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