Wednesday 14^th March, 2012

We got up already at 6am as a long day was waiting for us. First I called my travel agency in Sydney to tell them about our problem with Apollo. Allegedly we were unfortunate. They look now how Apollo may compensate us for the lost time. We just passed Kalbarri as we had already booked the camping in Monkey Mia. We will come back later. We drove a never-ending road through the outback to the Hamelin Pool and visited the stromatoliths. At the rocks there was an emu accompanying us. As we watched the shore we observed tourists walking on these living rocks which is forbidden. I think they also do not like to be kicked in the face! On the way back to the camper I saw a kangaroo jumping away, but not without shortly stopping for a picture. It was 40° C in the shadow and the heat made us tired. So we decided to drive without stop to Monkey Mia. There arrived we made first a break and drunk litres of water. In the resort emus were walking around. Towards the later afternoon we drove to the Francois Peron National Park. Only 4WDs are allowed on this road and the it got more and more sandy. We got a bad feeling and turned. As soon as we had turned the car we became stuck in the sand. Luckily there are saving angels. Two kind Australians explained us, that we should have let off air from the tires. Somehow we did not consider a sign at the entrance. They helped us and then they followed us until the park entrance. Somehow we cannot do it without adventures.

Friday 9^th March, 2012

Short after 10am we went with the bus to the Apollo rental office. Because of a huge building site along the road some of the bus stops were closed. So we had to walk with all our luggage for about 30 minutes. The stress continued at the rental office. All forms were filled out and we should deposit the deposit. As I have already an insurance for the excess in case of an accident, I had to deposit CHF 7500. Already back in Switzerland I had told this to my bank and they had raised the limit. But it did not work. I guess the monthly limit was raised, but not the daily limit. So we had to pay for an insurance to reduce the deposit. After we tried all credit cards and the system played up, we got to see th Camper. OK, 4WD is cool, but I realized that it has to be shifted manually. Good luck I am already used to drive left so I could concentrate myself on shifting the gears. Now our trip to the west coast could start. First we went shopping. I was lucky to find a nice tasting spelt toast as I cannot eat wheat. Our destination for today was the Nambung National Park. Occasionally we stopped and enjoyed the landscape. At the beginning we saw many grass trees. It looked great. In the late afternoon we reached Nambung National Park. Here are the Pinnacles, most long and pointy rocks standing straight. We passed these rocks on a sandy road. The sun was already deep, the best time for pictures. We made many. At the end of the circle road Sandra realized that there is another road leaving from this one. So we went there and this was a good idea. There live emus and they enjoyed themselves close to the road. Then we had to rush to not let the sunset pass as the light shining very nice at the rocks. After dinner at the carpark of the National Park Sandra went again to the Pinnacles to take picture with moonlight, meanwhile I enjoyed the bright moon. Then we drove another 30 minutes in the dark to Cervantes. The reception of the camping was already closed, but a sign said that we may ring on the door of the next house until 20:30. A look at the watch said that we had exactly 4 minutes left. We had luck and got a place to stay overnight.

Monday 20^th February, 2012

Today I wanted to lie in, but my inner clock woke me up already at 8am. After I moved all my stuff to the car again, I started. To Coles Bay there is just one road and thus the way was the same as two days ago. On the way there was someone with a camera standing beside the road and shortly after an emu. So I made a U-turn and came back. The emu did not bother. A few days ago I told Konrad, I could fly home as I now have a picture of most animals. Konrad replied the emu is missing. There I am. Still I would like to stay a bit longer as I like it here. Only the weather might get a bit warmer. The only road to the west goes through the interior. I drove along wines and olive trees, saw flocks of sheep which had nearly the same colour as the ground. As I had plenty of time, I drove to the Nine Mile Beach and walked a bit on it. This beach is just opposite to Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park. Beside some sea birds I saw again a pelican swimming in the watter. Then I drove on to Swansea. Here I visited the Bark Mill Museum. It show how crop was milled in earlier times. It was the only mill where everybody could mill his crop. In the village Swansea I walked along the beach and had again a full view to the Freycinet National Park. There was a strong wind and a few drops here and there. My trip continued to Spiky Bridge which was constructed in 1840 and is still in use. Short after 14pm I arrived in Triabunna. In the tourist office I reserved a got a ticket for the boat going every morning to the island. Then I was looking for the camping, as I reserved a room there. The owner showed me my room and explained that for the same price I could stay in a caravan, this would be more comfortable. I had a look and decided to stay in the caravan. Here I can train already for the west coast where I will be on the road with a friend in a camper. At it was only afternoon I walked along the sea. Not far from the shore is Dead Island. You make walk to this small island if there is low tide. A bit later there was a sign that there are pelicans to see here. I had no luck, there was none. After a short sightseeing in Triabunna I went back to the camping and passed the rest of the afternoon reading.

Wednesday 1^st February, 2012

In the hostel we met yesterday Flo from Germany. He studies in St. Gall and is doing an exchange semester in Australia. As he did not travel by car he asked if he might join us. We sat off in the morning to the Prom, how the National Park is tenderly called by the locals. On the drive to Tidal River an Emu crossed the road, but it was too fast to take a picture. First we informed us in the tourist information which tracks were open. Many are closed as there were floods in the last year. For warm-up we walked to the Norman Bay. On the way we chased off a snake which wanted to take a sunbath. To have time to enjoy the view we went along the beach back to the car park. Now warmed up we hiked in the Lilly Pilly Gully. There was a dry rainforest. To get a better view over the Prom we went up Mount Bishop. Suddenly there was a loud noise in the bush beside us. We guessed that was a wallaby fleeing us. Even as the peak was only at 319 m, we had a spectacular view. Back at the car park we drove to Squeaky Beach. If you walk on that beach, it crunches below your feet. We were striding around the rocks and discussed what will be next. I was a bit sceptical about the suggestion to hike another 6 km as I felt already my sensible knee. So we decided to walk to a bay named Millers Landing. On the way a bird couple was trying to get feed from the tree beside the track and the cones dropped to the floor with a big crack. Understandable that we were a bit scared. But these kind of parrots we did not yet meet: black with yellow spots on the head and tail. We also met a few wallabies. To some we could get as close as 2 meters. Impressive. Down at the bay there were mangroves and black swans. As I still had some power left, we hiked up to another viewpoint. The track to the Vereker Outlook lead over many rocks and went up and up. The view was brilliant. On one side the sea and the islands, on the other the wide nature park. On the way back home we saw more kangaroos, cockatoos and other birds. It was a very nice day and I was surprised that I hiked in total about 20 km.