The starting point

The starting point

Wednesday, 9 March 2016

8/3/16 Forests , Rivers & Lights

 Sorry folks , the internet is a bit hit & miss where we are at the moment , so here's yesterdays blog . 
 Time for some sight seeing , after getting organised , we took some back roads and side roads to find our way down to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin . Our first road took us through some nice forest areas with lots of trees . There are some really dense forests down here - this one was really open compared to some we have driven through !!


  Not much further down the road we came across the Blackwood River at Rosa Glen - stunning !!!


 There’s a fair amount of plantation timber down this way , pine & eucalypts - I always enjoy seeing rows of trees disappearing into the distance .


 After driving through many vineyards and dairy farms ,we came across the Blackwood River again, this time going over the Alexandra Bridge - an old timber bridge !!



  Before long we drove into Augusta - we had expected a small fishing village , but found a bustling little town with quite a few shops , hardware store , cafe’s , 2 petrol stations and lots of holiday accomodation . 
 Continuing on toward Cape Leeuwin , we found a new boat harbour with a huge breakwall , giving them a safe area to moor their boats - crayfish & fishing boats . The rock used looks great and seems to be a mixture of quartz and dark rock in bands . The water in the harbour is rather clear - we could see schools of fish below one of the jetties .




  Leaving the harbour behind , there’s another viewing area beside the road to the lighthouse that gives you a good view of things .


  Eventually we found the lighthouse and did the self guided tour , you could do a guided tour for $20 a person , that takes you up & inside the lighthouse . Our tour gives you an audio player which you can listen to as you walk around . This is the most southwestern point of Western Australia , and would be very inhospitable a lot of the time with winds coming straight off the ocean . The lighthouse is the tallest in Australia  , and is the point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean . There’s the remains of an old water wheel , that used to pump water to the lighthouse keepers cottages and the sheds - it is now very calcified , no longer turning .





 Back into Augusta for some very nice fish & chips for lunch , which we ate beside the Blackwood River , near the old jetty .



  That’s it for today , we took a few back roads on the way back - through some more very thick forests . 
 Time for a beer & salsa and some very tasty cheese with Rick & Marcia , who are heading off again tomorrow .

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