Mulla mulla

The most plentiful and my favorite of the wildflowers we saw along the way.  Velvet 56 at the side of the road.

Miles and miles and miles

Velvet 56 shot from the passenger seat

Kirkalocka Station

Our first night camping was spent at Kirkalocka Station, a 25,000 acre sheep farm about 260 miles N of Perth.  They offer camping facilities by the old sheep shearer's quarters.  The horses were a treat for me.  Ann told us we might see some kangaroos come to the pond for water and I went both dusk and dawn but didn't see any.  This was after seeing about 35 dead ones on the side of the road between Perth and Kirkalocka.  This was also were I learned the term "roo bar" the extra bumper on the front of everyone's truck.  Kirkalocka has an interesting botanical story- 2 new plants were named there.

Kirkalocka Station

I made friends!  And check it out- these are NOT Lensbaby shots.  Oh wow... what's happening?  Well, I got my hands on a Tamron 16-300 mm lens right before my trip.  A dilemna I have had right before a couple of my trips- Peru/Ecuador and Yellowstone - am I going to want a straight/long lens for wildlife?  I have to say I am glad I had it on this trip or I never would have gotten the kangaroos, emus, and koalas that I captured.  They were either far away or moving to fast for me to capture with manual focus.  Hans actually shot these while I was horse whispering.  

New Norcia tour

 Where everyone wears a hat??

Abbey Church, New Norcia

New Norcia, WA

New Norcia is a monastic town on the Great Northern Highway,  It seems somewhat out of place and pops up after miles and miles of nothing.  We didn't have much time to spend there- but we did a quick exploration of the grounds and had some lunch at the Roadhouse since the hotel had a 45 minute wait for food.  They are famous for their bread and we did manage to grab the last loaf of the day.

Fremantle

 First beer and first gander at the Indian Ocean

Kings Park, Perth

Our first stop- straight from the airport and a day and a half of flying was Kings Park which has great views of Perth, the State War Memorial, the Botanic Garden.  I got a gander at the native wildflowers, trees and shrubs.  In the giftshop, Emma Blyth the artist was painting.  Little did we know we would see her work in a lot of shops a long the way and we both brought some home.