Into the West with an old friend

Would you give the keys to your house to someone you barely knew and had only hung around with for a couple of days?! Well in true Aussie hospitality Matt and Teree who we met a few months previously in Ko Chang (Thailand) did just that and were the most hospitable of hosts! We had great fun catching up on our travels since we parted after spending a few hungover days and drunken nights together in Thailand. Thanks again to you both we had such a lovely time! It was great spending a few days in a house (the sofa was sooooo comfy!) and we also met a very unusual character who literally dropped in on M & T's balcony from his own one upstairs by shimmying down a tree! A few beers later and all the boys climbed up the tree back to his flat for a few more beers, apparently it was easier than climbing the stairs but Teree and I didn't quite manage it! Turns out Aaron is a arboculturalist (tree surgeon I believe) which would explain his monkey tendencies.

More fun was on it's way too as we picked up Ruth to start our road trip over to the great wild west. After finding a camping shop so that Ruth could purchase some supplies so she was all set to "get back to basics" and rough it with us, we were off! We were soon on the Great Ocean Road, reportedly the most scenic drive in Oz, and what a beautiful drive it was too! We stopped at many lookouts along the way taking a zillion pictures and also managed to fit in a short walk to a waterfall, dry of course, but which did look very magical in the photos. We ate wild blackberries and marvelled at the crazy rock formations carved out by the wind and rain.

The Great Ocean Road is spectacular, there is no question about it. The sandstone cliffs which make up this part of the coast line are threaded through with other harder materials. After a few thousand years of erosion, the result is awe inspiring as you see face like formations protruding from the water and all manner of other things with only a bit of imagination. The more popular sights such as the 12 apostles are bustling with people taking the perfect shot for their photo album, this is the most photographed place in Oz. Personally I love The Grotto, which you climb down steps to get to, then view the sea beyond and a green tide pool, framed by a hole in the rocks, just gorgeous and we had it to ourselves!

We moved practically every night for the next few weeks, which is very tiring considering we are all sleeping on thin mats in tents and being massacred by the wind along the coast! We went Wine tasting in the Barossa valley and found Jenke's Winery to have the best Merlot in the whole world, we loved it! The famous Jacob's Creek is also made in this region and we were pleasantly surprised at how friendly they were even though they were so famous, we ended up taking root and sampling almost the entire list and the staff jokingly said the thought we were becoming permanent fixtures!

The first National Park we went to with Ruth was the Grampians and we were plagued by flies landing in our eyes, mouths and sausages! How very dare they?! Then we began the long journey along the 1400km Nullabor Plain. Literally translated means "No trees" and they're not kidding! Although not all of it is barren desert there is a huge section in the middle that is and there is nothing to stop the wind from battering you. It took all three of us to hold the tent down and Ruth "slept over" as we couldn't summon the energy to put her tent up too!

We arrived at night and so the full impact of the "nothingness" didn't hit us until we crawled out of the tent in the morning, disheveled and exhausted by a restless night of sleep. Imagine not a desert with undulating sand dunes but instead small fragments of rock strewn in a reddish dusty dry landscape stretching out as far as the horizon, so flat and so barren that nothing breaks up your line of vision as you gaze in wonder around 360 degrees. I think I was particularly struck by how beautiful it was, it made me feel like an insignificant speck on this beautiful planet of ours.

Following our two solid days driving, we thought it would be rude not to indulge ourselves and go and visit THE most beautiful beach in Oz. FACT. Cape Le Grand National Park, on the South West Coast of WA is home to the stunning Lucky Bay. Turquoise waters and sand like sifted flour awaited us and we spent a lovely few days just soaking up some sun and frolicking in the sand and sea.

Next stop Albany where we arranged to meet up with a guy called Darren Aggiss, a distant relative of Ruth's (also an Aggiss). Facebook is a great medium for stuff like this! We met up in the local pub where everyone is super friendly and even before he showed up we made friends with some of the locals. It turns out Darren is a great guy and we went out with him and some of his other friends to "The only and the worst nightclub in Albany" and had an absolute ball dancing until the small hours and cementing our friendships with our new friends. I nearly got kicked out for being too drunk, but we were leaving anyway so I'm not sure it counts!

The next morning dawned rainy and hungover for all of us and Darren & Ev (his flatmate) invited us to their house for a BBQ. There we met Carmen, a really lovely friend of theirs and Michael, Darren's Dad (another Aggiss) to join our little group. After a fab lunch Darren unfortunately had to go to work but we were privy to the best local guides showing us the tourist sights of Albany such as the wind farm where we took a beautiful stroll to the wind swept cliffs and Carmen told us all about some of the native plants. We also saw The Gap, a collapsed natural bridge made of grey chunks of rocks by the ocean where a terrific noise and whooshing spray greets the visitors. We ended the evening with Fish and Chips & a beer back at Ev's house, all in all a wonderful weekend made possible by people we only just met but by now our friends.

OK so now imagine a 65 metre tall tree, lots of spokes drilled into it in a kind of spiral,a platform at the top and one nimble man and two terrified girls climbing up there, you have Karl, Ruth and I climbing up the Gloucester Tree, formerly a bush fire lookout from the 1930's. They have 4 of these tree top lookouts so that a bushfire could be spotted and dealt with as quickly as possible to avoid the towns around getting damaged. The view from the top is brilliant and you get an inkling of how cool it would be to be a bird! More nature awaited us as we explored the Karri trees on an elevated walk and then more huge trees which have been hollowed out by fire and disease but now make great photo opportunities for unabashed tourists like us! The Margaret River Wine Region is amongst all this nature so of course we did the sensible thing and went wine tasting at a winery call Random Valley (how could we not!) and a few other places. It didn't really compare to the Barossa Valley though, we are so spoiled now!

We spent a few days in Freemantle which is a quaint little town with buildings dating back to the 1920's, cool little shops, bars and restaurants. After frequenting a fair few of these we moved on and visited the Pinnacles Desert which is just north of Perth. Oz has so many wondrous natural sights and The Pinnacles do not fail to delight. We went there in the evening as the sun was setting and got up before the crack of dawn again because they were so cool. These "rocks" have been formed by fossil and limestone deposits and some are up to 5m tall. The light on them at dawn was so fresh and the colours were so rich we again took loads of photos and stared in wonder at such natural beauty.

Back on the road then for 7 hours to get to a place called Hyden which not only has Wave Rock which I am sure the reader can guess what it is, but also had a convention of Aggiss' and James' waiting to meet and greet Ruth, the distant Pohmy relative and her two friends! Again such a great welcome as we met up with Darren & his dad Michael and the rest of the rellies. We stayed at Darren's brothers house (thank you Phil & Belinda) and went out for dinner at the local pub to get to know everyone. We all had a great time, the family tree's came out on both sides and Ruth was excited to confirm that they most definitely had links dating way back and we sat drinking beer and chatting to everyone else. I tell you what the Aggiss's are a bad influence, whenever we get together with them a hangover in the morning seems to be the norm.

Back in the real world we are now in Perth / Freemantle trying to sell our car. We had to say goodbye to Ruth the other day as she was off to Melbourne and then back home whilst waiting for her Sri Lankan Visa to come through for her new job. It was so lovely being able to share our experiences with someone other than just each other and we can't wait to meet up with Ruth again really soon so we can talk about them all over again!

In less than a week we fly to India for a whirlwind tour.