The Perth Project

Week 17 of the Perth Project.

A British colleague I once worked with said “if the adventure is all about the journey than the destination must be really shit”, however in the case of our recent adventures to Dwellingup, I couldn’t help but disagree with him. After a couple of weeks of solo trips and N.M.I.A. (Niki Missing in action), we have joined forces again to fight of the evil stresses of the city and have hit the road for some nature, hiking and relaxation.

A couple years back I use to follow the World Rally Cars when they came to Perth for Rally Australia, and one of the locations they visited was the small town of Dwellingup, located about 100km south of Perth. They use to race through some of the most amazing forests in Western Australia and I was really keen one day to return. Today is that day! So Nic and I packed up are hiking gear and headed south for the winter. Our journey cuts through the Darling Range driving through spectacular eucalyptus forests and past pristine rivers. Along the way you have the opportunity to stop at the various dams that provide Perth with its drinking water – for some reason I had this urge to scull a martini, repeat my surname in a swab English accent and then hurl myself of the wall with a bungee cord attached to me feet and  an Ak37 in one hand. Times like this I think I should have been a Secret Agent!

Anyway, after I got 007 out of my system and dodging the look in Niki’s eyes ”saying this is the last time I’m ever taking you to a bloody dam”, we arrived in the small quaint timber town of Dwellingup. Dwellingup is just what you picture; small ornate cottage style houses, typical country style shops  and a small town atmosphere almost bordering on a hippy come bohemian feel. The fresh air cleaned out the cobwebs and the quietness was just what we were looking for. The town has heaps of heritage and if you’re into this type of tourism, then the small town walks will give you a great insight into the history of the place. The local tourism centre can provide you the maps and all the info you need.

However what Nic and I were here for was the outdoor activities and Dwellingup is a great place to do this. From climbing, canoeing, horse riding, camping, hiking, swimming or fishing, you can find it all here. We drove down to the Lane Poole Reserve, an idyllic park made for all of the above.  The park is divided down the middle by the serene Murray River and for us, the main destination for our hiking. Niki and I picked the Island Pool hiking track, a small loop about 20 minutes into the park. The hike took us along the winding banks and gave us the opportunity to watch wild ducks and other birdlife at play as well as sit by the river watching it slowly drift by. We even bumped into a few canoeists enjoying a lazy afternoon paddle.

After a short but enjoyable hike we sat down to eat some grub before heading home however not before hugging King Jarrah though – a large Jarrah tree which dwarfs everything around it. Dwellingup is a great little destination which I think alot of people often overlook on their way to Margaret River. Although I’m sure in the years to come its going to be another Denmark or Dunsborough.

By the way guys, I have a new blog coming up on Vietnam(talk about being a sucker for punishment) – more details coming soon!

Lane Poole Reserve

Popularity: 32% [?]

And then the moment arrived….we made it to the  the top of the last hill in the middle of Denmark and rolled straight down the hill into the awaiting service station attendant, who I little too pleadingly asked to fill my car up. Whilst he was providing a service long lost in the city, I mossied (yes mossied) up to the poor grandma that I nearly hit on my down wards roll in my “not stopping, get out of my bloody way, I’m not stopping for hell, earth or an English McMuffin, Im out of fuel” type of dash to the service station.  Paying the man for his excellent work at fuelling up my beloved car, quietly thinking to myself I’m going to petition fuel station to start this service again and hoping the little red fuel light doesn’t come again too soon, Niki and I headed for Albany, another half hour away.

After wandering York Street, the main street in Albany lined with beautiful colonial buildings, warm homely pubs and chic restaurants, we came across the only cafe serving an all day breakfast, and mind you it was only 11.30 in the morning. Geez when will cafes learn, if your going to be backpacker destination, you have to provide all day breakfast at a cheap price.  The cafe lacked atmosphere and I was required to sell my body to pay the bill for the overpriced basic breakfast, seriously $19 for eggs, toast and bacon?!?! Needless to say I came up short on the bill. God I miss 2 pound breakfast’s in London. With our tummies full and our pockets empty, and a drizzle of rain and moody weather approaching the bay, we drove down to the small, however mighty Brig Amity. This ornate, yet sturdy replica ship come museum, tells the story of how the first settlement arrived here from Sydney. Dam those Sydney people always stealing the show.

Finding our way towards the stunning Torndirrup National Park, Niki shouted out as if a Kangaroo had just stepped out in front of the car. Panicking yet not braking, I noticed that it wasn’t a cute little fluffy kangaroo that was about be injured by my car, .it was in fact, free cucumber. Lots of free cucumber and Niki loves free things. So with the back seat covered in the green stuff, we headed to explore the park.

Torndirrup National Park is a wonderfully scenic environment which spreads itself along the southern peninsular. Its various attractions include the Natural Bridge and Gap rock formations, various “blow ya head” off blowholes, and many pristine walks to witness some of the most spectacular scenery in Western Australia.

Rugged sapphire blue coastlines, perfect beaches and pristine wilderness. Torndirrup is great for hardcore eco-tourists or lightweight nature based tourists alike, offering a range of activities from hiking to bird watching, cultural experiences at the former whale station as well some quiet picnicing spots to sample the fine local gourmet food you may have found in the neighbouring areas. The sites are free to enter, with well marked paths, with great signage and info boards. The natural gap and bridge can get very busy, however pick one of the smaller sites and you’ll be rewarded with the place to yourself.

After spending the afternoon wandering around, we set off for the most delicious honey place in the world. Just like the day before when I had told Niki that the best balsamic vinegar in the world resided in Albany…okay maybe not in the world, but pretty close, only to find out that the place doesn’t stock it any more…well obviously it wasn’t as great as I thought.  Anyway here we were on the road again, with me promising the best honey in the world, this is sounding familiar hey? The honey store was 40mins away and we were 50mins away, it closing time was in 45mins – it wasn’t looking good, so I gunned it, perhaps with the wind in the right direction Id be able to make it. I passed through the country side, through Denmark, pass the old granny I nearly hit earlier that morning, pass the service station attendant who was refuelling anther hapless soul, through the top of the hill I had rolled down that morning, to the final bend where the honey store resided. We had made up a little time, we pulled into the drive way, this was the moment… would we make it in time?

Road trip to be continued….

Ps: No Grannys were hurt in the making of this blog

Torndirrup National Park

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’m  sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy – imagine hearing that as you fall down an endless tunnel as it slowly fades into never land. Well that’s my sincere apologies for taking so long to write up week 10! Niki and I have been travelling around for the Perth Project and well, things got busy. Less than 99 days to the wedding, uni some where along the way got hard and well work…is shit – but hey that’s life and the Perth Project for ya! So here is week 10 for you, enjoy.

I’m Maverick and you guys can be Goose – ready? All together, “I have the need” ” The need, for a road trip”. Speed is overrated anyway. Niki and I decided for the last week of my summer holidays to pack up the tent and take our new car for a long spin. Niki had been asking to go down south for a while and if it gave me the chance to the escape the heat, I was up for it. In Perth, down south refers to the regions including Albany, Denmark, Margaret River and it’s surrounds. It’s a biodiversity hotspot and has heaps of gourmet products to keep your mouth watering all the way down the freeway.

After lazily getting up in the morning, buying a few essentials such as a blow up mattress (Learnt that lesson in Wales); we started our long 5 hour drive to Parry’s via Albany. The oldest settlement in Western Australia and originally the home to Australia’ whaling industry, Albany is a small city located along a magnificent bay. It is also home to the worse drivers in W.A., as we found out as we entered a roundabout to be cut up by the car next to us, then to be nearly taken out by an inward bound 4wd.  Driving straight through to our camp site, luckily escaping Albany with our lives, we were heading to this  amazing beach known as Parry’s – the first of two places that inspired me to become an ecotourism consultant (the other was Borneo). This place is perfect, I can’t possibly put into detail the impact this place has on me, however I’m going to give it a go – this small natural camp site is surrounded by beautiful old trees overhanging your campsite, which helps you feel like you in one giant bush cubby simirlar to what you might of built as a kid. It’s has only one entry and as you walk towards the entrance, your senses are engulfed by a beautiful bay of emerald, dotted with a small island and a white sandy beach waiting for you feet leave behind their footprints. Its one of those places that is perfect and here’s hoping development never comes knocking.

We set up camp, cooked us up a feast of frittata and hot tea, before walking along the rocky outcrop and watching the stars come up. Finally falling asleep to the noise of swaying trees and a gentle sea breeze.

The next day I awoke to the noise of crows attacking the left over’s of a dog’s breakfast – I’ve never wanted to say “Stone the crows, you bloody galah” more than…than.  I nudged Niki awake, who responded with giving me the evils (lovingly of course), and persuaded her that fishing was her life dream and that we should go out in the cold overcast morning to catch us some grub. In fact she took to the idea more than I thought she would and before I knew it we were casting a line and feeding the fish. We could see them, they could see us. It was like a western movie, the type of scene where the two cowboys stare each other down, then all of sudden they draw guns and one lies dead on the sand with the other guy standing over him saying “Ill be back”….hang on, wrong movie…. in any case it was Niki and I laying on the floor. For the love of god we could not catch one of these slippery little suckers. So after 3 hours of making sure the fish weren’t hungry anymore, we packed up our fishing gear and headed back into Albany for an expedition.

So we jumped into the car, got about  1k up the road and than it dawned on me that a  little red light was flashing at me. It was flashing at me in a rather annoying urgent type of manner….so as any male would do, I ignore it for another 1km, then it dawned on me, it wasthe bloody fuel light. We were over 25k to the nearest station and the middle of no where. In true Nic and Clay style, we decided to gun it and see if we could make it. As we pushed the car up massive hills, the light flashed a deeper red. Breaking down here wasn’t an option, mostly because I didn’t want to walk the hilly terrain to get fuel…2km from town Nic looked me the eye as if this was it, we weren’t going to make it. Could this be it, would we finally break down because I drive my cars too far on a tank of fuel, we had a few near misses when we crossed oz, then the moment arrived…

To be continued…

Popularity: 8% [?]

Gees week 9 already, time flies when you’re having fun. This evening Niki and I had the pleasure of seeing the opening of the Perth International Art’s Festival and for me it was a first. In all the years I had lived here, it never crossed my mind that we had an art’s festival. I felt like shouting to everyone, hey guess what people, Perth actually does have an arts scene – who would of thought?

So in true Nic and Clay style, we arrived late to the Supreme Court Gardens, had to park about a light-year away and made it just in time to see the second act begin. To be honest, it started of a little random. There was a bald man with heaps of talcum powder violently throwing it around the place, or least I think it was, as cocaine would be far too expensive to be throwing it around like the way he was. The balding man seemed to be steering a giant steel contraption, dramatically portrayed by music  as if it was created from the depths of Mordor (you know little men, one ring and the big volcano at the end?). Big steel vibrations and screeches of metal on metal ricocheted around the gardens. By the way if you were there and thought you have no idea what I’m talking about? Well as an art critic I can say what I want, so there. To be honest I don’t know much about art, but there has never been a better time to learn.

Then the randomness really kicked in, a Spanish Women started singing whilst a 60′s style go-go slash pole dancer partied hard inside a suspended hour glass. No I promise I wasn’t on any drugs at the time, however I reckon the director might have been. Not particularly impressive, the show then turned to a giant steel ball suspended by a crane with humans jumping within it as it spun around. Does anyone remember Cirques du Solei at all?

Then for the piece of résistance, the human web. To be honest, this single act made the night and was one of the most incredible displays I have seen anywhere in the world. Well done drugged up director! The act involved many men and woman suspended above the ground in a web formation. The web slowly grew to life like a beating heart; it then turned into a rave party with the many performers spinning the web to the sounds of the Spanish beats below. Through the use of mood lighting and fireworks in the background, the performance managed to capture the essence and nature of the term human web.

Surprisingly I had a great night and I’m looking forward to catching a few more performances whilst the festival is running. The Perth International Art’s festival is on for the next few weeks and is a great opportunity to get behind the art scene here in Perth. This great festival encourages visitors and helps put lonely Perth on the spot light, even if we have to suspend people in air and watch a bald man throw away enough cocaine to support a small countries drug habits.

The Perth Arts Festival

Popularity: 5% [?]