From Albany I headed North towards the Stirling ranges, which are pretty nice mountains in middle of surrounding plains. I did some hiking there and climbed up to the summit of Toolbrunup peak(1052m). I first wanted to climb the highest peak Bluff Knoll(~1080m) but the summit was in clouds so I had to plan something else. Luckily I found out the Toolbrunup peak and I found interesting the fact that the actual summit was pretty much couple of rocks. On the other hand in the Bluff Knoll the summit is pretty much big flat area. I also heard that the Toolbrunup should be more challenging with really rocky climb where you need to scramble the last meters up to the mountain. Really rocky it sure was but luckily my great trekking boots, which have helped me in my journeys around the globe, didn't fail me this time either. When I arrived to the summit it was, to my luck, bloody windy and totally cloudy. After swearing for a while for my great luck with the weather there was suddenly a gap in the clouds revealing the magnificent 360 degree view to the surrounding landscape with many mountains. I looked around astonished and tried to shoot some quality video with my videocam before the next clouds would come in. I spent quite a long time on the top just enjoying the moment and the fact that there was no grannies or other tourists on the summit. That's how travelling should be.
With sore buttocks and thighs I then drove towards the beach city of Esperance. This time I was lucky and I found immediately some surfable waves close to the town centre. I decided to boost up my surfing skills and went out with my shortboard just to realize that my arms are not really strong enough for paddling in strong currents and bumpy water. Well I got half a wave but it was good to get wet again. On the afternoon I headed to Le Grand national park which is advertised to have the best beaches in Australia. I climbed the fisherman's peak(~350m) to see the nice views of the park and indeed saw some nice beaches around. Closer look revealed that these beaches had really white sand, like in Whitehaven beach, and no crowds. Really beautiful beaches indeed but atleast that day missing one main key point, the surf. I have seen quite a many beaches lately so seeing just sand and water can't make me frollock too much. I camped one night there and repaired my van door by lubricating it with vegetable cooking oil. Opens nice and smoothly now.
I had pretty much same kind of surf next morning in the Esperance with my shortboard than before. This time it was hard to get waves because it was quite "crowded" with maybe 10 people in the water. Still nothing comparing to Margaret River, Gold coast or other packed places. After the surf I started to drive towards the Adelaide and made it 20kms before the temperature gauge started heading towards the red. I drove the car back to Esperance to check it out before starting the 2100km journey to Adelaide and found out that my fan hub isn't working properly. I'm not sure if I understand how it works whatsoever but it should lock when the hot air blows through the radiator and therefore make the fan speed faster. Well anyways they had to order a new hub and it should cost around 200aud with the labor. I had to wait one more day in the Esperance. Back to the beach and surf with my good old minimal. Got really good lefthanders this time and no crowds in the water. While surfing I talked with a local guy called John who had lived six years here in Esperance and 20 years in Margaret river. He invited me to have a beer and check out some photos this evening. Friendly locals around here!
No comments:
Post a Comment