Our little piece of the Cape to Cape

We were back down to Margaret River this past weekend. Sally was our fine organizer who had the exchange group stay at a place near Prevelly, close to where we would be hiking. We arrived Friday evening allowing us to rise and set off early on Saturday. Our weekend consisted of hiking the '3rd' section as per this map (click here).

The first day we did about 28km of the trail from Gracetown back down to Prevelly. The terrain was varied, with long stretches along the coast, but also traversing interior for some parts. Don (Sally's husband) was the 'designated driver' simplifying the logistics of one-way hiking. This also allowed us to be free of carrying our food for lunch as he met us at our lunch stop!

We were clearly further south here, as the flowers were still very much in bloom this late in the season. The entire walk we were surrounded with a variety of colours. One of my favourites was the vibrant pink 'pig snout' (sorry no photo!) Calla lilies, although a pest here since they are non-native, cover the forest floor in damper areas and are beautiful.

We stopped for lunch at the Ellensbrook homestead - the earliest European settlement on the west coast dating to 1850. Nearby was a pretty waterfall in a lush valley (photo of valley at left, waterfall / cascade below).

One of the reasons the walk is so interesting, is due to the underlying rock. There is a ridge which runs all the way down the coast from cape to cape. There is an underlying ancient granite bed, over which the limestone 'young' rock has been laid. So the exposed rock types alternate along the sandy beach and dunes which line the coast. It makes for interesting and varied terrain.

Most of us (except for Sally and our guide who walked back to the accommodations!) ended the day by crossing the Margaret River. In peak flow time, it can be a challenge, but on this day it came up to our knees and was not a problem - despite the many warnings we had received! Saturday evening we took our weary bones out for a nice dinner to a pasta restaurant in Margaret River - we deserved a meal full of carbohydrates!

The Ashwells - who are exchanged near Margaret River - joined us for the hike on Saturday only. That was nice since they have 2 sons aged 15 & 17, so Kyle was not the only teen for once! Also, we did not have our volunteer guide with us on Sunday, and one of the girls decided her back and legs had had enough! And so we were a smaller group for hiking on Sunday.

This time we headed south from Prevelly for about 10km. Again the walk was varied, this time I think even more enjoyable. We started on a tough uphill followed by a nice long flattish walk with wonderful views all around. That's us at left - Kyle way out in front, us three girls and Mike in the back taking photos - as was often the case.

After a steep descent of 344 steps into a beautiful valley, the walk continued along the valley then out into the sand dunes and finished along the beach. The final beach stretch of about 3 km was idyllic. It consisted of just our group hiking along white sand with blue water as far as you could see - the sun shining, a gentle breeze. The only other living souls we saw were dolphins playing in the water. It's hard to imagine a more peaceful place.

After a quick shower to freshen up, we visited a local winery for a nice lunch before heading our separate ways. Yet another successful exchange event with much thanks to Sally & Don for all their efforts.

Wildflowers au Natural

Sunday was overcast (as was the whole past week!). Despite rumours of spring, the weather continues to be wet and cool. But for photoing flowers overcast is fine and the rain did not interfere with our weekend plans, so we can't complain really.

Once again we lucked out and found a wonderful tea house for breakfast in Toodyay. They also happened to have a photo exhibit of orchids, and the photographer popped in when we were there. We were not sure where to head to best see the flowers - although I had been hoping to see fields of everlastings, we discovered that you need to drive pretty far north to see that. We had a few recommendations of good areas, but kismet intervened. The photographer turned out to be part owner of a vineyard where they have discovered several varieties of orchids. They are in the process of developing both the vineyard and the botanical park. They were just up the road, and open today for tours of the wild orchids. So our day was set!

On the drive out we did manage to find everlastings mixed in with the forest on the hillside (at right above) and other wildflowers (sample left above) - still very pretty.

Since the Mt. Vernon Estate & Botanical Park is just in formation, we were one of only a handful of visitors. And it was just as well that we had a guide, since we would have missed most of the orchids. The two more obvious ones are the cowslip orchid (yellow at left) and the blue china orchid (at right).

The owners are hoping to have the area zoned as protected due to the variety of orchids on the property. At least 2 of the species are rare orchids. A botanist from Kings Park is due to visit the property to identify some of the species. Even as we were hiking around we managed to spot an orchid or two which they had not yet mapped. They are very hard to spot to the untrained eye - they are mostly very small and blend in very well with the surrounding vegetation.

While many of the orchids look similar, on closer inspection you see that they are in fact different. The spider orchids come in several flavours. There are bearded and smooth varieties as well as colour variations. At the very left is a bearded and beside it is a smooth. The grouping of 5 above are dark tipped spider orchids. At right below is an antelope orchid.

The kangaroos are a mixed blessing. The orchids mostly occur close to the kangaroo paths. It is believed the roos carry the seeds and necessary fungus for the orchid to grow on their fur which then gets rubbed off into the nearby vegetation. But the roos also trod on and eat the orchids. Given the amount of damage they do, the owners hope to erect a fence around the property to keep the roos out and to protect the orchids.

The other two photos here are spider orchids also I believe, but not sure of the specific species. The red one was especially interesting. And despite not investing in a 'macro' lens, I think Mike did a respectable job of capturing the flowers.

And so having had our fill of fine food, monastic relics, raging bonfires, good company, orchids and wild scenery, we headed back home. And as Kyle put it on the drive home "That was a good weekend guys - thanks".

Spring has Sprung for Fathers Day

Friday night had us once again sharing time with friends from Pinjarra High School. The annual fund raiser for the chaplaincy was lots of fun. They held a trivia night at the local church in Pinjarra. So Mike & I headed out with Richard and Phillipa for dinner at the hotel in Pinnie and then spent a mentally stimulating evening where we managed to beat out the other teams from the school. However we still failed to score high enough to place in the top 3! But the real highlight of the evening was the many treats brought for sharing - we had a very fattening evening of chips, candies - including the best licorice I have ever tasted, nuts, chocolates, wings, trifle and more. We hardly had to eat for the rest of the weekend!
With September 1st, we are now officially experiencing Spring in WA. Anyone who has done research on Western Australia is probably aware that the area is renowned for its wildflowers. I'll leave it the wildflower website to give you all the details, but we'll try to include some visual display here thanks to Michael. We will likely make a trip into the country to experience them in the wild, but to start with we decided to check out the full variety at King's Park.

The Red and Green Kangaroo's Paw is the official flower emblem of Western Australia, so naturally I need to include them. Also at right above is the Black Kangaroo's Paw. It is a bit rarer and less 'flash' but still delicate and unique.

One of the most spectacular displays of mass colour comes from the everlastings. These are the ones I want to see in their natural state! They are a carpet of colour in a range of shades from whites, pinks and mauves and also yellows. The bees are everywhere and seem to be quite content in their garden of Eden!

And not only the bees enjoy the wildflower season, but the birds are also thrilled with the new selection of treats. The Red Wattle Bird (at right) is very aggressive in claiming it's territory and can be quite vocal in keeping other birds away. This however is one of my favourite birds for another reason. We have a few around the house in Mandurah since Theresa has several bushes that attract them. But these birds also like the occasional insect to eat. They routinely make the rounds of the house snatching up all the insects in the corners - primarily spiders. They are amazing to watch as they hover deep in the corners to snatch their prey. The best pest control going!

There were many more native WA wildflowers, but also in bloom at this time are the South African flowers. Since we won't see them in the wild, we've included them here also. The wattle bird above is resting on an Aloe Vera plant. One of the most familiar is the Bird of Paradise. It is impressive to see the large displays which grow year round here. This flower at left is also from South Africa, and unfortunately I cannot remember the name - any one who knows please comment!

And once again, although we have now been to King's Park several times, we found a new trail to follow and this is one of the path side plants in the bush we encountered. I believe this one is one of the many orchids which are found native here, although I am not positive.

Sunday brought Father's Day (finally!), and the weather this weekend was much nicer. Kyle and Mike were able to visit the local field to kick around the footie, and we were able to take a nice stroll along the beach. And even though he had Father's Day last weekend, we tried to make the day relaxing for Mike and didn't make him do anything too strenuous.