back to the original theme, part one

Yes, this blog has a relevant name. Positive, pointed, possibly philosophical. That, of course, is not why the name was chosen. The name just happens to suit the blog's current -- new -- purpose.

Deb and I are reasonably fit, reasonably active, interested in seeing new and interesting places. Why not enjoy ourselves, with travel and holidays? After all, we're Not Dead Yet... Which was (imho) a clever name then, for a blog of our travels. With my unexpected change in health -- the name is now even better.

Until we go on holiday. Where I we post our *travel* blog?! Easy question, easy answer: Travel posts still go, Here.

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The rest of this post is a holiday story. If you're here for a quick update on my embarrassingly slow dying (to me, it seems an awful long time since I was given a death sentence) feel free to skip to the next post. Or, feel free to read about our trip to Bremer Bay...

Though -- in case of interest -- I am felling well, feeling cheerful, feeling healthy, feeling unfit. Though less unfit than a month ago. And now... on with the holiday :-)

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The day before we leave, I'm looking at the accommodation I have booked. In Boyup Brook, well outside Bremer Bay, in Kulin. I wonder where we will be able to eat. Over Easter -- will anything be open?! Possibly not...

Not to worry. As one friend says, not eating can be good for you. And as I think, we have pot noodles in the truck.

Thursday 29th March 2018:

The morning is spent on the usual Thursday things: shopping, library, coffee. Plus a bit of time for packing. We pack a random assortment of possibly suitable items and clothes and load the truck (the Prado, that is). The cat has been patted, her food & water bowls are full, Tim will be over tomorrow morning to take over patting and feeding duties.

We set off just before lunchtime. To drive an hour down the freeway... The government could make a fortune simply by charging for parking on the freeway. Neither Deb nor I like driving on the freeway, there's a constant feeling of pressure -- from all the other drivers -- to drive faster and faster. We turn off the freeway to Pinjarra.

Pinjarra has a delightful "heritage" cafe, we stop for a late lunch. As usual, very nice :--) There's a "community meeting" of some sort going on, the waitress is rushed off her feet, service is slow but we are not in a hurry. It's a beautiful day to sit in the shade as we wait.

Off again, down South West Highway. It's always a pleasant drive. The newer Forrest Highway has taken a lot of traffic off SW Hwy; in particular the new highway takes all the people in a desperate hurry. We cruise along, enjoying the scenery.

We reach Donnybrook on time for afternoon tea. "On time for afternoon tea" is anytime in the afternoon as long as there is somewhere for coffee. We have coffee and a shared eclair at the Donnybrook Bakery. Bypassing an interesting but newer cafe; we have a preference for long-established businesses. Coffee is served by a teenager who has the good sense to carry one cup at a time.

We park on one side of the highway and eat on the other. Traffic is heavy, we wait for an opening, manage to get back to the truck. And continue our drive to the south.

To Boyup Brook, where we will spend Thursday night.

I have the GPS set to guide us to our accommodation, so navigation is easy. It's surprising how tricky it can be, to navigate in a small but strange -- to us -- town. With the GPS, no worries.

We find our accommodation, a self-contained unit. The owners/managers are nowhere in sight. People staying in the unit next door (there are only two units) tell us that we are expected, the key is in the door. Meanwhile, Deb has phoned the owner, the message is the same. We go in, settle in. That is, we move our luggage in and make a cup of tea. Essential settling-in activities.

There is a cat. Black on top, white underneath. Large, smooth lazy. He gathers his energy, strolls from the middle of the drive to our door. Strolls in. Jumps onto the bed. Falls asleep.

Ooohh kitty kitty, says Deb. And scratches him. Unto the cat sticks a claw in... I put on the leather glove (I learnt from our own first cat) and start shoving. And hissing. The cat finally gets the message and leaves. I close the door.

The owners arrive, take our money, stay for some chit-chat. We finally shift them out the door (I didn't like to use the leather glove) and we relax. Till Deb decides we need to go for a walk.

Boyup Brook is a peaceful, quiet town. The big event for the year seems to be a Country Music Festival. There's also a Square Dance Gathering over the Easter weekend, my brother will be here for that. Probably as a caller. The town is a mix of arty and agricultural, with shops for artworks and stockfeed.

Back at our unit, I check for geocaches, there is one between us and the pub. When we walk out for dinner -- I forget to bring the GPS. Still, I had read the logs for that nearest cache, one log mentions a "sculpture", I saw a sculpture on our way in. We search the sculpture -- and find the cache :-)

The pub is just across the road, they start dinner at 6, in half an hour. We walk round a bit further. There's a war memorial -- with a very clever sculpture. It's 3D but concave rather than convex, the shape of a soldier set into a larger slab. Seen from the right angle, the soldier stands out, looking convex. Very clever! Later, we see several of this style of sculpture round town.

It's an old pub with an old -- timber -- interior. In fact, the timber is not as old as the pub. The pub has been "modernised" -- within the last five years, I'd guess -- with a timber and metal theme. I like the old look and I like the fact that it's new and still clean :-)

It's still an old country pub so we have steak and chips. Delicious! Though my "medium" was more than that. Which doesn't worry me. To me, "medium" means, I don't really care, do your best. The best is good. There is more than we can eat... though I do try harder than Deb.

Then it's back to our unit -- after a brief stroll -- for a sound night's sleep. The cat reappears, sits at the door. I ignore it.

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And now, a break in writing. It's actually a few days later. And dinner is cooked, my treat: Pot noodles with tinned fish. Next entry will be written... whenever I can.

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A bit later...

Friday 30th March 2018, Good Friday:

Up at the crack of dawn... sort of. Usual holiday timing: Deb wakes up whenever, I wake up about 7, rest awhile, usually get a cup of tea, eventually get out of bed for breakfast. We follow that usual timing.

Some time between 9 and 10, we set off. First stop, my brother's block, about 30km from Boyup Brook. There's a place to stay and a place to sit and relax and chat. Or sing. My brother does more of that (singing) than me. It's all very nicely done and looks very pleasant. We stop, admire, carry on...

Next stop, Kojonup.

Deb's sister and her husband are also heading south. They started this morning. After an exchange of messages, I believe that they beat us to Kojonup. (Though they started from Perth and we started from Boyup Brook.) They arrive in Albany before we stop for lunch... They drive for the destination, we drive for the journey :-)

Through Broome Hill... can't remember much about it. To Gnowangerup for lunch.

It's Good Friday. Who would be driving? On our roads, maybe 3 or 4 cars. What shop would be open and serving food? The Gnowangerup cafe. Who would be needing to buy lunch on such a peaceful holiday? More that the cafe proprietor expected... We eat toasted cheese & ham sandwiches (simple, delicious). That's the last of the ham and the bread is almost gone. More people stopping for lunch than the owner expected.

We order. I shift a pair of pliers off a seat, we sit down. And look around.

The cafe/shop is interesting. The window display is all -- I think at first glance -- bra strap extenders. Are there a lot of large farmers in the area? Then I notice that most of the display is actually zippers. Long zippers. Are there a lot of locals able to replace a broken zipper?

There is also a selection of boys' red sports shorts and boys' green shorts. School colours, I guess. All branded "Sekem" -- the firm that Deb's grandmother started.

The rest of the shop is ... interesting stuff. A strange -- to me -- mixture. Perhaps it's just that there are things which, in a larger town, would be in different shops. My first thought is, All of this came with the shop and will never be sold. Then I notice that there is no dust. Either there is rapid turnover or the owner spends a lot of time dusting and cleaning. Some of both, probably.

On to Ongerup then to Jerramungup, where we stop for afternoon tea. We decide to get iced coffee and drink outside. Partly because it's such a beautiful day, partly to escape the frying oil smell in the roadhouse cafe.

Is there a geocache in town? Yes! We walk to the playground... search... can't find it. Neither could the last few people who logged a search. Oh well. Back to the truck. We enjoy the walk, it's a pleasant and peaceful -- on Good Friday, anyway -- town.

On the road again, towards Albany... but we turn off, onto Devil Creek Road... To Quaalup Homestead Wilderness Retreat. There's camping, caravan parking, a cottage and self-contained units. We are in a unit. Dang! there are people next door.

The neighbours are as private as us, though a bit noisier. There are a few people in the caravan/camping area, visible, audible, but far enough away even for our preferences. The cottage would have been more private but had too many beds for just two of us. The owners/managers live in a newish(?) house next to the original, restored, homestead. They have owned the property for 14 years.

The "occupied" area is surrounded by bush, with a well-signed & sign-posted nature walk. Lots of labelled flowering bushes, not many now flowering. Beyond the Quaalup area is Fitzgerald River National Park to one side and... I'm not sure what... to the other. All very peaceful! A very pleasant "retreat" :-)

We check in, settle in. Then go for a walk along the nature trail. It's interesting but the sun is setting. I carry a torch but would rather be back before dark. We walk a way then turn back.

Back to dinner cooked by me: pot noodles with tinned fish and peanut paste for dinner. Aaahhh! home cooking :-)

And so to sleep...

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Saturday 31st March 2018

After a relaxing breakfast -- cereal, Deb has toast as well -- we walk the nature trail. This time, the whole way... almost.

The nature trail branches off to a "ridgetop walk". We follow that... except that we did not read the "track notes" back in our unit so we have no idea how far it goes.There's a very slight drizzle of rain occasionally, though it is still comfortably warm for walking. Still, I'm easily put off, especially from exercise. Where we turn back is -- as we later discover -- just a hundred metres or so short of the end.

Anyway, we rejoin the nature trail -- it's a loop -- to follow it to the finish. There's a lookout tower with views over the bush. Interesting views but not exciting. There is, however, a geocache nearby :-)

Back to our unit, the drizzle has faded, we drive to Bremer Bay. After all, that's the theme of this holiday: an Easter trip to Bremer Bay. We've heard the name -- on weather reports -- and know nothing else about it. Except that we have never been here before. A good enough reason to visit...

We take the 4WD road to town. It has clay and can be slippery when wet. This morning's rain was not enough to make it damp.

Through forest, across a river, more forest. We see a couple of emus, wandering along the road :-) Then there's a beach, the BB inlet. Do we drive through the water?? Ah, no, follow wheel tracks across the sand -- round the water -- to the sealed road into town.

Another small and peaceful town! Though we later hear (and dicover for ourselves) that the internet barely works due to the load of tourists. The normal BB population is 300, it can reach 5,000 at peak times... Not that we see many of these people. Except for regular groups of cars passing by. I suspect that most visitors are already settled into their favourite accommodation... or fishing... locations.

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And now for another break.

Dinner is over, fast and furious typing must stop -- because the tablet battery is flat. Yes, I could recharge. But the retreat is on solar power and house rules request, no recharging after dark. A good excuse to stop typing, make more tea, read then sleep.

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Back to Saturday (typed on Monday evening) at Bremer Bay:

Memory is already fading. That's why I keep a journal -- preferably writing while I can still remember. Too late now but I can still write *what* I can remember.

There's a geocache somewhere in BB. Our GPS points to it but does not show how to drive there. Luckily the cache shares its name with a lookout on a hill... We drive to the lookout, the gps points to the lookout, we find the cache. And find a good view!

Lunch is at The Resort. Probably The Bremer Bay Resort, though I forget the name. We share an entree of Bremer Bay abalone, it seems the right thing to do. Almost our first abalone. It tastes of... deep fried crumbs, garlic aioli and a very mild fish flavour. Very nice but the abalone could have been any other mild fish, except that it is chewy. Or, rather, it has "mouth feel" I think is the correct & snobby expression.

For mains we have grilled salmon on salad. A hearty meal. A rather fancy meal. It's lunch but dinner will be pot noodles so this is the main meal of the day.

After lunch we drive towards Point Henry. There are a few caches along the way. One, "Blossom Beach" is... well... at Blossom Beach. Which is a beautiful beach with solid white sand and several groups parked for picnic or fishing.

We drive along the beach -- our first ever beach drive! Ah! the excitement :-) We also find the cache, through scratchy bushes and behind rocks. Ah well. At least we did find it. Getting from the cache back to the beach is a lot easier. We follow the track which -- from this direction -- is now quite obvious.

We stop at the caravan park cafe for coffee, on the way back. With rhubarb & apple crumble. Delicious. The only other customer is a woman buying an icecream, with her three dogs waiting outside. We pay cash, response is too slow for card payment. It's the crowd of visitors in town, says the cafe person, The internet is overloaded.

As we drive back to BB there is a steady stream of traffic heading to Point Henry. I suspect that the tide will soon be right for fishing.

Stop at the general store for fuel for the truck, pot noodles for dinner, a few odds and ends. Then we drive "home" the long way, along mostly sealed roads.

Back to Quaalup. With no phone, no internet. Just peace and quiet. Except for the people in the units next door. Oh well... definitely "the cottage", next time we are here :-)

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Okay, that was Saturday. Today is Monday... but I have had enough typing. Tomorrow we drive home... I may type more then. It's a regular problem with my travel journals, in the excitement of getting home I often miss writing about the last couple of days.

There may be another post -- Tuesday or later. Or, the next post may be a description of the awful side-effects of next week's chemo. I hope it's more holiday :-)

That's it, for now, till then...

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"The Nobel Peace Prize? I'd kill for one of those!" … per Ginger Meggs
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notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au
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