Merry Christmas

Although 2021 has been a wonderful journey through Western Australia, we realise that it is that time of year when we miss our family and friends the most and will be thinking of you as we celebrate Christmas and wish you all a very safe and happy 2022.

Ferguson Valley

We left Nanga Brook/ Mill site and based ourselves at Burekup for easy access into Bunbury before spending a lovely week at Wellington Dam in the NP

We have added a few must haves

..a little bit of fun

Horse/ March flies can be pesky at the moment, this way we can still sit outside in the breeze

Highlights were this great tower and unusual lighthouse in Bunbury

Mural on Wellington Dam

Mural trail around Collie (First and still is coal mining town in WA)

A lunch treat in Collie

Our camp ground...very busy on the weekend with families, kayaks and boats

Worst bush walk ever,  first 1/3 was through tall undergrowth and then very steep and slippery, and the view at the top was not awesome

Collie river and rapids

And then........Gnomesville...wow!

Apartment living

The night watchman




Bird of the week.....very friendly Splendid Fairy Wren

Christmas and New Year are at 2 Margaret River Farm Stays 

Conto Christmas

We are booked into this campground at Conto in the Leeuwin Naturalist NP in the Margaret River from 20 Dec to 27 Dec. The Margaret River Bush Fires just burned through the National Park and over 6000 hectares were blazed. 

We were so looking forward to Christmas here, so close to the beach too. It may reopen in time, but will it stink? is it covered in ash? we are really at a loss what to do and where to go.

Heritage Towns and Trails

This week has been a lovely and scenic change of pace. 

We left Greater Perth and headed South, 1 1/2 hours into the Perth Hills.  Many of the oldest towns were built to support the Jarrah forest timber industry in the mid to late 1800s, but is now marketed as “the adventurers playground” have mountain bike and timber rail trails to explore, listed heritage sites, canoeing,  and provide free camping which we are sharing with just a few other campers at this time of year and is great as it gives us an opportunity to shop local for food, petrol, touristy items and gifts...you never know what you will find.  They are all surrounded by rejuvenated forests.

JARRAHDALE - Timber, now old mill site and buildings heritage listed. We camped on the old mill site

Pole celebrates the average height of the old Jarrah forest

Following the old rail trail to the mill (our camp)...weird growing branch


Single mens accommodation at the mill 


Another forest trail, the sign said the TOP DOG stood on top of the log to saw, and the UNDER DOG stood in the pit and sawed from below, is that where these phrases came from ?

Saw this awesome Bobtail Lizard

We visited Serpentine Dam and Serpentine NP and falls and hiked up to the Bluff...Perth skyscrapers could just be seen on the horizon

The day-use area was lovely and the kangaroos very friendly

BODDINGTON - Timber until the 1961 Dwellingup bush fires decimated the industry, then Bauxite mined from 1979 to present, and now has WA’s largest Goldmine which commenced in 1987.

Our camp in town on the picturesque Hotham River

Lots and lots of these amazing sculptures by a local artist, here are just a few

Baccus, Lord of the Vine


A drive out through the bauxite mined hills to Tullis Rail Bridge which was built in 1912 over the Hotham River to link Pinjarra, and was used until 1968, but burnt by campers Easter 2009. It is now a picnic area and 3 km trail and no camping!

Cute pom pom flowers along the trail at Tullis Bridge

Bauxite is close to the surface and the forests are replanted as quick as they are mined...

The mine cuts across the road out to Tullis Bridge and we had to wait for the gates to be opened to continue

PINJARRAH - Farming region and by 1840s was the social & economic centre on the Murray River, with rail links to Perth and Dwellingup. Since 1974 it has Alcoa aluminium refinery, receiving bauxite transported by train and a 50km conveyer belt through forests. We had a 1 night stay, the town was pretty, but the camp ground was right next to the railway line and trains full of bauxite continued through the night. It was great for the library, Kmart and Coles.

MARRINUP - Timber 1880s until 1930s. The old townsite is now the campground, although we couldn’t find any evidence of a township, a few kms further into the forest are the remains of the 1940s Prisoner of War camp which was built to house 1200 Italian and Germans. 

Our view

Thank goodness for rail access trails, or abandoned rail trails (this rail is still used for tourist train tours Pinjarrah to Dwellingup, found this track on the way back from the Marrinup Falls

and hundreds of kilometres of mountain bike trails through the forests, they make it easier to get our 10,000 steps per day

Surprising what you find in the forest....who has a carriage in their drive-way?

Huge hike to and around the POW camp

The Italians and the Germans had their own separate compounds, lots of interpretive boards and very well signposted

Derek is stood in the detention cell, not very spacious..


NANGA BROOK- Timber milling town from 1900 to 1961. The mill site is now a campground and part of a National Park, however the old town site is outside of the NP and only for tent camping. Kms and Kms of mountain bike tracks again throughout the NP

Next stop is Wellington Dam in between Collie and Bunburry, before we head to the Margaret River region for Christmas.