Theres Another Sand Dune in the Van.

6633 kilometres... 4121.5 miles... Its been a fabulous trip... amazing places, dark skies, fabulous wildlife, some catching up with old friends, new friends made...lots of stories to tell and memories to mull over.

I won't miss the constant refrain 'theres another sand dune in the van' as Dr Fred once again sweeps the floor of the van... 

Or the sand in the bed ... but its all worth it for the sunshine - long white beaches - dark red earth - and pure blues skies... 

I have loved the different colours and and landscapes we have encountered.. as always our trip takes in a lot of rock but this has been incredibly varied and on a completely different scale to what we see in the UK.

The echidnas continued to be elusive but we had some wonderful moments observing the local native wildlife... only picture I got of echidna ... stuffed in visitors centre!

Its been uplifting to have the stunning light and warmth from day one.. even when we stepped out of the airport, Mars, venus and the moon in perfect alignment sitting there to welcome us - the moon upside down just to remind us we are in another hemisphere...

After the last two years this sense of rejuvenation is incredibly welcome and we are lucky to have been able to scratch the travel itch! 

The van itself was pretty much what we expected -basic - but it delivered what we needed - an easy, safe, dry (mostly), place to sleep - we have lived outside almost exclusively... dusty, dirty, sandy... our hygiene standards have eroded somewhat🤣🤣🤣  -I have always maintained a thorough strip wash suffices but really nothing beats a long hot shower or dare I suggest it a bath!!

We have no idea how long we travelled with the giant spider 'pet' - or how it may have lurked about in the night - clambering with its then intact long legs around the van..  it doesnt bare thinking about... we were sorry to have maimed it upon capture but it shouldn t have resisted..

South of Perth has a fabulous coast line. Lots of sleepy towns and good swimming spots - often in places the sea was too wild for me to be confident but Greens pool, Peaceful Bay and Bremmer headland were all nice calm seas and lovely to swim in.   Nothing beats the snorkeling on the Ningaloo Reef in the indian ocean though.

There was a lot of mountain, rock, crag climbing.. lots  of granite domes and boulders... cliffs to conquer and a fair amount of bush walking.. it was hot - and I know it will be hard to imagine the extent of the heat in a few weeks!

 

 We were made so welcome in Kalbarri and the crayfish feast and party for Dr Freds birthday were fantastic.

The Eclipse was the icing on the cake... we had a fabulous week in Exmouth..

We spent the last couple of days in Perth with friends. We visited the Western Australian Art Gallery and were wowed by the year 12 art exhibition... so much talent and quite a lot of politics.. joyous to look at.

The rest of the gallery was ok but the Japanese artist Yoshitoma Nara wasn't really my thing...

and while I loved the lift

the exhibition Yeahnahnesia was interesting - strange - but not particulary appealing to me.

I'm going to post thisas phone  keeps crashing more highlight another day ...