Exmouth to Albany

According to the Australian Dive sites bible, Exmouth is one of te most beautiful places to have a look under water.As it has been 1 ½ years since we made our last dive, we do a refresher in the local pool.
The next morning we arrive at the Dive Centre at 7 AM. Together with some Aussies, a British and an Italian couple we board a bus that takes us to the harbour. The crew of the boat, a converted 30 tonne fishing vessel, welcomes us on board. The Captain himself presents us the Safety Demo, which is quite original.
On our way to the dive site (Muiron Islands) we spot whales jumping out of the water and splashing around with their fins. We see more of the whales on this trip then on our Whale Watching trip, but we’re not complaining. It is cold, though.
At the islands we get ready for our first dive. As it is pretty cold, most divers don two wet suits over each other and Miek follows this example. Four of us (the Italian couple and us) go down with divemaster Carl. The view is not very good, we’re only 16 m deep and there’s quite a current. But we see a stingray and barracuda’s.
On the second dive, Huub spots sharks. Miek skipped this dive as it was only 40 minutes after the first one and she is shivering cold, in spite of the two wet suits. Luckily Huub brought his underwater camera to prove he chased the sharks.
Back in Exmouth we say goodbye to our new friends, especially the Italian couple. The lady had also skipped the second dive and Miek and her had a good conversation while the others were away.
We have a wonderful seafood diner and turn in early. Tomorrow we’ll head for Carnarvon.

Day 10, Exmouth to Carnarvon: on the road again!

Packing our bikes is easy this time, as we have sent off all our excessive gear to Grungle Downs at Darwin, where we will pick it up at the end of the trip.
We fuel up and on we go, down to Carnarvon. Within 5 Km’ we spot Emu’s. The landscape is surreal, scattered with termite hills. We make a detour to up the hils to overlook the Exmouth peninsula. It is spectacular: a windy road along a big gorge, a view of the coastline and the beautiful coloured sea. The land is barren and sparkled with the pastel colours of wild flowers. The further we go down, the more colourful the flowers become.
We cross the tropic of Capricorn and arrive in Carnarvon early in the afternoon. We stay at the Fish and Whistle and have very nice pizza at the old Post Office.

Dag 11, Carnarvon to Kalbarri: A visit to the world’s first inhabitants.

We rise early and breakfast on cold pizza left overs (yummie). Today may be a pretty long ride as we are not sure where we are going. The original plan is to go to Denham and Monkey Mia, but Miek just found out a friend from her earlier Aussie years is now living in Kalbarri. We have not been able to reach her yet. It does not make a difference for the first part of today’s trip, we are going to visit Hamelin Pool and the Stromatolites. These bacteria have been on Earth for 3 billion years and were important oxygen machines. They produce rocklike formations, only half a millimetre per year, in very salt water areas and Hamelin Pool is one of the very few places where they can still be found.

We also visit the old telegraph office which has a very interesting history. As the guide is busy on the campgrounds, he lets us wander around alone. After we come out he will not let us pay the entry fee, which we then decide to donate to the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service).
In the mean time Miek has spoken to her friend in Kalbarri and the decision has been made to go visit her, which will be quite a ride and it’s already 2.30 PM.
This ride soon becomes a very strange one. One moment we’re in the bush, the next we enter a countryside very similar to France. Green fields appear on both sides of the road, lined with pine trees and everything is very lush. This only lasts a quarter of an hour, then we leave the highway to turn into the road to Kalbarri and we’re back in the bush again. Are we seeing things, now?
In Kalbarri it takes a while to find accommodation and soon we are shook up with the bad news that Miek’s friend will most probably be taken to hospital as she has a blood cloth in one of her lungs. This is very unsettling but soon we find out that she feels better after proper medication. (At the time of writing she is out of hospital and doing much better.)
Kalbarri is a lovely town and we decide to stay an extra day. We want to explore the Murchison River Gorge and are not disappointed. A 26 Km long dirt track takes us to beautiful views and walks.
Later we visit the seahorse sanctuary. It is one of the two places in the world where seahorses are bred for aquarium owners. This way the breeders hope prevent the catching of the wild seahorses. As seahorses are picky eaters, the sanctuary also breeds a certain kind of planton, for which they make algae soup to feed on…. Now that’s what we call passion

Day 12, Kalbarri to Cervantes: Futher South.

Today Cervantes is on the agenda, home to the pinnacle dessert.
But upon leaving Kalbarri we decide to check out the surf at Jake’s point. Surf’s up and about 5 guys are riding them. Our hearts skip a beat when, in one great wave, we spot grey silhouettes behind the surfer. They soon turn out to be dolphins, and they really know how to appreciate a good wave. We stay and enjoy the sight for half an hour but then we have to hit the road. The country is not so empty anymore, we now regularly spot something manmade (besides the road), but the coastal road to Cervantes is again very desolate. We made reservations at the caravan park and there we quickly dismantle the bikes, as we have been suggested several times to visit the pinnacle dessert during sunset. This turns out to be good advise, the light is fantastic, a fascinating experience that can not be described in words very well, hence the picture.
But now we do have to ride the road in the dark. We’re on one bike and Huub rides down the 12 Km road at about 40 Km ph in order to be able to make a pretty controlled emergency stop in case a kangaroo jumps in front of us. And he’s so concentrated, we never sees the big Grey sitting a bit futher back and the snake enjoying the warm bitumen on the sideroad…

Day 13, Cervantes to Perth: A sentimental journey.

We plan to take an unsealed beach road down South, but soon we find out that this road is being sealed at the moment and the roadwork makes it impossible for us to ride it. So, it's back to the main road. Today we’re heading for Perth. Annemiek lived there with her family form 1981 to 1984 and to go back after 25 years is going to be a sentimental journey. It gets cold and soon it starts to rain. We stop at Yanchep National Park to see the Koala colony, but first we have a coffee and hot chocolate accompanied with great chocolates. Then we go see the Koala’s. They look very cute. But they are not as cute as they seem and can be quite ferocious when cornered. These Koala’s however seem quite contend…
After Yanchep we quickly reach the suburbs of Perth. We visit Miek’s old house which hasn’t changed much in the last 25 years. After that it’s on to our hotel downtown. After checking in we find out that we can drop off our trusty bikes at one of the local dealers. After our adventures on the Gibb they can use some TLC.
After dropping them off we walk back to the train statin. It's a weird sensation, being without wheels for the first time in three weeks. But we aren't given much time to lament: a pair of Kookaburrah start laughing and we can't help but join them.

We are staying in Perth for a few days, visiting friends en reliving some of Miek's memories. Miek's old friend Alwyn lends us two selfbuilt boats and we spend one afternoon kayaking on the ocean. We visit Penguin Island and see a plethora of birds but no penguins (of-course...). Then we paddle over to Seal Island and are greeted by two juvenile New Zealand Fur Seals. They are very playful and Huub joins them with his camera. After much splashing around it's time to go back. The seals follow us for a while. When they discouver we are really leaving we hear a mournful call and they disappear in the deep. A moment that we will never forget.
Next day we visit Rottnest Island, home of a colony of Quokka's. These cute critters were first discribed by Dutch sailors as a sort of big rat, hence the name Rattenest Island, which changed to Rottnest through the centuries. Quokka's are nocturnal and we are worried we might not get to see any. But after a very short walk we spot one. After taking a few pictures we spot another one and then another. They're everywhere and absolutely not shy allthough they won't let you touch them.
It's our last evening in Perth and we are going to have dinner with some friends in Fremantle. We have picked up our babies at the dealer and dropped one off at the hotel. Annemiek will be riding pillion so she can have a spot of wine during dinner. as we walk up the restaurant we greated warmly by... the Italian couple we met in Exmouth!
After a nice dinner we ride back to Perth. We haven't left Fremantle yet when a police siren sounds right behind us. We are being pulled over, turns out our tail light has burned out. Fortunately we are let off with just a warning. We promise we'll take the shortest way home and to have it fixed first thing tomorrow.

Day 14, Perth to Bridgetown: Jerry's mission.

First stop: motorcycle shop to get the taillight fixed. Afterwards we say our goodbyes to our friends. Fortunately our latest sponsor (Finn Kayaks) has outfitted us with some really nice warm clothes because the weather is turning colder and colder as we go further down south.
We are off to a late start and because we don't want to ride in the dark, we're trying to make good time. But traffic is bad, we even get to experience grid lock Aussie style (traffic light induced grid lock). South of Mandurrah traffic gets better and our average goes up. Unfortunately it begins to rain and this ride is shaping up to become one of our worst. The landscape we are travelling through is the opposite of the weather: green rolling hills, meadows, forests and winding roads. And then, just before we ride into Bridgetown, the rain lets up a bit, the sun breaks trough and we are treated to a beautiful rainbow. We can see the entire arc and both ends, a very nice welkom indeed...

Bridgetown is one of our main reasons for this trip. this is the place where Annemiek's father, Jerry, took up a mission that would occupy him for the next 15 years.
When the van der Ham family was living in Perth, Jerry would quite often take his motorcycle out for rides across South West Australia. During one of these rides he visited Bridgetown and discovered the war memorial there. As he looked at the names of the fallen soldiers he noticed a name he had seen before: L. Blechynden. He had seen this peculiar name before on the National War Memorial in Kings park in Perth. He decided to take a picture and as he did so, he was approached by a local man who pointed at a name, B.T. Hill, and said that that was his uncle. When the man heard Jerry was from Holland, he asked if Jerry could look up his uncle's gravesite. The family didn't know much about how B.T. Hill died, where he was buried or what his headstone looked like. Jerry agreed and did.
Back in Holland he now had the perfect excuse to go for a good ride. As he walked unto the war cemetery the first grave he sees is that of L. Blechynden. Soon he also finds B.T. Hill's grave and he decides to loop up al the graves of the Bridgetown boys. The last part of the mission is to go to Gallipoli. Annemiek joined him on this trip and together they put the final parts of the puzzle together.
Unfortunately, Jerry becomes ill soon after and he passes away in November 2006.
Annemiek's sister Nannet had sent the documents over to Bridgetown and Terry Linz of the RSL (Returned Services League) happily received them. He made sure that on the following ANZAC day, surviving relatives were presented with a certificate containing a photo of the graveside. Terry also set up an exposition of Jerry's project en this, we wanted to see.
Terry welcomed us to Bridgetown and even set us up in a very nice cabin (Hillcrest Rise Bed & Breakfast).
Saturday we arrived at the Bridgetown War Memorial for a special ceremony: the planting of a Lone Pine.
One of the battles fought at Gallipoli is the battle at Lone Pine. Before the battle commenced a lone pine stood in the no-man's land between the lines. After the battle was over, the pine was gone but soldiers collected seeds of which seedlings are still being grown in Australia. Annemiek was asked to plant one of these Lone Pines at the Bridgetown Memorial. What an Honour!
That night we are also invited for a very nice BBQ-dinner by the RSL. The evening is very much enjoyed by all and we even get to meet L.T. Blechynden's niece Lesley, who is 92 years of age.

After the RSL program we had planned a tour along the South West coast. Unfortunately the weather turns really bad and we end up spending a few extra days in Bridgetown. We were accommadated by Ton and Joke and their sweet dog Shadow. On sunday evening we are invited by Mark and Glen for a very nice dinner.
Tuesday morning the sun is out and we gear up the bikes.

Day 15, Bridgetown to Albany: Sunshine!

We say our goodbyes and stop by and stop off at the "Grumpy Old Men of Bridgetown", the local RSL toolshed. After a short guide tour and last goodbyes, we are on our way.
First stop: the Clouchester Tree. An old fir lookout, tourist may climb this 60 meter plus tree and enjoy it's beautiful vieuw. Huub can't resist the challenge, Mike is content to take pictures... from below that is. After an improptu bird feeding session we are on our way again.
In Wallpole we visit the canopy walk, one of the few like it in the world. We walk in the tree tops, looking at the ancient trees. We also walk the trail down below and after taking the obligatory toerist pics we are off again.
We arrive in Albany around 4 P.M and are behind the I-net PC's at 5 to finish this Blog...

Last but not least, it has proven to be impossible to update our site. Therefore we will be mentioning the nwe donations here in our Blog.

Menno Rigter Nieuw Vennep Netherlands 20 Km
Renate Mulder Amstelveen Netherlands 25 Km
Bouwmaat BBQ Alkmaar Netherlands 770 Km
Jos de Pee Leusden Netherlands 10 Km
Finn Kayaks Perth Australia 250 Km
Apex Club Bridgetown Australia 120 Km
Mark en Glen Norris Bridgetown Australia 6 Km
Lions Club Bridgetown Australia 30 Km
RSL BBQ Bridgetown Australia 66 Km
Bill Stockwell Perth Australia 12 Km