Almost all the caravanners in the park were either preparing to leave or had already done so this morning, abandoning the young ones in their Wicked Campers to breakfast out in the sunshine very publicly on the tar sealed driveway. I suspect that their apparent lack of inhibition about such matters makes for much easier travelling.
We stopped for a few provisions on the way back through town, checking out the new shopping centre in the process, which currently only has the Woolworths supermarket and a discount variety store. There is space for much more and a year hence may well see many of the regular franchise stores in Margaret River.
Today we took the Bussel Highway south, just thirty kilometres to Karridale where we filled with fuel at almost 10 cents a litre less than Margaret River. We had checked diesel prices throughout the area on WA Fuel Finder website, an excellent tool when you are spending as much as we are on this essential. We passed through lovely farm land, the density of the vineyards diminishing as we travelled further away from Margaret River.
We read today in the newspaper about the trials and tribulations of the cattle farmers in south western Victoria, where rain has been scarce and their cattle are starving to death, the grass long gone and the haysheds nearly empty. As we look about at the lush grasslands here in the south west of Western Australia, it seems such a tragedy that the cattle cannot be loaded onto trucks and brought across here for a while, however with distances so great, this New Zealand style solution is just not practical. I guess the farmers will simply have to get their guns out.
After refuelling, we headed west, covering the same ten kilometres travelled yesterday, but then continuing on along the Brockman Highway into the forest, and hardly emerging from the huge of beautiful gum forest, sometimes alternating with plantations of the same or pines, before reaching Nannup.
Nannup is a small timber processing settlement of about 1,200 people located on the Blackwood River at 74 metres ASL. Back on the road where the most southern route to Pemberton veered off to the east, a sign had welcomed up to the Blackwood River Valley. While the map does indeed show that the Brockman Highway follows the river very loosely, we did not travel up through a valley at all. Instead the road wound its way up and down the rolling hills with never a glimpse of the longest continually flowing river in Western Australia, a waterway of 270 kilometres in length.
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| The bridge at Nannup over the Blackwood River. |
At Nannup, the Blackwood is hardly the imposing or impressive body we had found further downstream yesterday, although the high bridges would suggest it frequently is in times of flood. The town is old and a little jaded, yet has a charm, added to today by the market in progress. It was a little before midday when we arrived and some of the stallholders were already packing up. There we found the standard tea cosies and woolly hats, infant clothes, second hand books and recycled treasures, however Chris was more taken with the three classic cars parked behind the bizarre, particularly the Vincent Roadstar. For myself, a car is a car, but then I would say that nowadays. There was a time I was quite proud of my Audi or my Mitsubishi 380 or any of the other cars I have owned, but now? The landcruiser will do me; practical and mostly reliable.
We returned to the caravan for lunch then headed back on the road, the last forty six kilometres on to Bridgetown. Firstly we climbed up onto the Darling Scarp, not for the first time, and again back into the forest. The road was far steeper and narrower, but still passed through more beautiful forest. In fact it was not until about ten kilometres west of Bridgetown that we came out into hills of dry stock farming, stunning landscapes through more fertile and green lands. We had driven through several light showers, and areas of deep puddles where the rain had evidently been heavier, but the sun shone in between and the weather stayed on track with the forecasted occasional showers. The road descended steeply to this delightful town situated at 151 metres ASL, again beside the Blackwood River.
Bridgetown is a lot bigger than Nannup, with a population of 4,560 and is also situated on the South Western Highway which we could have come through from Bunbury and Donnybrook had we not chosen to travel down along the western coastal roads. The town is spread over the steep hills above the river and the main street is strung along the highway; a collection of interesting and old buildings. Reaching the main highway, we should have turned south for the caravan park, but instead turned north in search of the Information Centre and were delighted to find it open, even on this Saturday afternoon and manned by friendly and very helpful staff. We came away armed with a pile of brochures and a promise to return to the centre to visit the museum on site another day.
We have booked into the only caravan park in town, sandwiched between the river and the main highway, full of trees, well patronised and manned by very warm down-to-earth Keith. The tariff is just $26, excellent for Western Australia, and even better, the third day is free. We may end up staying even longer as there seem to be dozens of walks on offer and the forest all about is most appealing.
The temperature this morning here in Bridgetown was apparently a cool 1 degree, tomorrow is forecasted to be -1 degrees. The woman in the Information Centre told us the town is sometimes called Fridgetown; an appropriate name it would seem. Thank goodness we are in a caravan park and can be reckless with our power use.
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