fun and have a few little tweaks to make to the camper before our next adventure!

Surfers Cove, Black Point

Little Adventures

Another wedding for the year! It was a quiet little one in a backyard and we had a great time with our whole family on the dance floor. 

Before the scratching!

We went on a 4wd adventure off 11 Mile beach. We drove along the beach, through dunes and along bush tracks (which definately scratched the car) and had great fun. We stopped at some new beaches and explored rock pools. I even drove for a bit which was a good experience.

We’ve had a few rainy days to explore, even though it’s supposed to start getting sunny! We have driven around Munglinup and explored some bushland with old sheep yards. There was a creek and the remains of fences, sheds and cars with the bush taking over again.

Not quite roadworthy...

On another rainy day went for a drive and decided to see where we would end up. We ended up in Hopetoun! Driving right along the coast (and sometimes on the beach) along the way. We found some great camp spots we would like to come back to and explored bush tracks to barely explored lakes. We spent some time in Fitzgerald National Park too, and decided we would have to come back to thoroughly explore it. We have some amazing spots to go for an adventure not too far from home.

Fitzgerald River meeting the sea

A whole new world

Boy was Aladdin good! I went up to Perth for some training and mum had already bought tickets to see the show so she tried to get one for me too. And she delivered, somehow managing to get me a seat next to them! The show itself was incredible and well worth it. The sets were spectacular, one of my favourite scenes would be the magic carpet ride.

One of many trinkets in the garden

The magic garden we went to was incredible. Helms Garden was open for one day as a fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctors Service. I wasn’t so sure about it, but there were so many people and it was amazing.

Another garden! The following weekend we went to Myrup Downs Alpacas to look through the gardens and say hello to the alpacas. This was also a fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctors Service and was a fun outing in the sun.

Full bloom

The Surf Life Saving Season is now underway and I am so ready for beach days! There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to run nippers and patrol the beach and it is rewarding to see your work unfold.

Some Bush Bashing

We spent the long weekend in the Hyden region. We decided it was a fairly equal distance for all parties to travel and we wanted to check out a bit of the Holland Track.

We did the obligatory Wave Rock visit, although we’ve never seen so many cars or people! There was a music festival, so we could hear the music while we looked around and walked from Wave Rock to Hippo’s Yawn. It was very scenic and there were a few pretty wildflowers to look at, not heaps though as it has been very dry.

A Hippo Yawning 

Mulka’s Cave was an interesting spot to visit. It was a short drive from Wave Rock and is the hiding place for Aboriginal legend Mulka where hand prints can be seen inside the cave.

The start of the Holland Track (well our starting point) was very easy and seemed like a well-maintained road. That was just the start however, and the stretch we covered was bumpy with big holes and gulleys and plenty of muddy puddles. There were chicken tracks for the more difficult or deep looking puddles, however overall it’s not for the light hearted. It was a really fun day filled with adventure!

We drove past a few dried salt lakes along the track which made nice photo opportunities. We stopped and got out to look at one and I started sinking and nearly lost my thong in the mud! It was very funny and fortunate we filled the water tank on the car!

Three wheelin’!!

It was also really lovely spending the evenings playing games and sitting drinking around the camp fire and I’m keen for more camping, and to do the whole Holland Track.

A Pirate Life

A pirate life for us!

We participated in the Munglinup Car Rally which was simply awesome. Ten out of ten, would recommend, we will definitely be doing it again.

It’s basically like an Amazing Race, but with cars! You spend the day solving clues, completing challenges and earning points. We did well as a team and ended up coming second! Challenges included sharp frisbee shooting, randomly selecting a key in hope it would open the lock and team ‘skiing.’ The day ended with an auction while the points were tallied and we ate hot roast beef rolls.

This was so hard

The hockey season has officially come to an end with the grand final and windup. We have been done for a few weeks as we didn’t make the finals. The weather cooperated for the grand final, sunny but not too hot and the games were fairly close. The windups were fun adventures, we had a team one on our last game day where we gathered around with a few drinks playing a few games. Then we had a big windup with all the other teams, and there was food and live music. There was also a farmer dress up theme for this one, there were many flanno shirts, men as cowgirls, a few animals and me- the only tractor. It was quite the team effort constructing the tractor and it took a few hours longer than I thought it would, however it was worth it coming off best dressed for the night!

The colour choice was deliberate

Esperance also hosted its biennial Emergency Services Day where all the emergency services in town, run mostly by volunteers, show off what they do. I wore two hats for the day (well a hat and a shirt) representing both the Emergency Support Unit and the Surf Life Saving Club. It was interesting seeing what the other units get up to and there were lots of fun activities to be involved in, from knocking down cones with a fire hose, to flare demonstrations and cutting someone out of a car.

Race Cars and Superstars

Beautiful sunset over the paddock beside the track

At the end of June a big group of us drove up to Kellerberrin to watch the speedway. The drive up was pleasant, we managed to leave work a bit early on the Friday and got in just after nine. We spent the weekend watching races, huddling around the fire, drinking beer and just having a nice time together. We were prepared for it to be freezing in the swag, but it tuned out not to be too bad. I was also pleased to not be camped in a puddle like last time!

Our sweet little set up

The next day the group went to Wave Rock, minus me, (which I had severe FOMO over) whilst I headed in the other direction to Perth. This time I was up for P!nk and I wasn’t missing out on that. I had purchased tickets almost a year ago into GA standing, and seats for the rest of the family. My mate and I ended up getting even better tickets earlier this year into the Wild Heart Zone and this was definitely the place to be! Stage touching/sweat zone area!

Yes, that close!

There was a DJ to get the show going before The Rubens opened. These guys are from country NSW and you’re bound to know a few songs from them. The DJ then kept the crowd pumping while they made the finishing touches on the stage.

The Rubens were pretty sweet

As always P!nk’s performance was spectacular. She opened the show swinging from a giant chandelier singing ‘Get the Party Started.’ She sang a good mix of old and new with some acoustic pieces and some action pieces dangling from rope, or swinging over the crowd. One of my favourites was her encore of ‘Glitter in the air’. I’ve never seen this live and it’s just one of my favourite songs.

I hope she tours again, because I’ll be there!

Stage behind me and stage in front!

A Birthday Surprise!

My sister came down to surprise me for my birthday and everyone was in on it! I was watching a movie at home with some friends, when one friend’s cousin needed rescuing because ‘he ran out of fuel’. When the friend came back my sister was there too. I had no idea!

Pristine looking Thistle Cove

. We went out for dinner the night before and then on my birthday we got up early because there was a whale in the bay! We also went out for breakfast, did some beach exploring and had a roast for dinner. It was super chill and I had a great time.

We went camping at Quagi Beach. Even though it’s the beginning of winter it wasn’t too cold and we settled in front of a fire playing games. The next day we went four-wheel driving around Quagi and to Stokes National Park.

Quagi Beach

 We decided to have a look at Skippy Rock, which has a nice campsite that I think we’ll stay at one time. We checked out Torradup Inlet which was very protected and looked like a great spot to set up for the day (so we’ll have to do that next time). We also drove to what we think was Margaret Cove and what we’ve figured out is that there are so many little beaches and coves yet to explore!

Awesome little spot we found...name unknown!

A Big Hole in the Ground

We decided to spend the WA Day June long weekend on a little adventure, so we headed off to Kalgoorlie. We checked out the Super Pit and went on a tour too, it really is a big hole in the dirt! The tour took you to a great vantage point overlooking the pit, but unfortunately they weren’t blasting when we were there. Then we went through the Fimiston Milling Plant where we could see how they get the gold out of the rock. It really is quite a process to extract the gold, but clearly it’s worth it!

The Super Pit

We were amazed at how huge the trucks are that drive the dirt out of the pit. There are 793 dump trucks with a life span of about 7 years, and it costs $40,000 for just one tyre! The pit is over 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide, and 400 metres deep and has produced over 13 million ounces of gold. Our tour guide told us they were training dogs to sniff out gold…golden retrievers!

The tyres more expensive than my car!

I didn’t realise they still had an operating underground mine at Mount Charlotte so it was quite interesting to go to the lookout to see that. The lookout is also based at the reservoir which is where the water is piped from Mundaring Weir in Perth. The water travels 563kms and provides drinking water to the region.

 

Overlooking Mount Charlotte and the town

We went to Hannan’s Tourist Mine where we went on a self-guided tour walking through original buildings relocated from mine sites along the Golden Mile, looked at old engines and machinery and old prospecting camp sites. We got up close and personal to some big modern mining machines, sitting in the driver’s seat of a 793 dump truck and in the shovel of a  994F loader. I’m pretty sure this is the place I went as a kid where we actually went down a mine shaft and watched them pour gold (I remember winning a Crunchie chocolate!)

We went to the Museum which was incredibly busy! There were many families as there were lots of activities for the WA Day celebrations. We were a bit old for the face painting and the petting zoo, but we found the museum really interesting. It showcased the town’s history and the gold vault displayed many golden jewels. It was a grand little adventure!

Big trucks!