We have now finally left Bussellton after five very good weeks in three different local caravan parks, all of which were completely different in style, amenities and surrounding locale. Our new water heater has now been installed and is chugging away merrily (we were a little over having to boil the kettle each time we needed hot water) and at this point I must sing the praises of the Coast to Coast organisation who supply these heaters. Although it was 12 months out of warranty, once photos of the fault (ruptured tank) had been sent to them, they provided a brand new unit free of charge as a matter of 'goodwill'. We were only required to pay the installation costs....$270 instead of a probable $1,000 or so. Now that's a Xmas present indeed!
We have now made our way to the Estuary Hideaway Caravan Park some 20 kms south of Mandurah where we are spending four nights before moving back into Perth for Xmas and the New Year. More of our current home later.
We have now made our way to the Estuary Hideaway Caravan Park some 20 kms south of Mandurah where we are spending four nights before moving back into Perth for Xmas and the New Year. More of our current home later.
Despite all I have written to date about our Busso affair, this has not been totally inclusive. And here I have to declare that some of this blog is for our later personal recollection and may be a tad self indulgent.
But let's begin with our whistle stop trip to Bunbury, the port town about 50 kms north of Bussellton. It was a brief encounter conducted more from the motive of 'it's close by, we should make the effort to see it' rather than with any specific objective. I suspect that we could well have spent more quality tourist time in the city but that will keep for our return visit to the South-West, which is a given!
En route to the town lookout, we discovered one of the oddest pair of statues we have ever seen anywhere, let alone in the suburbs. These oddities (monstrosities?) left us initially mystified
En route to the town lookout, we discovered one of the oddest pair of statues we have ever seen anywhere, let alone in the suburbs. These oddities (monstrosities?) left us initially mystified
until, a short distance down the road, we passed the southern end of 'Maiden's Reserve', a coastal conservation park with scenic walks, some remnant Tuart forest and a plethora of local flora and fauna. There seemed to be an obvious connection, but why the two 'maidens' sit at the end of a short, non-descript suburban street remains a mystery to us.
Anyway, on into Bunbury, where, in an area of obviously new and very ostentatious homes, we found this rather curious and equally ostentatious walkway
leading up to the Bunbury Lookout tower.
Bunbury is built on a peninsula and is know as the City of the Three Waters. As described in one of our tourist magazines, "[t]he rumbling surf of the Indian Ocean, the calm waters of Koombana Bay and the tranquil Leschenault Inlet provide a range of water-based activities". It was obvious to us from our perch atop the lookout tower that water is indeed a real feature of Bunbury.
With a population of around 35,000, Bunbury, which lies 175 kms south of Perth, is WA's third largest city after the capital itself and the nearby Mandurah. The area was first formally recorded and explored by the French in 1803. Bunbury now exists as a major service centre in the state's south-west supporting the farming, mining and timber industries and as the area's principle port. The fact that the city also supports 80 restaurants in addition to numerous cafes and pubs is indicative of a healthy local income and a flourishing tourist industry.
From atop the tower we firstly took in the view to the west, overlooking Geographe Bay and the Bunbury lighthouse. The Esplanade along which we had driven in runs off to the left of the photo along the Geographe Bay coastline.
Panning to the right, this shot shows the tip of the peninsula, the docks area and the boat harbour in Koombana Bay.
Continuing to circle to the right, here we see the town beaches and jetties and the waterfront apartments and entertainment precinct.
Still further to the right the waters of the Leschenault Inlet come into view and as we pan right yet again,
now looking to the south, we can see over the Bunbury CBD with its standout largest building, known affectionately as the 'milk carton', an Allen Bond creation of the heady days of the 80's. The Geographe Bay coast again comes into view at the right of this shot and gives some perspective of the peninsula on which the Bunbury CBD is built and the degree to which it is surrounded by the 'Three Waters'.
From the lookout, we did a motoring tour along the waterfront area and thence into the CBD, where I have to say Bunbury finally presented as a place more to our taste. As I said previously, I know from experience we did not spend the time to do justice to much of what is on offer here. We are very much of the ilk that new towns can only be properly seen by walking the streets and here we drove. Next time.
And now for a spot of final Busso potpourri and some self-indulgence. Let us begin with the Bussellton Ironman. As I detailed in a previous missive this is a serious event. The town is taken over by the 1,600 competitors and their support crews who arrive from all over the world. For a week before the event the entire foreshore area is closed off and marquees rise out of the lawns like autumn mushrooms. Now it would be fair to say that neither of us are devotees of the Ironman series, but I remain in awe of the stamina of these competitors and it seemed silly not to take the opportunity to see at first hand what this was all about.
We did miss the swim...the professional group of competitors hit the water at 0530 hours, and although in WA it is well and truly light by this time, this was a touch too early. But we did take in some of the bike ride and the run.
What a transformation had taken place with riders toiling along the Esplanade roadway right past the Kookaburra Caravan park as part of their required 180 kms
and those on the 42 kms run pounding along the closed foreshore walkway (this is the eventual winner, by the way...nothing second rate about this presentation)
The infrastructure was impressive to say the least. This is a mere token shot of the canvas city which had completely taken over the foreshore park area.
As a final word on the Bussellton Ironman, which is estimated to bring over $10 million to the local economy (and given the fact that there was not one skerrick of free accommodation in any of the caravan parks, motels and guest houses in the area this does not surprise) I had to include this shot. Those who manage this event are nothing if not realistic!
For those with challenged vision, my apologies (I though I had gotten closer). The sign over this tent reads, 'Drop Out Clerk'. I did ponder on the final indignity suffered by those whose bodies could not withstand the rigours of this challenging event who then have to make this fact so formally clear to the stewards. I just hoped they staffed this tent with volunteers who were the souls of sympathy and understanding.
And now for something completely different, especially for all who crave a regular dose of 'The Black Panther'....a 'Max special' segment!
Max is nothing if not a survivor....through thick and thin the ship's cat soldiers on (not that he has much choice) in hot weather
and cold (not happy Jan!)
Annex guard duty is much better fun when seated
but when that or a hard caravan night patrol is over it is time to catch up....after all, he is getting on!
And then there are times when Max feels the need to sit back and cogitate in his 'Buddah' pose
and others when nothing but a lap will do. One nip from those claws and you are history, Max!
And the ultimate for the travelling cat?..why his own play pen of course....and a personal trainer to demonstrate its salient features. "I'm not too sure about this", thinks Max, but if its OK for Mum
then perhaps I should give it a crack. Mmmm, this is cosy! As a postscript, Max did finally spend some quality time outdoors in his pen which has the advantage of allowing him to watch the goings on without the temptation to back out of his harness (which he has done twice...a not-to-be trusted feline with too many brains is Max)
Although our stay in the various Busso parks was punctuated with the odd social gathering, it was not a patch on, for example, Kurrimine Beach. However, we did spent a deal of time at the local RSL where, each Friday afternoon, 'fellowship' begins at 1630 hours. After our initial introductions we could not have been made to feel more at home by the Busso RSL group.
The clubrooms are of modest external appearance (ignoring the 'Where's Wally woman in the doorway..and she hadn't even had a drink at this stage) which belie the funtional interior layout and the incredible efforts made by members of the sub-branch to collect and display many, many items of memorabilia, beginning with, in the front gardens,
an anchor from HMAS Swan which was scuttled near Dunsborough and is now used as a dive site.
Here is the corner of the room immediately inside the entrance doorway,
which leads on to the bar area past walls covered with service related photos and other items.
The pool room, which is off to the left of the bar, features a RAAF based display
whilst unit plaques decorate the beam between the bar area and the quite expansive dining area, which on several evenings was pretty well full with members and guests enjoying themselves.
Apart from the very modest (particularly for WA where a pint of quite ordinary beer is $10.00) bar prices, the Busso RSL catering group bung on a different supper each Friday for which they charge the princely sum of $5.00. For two fillets of fish, good chips and an acceptable salad, as but one example, this was indeed value....and the menu was changed each week. As something of a bonus of the 'it's a small world' variety, the sub-branch secretary is an ex-police officer who not only served in East Timor, but did so with two of my very good mates. We did chat a bit! So with all this and more it is probably not hard to see why we had such a good time at the Bussellton RSL.
We did invite a few of our park companions to join the festivities on several occasions, one of which became a very long evening indeed. At some stage early in the proceedings at the RSL we decided that a nightcap in the annex of one such couple would be just the thing to do on our return to camp. Now as you know, fortified wines and your correspondent are no longer a good look, but good manners and neighbourly relations were on the line here.
Thanks for a lovely night Liz (not my Liz) and Ron...and for the head the next morning which was memorable in that it was my only fall from grace in our entire Busso stay. I should add, for the benefit of all who are gasping in horror, that Liz was otherwise attired for the sojourn at the RSL!
During our Bussellton adventure Chef Pierre's galley did open from time to time in various guises. We learnt long ago that there are many savings to be made (which can then be redirected to more important things like the cost of a WA pint) with a bit of culinary effort to produce food items usually of the 'take-away' variety. It is not unusual to find the Marshies dining in on home made pizza for example.
Corned beef provides another example of a simple food cost saving. For approximately $10-$12 my home cooked corned beef will provide three evening meals and enough for a number of sandwiches. Compare that to buying slices of sliverside at the supermarket deli section..no comparison.
We also try to use park BBQ's where we can, if they are clean that is. We have come across some real shockers in our travels, but not so at Sandy Bay where the facilities were excellent.
But let's move out of the kitchen to look at a few more snippets of Bussellton oddities starting with what I reckon is one of the best (and certainly the most unusual) dual building uses I have ever come across.
It's true! A group of Busso 'happy clappers' gather each Sunday at the Esplanade Hotel for a service. Imagine how long communion could be made to last! I had visions of some local drunk passing out in the pub on Saturday night only to come to the following morning in the midst of a church service....can you just picture the reaction? "I'll never touch that stuff again".
On a more practical note, I would now like to share with you one of the most innovative bits of kit I have come across....the Kookaburra Park garbo trailer. This ingenious device was designed and built by one of the park managers. Here his co-manager is sorting the bin before
wheeling it across and loading it onto the holding platform and then, with the touch of a button,
the job's done. How clever is this. I forgot to ask if Greg had applied for a patent.
Still on matters mechanical and creative, it was whilst we were in Busso I was able to go some way to solving a problem which has haunted us since leaving home....getting the kayak on and off the cruiser by myself. I knew of a commercially produced extension bar on which the boat could be rested whilst loading, but these do not fit our roof racks. By chance, on a trip to Margaret River, we passed an isolated house in Metricup on which a sign proclaimed that the occupant was a metal fabricator. Why not see what he could do. I had some ideas of what I wanted and sure enough my new found friend Rex did the job. Now this is not a sophisticated piece of engineering, but it works.
Firstly, attach the bar,
then prop the bow of the kayak on it,
climb the step ladder, lift and site the stern in the rack and then do the same for the bow. It's not pretty, but it seems to work and at least now poor old Liz does not have to stand on tip toes holding the stern whilst I get the bow on.
And then, of course, Murphy stepped in. We had no sooner arrived here at the Estuary park when I spotted a fellow kayaking traveller loading his with an hydraulic side hoist. Enquiries were made forthwith. I am not sure if his device will work with my upright rack, but I am enthused. More enquiries are to follow.
Now for something completely different and entirely out of left field. One of our fellow campers at Sandy Bay was a retired water driller. Not only that, he is a water diviner. I had sighted him wandering around the park holding a piece of bent fencing wire out in front of him. As you know, I am not the sort of bloke who will die wondering. Again, enquiries were made. Graham told me that there was actually an underground stream running just past our site. "Show me", was the immediate request from Mr Sceptic. And sure enough, as he walked past our annex opening, the wire suddenly moved at right angles and maintained that position before swinging back to be pointing straight ahead a few steps later.
As you might imagine, I was keen to have a crack...this has to be mumbo jumbo. Well, blow me down, I can do it.
The wire moved just as it had for Graham as I walked over the same area. Still not satisfied, I insisted on a control....Liz took the wire, and as she took the same path absolutely nothing happened. According to Graham it has something to do with a person's static electrical charge. Irrespective of what causes this to happen, in the words of the title of that grand old Monkees song, 'Now I'm a Believer'. Incredible.
Finally, Xmas approaches, and despite the co-pilot's polite but unmistakable derision, I am determined that the festive spirit must be demonstrated even if we are in a caravan. The only snag is that any decorations have to be relatively cheap, portable, easily stored and virtually indestructible. Lights...now that's a good start. After several hours hunting through various Bussellton stores I finally came across just what I was looking for...20 metres of coloured LED lights with a multi-function controller. All that remained now was to string them up and run a test.
YEEEESS!!
The next task was to determine our preferred programme. This took some time to observe and evaluate. It was a wretched job on a delightfully balmy evening where thirst was a constant companion. I suspect this decision may have taken longer than was actually needed.
So we have lights, and I've since found a small, self-illuminating Xmas tree. A few baubles and a touch of tinsel (I know, a bit gauche....but cheap and easy) and we'll be right into the spirit of things. Watch out Kingsway Caravan Park, Perth, the Marshies' Xmas roadshow is on the way.
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