22/10/12 -26/10/12

This week I spent a few days travelling down the south west coast which is a pretty nice area with heaps of wineries, boutique breweries, beaches and forests.
The first day I travelled through Busselton and Dunsborough - there were scattered showers all day so I did more driving than stopping.
By the afternoon though, most of the showers had cleared and there were some great views at Sugarloaf Rock....

I'm pretty impressed with the lining up of this selfy

both natural...

The view from Sugarloaf Rock

...and man made...

Hot chick on a skateboard

Then I continued my drive south where I stayed at the Gracetown Caravan Park for the next couple of days.

The next day I went to Margaret River for a look around and ended up spending about 4 hours walking around the forest trails behind the township.
On Wednesday I went to Prevelly which is where the Margaret River empties out into the ocean.

Where Margaret River meets the sea

I then drove further south towards Augusta through forest landscapes that were very reminiscent of Lord of The Rings.
Someone else must have thought the same thing and had drawn fairy wings on the children crossing sign which I thought was cute and makes a change from the typical "Draw a big pair of balls on the kangaroo sign" which were everywhere up north!

Tree lined roads... take me home....

The lighthouse at Augusta represents the most south western part of mainland Australia and where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet.

Lighthouse at Augusta

I camped that night at Alexandra Bridge where the wildlife was out and about.

Thankfully John's camera has a more than decent zoom

On Thursday I made my way to the small town of Nannup.

Nannup Hotel - 3 people in there on Thursday night (including the barman)

That night at the caravan park I met a couple of girls - one was a sheep farmer, the other a dairy farmer and they were both in town for an agricultural expo on the next day. They were both very down to earth "country girls" though one was lactose intolerant and had no qualms letting rip all night with farts that would have made Dad proud.  Needless to say, a lot of laughs were to be had...farts will ALWAYS be funny.

Heather (she wasn't the farting one)

20/10/12 - 21/10/12

Bunbury turned on wonderful weather for the weekend.
I stayed with Mum's Uncle Keith and Aunty Rowie who made me feel so welcome and made sure I was well fed and watered for my journey further south.
On Saturday I drove into Bunbury town for a look around.
The town was busy but not ridiculously so and it was nice to wander around.

Best street in town...

I went to the Art Gallery which you couldn't have missed, given its garish pink colour, and I was quite impressed with the artwork on display - particularly by younger artists.

Think pink

I went to the Dolphin Discovery Centre which was a little lame but a good time killer for an hour or so.

Virtual dolphins....good imagination needed

There was also a pretty big lookout over the city.

Bunbury City

Then it was time to head back "home" for a cold can of Emu beer and a lovely home cooked meal.

Uncle Keith, Aunty Rowie (in the kitchen) and Me

On the Sunday, David came down from Bunbury and Uncle Keith and I went for a drive around the neighbourhood and caught up with his kids and grandkids.
It was so good to be around family again and it has given me a much needed boost to handle the next few weeks before heading east again.
So it was with a heavy heart that I left Uncle Keith and Aunty Rowie and their little dog Dora who kept me entertained the whole time I was there.

Feet licker extraordinaire Dora

I'm off further south now with gigs at Manjimup and Albany on the next couple of weekends before volunteering at the Blues at Bridgetown Festival.

15/10/12 - 19/10/12

This week I spent slowly making my way from Dwellingup to Bunbury.
I spent a couple of days in Pinjarra which I found to be a delightful little town.
It's big enough to have all the services but not busy or touristy at all and clean and tidy with nice parks and waterway.
The staff at the Council offices, library and tourist information centre were all very friendly without over-doing it.

Pinjarra Bridge

I like Pinjarra...nice place

I met a bloke who was travelling with his partner, baby girl and dog and living out of a sedan while they waited to buy a van. I don't know how they were doing it as it gets a bit cosy in Freda at times with just me in it.
One day I took a drive into Mandurah to have a bit of a look as there were a lot of people who I met on The Ghan who were from Mandurah.

Mandurah

Canals....

I then spent the next couple of days finishing off a new song called "Livin' The Dream" which came out of nowhere on the last night of the Dwellingup Festival - it has a Bruce Springsteen meets Slim Dusty vibe. Hrmmmm

Rest Stop #1

Rest Stop #2 .....moo!

I passed few a few other nice little towns on my way to Bunbury including a place called Harvey which again, seemed like a nice little town.

12/10/12 - 14/10/12

Today I was off to the Nanga Folk Festival which is held at a location not far from Dwellingup, about and hour's drive south of Fremantle.

It was nice to get back into the forests again

Now I've been to quite a few Festivals this year and I can say that quite possibly, this one was the best yet.
The location, organisation, friendliness and music was all top class.
Numbers are deliberately kept at a manageable level which made for intimate, listening audiences and there was no aggro or jostling for viewing positions that you get at some festivals.
I'm so glad I found out about this festival and if it wasn't so far away, I would go every year - it was wonderful.
There was only one stage so there was no need to choose between who to see and no need to constantly refer to the program to ensure you see everyone on the bill.
The only clashes were with workshops which, by the way, were also excellent - I went to a blues guitar workshop with Scott Wise (who is the father of Lucy whom I met at the Wintermoon Festival and on The Ghan - small world, huh?) and a song writing workshop with Nick and Liesel.
Apart from the main concerts, another part of the festival is the fostering of young talent in the form of scholarships and mentorships with each recipient being paired with a main performer for the weekend and performing with them at the finale concert on the Sunday. Great idea.
I could go on and on about the festival but I will try and keep it fairly brief.
In terms of performances, some of my favourites were Nick and Liesel, Doris and Fred Smith.
Fred Smith was the surprise packet for me. I saw him at Port Fairy and thought he was quite a strange and intense character but on the Saturday night he came out with a set of clever and very funny songs with excellent crowd involvement.
Nick and Liesel have come a long way since I last saw them at the Wagga Jazz Festival years ago. And let me say, if you like Angus and Julia Stone but prefer to hear a man that sings like a man and a woman that doesn't sound like she's six years old, then definitely check these guys out.
And I wasn't expecting much from Doris who are a female duo but their songs and performance was at times quite emotional and other times roll on the floor laughing (rofl) funny.
Ok, so that's about all I'll say. I'll post a few pics and hope they paint a thousand words.

Liesel from "Nick and Liesel" fame

Hoe Down!

I saw my first wild echidna and got an understanding of the excitement that overseas tourists experience when they see a kangaroo...it was really quite cool

Awwwww...cute little fella

The setting was wonderful

Fred Smith. I'm a recent convert - if you get a chance, go see him live.

6/10/12 - 11/10/12

The following week was spent exploring Fremantle and lapping up the wonderful hospitality of Silvio and Bev whom I met at Undara back in June.
They were generous enough to let me stay in their spare room and I was spoilt rotten with Bev cooking some wonderful meals and Silvio servicing Freda! Wow.
On Saturday I met up with a couple of my cousins, David and Tony and we went down to Bunbury for another cousin, Laurie's 60th Birthday.
It was good to be amongst family again and meeting some people for the first time and others whom I hadn't seen for a long time.
On Sunday, Silvio took me for a drive around some of Fremantle and that night Bev cooked up some delicious pork belly.

Get.In.My.Belleh.

On Monday I did an open mic night at Mojo's and David and Tony turned up to be my "rent a crowd".

Tony, Steve, David

I got a good response to my set - it makes such a difference when people are actually listening.
The next day I caught the bus into Fremantle and had a wander about the place.
It has a really nice feel with lots of old buildings, nice wharf area and...stuff.

Ah....old building

Another cool idea is a "public piano" where anyone can just go up and play.

This guy did a commendable rendition of Radiohead's "No Surprises"

That night we went to the Perth Blues Club.

Luke Steele's Dad is the president of the blues club - can you see the resemblance?

Perth Blues Club

The next day I drove into Freo and spent some time at the Art Space which is a really nice area with shady trees...and free wi-fi!
That afternoon I went to the Fremantle Cemetery to see Bon Scott (of AC/DC fame)'s memorial.
When I got there, a couple of blokes were having a beer in Bon's honour (as you do) - apparently this is a normal thing.

Bon didn' take a "Stairway to Heaven" he took the "Highway to Hell" (dad joke)

That night Bev invited one of her nephews over and we had a wonderful baked dinner.

Get.In.My.Belleh. #2

The following night I did another open mic this time at Moondyne Joe's and Bev and Silvio were kind enough to come along and have a listen.

Steve...that's me.

I stayed sober but the camera obviously had a few...

I played ok but Monday night felt better.
Here are a couple of characters you can see at an open mic...

The next day it was time to say goodbye to Bev and Silvio and Fremantle. Many thanks guys for the hospitality, it came at a much needed time for me and I really appreciate it.

1/10/12 - 5/10/12

The next week was spent checking out the sights and delights of Perth city.

Sign says it all...

Perth City

The city seems like a pretty nice place to be...if shopping and/or wearing a business suit is your thing.

Malls

Don't think we're in Broome any more Stevo

Public transport makes it really easy to get about with the free buses that go in continual loops around the city.
The WACA cricket ground is really close to the city too.

The WACA

I saw this sign and thought it must be some sort of joke but I think it's serious? Residential units as part of the cricket ground? What the??!?

Would YOU want to live at the WACA?

There are plenty of parks around the place and the Swan River is a lot bigger than I imagined.

Awwww look at the thirst kangaroo drinking

Fraser Point Wetlands...so close to the city

Kings Park is the biggest and probably the best with the Botanic Gardens and excellent views of the river and city.

I swear one of the bottom buttons this shirt keeps popping open...makes me look like I have a gut though...hang on! Maybe I do! oh....

And a visit to Perth wouldn't be complete without spotting a black swan on the Swan River...

Doesn't get much more Perth than this.