Busselton has come and gone. As planned, we did have a great evening again at the Busso RSL and did enjoy a number of good walks around the Busselton jetty precinct and beyond, but we were there primarily on business......having the new awning fitted. I am pleased to report that the good folk at the Busselton Caravan Doctor were their usual efficient selves and this all went very much to schedule.
Once we had unhitched the van our problem for the next few hours centred very much on how to entertain one stressed and bored black cat. It's like having a factious two year old on board. I flatly refused to 'take Max for a drive' so we hit on the alternative plan of parking near a quiet local oval and letting the panther have a stroll on his lead until he wore himself out. It almost worked. He did enjoy being in the great outdoors until a number of playful dogs darkened his horizon. No shared paths for him.....it was a bolt back to the cruiser where he got as high as he could....perched on top of his cage.
And, as you can see, he was not backward in expressing his displeasure. "Come on folks, I'm in the car, why aren't we on the move?"
Three hours after dropping the van off we were re-hitching and on our way our along the Vasse Highway through the grazing flatlands south-east of Busselton
and into the hills of the approaching 'Southern Forests' beyond.
On our last visit to Albany we had driven through Bridgetown and regretted the fact that we could not spend some time there. That was about to be remedied. We had decided to spend two nights there on our way south.
Of course, what's a road trip without roadworks?
Fortunately these did not hold us up much and in short order it was time for a lunch stop in the charming little town of Nanup.
By now were were certainly in timber country. Passing log jinkers (or 'tooth pick trucks' as one of our fellow travellers called them) had become our constant highway companions
and we were soon snaking our way through the winding roads of the pine plantations of this part of the WA countryside.
Once through the pine forests, stretches of tall roadside timber soon become more frequent
as we drove past the green, lush grazing fields
and slopes which marked our approach to Bridgetown.
I had found the road between Nanup and Bridgetown challenging to say the least....narrow, winding and very hilly. This was a most welcome sight.
I was later relieved to find that my view of this highway was shared by a chap who had driven wheat trucks throughout this area for many years. He was adamant that he would no longer drive it at night and he was effusive in his agreement that hauling a large van safely through this part of the country would demand intense concentration. I felt much better!
We had been previously told that the Bridgetown caravan park was not conducive to big rigs. This had been stoutly refuted by the park owner when we booked. We were about to find out who was right.
"I've put you on site 34, mate....you won't have any trouble at all", was the assurance we received at the park office.
So, off down the one way road we toddled, confidence restored that our stay in this delightfully green and timbered park would not be beset by anchoring problems.
Past the small group of permanents on the roadway bend we cruised
and down the other side of the park to our allotted spot. Mine host was correct....this was a doddle of a site to access (there was no-one opposite) and more than large enough.
We were initially a little puzzled by the fact that this was the first park in which we had stayed where the site surfaces were entirely sealed with bitumen.
Fortunately we were next to a grassed tent area and had no trouble pegging in our awning stays, but we did wonder what our neighbours would do. We soon had that answered.....they just bashed small pegs right through the bitumen.
Bridgetown, as we were to discover, is as charming as we had hoped, and the caravan park was no exception. Apart from the traffic noise from the highway which abuts the park boundary (which didn't bother us after our Carnarvon experience) this proved to be one of the most pleasant stays we have experienced.
The park ablutions (this is one of two) and camp kitchen are set on fine sloping lawns beneath the large and shady trees which are a real feature of this park.
The banks of the Blackwood River were but a stone's throw from our site, and again large trees were a prominent feature of the landscape. What's a mozzie or two when one has an outlook like this? Our can of Aeroguard sits on the shelf right next to the van door!
And, for the first time in many evenings, we made good use of a camp kitchen where your correspondent took full advantage of the simple BBQ on offer...a modest sausage sizzle was the order of this particular evening (with veggies, of course!)
It had been a long day. A very early start (we were up at 0530 hours) to get the van in for repairs followed by the tedium of waiting around and then a demanding drive, not to mention hitching and unhitching twice. The delights of Bridgetown awaited our attention tomorrow, but for now it was a couple of refreshing ales, dinner and an early night.
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