Last days

No, not the apocalypse last days. The last few days of my WA wanderings  The Pinnacles were the last thing on my must-see list, but I still had 4 days left before I had to say goodbye to Polly.  Yes, I could have had a few days in Perth, but I decided to avoid the stress of driving in a strange city and go walking in near-by national parks.

Yanchep National Park, on Perth's northern outskirts has a lot of kangaroos and a collection of English-style 1930s buildings including the Yanchep Inn where I had a very nice dinner on the deck. Quite a few of the kangaroos have white blazes on their faces.

I was a bit disappointed to discover that the koalas were in an enclosure and were introduced in the 1930s. They are not native to WA. 

I stayed in the national park's very pleasant campsite and walked 38kms over 2 days. Lots of birds, kangaroos and wildflowers, and not too many people. There was however a constant background hum of traffic from nearby roads and construction work. But the walking was not too strenuous and was very pleasant.

Known as the ghost house, all that remains of someone's stone built house.

A grumpy lizard, would not smile for his photo.

Rowdy Carnaby's cocktails, flying from tree to tree, dropping gumnuts onto the walking tracks.

WWII bunkers.

When I left Yanchep I detoured inland to see New Norcia, a monastic town. I expected to find a small town with some monastic buildings but it really is just a large Catholic monastery. No town.  It was quite early and raining when I arrived so I drove around and left this strange place.

Unfortunately, I had to drive into the eastern edge of Perth to stay in a caravan park. I experienced my first traffic lights in WA and decided to head bush again for my last day and night. John Forrest National Park is in the Perth Hills on the eastern edge of Perth. The view reminded me of the view of Melbourne from the Dandenong Mountains.

But the walking, the landscape, the wildlife and flowers and waterfalls were lovely.

A railway line once passed through the park, now it is a walking and biking trail.

Shame about the constant traffic noise including regular planes.

But it was still a very relaxed day of wandering in nature. My last night with Polly was spent camped in a forest beside a lake. 

I love the early mornings when the birds and wildlife are active but the humans are not.

This is me now as I wait for my flight to Melbourne. My wanderings are coming to an end until next time.

For those interested in statistics - I drove 4731 kms over 21 days; spent $1011 on petrol varying from $2.50/litre in Tom Price to $147/litre in Perth; spent $398 on campsites varying from $60/night to $0; I stayed in 6 free campsites, and I would do it all again. Hopefully, next time in my own van, Sally, who is waiting patiently back home for me to take her on wandering adventures.