Hi again, After 14 weeks on the road we are still having fun.   After leaving Geraldton we went inland to Mt Magnet doing a loop back to the coast to Dongara (about 900k) searching for wildflowers (although we weren’t expecting many as we had been told there hasn’t been enough rain this year).  We were surprised at how many wildflowers we did see.  A few fields of everlasting daisies, bright red banksias, wattle and heaps of others I don’t know the names of.

We stopped at the site of Lennonville – a town of about 3000 in its gold rush days of 1894 – 1906 but now there is nothing except for a broken railway siding. At Mt Magnet we did a quick  walk around the town (didn’t take long – population here 700).  There are still some old buildings, school, police station, a couple of hotels etc).

Overnight at a free camp site (White Wells).  no other vans here yet.  .  Nobody came!Tony built a fire to sit around with our coffee and we settled in for an early night, lights out to make ourselves as invisible as possible.  Sometime during the night two trucks came in, they were refrigerated trucks so we had the drone of their compressors to keep us awake but at least I felt safer.

Next stop Paynes Find for petrol and there was a small museum about the gold mining in this area. The museum was actually owned and run by a woman (the only Australian woman) who worked the stamper battery.  She was a 3^rd generation miner and this battery was last used about 5 years ago.  She sold her and her father’s leases a few years back, she said fortunately when gold was at a good price! 

After another free camp – this time at a very popular free camp spot – at least 20 vans.  We headed for Jurien Bay, running into some very heavy rain – couldn’t see the white line at times – but made it safely. From here we drove about 17k south to the Pinnacles (literally thousands of limestone pillars rising from the sand dunes before heading to New Norcia. . 

New Norcia was founded in 1847 by the Benedictine monks originally for the support of the aboriginal community. Today the only people that can be buried in the local cemetery are the monks or aborigines.  There has been 80 monks living here but now it is down to 7 and 1 novice.    They still bake their own bread and I am sure it is the yummiest bread I have tasted.  We did a town tour with a guide (who told me he is 48 – I would have believed 38).  He applied to enter the monastery but said he was told he “wasn’t cut of good enough cloth” so now he just works there!!. 

Then to Perth. the caravan was booked in for a service in Perth and because of the bad weather (windy gusts over 90k per hour and heavy rain we decided to stay put for another day.  We are now in Margaret River- a farm stay park.  I just feel like I am in the country, animal feeding each day – I need the grandchildren!  The downside for me of all this travelling around is the navigating.  I just don’t seem to be able to read a map no matter how hard I try so that part is very stressful.  The GPS is good for A-B but getting around the towns is a bit of a challenge.

The lobster is tasty over here.  This is our third lobster dinner so probably our last!

Busselton jetty – we gave the tram and miss and walked the1.8k each way.  There is an underwater observatory (8 metres) at the end of the jetty but because of the recent bad weather this was closed due to poor visibility.

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