On Sunday, we left Augusta and headed north through the national park to take in the spectacular sights of that area. First stop was Conto's Beach, followed by a jaunt down into Calgardup Cave! I was a little hesitant about this when I heard that it was "self-guided with a torch and helmet" - what, no rescue party or electric lighting??? Anyway, Mark and the park rangers assured me it was absolutely safe and the paths inside were permanent boardwalks, complete with sturdy railings! So off we went, down into the gloom, 27 metres below the ground! Once in there, armed with a torch and headlamp, it was actually great to be in the damp coolness of the cave, away from the blistering midday sun, and the structures within were fascinating! We turned of our lights at one point and took in the absolutely blackness. Even after a few minutes, when you would expect your eyes to adjust, nothing at all could be seen. Back at sea level, we left the caves and went to Prevelly Park, a world-renowned surfing spot and the town of Margaret River: unfortunately, the Fudge Factory was closed by then!
Still posing at 88 feet deep!
Nannup was our next port of call, to visit Mark's best friend Jason and his partner Dee. Unfortunately, Mark hadn't remembered to bring Jason's phone number on the trip AND he didn't know his address. "It's OK though," he assured me, "I've seen his house on Google Earth!" I didn't feel particularly hopeful about finding it, especially when he told me to look for "a wooden house with a white Ute parked outside." Believe me, in Australia, that really doesn't narrow things down! After what looked like kerb-crawling for way too long, Mark decided to knock on a door and to my surprise, he'd found the right house! The Ute was black by the way...
It was lovely to meet Jason and Dee and they were extremely hospitable, even letting us pitch our tent on their back lawn, to save us having to go looking for a campsite at dusk. I was especially grateful for this, as there had been bushfires nearby that afternoon and we had originally planned to camp right in danger area! (Don't panic Mum!) I immensely enjoyed a delicious dinner of homegrown salad and barbecued fish... and a bottle of semillion sauvignon blanc! And no washing up!!! The next morning, I enjoyed my second shower of the trip and off we headed to Busselton and Bunbury, to pay Mark's dad a visit, before getting in a few more geocaches, bringing the total for the trip to 27, including my 100th cache and two First-To-Finds! (That's good, all you muggles out there!)
We camped that night at Nanga Mill, in a beautiful coniferous forest complete with a babbling creek and a large group of wild Western Grey kangaroos!!! I got really close to them and managed to film a young joey and his mother feed on the roots and shoots of the forest floor. We had the area to ourselves and decided that instead of hitting the road again on our final full day, we'd spend another night there, so we could enjoy the river on Tuesday. It was great not to have to strike camp again and reload the Ute, for another long day's driving. Mark felt like a 12-year old again, as he skidded down rocks in his boardies and splashed into the river below, just as he did here years before, on family camping trips. So after over a week on the road and over 2,000 kilometres on the clock, we just chilled out with nature... although I did take an afternoon nap out on the open on an airbed with a duvet!
It's a dog's life!!!
On Wednesday, it was time to strike camp for the final time and head back to York. I was so glad to find (not) that we had transported TWO huntsmans back to Mark's house with us, and one had made it into the kitchen on the food box!!! Luckily, it was noticed in good time before it made its way into my Sultana Bran! On Thursday, I had a day to myself while Mark had a golf game in Perth, so of course, I spent it doing laundry (LOL) and on the internet, burning photos to DVDs, blogging... but that evening I got to do something quite special!
Mark had kindly arranged with a friend, Alan, to take me out in his little home-made plane! Now, when I say home-made, I mean that he had built it himself from a kit (like you can do with cars) and he uses it to oversee his farm! So, once the thermals had died down, off we sped along Alan's little airstrip (complete with real windsock!) and I was soon having a guided tour over Beverley. I got to wear a headset and everything got to say "Roger that captain!" through the microphone. It wasn't a formal requirement, I was just being a geek! Back on terra firma, we all then enjoyed some freshly smoked sausages, chicken and steak and myself a nice Wolf Blass chardonnay! Well, these are the perks of being a jetsetter!!!
Friday was another day of organisation - I had my backpack to repack and still bits and pieces to get done on the computer, plus some more Wii Fit practise! The damn thing reckons I'm 42, so it's a good job it was Mark's or I might have thrown it out of the window!!! Today, we set off to Perth to meet my old schoolfriend Gillian, who now lives and works out here. Alas, just as we were leaving York, she texted me to say she had to cover for someone at work and had to cancel! We decided to head into Perth anyway, just so I could get a few snaps and say that I'd been there! Once back in York that afternoon, I made some macadamia nut fudge for Mark, seeing as the factory in Margaret River had been closed! I was a bit concerned when I realised that Mark doesn't own any scales, but I managed with a little guesswork AND no thermometer! I was really chuffed with myself - admittedly, I beat it for just a few too many seconds and it set really hard and grainy, but it tasted delicious!
I also spent a few hours today on a special task... I'm not sure what will come of it, but when I have more details, I will let you know - in fact I will need your help, dear reader, so watch this space...
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