Day 20 - New Norcia

After a warm and sunny welcome to New Norcia we were surprised on this day to awake to heavy rain. Nevertheless Ray ploughed out into the red mud to get to Mass at the Abbey Church. The service was simple, peaceful and very beautiful.

After our continental breakfast in the dining room we spent the morning at the Museum and Art Gallery. New Norcia has the largest collection of religious art in regional Australia.  This was a good way for us to get a handle on the history of this community and its work amongst Aboriginal people and orphans. The complex was also for many years a major regional education facility and much of the history relates to this aspect of the work of the Benedictine monks and the Josephite nuns. The nuns were led during the early part of this time by Mary McKillop now known as St Mary of the Cross.

We joined a two hour tour of the town. Our intrepid tour guide, Ricki, was a 'no holds barred' interpreter of the life of this community and its personnel, she took us behind the scenes and showed us life for the monks, the nuns and the boys and girls who have been a part of this place.The farm is presently 20,000 acres but this is vastly reduced from he size it once was.  Today there are 8 monks only living in the community and one in a northern Aboriginal settlement.  They employ in excess of 70 people to run the operation of the'business' which includes the farm (crops and sheep), bakery, brewery, vineyard, olive grove, apiary, the hotel, the roadhouse, the museum and art gallery, gift shop. As well as this schools and other groups use the facilities for camps and conferences.

The National Trust now control a large number of the buildings that are obviously highly valued but require millions of dollars to restore and maintain.  One of the biggest issues is traffic on the Great Northern Highway.  This goes right through the middle of the town and enables road trains and many heavy vehicles access to northern WA. These vehicles are doing enormous damage to the historic buildings.The irony is that this road was originally built by and for the monks.  There are some 45 buildings in New Norcia at one time there were over 80. Central to the community is the Abbey Church it is surrounded by a range of magnificent historical buildings.

We enjoyed a late lunch in the central parkland and did a sketch each before making our way to our very special B&B night at Guildford. Dinner at the Rose and Crown (WAs oldest pub) and pictured below the magnificent breakfast provided for us by our gracious hostess at the Hollies B&B. 

Days 18 and 19 Albany - Perth - New Norcia

Okay Okay - yes we were slack and thank you for your feedback about not publishing Day 18.  It was a long day's drive - Albany to Perth.  No photos taken but we can tell you that the countryside is lush, the wildflowers are starting to appear and some wattle is out.

We arrived at our prebooked motel in the Perth suburb of Belmont - pretty tired.   Then we headed out in search of an evening meal and low and behold the nearest eating place was the Burswood Casino!!  There was no interest here for us except for the meal.

The contrast between the Casino and where we write this blog from is chalk and cheese.

Christ Church Claremont

Sunday morning began with a drive almost to Fremantle in search of Christ Church Claremont. Thank goodnes for "Karen" our GPS. An old acquaintance, Fr Jack Thompson, is currently their locum and it was good to see him at work, as a recent retiree celebrating their 10am Sung Eucharist.

From there we went in search of the "Boardwalk" at Fremantle which Rob Shattock had told us about but sadly no success and instead we ended up at the Market located at the wharf, where we had a wander and lunch.

Time to head off to New Norcia and look out for a suitable place to stay on Monday night on our way. With that in mind we stopped at Guildford in the Swan Valley and arranged a B&B for tomorrow night.

New Norcia is about 130kms north of Perth. A very pleasant Sunday afternoon drive listening with heart in mouth to the Tigers playing the Demons back home on the MCG. Joy oh joy - Richmond have strung two wins together! 



Abbey Church - New Norcia



New Norcia is a Community established by Benedictine Monks back 150+ years ago. The founder, Dom Salvado, was a Spanish black sheep who we learned about when we walked the Camino 3 years ago. He left his monastery in Spain apparently a somewhat difficult man to control  (so we heard in Spain) but he had a huge missionary zeal and this driving force produced this amazing place. New Norcia is named after the place where Benedict founded the original Benedictine monastery. Tomorrow we are booked in for a guided tour of the many buildings on site and we hope to learn more of the work of the monks.

Having checked in at the Hotel (owned by the Benedictines) and looked around the village (all of which belongs to the Benedictines) we joined the monks for Vespers. Then had a delightful pizza washed down with the monks' own label of "Abbey Ale" and "Cabernet Merlot".  Not bad drops!

Back in our humble room as we write the blog there is no TV or ensuite or even wine glasses - a far cry from  Belmont and the Casino! But we are attempting to take the advice of the monks to slow down and enjoy the peace of this place.

Just a short walk in the early evening from Vespers

in the Abbey back to the Hotel and dinner

PAX

Day 17 - Air and sea - Treetops and blowholes

We departed timbertown Pemberton in the early morning and drove through miles and miles of beautiful tall natural forests. We learned later in the day that these were a mixture of Karri, Marri and Tingle trees. The drive was breathtaking and we were inspired to stop at the "Valley of the Giants" treetops walk just beyond Walpole and before Denmark. 

The self guided tour of the tree tops only takes about an hour but is not one for those afraid of heights!  At times the metal walkway sways and reaches a height of 40 metres above the forest floor. After that we also walked the Lost Empire Walk at forest floor level amongst many interesting features were the Tingle trees with hollowed out bases.

Then it was on to Albany by lunchtime. We enjoyed fish and chips by the sea at Middleton Bay and each did a quick watercolour painting. Then we drove around Albany exploring some of its many wonderful natural features. The commanding view from the Anzac Memorial where the first dawn service was held in memory of the Anzacs who left from the port of Albany to go to Gallipoli!

We also visited St John's Anglican Church, WA's oldest consecrated Anglican church.

The blowholes were the next port of call and worth the visit.



Natural bridge at the blowholes



Thrilled to have heard from Steve in Cuba, our dogs Lucy and Ruby at the Boarding Kennels, The Vineys of Wildwood Road and Trevor from Yarrawonga.

Day 16 The heights and the depths

Having considered and admired the lilies of the field (yesterday) we have now discovered via the local paper that Arum Lilies in this part of the world are a noxious weed! On to today...

Driving 40 kms down the coast we arrive at the Jewel Cave. This is again a lovely tourist destination and an amazing geological find. It was discovered in 1901.  On our tour of the cave were a number of grey nomads and a family with three delightful little boys who made asides and comments particulary identifying the sights of the caves with Harry Potter books. We reflected that these amazing caves do somehow resemble sci fi and children's sets except of course they are the real thing. 



Ray at the entrance to
Jewel Cave



One of the many photos taken inside the

cave - none of which really do justice

to the reality.

We descended this time 172 steps or 42 metres below the surface into a wonderworld of a number of adjoining cavernous spaces full of stalegtites and stalegmites and we today discovered the "heliotite" that grow horizontally. This cave is beautifully lit for tourist purposes and has many unique formations.

We travelled on for another half hour to Augusta and then on to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse which is the most south westerly point of mainland Australia. We ascended about 170 steps to the top of Australia's tallest lighthouse and experienced panoramic views and strong winds - apparently it was only a zephyr there today. From this point you can clearly see the waves of the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean intersecting and in fact colliding.



Ray and Glenys Oceans apart!

Ray in the Southern Ocean
Glenys in the Indian Ocean
The waves collide in the background
between them.



Before leaving the Lighthouse precinct we called Ray's mum, Nell, to wish her a happy birthday. The reception was so clear it sounded like she was just next door.

 We are now in a town called Pemberton for the evening and tomorrow on our way to Albany.

Day 15 Caves, Galleries and Wineries

Today we set out to explore the Margaret River Region and we were delighted that not only were we in for a treat with the local galleries and wineries but this also led us to explore the famous caves of this area.

Our first stop was Payet Gallery which has a display of beautiful jewellery and fine art (very tempting). Then we visited the surf beach at Prevelley Park - again the WA coastline is stunning and ferocious, various memorials to surfers who rode 'their last wave' tell the story.

From there it was off to Leeuwin Estate, one of the best known and grandest of the Margaret RiverWineries. We were delighted to find there a large collection of art on display - these pieces having been reproduced on wine bottle labels over the last 20+ years.

Amongst them are works by Percival, Williams, Olsen, Boyd, Blackman and so on. Accompanying the display of artworks are pieces of furniture, mostly tables, created by a local craftsman, James Hawieson, of the Boranup Gallery. This woodwork is amazing with beautiful inlays and using mostly local jarrah.  Naturally we tasted their wines and purchased a small selection.

Leeuwin Estate Winery and Ray with our purchases

Inspired by the woodwork we headed off in search of the Boranup Gallery but on the way stopped for lunch at a tearoom attached to the Lake Cave.  Before long we had purchased the "package" three cave tours and the Leeuwin Lighthouse. Lake Cave has been a tourist attraction for over 100 years but in more recent times has become tourist friendly. We had a lot of steps to descend - and later climb back up!  (600 in all!). But it was all worthwhile once inside the cavernous spaces underground. The stalegtites (hanging "tight" to the roof) and stalegmites (which "might" grow up to the roof) were abundant and stunning.



Stalegtites



Stalegtites with Stalegmites!!



Boranup Gallery was even better than we anticipated, not only a massive array of beautiful handcrafted furniture and wooden art but also a huge number of paintings of high quality.

Mammoth Cave was our next visit and this tour, unlike the last, needed no guide but used the technology of mp3 player and headphones to guide us though the site and back via a beautiful bushwalk. The cave is really worth seeing and as the name suggests is gigantic but also has been a gold mine for fossil hunters and scientists. (That was a further 240 steps up and down).

We managed to squeeze in a visit to Evans & Tate Winery before closing time, sampled their wine and bought a little selection which they have agreed to ship back to Albert Park together with the Leeuwin Estate bottles.

Jesus said: 'Consider the lilies of the field......'

yes they do grow wild in the fields in WA

We now look forward to sitting by that logfire in the pub lounge again with a glass of red and to plan tomorrow's activities. What a life!

Day 14 Bunbury to Margaret River

After the doom and gloom of the prison world yesterday we rejoiced at kinder weather and a happier tourist agenda for today.

Our first task to explore the Cathedrals and to try and locate our old friend Fr Joe Hopkins. Joe trained at Morpeth with Ray and we had not seen each other since 1975. We were delighted to find him at work as an Archdeacon in the Diocesan office. We also met the new Bishop of Bunbury, Alan Ewing.  Joe and Wendy have 5 children all about the same age as ours or older.

St Boniface Cathedral (Anglican) is a small building with a rather peculiar reredos made from ceramics apparently depicting the Southern Cross. This particular piece of artwork was recently created after a dossel curtain caught on fire.  The Catholic Cathedral up the road is brand new and replaced the original building which had been destroyed by a cyclone.  The new Cathedral is absolutely stunning but again with a peculiar reredos artwork.  What is it about Cathedrals and the art behind the altar? Nevertheless this building is a gem - a great worship space and no expense seems to have been spared in creating a beautiful place of worship.



Interior of Catholic Cathedral



St Boniface Anglican Cathedral
Bunbury

Ray outside the new Catholic Cathedral



The Art Gallery of Bunbury is housed in an old Convent and contemporary exhibitions were less than inspiring. We then explored the harbourside and beach areas of Bunbury and the lookout and lighthouse.

After fish and chips by the beach we headed for Margaret River and stopped firstly on the way at Busselton. We were delighted with Busselton and so glad we took the time. There is a pier that is one mile long and an  impressive beachside precinct.

Busselton pier

Next stop was Yallingup Gallery, this is one of the best private galleries one can ever visit. It is literally full of quality works of art a mix of traditional and contemporary (that you can interpret) and lots of blown glass and  beautiful jewellery.

Arriving in Margaret River with the sun still shining we were delighted with our holiday unit at the pub. We took a stroll around the village and were surprised by the number of surf shops (so its not just about the wine!).



Main Street Margaret River





Margaret River Pub where we
found there was room at the Inn!



We look forward to being here now for two days and hope you will think of us as we now head off to the pub for a glass of red by the open fire!

Day 13 Fremantle

After picking up our hire car (a black Mitsubishi Lancer) we checked out and headed for Fremantle. Our main aim today was to visit the highly recommended tourist attraction - Fremantle Prison.  We decided to take the "Doing Time"  tour which was conducted by a charming (probably ex prison warder) who quickly identified us as Victorians and then admonished us for the sale of Pentridge to developers.  Fremantle Prison is now a  Heritage Site.

The prison was built by imported British Convict labour in the 1850's and was decommissioned in 1991. The guide told lots of stories and anecdotes and inspired us to take a second tour 1.25 hours later called "Great Escapes".

Prison Warder Tour Guide hands Glen an ablution bucket!

So we had a day of sad stories and some heroic escapes which is not all bad. The best escape as told by our afternoon guide is of the 'Fenians' - Irish political prisoners whose escape was organised by outsiders but carefully orchestrated over a period of 18 months and saw the whole six prisoners escape using a horse and buggy, a rowboat and a whaling boat that took them to a heroes welcome in New York! (There has got to be a film made about that sometime!)

After our 2.5 hours at the gaol we then went down to Harbourside where we visited the Roundhouse which was Fremantle's first prison.

Roundhouse Prison in the background

Mid afternoon the skies opened with heavy thunderstorms and flash flooding which accompanied us on our drive south to Bunbury. We arrived at our motel at just on dark - ready to relax.