Road Trip

Sat., May 9 Barry and Glenda Hollitt took us on a spectacular road trip to the southeast and up in the hills. Our trip started at thier home near Rockingham then to Mandurah, Pinjarra, Dwellingup, Quindanning and Boddington and back. The scenery was wonderful, but a little dry, like Texas, as there has been quite a drought.

We stopped for mid-morning coffee in Dwellingup, at a park near an old narrow gauge railroad station which is still in use. This is also a stop on the Bibbulmun Track, a 1,000 km. hiking track that stretches from Perth Hills to Albany through eight rural communities and traverses the most beautiful natural areas of Australia's South West. This is the track that Barry and Don have been walking (with full 50 lb. pack), doing a segment at a time. They are about half way through the complete track.

After coffee and a quick look at the old station, we were "on the road again", our goal was an old pub for lunch. The drive took us into rolling hills and dense forest, giving way to some very large farms and ranches. If not for the unique trees and plants, and the charming architecture of some of the farmhouses, it had the look of many places in the U.S.

Right about lunch time Barry wheels us into the village of Quindanning, and 'Ye Olde English Inne'. A pub right out of Hollywood central casting. The little bar area was just perfect, sorry that my interior photos didn't come out well. We ate outside, the grounds were like an oasis, situated at the edge of a creek, interesting birds everywhere. This is a very popular week-end road trip destination, as the parking lot full of motorcycles attest to.

Really didn't want to leave that pub, but on we go to the town of Boddington, through more fantastic scenery, farms, forest, and hills. In answer to a question I know you must have, no, we did not see any kangaroos. They mostly come out in the early evening and morning.

Then we headed back to Barry & Glenda's . It was a really great trip, certainly a highlight of my trip. So, have a look at some photos I've added in another post.