York, heading east…..

From New Norcia we made our way some 150 kms south east to York, an historic inland town that was first settled in 1831 and is a reminder of life in the pioneering days.  It is a lovely place that we remembered from our last trip to Western Australia some 19 years ago and were keen to return.  Mind you,  previously we rode around York on a Harley but this time we just walked the main street as the vans remained hitch up because we were moving on the next day. 

Well, nothing much has changed in York since we were last there…. except they now have a sock factory.  Yes, a sock factory.  Apparently, it is the only remaining sock manufacturer in WA, although I noted that many items in the shop (not the socks) came from the Waverley Knitting Mills in Tasmania.  The focus is on Australian wool and cotton.  I sound like an advert for them and I didn't even buy anything, well except for some stuff to keep my Ugg boots looking good.  The jackets and wraps from the Waverley Knitting Mill were just beautiful…(note to self… save some $$$ to get something when we are in Tassie). Their socks are made elsewhere  and come to York to be packaged up.  You can see the local ladies doing that through a glass window into the workroom.  

Misty Morning at Avon Pioneer Park

Suspension Bridge over the Avon River

The York Council is very switched on and welcomes RV’s.  You can park your van or motorhome at Avon Pioneer Park, one street back from the main street in the middle of town for free and there are limited number of free power outlets….did I say FREE. There are also loo’s.    Anyway, we stayed in town for a night, met some lovely people from Cairns (can you believe it) …it was a very cold night and woke up to a misty morning. My new Ugg boots kept my toes, toasty warm.  

The Avon River

Whilst in York we were told that the CWA (Country Women’s Association) was in town celebrating their 90th year in WA, the theme for this conference was “Change”.  The Associated Country Women of the World president Ruth Shanks addressed some 400 CWA members in the York Town Hall telling them that in order to remain relevant and up to date, they had to recognise that times were changing.  Women’s lives had changed, they are time poor, have little time for community involvement and that young women need to participate in their own way.  Could be a good relationship, the young learning skills from the older generation and the the older generation learning different skills from the young….I like it.  Also, in  typical CWA fashion of giving instead of receiving, they raised a whopping $75,000 for the Royal Flying Doctors Service.

We walked the town, called into the sweet shop…ah, the memories…..

And we saw this...... Accommodation for "Respectable Couples"

And, last but not least, you can get your own little flock of sheep....this is sheep country you know.  Personally, I like mine either as a lamb leg in the BBQ or fried lamb chops.  But each to their own.

Subject to change without notice…….and we headed to New Norcia instead of….

The weather, these cold fronts and the wind they bring are not conducive to caravanning.  If the winds are strong enough to blow the roofs off houses, imagine what they could do to a van.  We held a round table conference, all four of us, and decided that we didn't want to risk our vans so we would not venture further south to the Margaret River Region, Bunbury,  Busselton, Augusta, Albany and Esperance etc.   This was disappointing and a real shame as there was much to do and see down there and was mostly the reason for the trip.  Will have to leave it for another time.

Speaking with locals we found out that the best time to visit that area of Western Australia is February, March, April and May but the best time to see the wild flowers would be from September onwards so we might have to come back and spend a lot longer here.

To leave the state, heading east, well north-east actually (132Km from Perth) in the first instance to a Benedictine Community called New Norcia.  It is Australia’s only monastic town, founded in 1847 and you have to work there, for the monks, if you want to live in New Norcia.  The Monastery used to house 80 monks.  They were a self sufficient lot, doing everything themselves….baking bread, growing olives, wheat and veggies, looking after the piggery, cattle and sheep and making ale, Abbey Ale, they call it and it has 7% alcohol.  We had a couple with lunch…very nice stuff.  The only thing the monks failed at was they were unable to produce chocolate because they only planted female cocoa trees, well they were monks after all…hehe.

Map of New Norcia

We bought some of beautiful sun dried tomato and rosemary bread and their fruit nut cake, which was exceptionally nice.

There are only nine monks now….. can't just go on a recruitment drive I suppose.  The Abbot is around 50 and the youngest monk is in his late 30's.  These days, they hire others to do the work and the monks meditate and pray six times a day.  One of the monks was supposed to play the huge Moser organ that sits in the Abby Church for us but that activity was cancelled…..boohoo. The Moser organ was bought in Germany and brought to Australia in 1922.  Unfortunately, the monks that where sent over had the organ made and it was too big for the church so the church had to be extended to accommodate organ.  Would have loved to hear it….they even have guest musicians that come to New Norcia to play it.

St. Gertrude's

The Baroque, Gothic, Byzantine, Italian, Renaissance and Latin architectural style and artwork is truly amazing, quite extraordinary in fact.  We were given a lot of information on the 2 hour walking tour we did and access to some buildings that we would not otherwise have been able to go into.  The Monastery itself is a restricted area but we got a good look though the gates.  It is a huge place for only nine people.

The Moser organ at the rear of the Abby Church.

New Norcia has evolved with the times and now provides accommodation for groups up to 200 who can stay in the amazing buildings that house a variety of work and performance spaces along with access to the town’s recreational facilities.  It is a favourite for school camps, art and music workshops, retreats and special events. Well worth a visit.

We camped by the oval for $10,  and were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow in the morning….and look what is at the end of the rainbow…our vans :)

Gold, or rather our Kedron and John & Deb's Trackmaster at the end of the Rainbow

Freo...as the locals call Fremantle

We drove to Fremantle on our anniversary.  We wanted to go to the E-Shed Markets and then somewhere for lunch.  We went to the E-Shed Markets which were a bit disappointing and then for a walk to find the "Cappuccino Strip".  We seemed to be walking for ages before ending up at a restaurant upstairs in a pub....well it was so noisy that we couldn't hear each other, on top of which, we where running out of time on the parking meter.......

So, we decided to go to Freo again but this time in style.  We all went on a Captain Cook Lunch Cruise, which provided tea and coffee on the way over, a tram tour of Freo and lunch on the way back.  We took the bus and train from Gwelup into the city and onto the esplanade and then walked to the Barrack Street Wharf.  While waiting to board the boat, just off the jetty, there were three dolphins that seemed to be herding fish for the pelicans and other birds. Apparently, there are lots of dolphins in the waters around Perth.

Located at the mouth of the Swan River, Fremantle and its harbour serve as the port of Perth.  Fremantle was settled in 1829 and in 1850 the first convicts arrived there with the thirty-seventh and last convict ship docking in 1868, signalling the end of penal transportation to Australia.  Fremantle was declared a city in 1929.  It has a population of approximately 25,000.

Fremantle is named after Captain Charles Fremantle, an English naval officer who pronounced possession of Western Australia and established a camp there. It is know as Freo to the locals.

The tram tour (well it is not a tram at all) hosted by tour guide extraordinaire,  Geoff, was very informative.  It took past the Round House, which had eight cells and a gaoler's residence but when the first 75 convicts arrived from Britain it was apparent that the Round House was inadequate to house them so the convicts had to build their own goal...Fremantle Prison which was used until 1991.

The Round House

World Heritage Listed Fremantle Prison

In 1892, an Irish-born engineer C.Y. O'Connor commenced work to deepen Fremantle Harbour by removing the limestone bar and sand shoals at the mouth of the Swan River.  It was successfully completed in 1903.   His plan was controversial and contrary to previous expert advice it was thought that his proposal was impracticable.  More than 100 years of continued use of Fremantle Harbour proved O'Connor's technical judgement to be correct.

Today, the Inner Harbour handles almost the entire container trade for the state as well as livestock exports, general cargo and motor vehicle imports whilst the Outer Harbour is a one of Australia's bulk cargo ports angling a variety of commodities form grain to LPG.

C.Y. O'Connor is best known for his work on the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, also known as the Goldfields Pipeline, perhaps the worlds longest water main which carries water 530 km from Perth to Kalgoorlie.  O'Connor was subjected to prolonged criticism by members of the press, libellous newspaper articles (so whats new) and by many members of the Western Australian Parliament over the scheme which lead to him committing suicide less than a year before the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme was officially commissioned.

We didn't go to Rottnest Island which is 20 klms off the coast.  Geoff said there was not much there for a day tour but was good if you wanted to "get away" from the world for a while.  

Geoff took us to the War Memorial which stands on Monument Hill, an 11 acre public reserve.  It was impressive but the best thing was the kids who were "ice boarding" down it.  They had these slabs of thick ice which had rope handles and they would "board" down to the bottom and then drag them back up the top...but, mostly they fell off half way down...they didn't care, they were having so much fun., must have been cold on the old tush though.

Kids "ice boarding" down Monument Hill, Fremantle

Would like to go back and stay in Freo for a while.....it is an interesting place.

Perth kept us busy....

We spent three weeks and three days in Perth....could have stayed longer.   Everything is close, it takes no time at all to get somewhere.

Take the Swan Valley Winery's for instance,  it only took 30 minutes to get there.  We had a lovely day starting at the Mulberry Winery at 10am (yes, I know, it is a tad early, even for me) and it just went on from there, who would have thought...haha.  We visited the Margaret River Chocolate Factory...OMG...devine!  Bought dark chocolate, nougat, chocolate almond clusters, some salted carmel sweets and chocolate ginger.   We also went to Morish Nuts.  Didn't like them very much....too expensive and the candy almonds only have half an almond (yes, can you believe they cut them in half) and then have a very thick coat of candy....not nice at all.    And, visited the Honey Shop.

We went to the Cheese factory for lunch.....had a lovely cheese platter and a glass of wine.... bought some Brie and blue cheese and some 'pan de higo' (Spanish Fig Cake) and tomato relish.  Forgot to buy olives!  Sorry there are no photo's, enjoyed it too much and forgot to take any.  This is all I have.

The evidence...all gone now.

The Nougat Shop

We visited Kings Park, 400 hectare of parklands and natural bush on the banks of the Swan and Canning Rivers.   There is an impressive War Memorial and a number of lookouts that provide panoramic views of Perth's skyline and the water.

Nick and John went to the Perth Mint - Deb and I went shopping.  The Perth Mint was founded as a colonial branch of the Royal Mint in 1899 in response to the gold rush which began near Kalgoorlie in 1893.  It was to refine the gold that was discovered in Western Australia and turn it into bullion bars and sovereigns for use throughout 'the Empire'.  The ownership of The Perth Mint was transferred to the Western Australian Government in 1970.  Under the authority of the Commonwealth Department of the Treasury, The Perth Mint now refines the total of Australia's gold production and gold sourced from surrounding countries.  The taking of photo's inside the mint is prohibited for security reasons

The Perth Mint

We visited Hillary's Boat Harbour,  which opened in 1988 and has marina's, lots of restaurants (even a South African one called 'Hippo Creek' which has Boerewors, Peri Peri Chicken, Biltong, Droewors,  and dishes with names like the '400g Hunters Assaghai', 'Lion Kill' and Chicken Shazaloza").  There are shops, art and craft markets, cycle paths, charter companies, Rottnest Fast Ferries, walkways and parklands as well are the Aquarium of Western Australia.

We also went to Scarborough Beach for lunch, beautiful white sand against the blue Indian Ocean with lots of green parklands.   Thats one of the lovely things about Perth - 75% of the foreshore has been kept as parkland for public use.

Scarborough as seen from Hillary's Boat Harbour.

There were two "cold weather fronts" that went through while we were in Perth.  They brought the temperate down, a lot of strong winds and rain. It's the wind that is the problem.   These fronts last for about three or four days from go to woe.  One of them was considered a "severe front" which would only happen once or twice a year.  We spent that day at a shopping centre.....safer and dryer.

Well, due to the bad weather, we had to take our annexe's down and roll up our awnings and we stopped having dinner together, which is a pity because with the annexe up and the heater on, it is toasty warm and we have dinner and then read, play on our iPads or play cards, or heavens above....talk (and drink, of course). With no annexe, we hibernate in our own vans and whilst that is good from time to time, it is no fun when that way of living is forced upon you.

We went down to Secret Harbour to have lunch at the Whistling Kite with our friends Michelle and Henry who we met at Lake Placid Caravan Park in Cairns....it was good to catch up.

(L-R)  John, Henry, Michelle, Gail, Nick and Deb

But with the weather being so bad in Western Australia this year, we decided not to go south and would make our way to Kalgoorlie and then head for South Australia.  Unfortunately, this also meant that we didn't get to catch up with a lovely couple, Carol and Gina, who we met in Harvey Bay earlier this year.  That will have to wait until we come back or we met them on the road elsewhere :)

We did get to go to Fremantle....twice....see next post.