Easyriding
OMG- this computer is soooo slooow. I hope it will even let me post this, because I have a lot of catching up to do. I planned to write from Albany (pronounces AHL-bany, not AWL-bany like in NY), but the internet there was closed and last night I was at a campground without internet. Now I am in Esperance, using bad internet, but ready to catch up on the last three days.
Day One: Margaret River to Albany
We left Margaret River early, stopped to drop off Lynne in Augusta, the southwestern-most point in Australia, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. We continued on to the forest country and stopped to drop more people off at Nannup. The town was basically known just for the hostel, which strives to be a kind of hippie retreat, with hammocks, yoga platforms, and lots of woodwork and murals that reminded me of a woods-y version of the co-op. I easily resisted staying there, although we did end up dropping off 4 people instead of 2. After that there were only 5 people on the bus, plus Andy the driver. The other 4 people I will now refer to as the teen girl squad, although they weren't teens, they made me feel like I might feel if I were hanging out with the teen girl squad. Two Brits, two Italians, all a lot preppier than me. We did have fun though, and formed a fairly cohesive group for the day. We went to a winery and bought some wine for dinner, we went for lunch and a swim at a beautiful lake surrounded by forest, we saw the Glouster Tree which you can climb but no one did, we almost hit a kangaroo with the bus, we did the Tree Top Walk which was amazing and only a little scary for me, and the best part of the day was when we went to Greens Pool- an incredible beach with clear green water, big beautiful rocks (including famous ones called Elephant rocks), and looked just like a screensaver really. It was fantastic. Then we got to Albany where the hostel was having a BBQ. I had the veggie option, a veggie burger which I have discovered means something more like a potatoe pancake than the nasty imitation burgers that we get at home. I even went out to the pub for a bit with the squad. Overall a very good day.
Day Two: Albany to Stirling Ranges
Day two was very different, since the squad went back to Perth and I went on to the Stirling Ranges. In the morning we went around to more weird rock formations, a big gap and a "natural bridge" which is gradually moving apart and will one day become a big gap. Then we walked around town, I bought a 1GB card for my camera so that I don't have to figure out how to put photos on the computer, and we stopped to wait for the bus to Perth at Albany's town beach. When the second bus came, I got acquainted with the new crew- Corinne a Swiss girl my age, and a slightly older Irish couple. We continued on with Graham our driver- Corinne could never remember his name and I said to think of graham crackers, but then it turned out that no one knew what they were, and therefore no one knew what smores were, so I had to explain. Supposedly roasting marshmellows is a very American thing, which I guess is something to be proud of. In any case, all of day two was spent at Bluff Knoll, the highest mountain in WA. I did not climb it, but the Irish couple did, although only the guy got to the top. The rest of us hung around and talked and looked at the scenery. Then we went down to the Stirling Range Retreat, which was a kind of campground, but with little trailers and cottages and an outdoor kitchen and pool. We swam, made dinner, saw a gorgeous sunset, and had a really nice evening. I kept thinking that it would be a wonderful place to stay if one of my hiking-inclined friends were there.
Day Three: Stirling Ranges to Esperence
Today was a bit of a waste. We woke up early and started driving even more into the middle of nowhere. It was absurdly hot (46 degrees=115ish I think!!!), we drove a long way to see "Wave Rock" which was not worth the trip at all, and Graham lectured to us about farming in the area, saying things like "a wheat paddock is just like a woman's body"- don't ask me why! The highlight of the day was when we were driving 2 hours through a badly paved road in a National Park and almost hit an emu, which then ran alongside the bus for a bit. There were more off the road and they are very cool looking- and the way they move is amazing, you almost can't believe that they can go so fast. The other highlight was arriving in Esperance and going for a swim. The beaches here are famous, but I didn't think they were that special, so I'm definitely leaving tomorrow for Kalgoorlie- a mining town which promises to be hot and well, different...). Then its back to Perth. I might just write from there, so if you don't hear from me soon, you know why!
Love,
Emma
Day One: Margaret River to Albany
We left Margaret River early, stopped to drop off Lynne in Augusta, the southwestern-most point in Australia, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. We continued on to the forest country and stopped to drop more people off at Nannup. The town was basically known just for the hostel, which strives to be a kind of hippie retreat, with hammocks, yoga platforms, and lots of woodwork and murals that reminded me of a woods-y version of the co-op. I easily resisted staying there, although we did end up dropping off 4 people instead of 2. After that there were only 5 people on the bus, plus Andy the driver. The other 4 people I will now refer to as the teen girl squad, although they weren't teens, they made me feel like I might feel if I were hanging out with the teen girl squad. Two Brits, two Italians, all a lot preppier than me. We did have fun though, and formed a fairly cohesive group for the day. We went to a winery and bought some wine for dinner, we went for lunch and a swim at a beautiful lake surrounded by forest, we saw the Glouster Tree which you can climb but no one did, we almost hit a kangaroo with the bus, we did the Tree Top Walk which was amazing and only a little scary for me, and the best part of the day was when we went to Greens Pool- an incredible beach with clear green water, big beautiful rocks (including famous ones called Elephant rocks), and looked just like a screensaver really. It was fantastic. Then we got to Albany where the hostel was having a BBQ. I had the veggie option, a veggie burger which I have discovered means something more like a potatoe pancake than the nasty imitation burgers that we get at home. I even went out to the pub for a bit with the squad. Overall a very good day.
Day Two: Albany to Stirling Ranges
Day two was very different, since the squad went back to Perth and I went on to the Stirling Ranges. In the morning we went around to more weird rock formations, a big gap and a "natural bridge" which is gradually moving apart and will one day become a big gap. Then we walked around town, I bought a 1GB card for my camera so that I don't have to figure out how to put photos on the computer, and we stopped to wait for the bus to Perth at Albany's town beach. When the second bus came, I got acquainted with the new crew- Corinne a Swiss girl my age, and a slightly older Irish couple. We continued on with Graham our driver- Corinne could never remember his name and I said to think of graham crackers, but then it turned out that no one knew what they were, and therefore no one knew what smores were, so I had to explain. Supposedly roasting marshmellows is a very American thing, which I guess is something to be proud of. In any case, all of day two was spent at Bluff Knoll, the highest mountain in WA. I did not climb it, but the Irish couple did, although only the guy got to the top. The rest of us hung around and talked and looked at the scenery. Then we went down to the Stirling Range Retreat, which was a kind of campground, but with little trailers and cottages and an outdoor kitchen and pool. We swam, made dinner, saw a gorgeous sunset, and had a really nice evening. I kept thinking that it would be a wonderful place to stay if one of my hiking-inclined friends were there.
Day Three: Stirling Ranges to Esperence
Today was a bit of a waste. We woke up early and started driving even more into the middle of nowhere. It was absurdly hot (46 degrees=115ish I think!!!), we drove a long way to see "Wave Rock" which was not worth the trip at all, and Graham lectured to us about farming in the area, saying things like "a wheat paddock is just like a woman's body"- don't ask me why! The highlight of the day was when we were driving 2 hours through a badly paved road in a National Park and almost hit an emu, which then ran alongside the bus for a bit. There were more off the road and they are very cool looking- and the way they move is amazing, you almost can't believe that they can go so fast. The other highlight was arriving in Esperance and going for a swim. The beaches here are famous, but I didn't think they were that special, so I'm definitely leaving tomorrow for Kalgoorlie- a mining town which promises to be hot and well, different...). Then its back to Perth. I might just write from there, so if you don't hear from me soon, you know why!
Love,
Emma
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