Australia

Flight of the Covid-19 Refugees, 1-14 February – Part 3: Denmark & Augusta

Cabins and kangaroos in Jerramungup; power (and coffee) to the people; weather philosophy and the rejigging of Roy’s internal thermostat; Denmark’s tradie tavern; pelican brief and apostrophic catastrophes in Augusta

Esperance to Jerramungup

“We have a nice caravan park,” the cashier at the local IGA supermarket had said, when we stopped in on our way east to Esperance. And it is nice, as far as caravan parks go – it’s spacious, has plenty of shrubbery, and when I went for a walk around the perimeter I had my first-ever encounter with wild kangaroos.

Wild kangaroos – but I confess to having taken this particular picture a week later in Yallingup, not in Jerramungup

Read More

Flight of the Covid-19 Refugees 1-14 February, Part Two: Esperance

Jerramungup, a toddlin’ town; getting lucky at Lucky Bay; there’s a tavern in the town (of Condingup); Cindy Poole, heart of a glass artist; I say Esp-eh-rance, you say “Esprintz”; three firsts in one day; reviews and summation

This trip was all about Esperance, a destination that boasts some of WA’s – or even Australia’s – best beaches. Albany, Denmark, Augusta and Yallingup were lovely to revisit, but we’d been there before.

Preview: Lucky Bay, Le Grand National Park

Read More

Flight of the Covid-19 Refugees, 1-14 February: Part One

Why am I still Down Under? – travel is just so 2019; a mani-pedi moment; fleeing Perth – lockdown narrowly averted; York (again); sheep-centric Wagin; Durban and Umhlanga, the end of an era;  Elliot House, Albany – any port in a lockdown

While much of the world has been in  crisis, Roy and I have been living the good life in Western Australia. Aside from several months of restrictions from March 2020, it’s been relatively normal. (Relative, that is, to the questionable dismissal of basic human rights, albeit in slightly different ways and to varying degrees, in most parts of the world.)

Living the good life in WA – me, Roy and daughter Blaire at Mandoon Wine Estate on my birthday

Read More

Historical York, WA, 13-15 October 2020

A tale of two tiny towns; canola blossom prequel and a soapbox moment; Day Trippers, yeah! – York Motor Museum; Burnley House and Settlers Cottages – this and other cases of apostrophic abuse; where to eat, if you’re lucky

“You should spend a night or two exploring the olde-worlde historical Avon Valley,” son Carl had recommended – not once but several times. York had a great motor museum for his dad, and we should try to catch the spring wildflowers.

So, eventually, we did. I booked two nights’ mid-week accommodation at York’s Burnley House and Settlers Cottages through agoda.com. I’d fancied three nights, but Roy thought two would be enough. So now, not having seen everything there is to be seen, I have an excuse for us to go back there.

Read More

Margaret River Trio, 17-21 August 2020

Temper Temper chocolate factory; ginger, chilli and other addictions; equal-opportunity Eagle Bay: microbrewery plus vineyard; escapee lilies at large; Commonage Road Food & Wine Trail

*While at Temper Temper Fine Chocolate Factory, why not visit the Margaret River region?

(*With acknowledgement to the oft-quoted: “While at Raffles, why not visit Singapore?”, attributed – to the best of my knowledge – to that famous hotel’s equally famous guest Noel Coward.)

#1 Temper Temper Fine Chocolate

Top of my agenda for any trip to the Margaret River region, 200km south of Perth WA, is to visit the Holy Grail of chocolate, Temper Temper.

Restocking my supply of chilli dark chocolate at Temper Temper

Read More

Busselton Break, 17-21 August 2020

The WA History Channel: Moondyne Joe advancing Australia fair; Broome or Busso?; Jolly Jetty Tour; Review: Bayside Geographe Bay Resort

It’s now nearly months since Roy and I have been forcibly confined to Western Australia – without one of us even having nicked a loaf of bread or a side of ham. And we’re gradually getting to know a bit about this aspect of local history, courtesy of granddaughter Mia (10).

Moondyne Joe, local hero

Read More

Tea for Two at The Green Tea House, Subiaco – July 2020

The tea-tabulous Tsutomo Iwasaki; flashback to Kagoshima 2009; of catechins, monks and samurais; a long story; An Innocent Man; Sam-san the barista-in-training

Tasting green tea at the tea-tasting-tabulous Green Tea House, Subiaco, Perth

One Wednesday afternoon in July, after a light bite of lunch at Cranked in the buzzy inner city suburb of Leederville, my new friend Debbie Uller drove me to the Green Tea House (www.greenteahouse.com.au). (Find it at Shop 17, 375 Hay Street in Subiaco; call +618 9388 7425).

Debbie at the Green Tea House – a suburban shopwindow hides a little corner of Tokyo

Read More

Margaret River Getaway 7-11 June – Part 1: Dunsborough

We’re all going to Dunsborough; magnificent market; three-quarters of the way there; review: Bayshore Beachside Resort; Gracetown and Cowtown; finger-lickin’ picnic spot

Having visited and stayed in the town of Margaret River several times now – check out these two blogs here and here, for example – I hankered to try somewhere different.

Good old Groupon directed me to the coastal town of Dunsborough. “I love Dunsborough!” exclaimed Carrie when I told her we’d booked a Monday-to-Friday stay at Bayshore Beachside Resort. It was a snip at $600 for four nights in villa “under the peppermint trees” with two bedrooms and a spa bath.

It’s around three hours’ drive south from home in Joondalup to Dunsborough – the red pin marks the spot – in WA’s Margaret River region

Read More

Love in the time of Covid-19, Part Two: Flattening the Curve, May 2020

Winter whinge; my loser husband; cycling for svelteness; surf ’n’ turf birthday barbie; hallelujah for Phase 3!

Though there’s still a fair amount of sunshine, the weather has drastically cooled here in WA. We set off on our often blustery morning bike-ride to Mullaloo in temperatures of 13°C or 14°C; it might rise to 20°C or so by lunchtime, and in the wee hours it can on occasion drop as low as 8°C.

Coastal cycling path from Burns Beach to Mullaloo

Read More