Western Australia Don and John

Sunrise Hikes Besides the beaches on the ocean and at the mouth of the river, the big attraction in Kalbarri is inland in the national park, which covers a large area surrounding the Murchison River gorge. The river has carved into the ancient sandstone exposing colorful layers embedded with fossils. It has been very hot here and at least one of the main trails is closed after 7:00 am so visitors don't get heat stroke. Our forays to the various trail sites have started very early in the mornings. This is ideal for John, who has focused his photography on the special light of sunrise. But we have to start driving in the dark, usually before 5 am, and this is risky because of abundant nocturnal wildlife on the road, especially large kangaroos. So far, we haven't hit anything, tho we've narrowly missed a couple of echidnas. A minor irritation in hiking is the little flies. They don't bite, but there are zillions of them and they buzz your ears and land on your eyelashes an...

  Our Base of Operations If you take a left at Northampton on Highway 1 and head out to the Coral Coast on 139 you pass a long lagoon that is bright pink. Hutt Lagoon or Pink Lake. It's caused by carotenoid-producing algae. Nearby is Lynton Convict Housing Station where convict labourers were kept in the 1850s. A few miles on and you reach the scenic shoreline of Kalbarri. At the crest of a hill the village at the mouth of the Murchison River comes into view. The town where we will be based for a month from mid March to mid April hugs the shoreline of the river and is mostly only 4 or 5 blocks wide. Somewhere in the middle of this picture is the Reef Villas--our base of operations. We're just 1 block up from the river park (the lawn-green area) that extends for a couple of kilometers all the way to the left and out of the frame. Our villa apartment has a full kitchen, a first-floor lanai and a second-floor balcony hidden from the street by tall palms where many noisy birds hang...

Long Drive Up the Coast - March 15 We got to the rental car place in Perth right at 8 a.m. Sunday morning. It's been a couple of years since we drove anywhere on the left, and it's always a little nerve-racking to start the switch in a big city. Going to the left in round-abouts is freaky. But we adapted quickly. Highway 1 north out of the city becomes two lanes quite soon and then we had 7 hours to practice--575 kilometres of coastal savannah. It feels odd being next to the ocean on the left with no tall mountains on the right. Where the land hasn't been cleared for wheat fields, it's mostly flat, a few gentle hills, with a variety of low shrubs. We weren't certain about grocery shopping in Kalbarri (pop. 1,500), so we stopped at the Aldi in Geraldton (pop. 41,000) about half way, to get essentials for the next few days. It wasn't particularly well stocked, tho, which made me worry a bit about supplies in the tiny village we would inhabit for the next month. It...

Perth and the Swan River March 10 - 15 I didn't know what to expect from Perth. It is much bigger than I imagined. 2.5 million in the greater metro area. At the confluence of the Swan and Canning Rivers about 20K upstream from the ocean. Scenic river waterfront. Great walking and biking paths. The architecture is a mix of old Victorian brick and mortar and high tech steel and glass. Many parks, museums, galleries.  John's photo from downtown Perth Our first morning we got up early (as usual) and walked up to Mt. Eliza and Kings Park (not far). Along the way we had a very stylish yet simple breakfast. We continue to be impressed at how much cheaper food is here. Spent the whole morning exploring trails in Kings Park Botanic Garden. Lovely views of the rivers. Such unusual plants and birds. The plaintive coo of the Australian magpie roaming the grounds was very cool. Screeching galahs, corellas, ring necks, and lorikeets flew around us. Perfect walking weather. John captured an A...

Vancouver to Honolulu to Auckland to Perth -- March 4 to 10 John's careful planning meant only carry-on luggage for 2 months away. Warm weather at all stops made it easy to limit our clothes choices. One overhead bag had to be less than 15 pounds, the other up to 25 because of New Zealand regulations. A new soft under-the-seat shoulder bag held many heavier items like laptops and electronics.  Banyan tree near the beach Customs was a breeze. 'Lulu is not our favourite place in Hawaii, but it was fine as a stopover. Three nights at the Monarch in Waikiki, an older highrise B&B. Five or six blocks to the beach thru lush parks. Nice pool. A food truck park across the street. We spent time on the beach, lazing, wading, reading, walking the shoreline. We sampled authentic Hawaiian dishes. One day we took a bus downtown and toured the Foster Botanical Gardens.  Not sure what this tree is Baobab Our big splurge was lunch at Suntory Japanese restaurant. Shunsai-zen. Eight min...