Leaving for Western Australia .... at last

I haven't blogged for quote some time, but we are finally heading off on our big trip to Western Australia.  We have been planning this for the past 2 years, but have been locked out of WA due to Covid - this huge State has been closed to the rest of Australia, and indeed, overseas travellers for well over 2 years now, but the border finally opened in April 2022, so off we go!

We met up with our friends, Lorraine and Bill, and we set off on our next adventure.  We are travelling with caravans, and our first night was spent at a caravan park in Darlington Point, NSW.  We got all set up, then decided to walk down to the local pub for a meal, only to find it is closed on Mondays - there's not a lot at Darlington Point, but there is a pizza shop, which was open, so we ordered a couple and walked back to our vans to have dinner - they were good 😊

Next morning we headed into Victoria and had to comply with the fruit fly regulations - there are a number of fruits and vegetables we cannot take across this particular region to protect the agricultural industry, so we had to check our vehicles and dump any prohibited items into special bins, then go through an inspection station where a quarantine officer checked inside our cars and vans to make sure we had no prohibited fruit or vegetables.  

Our next stop was a free camp at Lake Benanee, Victoria - it's a really pretty lake which looked turquoise and pink at sunset.  We stayed here many years ago.  

We also had our first campfire of the trip - now we know we're on the road!

Next night was at Peterborough, where we camped at the back of The Junction Hotel.  They offered free camping, so we had dinner there (bearing in mind that a free camp at a hotel is never free, because we always ending up having dinner and drinks there, and perhaps a game of pool - which is exactly what happened.)  The food was excellent - some of us had the squid schnitzel with garlic prawns and and really good salad, and one of us had roast pork with lots of great vegetables.  Highly recommended.   We then had a couple of games of pool, and each couple won a game - a very enjoyable night. 

Next up was Peterborough to stock up at Woolies, then on to Woomera for the night.

Bergen - Boarding Hurtigruten MS Nordnorge

We had a leisurely breakfast at the Thon Orion Hotel and checkout was at noon, so we rugged up and went for a walk around the fortress just next to the hotel.  Some wonderful views from the top of the hill.

Our luggage check-in for the Hurtigruten cruise on MS Nordnorge was from 1.00pm, so we checked out and got a taxi to the ferry terminal where we eventually unloaded our luggage.  But we couldn't board until after 3.00, so we had a lot of time to kill.  We wandered around the streets of Bergen in quite miserable weather, grabbed coffee, then finally boarded around 4.00pm.  

We're on level 6, in an Arctic Superior room, and although small, It's quite comfortable and has everything we need.

Dinner was a buffet with fish, fish and more fish - baked, grilled, raw, pickled, every which way!  There was plenty of everything else, too. Delicious!  A great introduction to our cruise through the Norwegian Fjords.

NAEROYFJORD and GEIRANGERFJORD

Next morning was our departure on the electric powered boat cruising Naeroyfjord and Geirangerfjord to Gudvangen.

We sailed through pristine waters, surrounded by towering snow covered mountains.  Words can't do justice to this journey - breathtakingly beautiful, spectacular, awe-inspiring.... all of these and more.  The water was like a mill-pond, and I took some amazing photos with great depth to the reflections.  

Around every turn in the fjord was another stunning vista.  We eventually came to a junction where the fjord veered left into the Geirangerfjord.  Another spectacular trip until we reached Gudvangen, where this part of the journey ended.

We retrieved our luggage then boarded a bus to Voss.  Another interesting trip, going through small towns, villages, ski resorts and caravan/camping parks, and beautiful lakes, some of them frozen.  The bus was warm and  comfortable and the time passed quickly.

On arrival at Voss we had a short wait for the train to Bergen. I needed to use the toilets here and was directed to an area down a couple of flights of stairs.  However, I was surprised to find that I had to pay to use the facilities.  I had no local currency, and had to use my credit card to open the door - but I did something wrong and the door just wouldn't open. I was rescued by a young local girl who swiped her card for me, let me use the toilet, then she went in - a two-for-one pee, if you like. First time I've ever had to use a credit card for a pee!

So, the train arrived, and we were on our way to Bergen.  We got a taxi from the station to the Thon Orion Hotel.  Our booking included a light dinner and breakfast next morning.  Our room was lovely, with a great view over the river area.    The 'light dinner' was a buffet, with plenty of variety - fish, meatballs, pasta,salads breads and desserts, coffee etc.

After dinner we had a stroll around the Brygge area, which was colourful and charming, where I did indeed take a few photos.  

Then it was back to the hotel to get organised for our Hurtigruten Cruise  through the fjords the next day.

So far, everything has worked well and we've seen some stunning countryside.

NORWAY IN A NUTSHELL

We checked out of our room after another very good breakfast, then dragged our bags through the railway station to Platform 3 to await our train from Oslo to Myrdal. 

We failed to read our ticketing instructions properly, and just grabbed seats in any carriage, then discovered we had someone else's seats - we were in completely the wrong carriage... aaagh!  So, we had to retrieve our very heavy suitcases and drag them 5 CARRIAGES DOWN the train to find our designated seats in carriage 6.  Exhausting, stressful, but at least we were on the right train!

As we travelled along, the scenery changed to vast areas of deep snow, higher mountains, and small towns.  Most of the houses were a pale colour, with the occasional glimpses of colour. 

On arrival at Myrdal we changed trains to travel on the famous Flam railway.  At least this time we knew which carriage to climb into.  And I do mean climb - dragging suitcases up 3 stairs onto the train. They seem to be getting heavier!!!

The journey from Myrdal to Flåm is 20 kilometres long with a ascent of 863 metres with a gradient of 1 meter in 18! The gradient is unique for this kind of ordinary gauge railway, and to cope with the enormous height difference, the track runs partly through  tunnels, which spiral in and out of the mountainside.   

Shortly after boarding, we had a short stop to get off the train to see the Kjossfossen waterfall which is supposed to be amazing.  It probably is in summer, but at the tail end of winter it is a spectacular frozen icefall.  Still lovely.

We arrived in the picturesque town of Flam which sits on the Aurlandsfjord and checked

into the Fretheim Hotel which was a very comfortable, high-ceilinged lodge style hotel, with amazing views.

We walked around the tiny town on this spectacular fjord, before returning to our hotel for dinner -  a 3 course set menu featuring dried reindeer, cod in seafood sauce, and dessert.  It was excellent.

OSLO DAY 2

Breakfast was excellent. Plenty of choices, eggs, bacon, sausages, many versions of salmon, tasty breads, yoghurts, fruit, cheeses, hams salamis etc.  We did not go hungry. 

We caught a bus out to the Viking Ship Museum which was spectacular.  It housed three Viking ships in a whitewashed, almost cathedral-like building with high curved ceilings.  In the corners of each room were steps up to viewing platforms where you could look down into the ships.  In one of these areas a movie about the Vikings was projected on to the walls and ceilings around one of the ships.   Brilliant.

Next we went to the Fram Ship Museum, which again was very well done with movies projected onto the walls, sound effects.  We went onto the huge Fram which was well-preserved, gave you an idea of how cramped and difficult sailing/living on a ship even this size would be.

From there we visited the Kon Tiki Museum which houses the original Kon Tiki balsawood raft and the Ra reed raft built by the famous Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl.  Most impressive.

We returned to Oslo central, and had dinner at Fjora where I had one of their signature dishes, a fish soup.  Not a great signature, fairly ordinary - the bowl contained some nicely arranged seafood, over which was poured the fish soup.  The soup was lukewarm, and the seafood fairly light on.  Disappointing, for around $40.  Trev was happy with his mussel dish which was much more appetising.

Next morning, another good breakfast before catching the train to start our 'Norway In a Nutshell' trip.

First stop - Oslo, Norway

After a very long trip (Canberra/Sydney/Dubai/Oslo) of about 22 hours flying time plus the interminable "sitting around airports time" we finally arrived in Oslo, Norway, to start our Norway/Finland trip in search of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

We caught the airport express train to Oslo City - very fast, efficient, clean - and caught the first glimpses of white carpets of snow and stark black winter trees.  We arrived at central station in Oslo and found that our hotel, the Central Grand Comfort Hotel was actually located in the Central Train Station - so we didn't have too far to drag our luggage to the hotel.  

It's a funky, friendly hotel and we checked into our large room where we dumped our luggage, had a very welcome shower, and changed into fresh, warm clothes before venturing into the city.  My eyeballs felt like gritty orbs and we were both so tired, but we decided to have a quick look around before we gave in and crawled into bed.

All rugged up, we walked in the light snow, on slushy pavements up the main street in front of the station.  We checked the prices of food (high), walked past shops such as Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent (beyond expensive), then had coffee and a snack at the Cathedral coffee shop, which cost around $40 AUD - ouch! 

So, back to our hotel for a long sleep, ready to start our holiday.....

A Trip to Thursday Island

When we met Sue at Weipa she told us about the Thursday Island tour on a small boat that her group had done with Cape York Adventures.  

We booked the same tour, which took a maximum of 7 people (there were only 6 in our group, so it was perfect).  The tour took us first to Friday Island, where we visited a small pearling business, Koko.  I bought a lovely seed pearl necklace here.

Next, it was on to Thursday Island where we visited the Torres Strait Island Museum which had some beautiful arts and crafts housed in this very modern building.  It was very interesting.  

We had some free time walking around Thursday Island village and enjoyed an impromptu singing and dancing performance by a group of young Torres Strait Islanders outside a coffee shop, which happened to be their main sponsor when they attended competitions and displays in Northern Queensland.  

Then it was up to the Top Hotel for a good lunch of fish, chips and salad with a beer or wine.  After that, we were picked up by Mutti (Anthony) our guide, for a tour of Thursday Island.  It was very interesting, he told us a lot of the history of Thursday Island, took us up to the old fort (which has never fired a gun) and the cemeteries, as well as around the schools and many of the government buildings.

From there, we went to Horn Island and visited the WW2 Museum - lots of stuff to read, so Trev had a really good time there.  Our captain, Tom, showed us a crocodile on the way out of Horn Island, so everyone was happy to finally see one.

The trip back was much faster and MUCH choppier than on the way in.  We did lots of low flying over big waves, coming down with a big thump.  I loved it, as did all of us to start with, but eventually it was too much for Lorraine - she was not well at all, and had a very quiet night when we got back to shore.

Getting Closer - Jardine Ferry, Bamaga and Seisia

We had to retrace our route through Canal Creek and Sam Creek to get back onto the Bamaga Road - but this time it seemed so easy it was ridiculous!  Once you've negotiated these sorts of crossings and tracks a few times, it becomes easier, and nobody blinked twice at any of them - it was just straight on through!

We arrived at the Jardine Ferry Crossing, which cost $100 return per vehicle.  In the shop I spotted some stainless steel insulated beer mugs (with the Jardine Ferry logo on them) for only $7.50, so I grabbed a couple, then Bill and Lorraine bought one too.  This was a bargain, as once we crossed the Jardine we saw the same mugs for up to $22 at Bamaga and Seisia. 


Once we crossed, it was a relatively short drive over dirt road to Bamaga.  We stopped there for fuel and to stock up on groceries, then it was on to Seisia Caravan Park, where Bill had booked a couple of nights for us.  We were directed to the unpowered campsites, on the left hand side of the road.  We were right on the beach, close to the barge that comes in from Cairns, but also very close to the Fishing Club.  And of course, with all the beaches up here, don't even think of putting your toes in the water - you could lose them!

Throughout Bamaga and Seisia were wild horses, which are left to roam freely, and if you get in their way, you can end up on the wrong end of a hoof or two.  They come close to your camp area, and try to steal food, and are generally a bit of a menace, and quite dangerous.  And that's coming from someone who loves horses.

I hadn't realised that there were two sides to Seisia, but I think we got the 'wrong' side. People who have stayed there say it was either really good or just OK - and it seems to be the unpowered side that gets the 'just OK' comments.  On the other side are powered sites for twice the price, with better amenities and apparently a better side of the beach too.  Our side also had music and noise right through the night from the nearby Fishing Club - it literally didn't stop, so some people were not very happy.  Ah well, you get what you pay for, I guess.  

Fruit Bat Falls and Elliott Falls

Next morning, we headed back through the forest to the turn-off to Fruit Bat Falls. No camping is allowed there, so we were just popping in for a swim before heading to Elliott Falls for the night.

Well, Fruit Bat Falls was beautiful.  The water was crystal clear, reasonably easy to get into, and warm enough for Trevor to take the plunge (he's a bit of a wuss when it comes to swimming in cold water).  

Around the walkways to the falls were lots of tiny carnivorous sundew plants that exude sticky droplets to attract insects, which are then devoured by the plants.  I did get a couple of photos of them, but they were so tiny, I really had to work hard to find them.

After our swim we had lunch in the carpark then set off for Eliot Falls, our campsite for the evening.  We again ventured onto the Telegraph Track, where we negotiated two interesting/difficult crossings - Sam Creek and Canal Creek.  

We had to check each of these crossings out on foot before we attacked them, and Trev guided and directed the other two vehicles across - I did hop out a couple of times to photograph and video our cars coming across, so that was a lot of fun.  It's amazing what these vehicles will do once you've worked out your path.

 After conquering the crossings, we found our allocated site, set up our tents, then walked to Elliott Falls and Twin Falls, both very pretty areas where we again had a swim.  I must admit that Fruit Bat Falls was the prettiest and the better area to swim.  

On the way back to camp Trev and I also had a look at The Saucepan, another swimming area with a really deep swimming hole.  Then it was back to camp for drinks and nibbles before dinner and stargazing.