Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Morawa

We headed off to Morawa to check out the Info centre
 to see if there were any more Wreath Flowers about.
Pulled up around the corner and guess what was looking at us ?



Also in Morawa is the second largest collection of windmills
 in the Southern Hemisphere...So guess where we went?


Like a lot of country towns there are many hidden gems 
if you stop & look..


With my passion for them I was in heaven!
They also had a 17" model kit ...
So I had to have one of those didn't I ?


With the 100th. Anniversary of Gallipoli coming up this seemed  relevant.


It wasn't all windmills, this doctors operating table looked frightening.


Especially the head clamp....


Canna and Surrounds. Including the Elusive Wreath Lechenaultia

After 5 days of miserable weather we headed inland
 on the second part of our quest.
Naturally we stopped at Mingenew 
for coffee & one of their superb pies.
Coalseam was closed because of the river being up after 30mm of rain.

A stop on the side of the road for the pies....


We'd heard about a place called Canna that had Wreath Flowers nearby.


On the way into Canna we stopped at "The Old Camp"
There was this old hut...
Read below !


Life must have been tough in those days, but I guess it was his choice.


We decided Turtle was a better option!!


But outside was the famed carpet of wild flowers.


Looking at the number of tins & bottles I think his diet was a bit limited !!!!


There were several varieties of cactus nearby..


Then 35kms east of Canna we found our treasure....


These only grow on disturbed ground.


So I guess a road verge is about as disturbed as your likely to find...


There were maybe 100sh on both sides of the road..
Double click on this & read it,  you'll then understand why they are hard to find.


Back at the old campsite, 
here is another case of why "Royalties for Regions" is a blessing.


This superb facility is for the local CFS & travellers,
All by donation.


The Dunny.
2 of, this one wheelchair accessible with shower!
Power too if you want it 15amp. of course.


Then there's the BBQ outside the old school...


The Church..


And this old Neptune fuel pump outside the old shop.


There was supposedly more Wreath Flowers 
10 k's out of town, so we packed the van ready to leave after we got back.
We saw this sign on the way out...


There were only a couple of Wreath flowers and not very nice at that.
But Bugger Me, what should we see near the sign on the way back...
2 of them crossing the road. 
By the time I got the camera out they'd gone..
So we waited.....


You don't see many of these around here... 


Port Denison Novelty


Sometimes you just have to stop!!!
Priceless!!!


Friday, September 5, 2014

Geraldton

We decided a quick trip to Geraldton was in order,
for fuel & lunch.


Of course we had to visit the Sydney Memorial.
A great opportunity for the ultra wide zoom lens...


A couple of different perspectives!!!


We still think this is the best memorial in Australia..


I hope you like these shots as much as I do...


Alison having a bit of quiet contemplation...


Then a quick stop at the mouth of the Irwin River
to check out the locals.

Sandy Bay Revisited

We got away!!!!!
With my hips being none too friendly,
we headed to an old haunt, Sandy Bay.
In fact we met an old friend here as well..
very amusing ...


This was a bit of a giggle,
camera down very low with the ultra wide,
then running backwards up the beach to beat the wave!!


A couple of flowers from the bush,


Very pretty!!


Up to the Rotunda where we took the 
"Ain't Life A Bitch"
photo with A&A in 2008

Alison was having a rest so off I went 
to the lookout, you can just see a 4WD 
coming onto the beach...


These two guys had a VERY frustrating time
extracting themselves from the sand...
I reckon the air was as blue as the water!


Looking back up the bay with the lovely 
Pigfaces as a foreground.




Before the Trip...Deborah and Anthony's Wedding Anniversary at Faber's

After all the trials and tribulations of the last 6 months  
we decided that we needed to get away if only for a couple of weeks...
however, with Deborah's and Anthony's wedding anniversary 
fast approaching we decided to do a lunch!


First to Taylor's for a coffee then on to Faber's (Where Robert had worked)
for a wine tasting and lunch.


Some of Stephen's favourite birds, 
this appears to be the much endangered Carnaby's Black Cockatoo.


They didn't want to hang around for positive identification .




Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The Last Supper

It was with much culinary delight,
 but sadness of heart we had a final meal with the boys at Penang Road. 
It has been wonderful to have some time with them.
Home again tomorrow to the wonderful Perth weather....