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Tuesday 27 December 2011

Tour Number 2: There ain’t no stopping us now

Day 6

After a rainy night we woke up to blue skies at 7:30am SA time which was 5am WA time giving us plenty of time to get ourselves up and sorted by the time we left at 7am. Our first stop of the day was the town of Esperance to get our bus fixed and enjoy some civilisation, ok and to top up our alcohol supply! Esperance is by the beach and it was nice to enjoy the sunshine with my fellow tourists but without the flies. We were rewarded for our patience in waiting for the bus with freshly baked rolls which were delicious and most welcome after the store bread we had been eating for the last few days. Even more exciting than fresh bread was the sight awaiting for us at our next campsite. We were to spend the night at Lucky Bay, one of the whitest beaches not just in Australia but in the world. We explored the beach and spotted a number of kangaroos including one with a Joey in its pouch which had obviously dived in headfirst and not bothered to right its self so all we could see was its feet sticking out. We took a walk along the beach enjoying the views until the amazing white sands and clear waters were too tempting and we all braved the cool water to take a dip in the ocean. After our swim we took a quick shower then faced Frenchman’s Hill, the daunting hill we had passed on the way into the campsite. The hill was steep and not an easy climb but it was worth it for the views and the sense of achievement I felt when I finally reached the top. Sadly I celebrated by achievement by dropping my most treasured camera into the hill. I was climbing up the rock at the highest point when it fell out of its case and between the rocks I was climbing on. As soon as I heard it drop I knew it was gone. The lovely people I was with insisted on looking for it but as I suspected it was gone. I won’t lie; I was upset to lose the camera and my photos. I had uploaded most of them on to my laptop on the drive to the abandoned homestead but it was still very annoying. The girls I had made friends with really came through for me though, as well as giving me hugs they reassured me that they would make sure I had copies of all their photos to remember the trip by. It is thanks to these fabulous girls that I shall be able to provide photos with this and the next few blog posts.

Hill more or less conquered we made our way back to camp where we set up our tents once more as the weather was still looking a little unsettled. Our enterprising guide also set up a temporary shelter by securing his tarpaulin between the bus trailer and cook house giving us an undercover eating area which we were once more grateful for as the rain returned as we were cooking dinner. We were pleased that the rain didn’t last and we were hopeful that it would disappear entirely by the next day. As the skies cleared we took a night walk along the beach. Initially we used our torches but we soon realised that with an almost full moon we could see more once we turned them off. We spotted a few stars and constellations through the thinning clouds and it was a peaceful end to a busy day.





Day 7

Out seventh day was scheduled to be spent in the national park which looked beautiful but as the rain had returned and looked set to last we decided to push on and drove to Mount Trio national park. As we left the national park and headed towards Esperance sods law prevailed and the weather improved. We stopped at a few lookouts to admire the passing scenery before finally stopping back in Esperance where we had an hour to entertain ourselves whilst the buses air conditioning was fixed. We checked out a few shops and had a good start to the day by acquiring free sunglasses when we purchased our cider. We then entertained ourselves and passing motorists by having an impromptu aerobics workout by the side of the road. Typically the weather in Esperance stayed fine which was annoying as we would have enjoyed exploring the park more but it was a good sign for the next national park and we tried to be optimistic despite the weather being very changeable throughout the day. We were glad of the sheltered BBQ station our guide found us for our usual lunch and worried that we would have another wet and windy night ahead of us.


Our worries were put to rest on arrival at the park and we were able to put our tents up in the dry and in the shelter of the large kitchen just in case the wind was as bad as it had been the previous night. I don’t think any of us were too upset that we had to spend the day on the bus as the wind had kept a lot of us awake and we all spent much of the day asleep catching up. Bad weather is a risk when camping in the spring even in Australia and whilst I understood this I was grateful that this night we at least had a wind break in the shape of a substantial building. Once our tents were up we had plenty of time to explore the campsite. My new friends were fabulous and I was truly grateful for their kindness when I lost my camera the previous day but I felt the need to have some time to myself. Once our tents were up I took my iPod and went for a walk. I saw some more emus and some kangaroos but mostly I took the time to think about Josh and I swear I felt him with me as I walked amongst the trees. The peace beautiful surroundings and music did the trick leaving me feeling more positive about the rest of the trip and set to enjoy the rest of the day with my friends. On arriving back at the camp I found I had arrived in time to help prepare dinner and get a photo with my friends in our matching sunglasses and the cider that provided them.  Though it remained dry it was definitely colder so we were very grateful that the manager allowed us to have a campfire allowing us to have a relaxing end to our least impressive tour day.


Day 8

We all slept better as the weather behaved itself and I was looking forward to that days walk which was to be up Mount Hassle. It turned out to be one of the more challenging walks of the trip. It didn’t have the steep flat rock of Frenchman’s Hill but it was higher and there were certain parts that required climbing and a little bit of scrambling. With my reputation on the trip as accident prone I was warned by my friends to be very careful! I made it to the top without incident and I am sure usually we would have been rewarded by stunning views similar to those I have become used to seeing but the clouds and poor visibility made them less impressive than I am sure they usually are. Never the less we were still please with ourselves for making it to the top. On the way down I did have a minor slip but there was no damage to me or my property and I made it to the bus in one piece.


We then moved on to the Gap and Natures Bridge. The Gap is exactly that, a gap between some rocks but when the tide is coming in it crashes impressively up the sides of the narrow gap.  Natures bridge is a natural bridge across another larger gap and a fairly entertainingly place to take some silly photos. On the way back to the bus we saw a halo around the sun which one of my friends was able to capture with her camera.





Our lunch stop was in the small town of Denmark before going to see the Elephant rocks. Unknown to us we had been practising for this stop most nights as some of my friends had taken to seeing what animals they could see in the fire in during our evening drinking sessions.  With a bit of imagination and some squinting at the rocks do indeed look like a herd of elephants. Our afternoon activities ended with a tree top walk through an ancient forest. The walk was interesting and I am glad it was part of the tour but our enjoyment mostly came from the silly poses one of our group suggested we make for photos as we walked through the tree tops. After the tree top walk we also took a ground walk through a different part of the forest where we were able to walk through the bases of some of the trees. Our day was meant to end with a climb up one of the tall tree used as fire lookouts in the past but the weather was against us once again and skipped it heading straight to our next campsite, Fernhook Falls.


We got our tents up and even though by now we knew what we were doing it took us some time as the ground was rocky, forcing us to place our pegs where we could. Finally we had stable tents for the evening and we were able to explore. We took a walk through the campsite to the nearby fall which despite its lack of height was still impressive due to the river being high thanks to the higher than average rainfall that year. Dinner that night was prepared exclusively by our guide, he made us a fabulous carbonara and as usual I couldn’t help but go back for seconds. Having an ex-chef as a guide is seriously bad for your waistline.




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