Glad to hear my mystery snake is probably harmless. I can identify Tiger snakes, but that's about it, so I treat them all with the utmost respect. That photo was captured with a zoom lens, as I wasn't getting an inch closer.

Now about those spiders...

We left Esperance under gloomy skies and began working our way west via the South Coast Highway. This section wasn’t particularly scenic and reminded us a bit of South Dakota with its miles and miles of endless road, where you drive over one hill just to discover that 100 more identical hills stretch before you.

We perked up when we saw a sign that told us we were entering the Fitzgerald Biosphere, thinking something interesting lay ahead. Instead we saw thousands of naked trees protruding from the surrounding shrubbery. At first I thought it was a burn area, but nothing else looked burnt; there were just thousands upon thousands of these sad naked sticks.

The landscape became considerably greener just east of Ravensthorpe, and as we drove through town, once again I was amazed at the abundance of roses in Western Australia. I’ve always thought roses were difficult to grow, but they really seem to thrive here. Maybe I’ll try planting some in my garden.

After consulting the map, we turned around, backtracked three kilometers to Ravensthorpe and detoured to Hopetoun, as I was curious about this Biosphere thing.

Forty-nine kilometers later, we were in the sleepy holiday village of Hopetoun; Bill scowling because there was nothing there and me looking sheepish for suggesting the detour in the first place.

Instead of returning to the highway the way we’d come (Ravensthorpe/Hopetoun Road) we decided to go back via Hammersley Drive (mostly unsealed), which took us directly through Fitzgerald River National Park.

Now, this was interesting! There were beaches, cliffs, sand dunes, inlets, gnarled bare trees, and some really unusual vegetation that we’d never seen before. And the flowers! Of course I had to stop and take pictures, so this little detour added about 90 minutes to an already long drive day. It was a fascinating, yet inhospitable looking place.

I’ve since done some research on the park and discovered that it’s a world Biosphere Reserve with UNESCO. Some interesting facts:

More than 20% of WA’s plant species grow in Fitzgerald River National Park, even though it’s only 0.2% of WA’s land mass.

Sixty-two percent of the 1,800 flowering plant species are found only in Fitzgerald River National Park and 81 types of orchids, 70 of which appear nowhere else on earth.

Fitzgerald River National Park is home to 209 listed birds and some animals found no where else in the world.

Wow. Good detour, huh?

Back on the South Coast Highway, the landscape became more agricultural after Jerramungup and we were soon off the map, scrambling for map #2.

About 70 kms east of Albany it got really green and lush, and we both commented that Albany was a whole lot prettier than Esperance (pristine beaches aside) and seemed almost big in comparison.

We needed some caffeine and sugar, so we popped into Dome for flat whites and a really nice slice of chocolate cake. Dome has now redeemed itself to Bill, who had a bad lunch experience at a location in Perth.

Then it was back on the South Coast Highway, where we continued on to Denmark, arriving some eight hours and 498 kilometers after leaving Esperance.

Lord Hopetoun, John Hope, was the first Governor General of Australia Mel and I'm wondering if Hopetoun was named after him?

You're good Stormbird. According to Wikipedia:

"Hopetoun is a town on the south coast of Western Australia in the Shire of Ravensthorpe. It was established in 1900 as a coastal town servicing the Phillips River Mining District, and named after the 7th Earl of Hopetoun and first Governor General of Australia, John Hope."

Mel.....about those spiders
just for Skiergal too
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ting_sp_lg.jpg
Sort of that look there "is this dentist about to tickle or not!!"

And then another one wants in too
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...t=PC110091.jpg

So skiergal, you just take care
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ccidents10.jpg

And look, whilst it is very unlikely that you'll run into snakes, they are about out in the bush and they also can be urban dwellers, a lot just more nocturnal and though many are not deathly poisonous - there are many poisonous to make you a bit ill and still those tha can cause death quickly if untreated.

The rule of thumb for all snakes is to treat them all with respect and consider all venomous.

After getting directions to our accommodation at the fantastic new Denmark Visitor’s Center, we checked into Karma Chalets, where we’d booked “Wonder”. Their usual rate for this particular chalet is $200 per night, but they were offering a spring special, so we received 50% off the third night.
http://www.karmachalets.com.au/

Karma Chalets is located outside of Denmark in a peaceful country setting. Our chalet was very comfortable, and had a rustic feel due to the cedar exterior, timber walls, doors and cabinets. It felt as if we were in the mountains (we even needed that electric blanket) and the birdfeeder and birdseed was a nice touch. We fell asleep to the sound of frog croaks and woke to birdsong (and more frog croaks).

Wonder has a second bedroom upstairs, but I wouldn’t want to be the person staying up there. There was limited head space due to the sloping roof and it felt like a stuffy attic.

Likewise, because the chalets are made of wood, sleeping with someone over head wouldn’t be much fun either – those creaky floors and stairs were really loud.

When we checked in we asked the owner if she could make a dinner recommendation. She suggested Forest Hill Winery right next door, made a booking for us and even gave us vouchers for a free glass of wine. It seems that Forest Hill only serves dinner on Friday nights, and this night’s theme was Italian. Works for me.

Our meal at Forest Hill Winery was excellent. I had the Mt. Barker Chicken Breast, served with a roasted vegetable caponata (whatever that is) with mandarin caper sauce. Bill had the Wood Oven Braised Veal Osso Bucco, served with root vegetable puree, garlic mushrooms and Forest Hill Cabernet jus. For dessert we shared the Quince and Vanilla Bean panna cotta, with marsala zabaglione and almond anise gravel. The food was divine, the service painfully slow. Dinner with drinks, dessert and coffee came to $93. During our meal we were serenaded by a local singer, who as it turned out, was the daughter of the woman who’d helped us at the Visitor’s Center, who was also dining at Forest Hill that evening.

Denmark is my new favorite place in Western Australia. We’d been here before while staying in Albany, but this was the first time we’d based ourselves there. I absolutely love this area – the huge trees, rolling hills and meadows – it’s incredibly pretty, very green, generally cool and it offers so much to see and do. I knew the minute we arrived three nights was not going to be enough.

We visited the Pentland Alpaca Stud Animal Farm – we got there right at 10 am so we could see the koalas feeding, and we weren’t disappointed. The farm has three koalas and a plantation of 3,000 eucalyptus trees to feed them (koalas don’t live in the wild in WA). I was even invited into their enclosure to pet them. We wandered around for some time, feeding rabbits, goats, sheep, the emus (Em and Mu), the alpacas and Kimba the camel. It was a lot of fun, but the highlight for me was getting to bottle feed Madeline, a six month old orphaned kangaroo. The farm isn’t an official rescue shelter, but occasionally someone will bring them an orphaned animal. They had two orphaned kangaroos at the time of our visit, Madeline and Darcy, and they were a lot of fun to watch as they roamed the grounds. They were like pets, following the owners around the farm, never far from Mom. I really enjoyed our visit here.

Our next stop was the Toffee Factory, as I can’t seem to visit Denmark without indulging my sweet tooth. They have some really interesting flavors like chili chocolate, Kahlua, lemon myrtle, and WA wildflower, honey and ginger.

Then it was off to Rickety Gate Winery for no other reason than we liked the name. This turned out to be a great stop. We tried some wines, and then decided to stay on for lunch, which incidentally, was served to us by Katie, the singer from Forest Hill Winery the night before. We asked her for a lunch recommendation for the following day and she suggested Karriview Winery, where she also works. That’s one busy girl.

We enjoyed the platter we shared (cheese, bread, olives, crackers, vegetables, dips, chicken wings and savory filled puff pastry - $49) accompanied with a nice 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. We had a nice chat with the owners (Russell and Linda) and we left with several bottles of wine.

*We drove! We could actually take more than two bottles of wine home with us!

Our next stop was Somerset Winery, where we fell in love with their sparkling wine, and the very friendly owner gave us some pointers on where to look for kangaroos.

As promised, we found loads of kangaroos in Highland Park, a subdivision off of Mt Shadforth Road and Peace Street. We also found a nice lookout at the top of Mohr Drive – great views from up here.

Dinner that evening was at The Southern End, located at the Observatory Point Resort on Mt Shadforth Road. We didn’t have a booking, but lucked into a fabulous table overlooking the valley, Wilson Inlet and the Southern Ocean.
We shared an appetizer of bread and a warm dip with garlic and sweet chili, and Bill had some natural oysters. For the main I had the Scottsdale Chicken – ‘Breast of chicken French trimmed, pocketed with local Over the Moon feta cheese and sundried tomatoes with local honey and cream herb sauce on a bed of seasonal greens’. Bill had the Tagliatelle pasta – ‘Fresh pasta, succulent chicken tossed with toasted cashew nuts and mushrooms in a light creamy garlic herb sauce garnished with shaved parmesan cheese and a little salad’. Who comes up with this stuff?

The food was excellent, as was the service - $121 with wine.

Feeling guilty from all the wining and dining, the next morning we decided we’d better get some exercise, so we set off to climb Mt Lindsay. The track was longer than advertised, but not nearly as strenuous as we expected. It was a nice walk on a wide, well marked path. The only dicey bit was a section that crossed the granite rocks towards the top. It was slippery in spots (moss) and I definitely wouldn’t want to walk this one in wet weather. Our efforts were rewarded with some great views from the top of Mt Lindsay and loads of wildflowers. It was a peaceful trek with just us, the birds and the flies (6.3 miles return, just under three hours).

We had a late lunch at Karriview Winery overlooking the vineyard, where we shared a nice dip platter, some delicious chorizo and a bottle of champers. There are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.

After lunch we took the Harwood Forest Walk (1 mile, 35 minute return), a nice forest walk just down the road from Karriview Winery.

Then it was back to The Southern End for coffee and some decadently rich mud cake (yes, I put on a few pounds this trip), before heading back to our chalet to relax.

Next: Taking the scenic route to Pemberton

Stop it Mel!! Come on!!!
It's nearly dinner time here now and you are making my mouth water but the tragedy is knowing that I am most likely not going to be having anything for dinner remotely as lovely as you describe.

Oooh I am definitely going to have to talk the old man in to taking me out to dinner now! I think we might try the new Turkish place down the road.

Oooh won't have to cook - Thanks Mel!!!

Always happy to help Stormbird.

I just got a chance to catch up on your trip. I've loved your report so far. I'm glad you got a chance to see the area around Fitzgerald and report back. It sounds a lot like what we expected - pretty boring outside the park but rugged, remote and botanically interesting inside.

I checked out your pictures. the tall plant you saw in Fitzgerald is Royal Hakea, a plant that is native to the park.

I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Thank you travel4flowers!

We weren’t quite ready to leave Denmark. After checking out of our chalet, we enjoyed flat whites and muffins at Lilly Dilly while we waited for the Telecentre to open (located next to the library and civic center, opens at 10 am, $6 an hour for internet). We caught up on e-mail, and then made a stop at the Car and Dog Wash to de-bugify our poor rental car. We were surprised to discover they had a special high powered ‘bug cleaner’, which worked like a charm.

We started to leave Denmark via Scottsdale Road, only to get sidetracked at the Lake House, a nice little winery surrounded by beautiful gardens overlooking a lake. Heck, it was already noon, so after a wine tasting we decided to stay on for lunch. We shared a cheese platter with crackers, fruit, a lovely Chardonnay, rosemary jelly (tasted like ginger) and merlot jelly ($16). We accompanied our feast with a glass of fantastic 2007 Pinot Noir. Heavy sigh…

We started to leave Denmark again, only to get sidetracked at Whitfield Winery, where we had a long discussion about snakes with the Kiwi transplant who ran the place. Seems she likes these Aussie snakes even less than I do.

By now we had a virtual rolling wine cellar in our trunk and prayed that we could make it back to Perth without getting rear-ended.

It was after 2 pm, so we figured we should quit dawdling and get in gear, so we left Denmark for the third time, running over a Tiger snake in the process. It had taken us three hours to drive 12 km.

Back on Scottsdale Road, we joined the South Coast Highway in the direction of Walpole. We didn’t make it far, as once again we were sidetracked, this time by the Conspicuous Cliffs. We took the rough, unsealed road to the car park, then walked to the lookout and then down to the beach. Gorgeous! This is a good place for spotting Southern Right Whales during October and November, but unfortunately, we didn’t know to look for any until we got back to the car (probably too late in the season anyway). Lots of flies around here, but the views were fantastic.

Back on the South Coast Highway, we passed through the tiny shire of Nornalup and crossed the Frankland River, entering the Southern Forests, where we were shaded by a canopy of trees towering overhead.
We passed through the quaint one block town of Walpole, and then entered a controlled burn area, where the fires were burning right up next to the highway. We passed through Mt Frankland National Park and entered Shannon National Park, all the while surrounded by massive trees. I love this area and I had the sudden urge to go camping. Soon we were on #10 pointed towards Northcliffe, and we arrived in Pemberton seven hours after leaving our chalet in Denmark.

We had a booking at Big Brook Cottages, which is located 6 km from the township of Pemberton, and a short distance from Big Brook Dam - $180 per night.

www.bigbrookcottages.com.au/

Our cottage (#2) was clean,
spacious, well equipped and surrounded by a lovely, well tended garden. We enjoyed our stay there –it was peaceful, comfortable and the grounds were just gorgeous with masses of flowers. Kailey, the friendly resident dog, came to visit us regularly.

Our day began with an early morning walk right outside our door. We merely crossed the street and walked the Tramway Track towards Big Brook Dam. We picked up the Bibbulmun Track and just wandered for awhile, enjoying the peace, the gentle birdsong and the occasional startling screech from birds that sounded suspiciously like primates. We saw a fleeting glimpse of two emus as they tore across the path and thrashed through the trees. It was a nice walk and a good way to start the day (4.12 miles, 1:30 return).

We then headed to Fonty’s Pool in Manjimup, a winery that had sparked our interest after we picked up a bottle of their Shiraz in a Perth bottle shop. We loved almost every wine we tasted and bought several bottles.

Our next stop was the Wine and Truffle Company, which is located up the road from Fonty’s Pool. Here we were treated to liberal pours of their huge range of wines and educated about the truffle industry, of which we were both completely ignorant.

As it wasn’t truffle season we couldn’t try fresh truffles, so we did the next best thing. We shared a truffle honey pannacotta with hazelnuts (life is short, eat dessert first!). It was good and gave us just a tiny taste of those elusive truffles.

We needed food, but nothing on the menu at the Wine and Truffle Company appealed to us, so we went to the Warren Vineyard, which our tourist info indicated served lunch. Not the case, so the owner suggested the Millhouse Café or the Gloucester Motel. So off we went only to find that the Millhouse was closed for the day for maintenance and the Gloucester Motel only served dinner. The woman there suggested we try Jan’s Diner, so off we went. Unfortunately, Jan’s was indeed open for lunch and we ended up eating there. Ick.

We then headed to Jarrah’s Jacks to wash the bad taste out of our mouths with some of their wonderful wheat beer, only to find they were out of stock. It was just that kind of day.

Our next stop was the Fine Wood Craft gallery, where I drooled over their $5,000 Jarrah tables and $1,500 Marri chairs. And surprise! There was an inviting open café right next door, set amidst a tranquil garden (The Coffee Connection). Oh well, next time.

Then it was back to our cottage to take a much needed nap and to recover from those Jan’s chicken burgers, which as Bill so delicately put it, were ‘still trying to climb out’.

Next: More food and wine in Yallingup and that very big snake

Melnq8,

I am enjoying you wonderful report and taking food and wine notes.....can wait! We leave in 5 weeks!

Thanks

cwn - where will be you visiting?

Really interesting to read - thanks very much. My youngest sons school friend and family moved to Kalgoorlie last week. In search of streets paved with gold. Nice little family. Heaps and heaps of Kiwis work there for a few years and retire early.

Melnq8,

We leave for Wellington New Zealand on the morring of Jan 9 and will send time there and on the South Island. Then we head to W Australia.

Thursday, January 22 - Fly to Sydney, Australia. Stay at Marriott Hotel at the Rocks for two nights.
Friday, January 23 - Sydney

Saturday, January 24 - Depart for Perth, W Australia. Board the India Pacific Train at 2:10.
Sunday, January 25 - On the Train. Stops at Broken Hill and Adelaide.
Monday, January 26 - On the Train. Stop at Kalgoorlie.

Tuesday, January 27 - Travel to Lowlands Beach. Stay at Cape Howe Cottages ("The Wardroom&quot for four nights.
Wednesday, January 28 - Lowlands Beach
Thursday, January 29 - Lowlands Beach
Friday, January 30 - Lowlands Beach

Saturday, January 31 - Drive to Yallingup. Stay at Wildwood Valley, Honeybee Cottage for two nights. February 1 - Yallingup

Monday, February 2 - Drive to Fremantle. Stay at Quest Harbor Village Apartments for three nights.
Tuesday, February 3 - Fremantle
Wednesday, February 4 - Fremantle

Thursday, February 5 - Fly to Darwin, NT Australia for two nights.

From there we go to Adelaide for more good food and wine on the train then back to Sydney on Feb 17.

As you can tell, my husband loves to travel by train!

I copied lots of food and other points of intrest from your trips..they all sound so nice. We love wine and good food, but I can't do as much walking as you all do. Though I have made notes of the shorter walks in scenic areas.

Thanks for all the wonderful information in your reports!

cwn -

Wow, sounds like quite an adventure. What happens between Kalgoorlie and West Cape Howe? I mean, how are you getting down south?

I took a look at Wildwood Valley just now and it looks fantastic. I was just at Smith's Beach, but didn't see it.

We hope to get to Adelaide ourselves this winter (as in June, July, August). Figured we'd like it better in the cooler months, being hot weather wimps and all.

Although, we're talking about maybe going back to Denmark after Christmas for a few days. We'll see how it goes.

I'm glad to hear my long-winded trip reports have helped someone. Guess I need to buckle down and finish this one.

Have a wonderful trip!

We left Pemberton around 9 am via the Vasse Highway (10). In true nq8 style, it wasn’t long before we were sidetracked; this time at Beedelup Falls. We parked, walked to the falls, and then just kept on walking. We took the ‘Walk through Tree’ path, which leads to a 75 meter, 400 year old karri tree with a hole cut through the center. We continued walking to the Karri Valley Resort, where we’d hoped to have a cup of coffee (it was not to be, the resort’s restaurant is closed from 9:30 am until 5pm). So, we forged on without the benefit of caffeine, eventually returning to where we started. This was an enjoyable, slightly hilly walk through the forest, past the resort and back alongside the lake (3.5 mile loop, 1:30).

Back on the Vasse Highway, we worked our way towards Karridale. The imposing trees gradually disappeared and were replaced with one winery after another as we turned towards Margaret River, where we arrived less than two hours after leaving Beedelup Falls.

Bill insisted that our first stop be at Kappadokia, his all time favorite Turkish kebab establishment. He had one for lunch and took s second away to have for dinner (the man really likes these particular kebabs).

After Bill’s chicken kebab fix, we got on Caves Road and headed to Windance Winery and Cottages in Yallingup, our home for the next three nights - $175 per night, with the third night free thanks to a spring special.

We were given cottage #4 overlooking an open field; which proved to be a source of endless entertainment in the form of guinea fowl (which we mistook for wild turkeys).

Our cottage was spacious, with two large bedrooms with queen sized beds, two bathrooms (one with spa), a spacious lounge with large plasma TV, and an open kitchen/dining area. This place would be perfect for two couples traveling together. It's well laid out, and would give both couples plenty of privacy and personal space.

The wall of windows in the lounge/dining area made the cottage very airy and allowed expansive views of the country.

Melnq8.

Thanks for the good word on Wildwood. The website looked good and the hostess was vry helpful so...

We will arrive in Perth about 9, pick up our rent car and drive down to Cape Howe Cottages.

We have cars for our time in W Australia, Darwin and Adelaide area.

I know it will be hot duing our stay in Australia, but we live on the Texas Gulf Coast so we are use to hot and humid. Plus we will be traveling out of the country until the end of May,so we couldn't make it work for the best weather everywhere.

If you wind up in the Denmark area while we are there, give a heads up on the forum, maybe we can share a bottle of wine with you somewhere...

Meanwhile keep up the great posts, I am enjoying them!