Tag: Road Trips

A Road Trip to Pemberton and Margaret River, Western Australia – First Day

We left Perth on a Sunday morning for an overnight stay in Pemberton. Stopping for lunch in the vibrant green Ferguson Valley and then for a look at the fabulous Wellington Dam Mural. The journey takes around 4 hours from Perth, Pemberton is located in the South Western region of Western Australia.

Lunch was at St. Aiden’s Winery, and we shared a couple of dishes. This was a beautiful winery and one that we had never visited before.

St Aiden’s Church

After lunch we headed over to the Wellington Dam Mural located just outside of Collie, WA.

The mural is called Reflections and is the largest mural in the world painted by renowned world artist Guido Van Helten. He spent three weeks talking to locals and also staying in an Aboriginal community to get a sense of what they would like to see painted. If you would like to read more of this story click on the link Reflections

Individual images of the mural. What an amazing feat this is and it was well worth the detour to look at this awesome mural.

The time was ticking on and we still had another two hours drive ahead of us, or should I say dear husband did!

I had booked a placed called Forest Lodge Resort, one because it looked nice and two as it had a restaurant attached so Anthony didn’t have to drive anymore that night and could enjoy a drink or three!

We arrived just after 5pm and it was still light so as soon as we had checked our room we went for a walk around the grounds. We got an upgrade!

Our room and view
So many kangaroos roaming freely

From our walk around the lake

So calm and serene
The setting sun on the lake
A Giant Californian Sequoia Redwood planted in 1935

By this time it was happy hour so we headed over to the bar and restaurant for a drink before dinner.

The resort is owned by a German couple. Ingo is also the cook, hence the name of the restaurant – Chef Ingo’s. Their daughter Selina seems to be receptionist/waitress/and jack of all trades. Service was impeccable and Selina was a delight.

A drink in front of a cosy fire
  • Smoked Pork Belly
  • Smoked Duck
  • Spiced Rib Eye, Red Cabbage and mash

Dinner was quite salty, so just drank more wine to quench our thirst!

We had a relaxing and very enjoyable overnight stay here, and we will definitely be back again. Tomorrow Margaret River beckons with a few stops along the way.

On the trail of Art, Westonia, Western Australia

On our way back to Perth from Kalgoorlie we made a quick stop at Westonia. Just a tiny town off the main highway with a population of under 300. This was a cute little place and I loved the way the people have made the most of the history there.

Established in 1911 by Alfred Weston after the discovery of gold was found in the area. By 1917 there was a population of 2,000. Westonia has won Tidy Towns twice in the last twenty years.

There is a caravan park, a good place for an overnight stay for the “Grey Nomads” travelling around Australia in their camper vans and caravans. Also there is a small gift shop/cafe and Post Office/Supermarket/Cafe.

A very well kept street, so neat and tidy
Where the old Fire and Ambulance Stations once stood

Front door to the Gift Shop

We hoped to have lunch here but unfortunately they were just closing, but the Post Mistress was there delivering their mail and she very kindly offered to make us some rolls at the Post Office. Country town hospitality at its best.

Individual images of the artwork at the entrance to Westonia

I’ve used this post to link up with Cee’s Photographing Public Art as I thought it fell quite well under this category!

Thanks for visiting Westonia with me!

👻The Golden Ghost Town of Gwalia, Leonara, WA 👻

On our recent trip exploring country towns of Western Australia, we were recommended a visit to Gwalia in Leonara. Around a 2 ½ hour drive from Kalgoorlie, maybe a bit more with a stop on the way. It was well worth the drive to see this fascinating ghost town. We had a beautiful day for our visit after yesterday’s grey and gloomy day. At the bottom of this post there is a short history.

We first went up the museum to have a look around at the top and to view the mine and managers’ buildings. The husband of the lady running the gift shop and information centre is the restorer of all the buildings.

  • A view of the town from the road

A mural painted by the artist Roderick Sprigg in 2018 who grew up in Gwalia. He actually painted the corrugated effect as well.

The head frame made of Oregon Pine in 1899.

The mine at present

The tram used from Gwalia to Leonara
  • Old engine boiler

  • Hoover House

  • Verandah of Hoover House

A view of Mt. Leonara from the verandah

Hoover House is now a bed and breakfast and also serves Devonshire teas on the verandah

Inside Hoover House

The Ghost Town

The miners and their families tried to make the best with what little they had. It must have been boiling in the summer and freezing in the winter. These are some of the homes below of the outside and inside.

  • The Pink House

Patroni’s guesthouse – while some miners had their own homes many were single men who boarded here. Families often ate their meals here if they had no kitchen facilities.

An entertainment room, the piano looks in need of an urgent tune up and repair

The State Hotel built in 1903 and once I imagine a grand old building. It was built to give the town a licensed premise and to lessen the “sly-grog” trade.

Short History of Gwalia

In 1896 a gold reef was discovered by prospectors. It was originally named Sons of Gwalia which signifies the Welsh heritage of the investors.

In 1897 110 miners were employed at the mine and in 1898 Herbert Hoover (the 31st president of the USA) was appointed as mine manager, working for only six months here.

By 1901 – 1903 the goldmine is thriving and surpassing its predicted production. By now 884 people live here and a school opens. Also a tram service established between Gwalia and Leonara.

1914-1918 many men leave to enlist in WW1.

1919 – it is now the deepest mine in Australia.

1921 – 1929 – A fire destroys the power station and mill and reconstruction works commence. Herbert Hoover becomes President of the USA (1929).

1939 – 1945 – WW2. The Italian miners employed at the time were interred and the mine is now operating at a loss.

1963 – On the 28th December the mine closes, there was a mass exodus of most of the people, abandoning their homes and many belongings.

1964 – The population drops from 1,200 to 40.

1983 – The mine was reopened and is still a going concern today.

Gwalia Mine – For more information

Thanks so much for reading and travelling with me to this unique place. I hope you have enjoyed the photos and history!

More on the Historic Trail of Country Towns, WA

Continuing on with our road trip to Kalgoorlie, we left Northam around 10 a.m. after breakfast. Our first stop today was a small place called Meckering.

Meckering

The most famous thing about this town is the earthquake in 1968, with a magnitude of 6.5 and injuring 28 people. We stopped to look at one of the houses that suffered, the remains have been left as a memory. I don’t suppose for a minute that Mrs. Snooke would have imagined an earthquake in this rural town.

Meckering dates back to 1898 with a population of 225, today it’s not much more at 265.

We had chosen the worst day to travel with dreary grey skies and constant rain, my dear hubby wouldn’t leave the car!

Cunderdin

A very brief stop in Cunderdin for a coffee at the Ettamogah Pub. A traditional country pub designed on the ‘Etamogah’ cartoons by the infamous Ken Maynard. Etamogah means ‘Place of a good drink”.

We couldn’t wait to get back in the warm car after a coffee in this very cold pub!

Cunderdin Town Hall

Merredin

Merridin was next on the trail and fortunately it’s on the silo art trail. The art on this silo was created by urban artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers and extremely impressive.

Time was ticking by now and we really needed to get a move on if we were to arrive in Kalgoorlie before dark.

We stayed at the Rydges Hotel which is about five minutes away from the main town. It seemed to be the best hotel on offer and we had booked two nights here. Tomorrow we will be exploring Kalgoorlie and driving further afield to a ghost town and mine!

Some of the roads we travelled on were indeed under construction!

On the trail of Historic Towns, Western Australia – Toodyay and Northam

We decided to do a three day trip just recently to visit some country towns in Western Australia. These towns were once thriving communities, established at the beginning of the twentieth century by early white settlers. Nowadays these towns rely on the historical landmarks to attract visitors.

Our first stop was to see the silo art which is located just outside of Northam. These incredible paintings were done by artists Phlegm and Hence. Try as I might I cannot find much about Phlegm, only that their paintings are all over the world. Hense is Alex Brewer, an American artist, originating in Atlanta, Georgia.

It is wonderful to see these grey drab buildings being brought to life and there are now many dotted around Australia.

After this we had a quick stop in Toodyay, with a population of approximately 1,500. Before European settlers came to these towns they were populated by the Noongar people.

Toodyay

Population – 1,500. Established in 1836.

  • Built in 1864 and last renovated in 2018
  • The Freemasons Hotel
    Built in 1860 and renovated in 1994
  • Built in 1910
  • Built in 1897 and renovated in 1970

Katrine

Next on out trail was a stop at Katrine, a tiny village just outside of Northam where I spotted a church.

St. Saviours Church
Katrine

Northam

We finally got to Northam around 4.30 pm and checked into the Farmers Home Hotel. This is a 150 year old newly renovated building which has 16 rooms. It is a magnificent building, the only downside being no decent restaurant. The Dome coffee house is situated in the building and offers guests a dinner menu. I can’t say we were impressed with the menu.
However we did have a fabulous room and in the distance you could see the Avon River. We managed a quick walk along the banks of the river before heading back to the bar.

Farmers Home Hotel
Our room
Our view on a very bleak day!
Inside the hotel
  • River Avon
  • Typical house
Sculptures made of old agricultural machinery parts

  • By Amok Island
Northam Flour Mill
With reflection

The next day we checked out and began the long drive to Kalgoorlie, this would take around 6 hours including stops. My dear hubby loves a good long drive so this was perfect for him.

I will be featuring more historical towns in my next post. I hope you can make the journey with me!

Picture Perfect Philip Island, Victoria

Our trip to Victoria included a one night stay on Philip Island. It’s a place I’ve wanted to see for a while and was intrigued as to why many of the places are named after Isle of Wight towns. I haven’t read anything definitive to explain it, just that the early settlers (1800 or thereabouts) had just holidayed there or saw a similarity.

We travelled from Melbourne with our two intrepid travellers, Laurence and Maddy, with Laurence driving. It’s an easy drive around 90 minutes and you can drive onto the island across the Philip Island Road Bridge from San Remo.

Our first stop of the day was lunch at Saltwater, a restaurant directly on the seafront. After pizzas and fish tacos, we wandered over to see a “squadron” of pelicans awaiting their lunch.

Newhaven

  • Philip Island Bridge
  • Newhaven Foreshore

As it was almost 4pm by now we had to get a move on to check into our accommodation. A little boutique guesthouse – The Castle, Villa by the Sea, located in the North of the island in Cowes.

Cowes was named by Henry Cox in 1865, a land surveyor who had just recently visited the seaport in England. Before this it was called Mussel Rocks.

We were already very impressed by the beautiful scenery on our drive up to Cowes. After checking in we walked along to the seafront. I could imagine how busy this place is in the Summer, such a wonderful island for a family holiday. Calm sandy beaches and grassy areas for picnics.

Cowes

  • Lengthening shadows
  • Cowes Beach

  • Mussel Rocks
  • Cowes Pier

Dinner that night was in a Greek restaurant a short walk from our guesthouse.

The next day we had an early breakfast along the seafront before checking out at 10 am. I had a lot planned for today.

Our first stop was Rhyll, a little fishing port named after the one in Wales.

Rhyll

A beautiful carving by Brandon Lawrence. Brandon created this sculpture from the massive cyprus tree that was blown down in a storm in 2016. It is called The Ferry Captain and depicts all things nautical. It honours all the ferry captains over the years.

Continuing with our tour we drove through Philip Island and down to the South West to Ventor, where we had a brief stop to watch the surfers. This is also where the penguins live and there is a nightly parade on show. We gave this a miss the night before as it was extremely chilly, maybe a visit is on the cards for the summer.

Ventnor

  • Mads enjoying the view
  • Cape Barren Goose

Downwards now to the very bottom tip of the island – The Nobbies. Home to the fur seals of Philip Island. There is a wonderful walk around the cliffs that takes approximately half an hour where you can see the roiling rollers of the sea. It’s quite mesmerising watching the waves.

The Nobbies

There is also an interactive Antarctic museum here which we didn’t visit but looked like a great place for families.

Churchill Island

Driving back now across the island to Churchill Island, where a historic heritage farm is located.

Churchill Island was named by Lt. James Grant in 1801 for the name of the man who had given him the seeds first planted here. There are beautiful well kept historical buildings and magnificent gardens to explore. It is still a working farm where there are many animals freely roaming around. A truly tranquil place to while away an hour or two and soak up the peace.

The Farm and Surrounding Areas


What fantastic murals!

Churchill House and Gardens

A fabulous weekend was had by all on this picturesque island. Below are some links for interest.

Philip Island Historical Society

Churchill Island History

The Nobbies

Cowes

Lastly a map of Philip Island

Touring Tasmania – 9 Day Itinerary

Our last day today and finally breakfast for four! After a full English breakfast at the hotel, we packed up the car and drove off to Launceston Airport to drop Laurence and Maddy off. We then drove back to Hobart for our flight much later that evening.

We had enough time to stop at Swansea which is on the East coast of Tasmania for lunch and a quick wander around.

Plans are already being made to visit this wonderful state again and visit the parts we missed.

Tasmania definitely exceeded our expectations, especially hubby’s! The seafood and the wine were the favourites of course. But there is no denying the beauty of this State. It is absolutely true what they say that around every corner or bend there is something to see and take photos or just stand in wonder and stare.

The stunning bay of Swansea

A complete itinerary of our nine days.

Days 1 to 3 in Hobart, including MONA

Day 4 – Richmond

Days 5 and 6 – Stanley

Days 6 to 9 – Launceston – including Cataract Gorge and Tamar River Wineries

Some of the fantastic places we visited along the way:

Port Arthur

Mt. Wellington

Sheffield

Highfield House

A Few Highlights

Thank you everybody who has followed me on this journey and made some lovely comments. It makes it all the more fun when you know someone is reading!

Touring Tasmania – River Tamar Wineries

It was Maddy’s Birthday today and a day out at the River Tamar Wineries was on the itinerary. After letting them have a bit of a lie in from their late night, we set off around 11 am. We took the West Tamar Highway and our first stop was Grindelwald. From the name you can would be correct in thinking it was modelled on a Swiss village. Built in 1989 by Roelf Vos, a Dutch immigrant to Tasmania, for his wife after they visited Switzerland. The story is that she loved Switzerland so much the he built a village just for her!

As you can see the weather has cleared up beautifully.

There is a hotel here and a few activities for kids around. It’s very quaint but I don’t think I could spend a night here.

Our next stop was Marion’s Vineyard, established in 1979 by a Cypriot and Californinan couple with stunning views across the Tamar. There is no restaurant here but there is a beautiful area to enjoy a bottle of wine and a cheese platter. As we had reservations for lunch elsewhere we just did the wine tasting. If you buy a bottle the tasting is free. We had acquired quite a taste for Tasmanian wine so we did buy a few bottles between us.

It was such an interesting winery with lots of quirky decor in a taverna type setting.

This painting was on the wall inside the bar area and I just loved it. Can you recognise all these characters? Hubby knew them all of course, Laurence and Maddy had no idea, I knew most.

A stained glass image of the barn at night. The barn is pictured in the featured image.

The essential rusty tool exhibit, all Australian wineries have one!

From here we drove to our lunch venue, Timbre Kitchen, located in Velo Wines. When our waitress handed us the menu we wanted to order nearly everything on it! It all looked so delicious and of course once again I forgot to take photos of the food.

Naturistic lighting

After a most enjoyable lunch, there was still enough time left to visit another winery for some more tasting! With so many wineries to choose from it was hard to pick just one. In the end we opted for The Swinging Gate. We were lucky to get a table as it was very popular with the wine tours, bookings are recommended. This time we were served at the table for different tastings and given a sheet of paper to mark down our verdicts.

I thought the “waste not want not” attitude to various items of furniture was a great idea, hence the doors on the wall.

A view from The Swinging Gate of Domescape Glamping in the Vines.

And really that was all we had time for, most of the wineries close at 4pm. A relaxing drive back to Launceston and tonight was our last night in Tasmania.

  • Mud Bar, Launceston Seaport
  • Launceston Seaport

Touring Tasmania – Cataract Gorge, Launceston

Our luck ran out today weatherwise, but that didn’t mean we were going to alter our plans for a trip to Cataract Gorge. We were looking forward to riding on the famous chairlift, built in 1972, it has a total span of 457 m (1,499 ft).

The first stop on today’s itinerary was the Queen Victoria Art Museum. When we visited there was a wonderful exhibition called Skin by Garry Greenwood. This featured stunning leather artworks with an array of masks, sculptures and musical instruments. A permanent feature at this museum is The First Tasmanians exhibition. I found this very interesting and learnt so much about survival and how they lived their day to day life.

From here we made our way to Cataract Gorge, stopping at Penny Royal Adventures for a quick look around. By now the rain had set in, poor Maddy found out her raincoat was not waterproof!

Penny Royal Adventures is a great place for kids, there were a couple of rides and of course the suspension bridge. I thought at first this was the bridge that I saw mentioned at Cataract Gorge! I really wasn’t that keen to try it. We saw a family walking along it with helmets on. From here we walked around to the Zig Zag trail and started our walk along the Gorge.

It is believed that the final formation of Cataract Gorge began with the last ice age, approximately 3 to 4 million years ago. The rock formations are commonly believed to be from volcanic activity.

On a good day there would be so much to do, explore the gardens and look at the beautiful peacocks strutting about, search for wallabies in the bush and maybe have a swim in the massive open air swimming pool. We did see a few bedraggled peacocks and glimpses of wallabies through the rocks. It was mostly just a case of putting one foot forward and marching on.

  • A blurry wallaby
  • Still smiling

We finally reached the Alexandra suspension bridge after around 40 minutes and the weather showed no signs of improving. The bridge was built in 1904 and named after Queen Alexandra and is 220 ft long.

It is kind of shaky! We didn’t venture all the way across, I think we had lost our bearings somewhere along the way and wanted to make our way to the chairlift. Hubby was against the chairlift and said it would be totally miserable and wanted to walk back the same way. By this time Maddy had already set off in search of it! It was three against one and so the chairlift it was.

The Bandstand built for Edward VII and Queen Alexandra

I only managed one photo on the chairlift of Laurence and Maddy in front of us! I have to say it was not the most enjoyable ride I’ve ever taken. When we “disembarked” we ordered an uber to take us to the pub we had seen just past the Penny Royal, Kings Bridge Pub. Here we had a well deserved lunch, a few drinks and a couple of games of pool.

The pub was a great find with very traditional old English decor, what more could you ask for on a rainy day.

Then it was back to the hotel to dry off and a rest for me before heading out for dinner that night. We all decided that it was a fantastic day out despite the weather.

We at at Stello’s Restaurant which was just a short walk from the hotel.

Touring Tasmania – Low Head, Launceston

For the next few days we would be exploring Launceston and some of the surrounding areas. George Town and Low Head were the destinations for today. We travelled along the East Tamar Highway alongside the Tamar River. Low Head is a suburb of George Town and sits right on the peninsula with a lighthouse at the top.

The above photo is of the Windmill Point Tree Sculptures. Depicting the workmen hauling ashore the telegraph cable that linked Tasmania to the North Island. Carved by chainsaw artist Eddie Freeman from macrocarpa trees.

One of the Tamar River Leading Lights

Low Head

Onto Low Head to have a look at the lighthouse and historic site that is up there. There is a carpark just below the lighthouse and after parking we made our way to the top. Constructed in 1837 by convicts, originally made of rubble with a coat of stucco. It was decided to build a lighthouse after a dozen ships were wrecked over the previous years.

Walking down the hill the to the sea, I could see some black and white birds on a rock. It said there were penguins nesting around so I had a look through my Canon Powershot and sure enough there were a “huddle” of penguins on the rocks.

I had to balance the camera on one of the rocks to keep my hands steady, I was very happy that they didn’t come out blurry.

I felt like I’d had a good workout by the time we got back to the top and into the car. Stopping again in George Town for a delicious lunch in a waterside restaurant called The Crazy Duck. We still had a few hours left before Laurence and Maddy were arriving from Melbourne that evening, I looked at the map to see if there was anywhere worth seeing on our return to Launceston. Deciding on Lilydale Falls we drove half an hour east away from the river.

Lilydale Falls

After parking the car we made our to the first waterfall which was around 15 minutes and then saw a path to the much bigger one. It did have a warning for this part of the walk to say there were no handrails and it was quite a way longer. I’m glad we made the effort though, not that it was an effort for hubby only me! There were huge trees and ferns all around and so peaceful. There were a few other people walking the trail but not enough to hold anyone up.

At the start of the walk

Getting back to the hotel around 5pm, I had just enough time for a rest before Laurence and Maddy arrived and then it was straight out to dinner.

Another walk to the restaurant called Cataract on Paterson. Wonderful lively restaurant with a great menu and friendly staff.


Always a treat to see these two

And then it was back to our prison block as hubby called our hotel! Actually it was a very nice hotel “Balmoral on York” but housed in a plain brick utilitarian building. Conveniently located with a super host and great reception staff. There was a cute breakfast room serving continental and cooked breakfasts. The rooms were perfectly fine with extremely comfy beds.

Tomorrow we would be heading to Cataract Gorge which was going to involve lots of walking!