Friday, 11 July 2025

Friday 11th July 2025

Friday 11th July

SHE SAID:

I was keen for the ute to be washed; it was caked in mud. Of course, Geoff did all the hard work, as there is only one brush at the car wash, but he did a really good job. Then of course we headed into the bush with dirt tracks! LOL!

We saw a few new orchids for the season; it was a nice trip around. Luc & Geoff bailed before 2pm but I continued on solo for a short time before Kathy arrived & we did one more location.

Dinner was the very nice; marinated lamb chops from the Pink Lake Butchers, with fresh vegs; it was well received!


Before the wash!




HE SAID:

My hands were frozen, and I was spattered with muddy droplets by the time I'd finished dislodging the several kilograms of clay and mud from the ute, some by hand, as the water pressure wasn't dislodging the gunky muck. It took me about 40 minutes of pressure washing. The heater in the ute got a workout when I'd finished.

After a few hours of dim wanderings I usually feel like chucking it in. Varena must have picked up on cosmic vibes, as I didn’t say anything, and she came out with the suggestion that Luc and I should bail as Kathy was coming along in a little while. As it it was well past lunchtime, and Luc had had enough too, we gave up and went home. Back at the house there were still things to do, but they were a good change of scene for me. 

Lamb chops for dinner were really good. I hope that getting our meat from a butcher from now on is better than the supermarket stuff. It was a pleasant change. Perhaps being lazy when we shop has had us getting used to a slightly inferior product. Only time will tell.


Thursday 10th July 2025

Thursday 10th July

SHE SAID:

We had a fun, muddy, wet, adventure out to Mt Ragged, which is about 150km east of Esperance. We were joined by Luc in his 4WD, & Kathy as his passenger. Luc has done this track a few times & was happy to lead.

The track started off with good dirt, then well-compacted sand, because of the recent rains. But the rain also settled in large holes, which were either sand or clay; some were slippery, others were deep, & others again were firm & easy. Next came the corrugations, & then the exposed limestone; definitely a mixed bag on this 50km stretch. The tyres were let down as the sand began. Bluee, our blue ute, turned a grotty shade of brown, but it was a good drive with no mishaps.

Kathy managed to lose her radio in the bush, never to be seen again. We did find some flowering orchids, all in the Greenhood family, but also signs of orchids to come, which was encouraging for future trips out there later in the season.

Geoff & I managed about ¼ of the walk-up Mt Ragged. All I was interested in was orchids, so the walk up was leisurely, but Luc & Kathy powered up after staying back to try & find the lost radio. They continued higher, maybe 1/3 of the way for Luc & possibly ½ way for Kathy. Time was against, us as the sun sets so early at this time of the year; we wanted to be heading out by 3pm.

Kathy said she is keen to return to get to the top! Only wandering for orchids for me!

It was 5.45pm by the time we hit Castletown. It had been a good day out, but we should have left at 7am I think, to have more time out there!





Spot the walkers!


HE SAID:

I was a little surprised at the late start for the long trip today, but off we went at 0830. The morning was cold, and a bit breezy, but all was snug in the cars. The bitumen ended after 115kms, and then there was a variety of surfaces to manage. Thankfully it was all fairly flat. Slippery, muddy, clay hills would not have been fun. There was a stop just after 11am to look for orchids on a flat granite sheet, but we all seemed to firstly spread out for a pit stop. There was not much there so we headed on to Mt Ragged proper. Overall we spent about 4 hours getting there. The track was certainly worth taking precautions on. After a few hours wandering we headed back towards Esperance, making it out to the bitumen in a touch over 90 minutes, dodging kangaroos, emus, and Luc said he saw cats, and foxes, as we knew the track's perils weren't so perilous. Back to the house around 5:45 it had taken about 3 hours to return. As long as there are no downpours we could do the trip quicker next time. I was pretty done in on our return, and happy to have a beer, watch some footy, the video chat with Julian in Japan.

Wednesday 9th July 2025

Wednesday 9th July

SHE SAID:

I was keen on a ½ day recce to a couple of burns to the west of town. The first one we didn’t get to as I hadn’t checked the road properly. Google said it went through, but the last section was a small track around salt lakes, & a sign saying no through road. As we’ve had a lot of rain we decided not to go that way. There is another route, but I’ll try another day.

The 2nd burn was very accessible & looked recent & hot. There could be Leeks coming up, & the unburnt areas along the roadside had Spider leaves. Then, at the final stop, I was happy to find budding Helmets in a couple of locations; new for me, also loads of Spider buds & several Blue Beard buds in the spot I saw them last year.

From here we did a few things in town, getting back in time for lunch & a quiet afternoon.



Burnt bush looking across to Pink Lake (which
isn't pink anymore!)

HE SAID:

Not too much excitement in the bush today. We headed back to town via the butcher's and Woolies. We also grabbed some a loaf of bread from the bakery; unsliced, as is our wont these days. It seems to stay fresher for longer that way.

Tuesday 8th July 2025

Tuesday 8th July

SHE SAID:

Geoff & I headed out for Coolinup NR. I thought we might be too early for the ‘Esperance” Wispy Spider, but NO, we were in luck. I have seen them on the 28th June one year, in one location, but they haven’t ever returned there! It was a lovely surprise.

Kathy joined us a couple of hours later, keen to see them too. We saw 7 different orchids today; we were very happy. Geoff bailed to get back for his lunch, so Kathy kindly took me around & back to Castletown around 3pm, just before the rains came!


"Esperance" Wispy Spider (not the official name)


Mosquitoes


South Coast Donkey


Brittle Snail & Robust Snail

HE SAID:

We managed to park the car virtually adjacent to some spider orchids this morning, pleasing Varena greatly. Our other wanderings showed potential, so I guess we'll be back in a few weeks to see what has developed.

There was barely a drop of rain on the air as I did my stuff around the garage and van in the afternoon, but when Varena walked in through the front door it poured down about 5 seconds later. Excellent timing on her part!

Monday, 7 July 2025

Monday 7th July 2025

Monday 7th July

SHE SAID:

Another wet & cold winter low came across Esperance through the night. Looking at the skies on the way back yesterday I would have said today was going to be a repeat of yesterday, mild & sunny, but nope! There was around 7mm of rain before 9am, & plenty of squally showers throughout the day.

We had a few things to get in town; surprisingly we managed to dodge the squalls nicely. The rest of the day was inside, mostly.



Interesting clouds over the burnt bush


HE SAID:

Fuel, Bunnings, Supercheap Auto, and a few other shops got a look in this morning. We even managed to get all the things we wanted; that was a nice change. When the awful weather blew in we were nicely ensconced in the warm house, so no problem. Varena’s yummy pizzas went down very well for dinner, as usual!

Sunday 6th July 2025

Sunday 6th July

SHE SAID:

I went to my first Esperance Wildflower Society field trip today. There were only 5 of us, & we went in 3 cars out west to Yerritup & Mills Roads. It was a nice sunny, mild day. I was made very welcome; it was good to finally met some of the other members.

I found my first Donkeys for the season, South Coast Donkeys, I think, & plenty of orchid “coming” evidence!

It was 5.15pm when I got back, though the last 3 ½ hours I was looking around solo!



Lort River


Sunset on the way back
The glow over Pink Lake

HE SAID:

With Varena out fairly early I started on my jobs list for the day. As it it was sunny I tackled washing the van. Despite the gusty winds blowing water spray back on me a lot I managed to improve its appearance. All except for an air-conditioner grille, which with one stray swipe from my broom lost seven vanes; the thing is now brittle from the sun, I assume. So, after a few other jobs I spent way too much time searching for replacement parts, with no luck. I thing it is just too old, at 15 years, for anyone to still have stock. Bugger.

Saturday 5th July 2025

Saturday 5th July

SHE SAID:

I had a couple of trips out with Kathy today; firstly to Crawford Road for a recce, then to Old Smokey in the afternoon. Lots of evidence of orchids coming, but only Pterostylis seen flowering.

At midday we headed to Joan & Jeff’s place in Nulsen to see their house & driveway. We are due to do a sit for then in Sept/Oct & wanted to see the place & whether the van would fit. Bertie will go in easily & the house is old but will be fine. Mia the dog might need some training though!!!


More fungi from around Esperance area


A 'hiding" Echidna
Fruits & Flowers

HE SAID:

Varena had a short orchid hunt in the morning, and then we headed to Joan and Jeff’s place in Nulsen for a look, as we have lined up a house-sit there in September. They have a smallish something-doodle, that shouldn’t be too much drama for us, as long as it can handle us sleeping in the van each night instead of in the house, as per Joan and Jeff’s request. We’ll see. Footy, then cricket, kept me entertained into the evening.


Friday 4th July 2025

Friday 4th July

SHE SAID:

As the weather was very ordinary we stayed in today. We both had plenty to keep us occupied on the computers, washing, & some minor stuff with the van & settling in here.

As is usual with a “quiet day” it disappeared quite quickly.

Kathy dropped by in the early evening; we chatted about orchids & other stuff for a couple of hours.

As I didn't take any photos for a day or two here are few random once from the UK just thrown in!


The riverside walk in Horsham has a surprising historic WW2 installation-
a "Pillbox" in case of a German attack. Two thousand remain across the UK


A throw-back to the 1960's... Scooters


A "quaint" English country scene


Old, old letterbox

HE SAID:

Sometimes not doing much can make the time fly. Today was like that. The setting ourselves up in the house, washing, and catching up with things just used up the day. There were also a couple of long phone calls for me to make; long, as in 45 minutes on hold then 3 minutes of actually communicating. I also had about an hour’s chat with Uncle Paul in the late arvo, who seemed quite jolly, but is getting rather repetitive with an old story about a Kings Cross crime from 1975. He knew, or knew of, some of the players in the story of Juanita Nielsen’s disappearance from when he was a seaman and came ashore in Sydney, where he lived. I enjoyed our chat, as I usually do, but I hope that at nearly 91 years old all the marbles are where they are supposed to be.


Thursday, 3 July 2025

Thursday 3rd July 2025

Thursday 3rd July

SHE SAID:

After a short orchid hunt around the free camp, only finding dried up Greenhoods, & leaves of things to come, we headed ever east.

Our destination was Castletown, Esperance, which we got to around 1pm. We have sat for Deb & Mike before so know the house, which is very nice. It took over an hour to move our clobber from Bertie to the house, so lunch was a little late for Geoff’s liking!

The rest of the afternoon was quiet, though it took us a while to locate the AC remote; it was in a cradle but nowhere near the AC. I got rather worried about not having any heating whilst we were hunting.



A few orchids seen since we returned:
Autumn Leek


Common Helmet


Mosquito 


Left & bottom right: Dark Banded Greenhood - green form
Middle & top right: Banded Greenhood

HE SAID:

Our eastward journey was uneventful, stopping for fuel at Ravensthorpe along the way. Being one of very few places to fill up the price there was 20c above normal. But we, as many others also, had to do it.

Reversing in to Mike and Deb’s driveway was much easier this time, as a small gum tree opposite their house has been removed, leaving a straight run towards the garages. After the usual 48 trips to and from the van we settled down to a quiet afternoon, with a bit of footy on TV, sausages for dinner, and a 2 hour Teams link up with Evan, who spends too much time watching Sky News, and believing the tripe they spew. Several times he quote Sky’s nonsense so I looked up reliable sources and refuted the statement. It won’t help though. He seems to think that “There is nothing else to watch.”


Wednesday 2nd July 2025

Wednesday 2nd July

SHE SAID:

We waved goodbye to Dorte & Gary around 10am, heading about 420km east to the Jacup FC, just east of Jerramungup. We took our time with a stop at Farrar NR, near Kojonup, for lunch, a leg stretch & ashort orchid wander. I was happy to find Scented Leeks & Cupped Banded Greenhoods, 1 of which was green instead of the usual dark brown/red colouring!

It was 4.45pm by the time we hit JACUP, really too dark to look for orchids, although I tried. I found lots of budding Rufous & some Spider leaves. I will look again in the morning before we leave.

The diesel heating went on soon after 6pm, it was getting chilly.



Mist rising


Colour in the bush

HE SAID:

With no hurry to leave we rolled out just before 10am. Varena whipped up some tasty sandwiches in the van when we stopped for an orchid wander, and we ate as we searched. Our arrival at Jacup was later than we had both expected, even without any dramas; it was just a long way.

And now for something completely different, again. Here is my addendum to my 2015 UK Beer Story! Hooray!

Addendum to UK Beer Story – 2025 edition -

Still Dribbling


With six weeks in the UK this time around (May and June 2025) I was inspired to add to my 2015 Beer Story by the new beers I saw, and imbibed, during our 2025 stay. Our roaming took us from the far south-east of England (Margate, Canterbury, Worthing, Bournemouth) to North Wales (Denbigh, Mold, Ruthin). We didn’t stop much between the two areas, except for Horsham and London, but I managed to sample a few new brews and wanted to record the fact. I deliberately aimed for local brews, and therefore the samples are mainly ales.

We don’t get English ales in Australia, so I thought I should get varieties that aren’t available at my local Australian bottle-shop. But in general, as you’d expect, most beers I found to be around the middle range of my very amateur scoring system.

One absolutely outstanding beverage, and not an ale, was the Aegir Smoked Black Porter, from Langham’s Brewery. It was a real delight. There were a few other good ones, too.

This research was not a real chore for me, and there is a very good chance that there will be another addendum to my UK Beer Story at some future stage. I hope so.

There are an additional 15 new beers this time around, and yes, I could have done better, but added to my 147 from 2015 I now have reviews of 162 different UK beers.

Don’t thank me. I am happy to help!



1. Hobgoblin Original IPA – 5% - Tasty, dark golden, bubbly IPA. Not overdone on the flowery notes. 7.5/10

2. JW Lees Best Bitter – 3.9% - A nice lightly honeyed ale. 7/10.

3. JW Lees Stout – 4.1% - A nice dark stout. Everything I expected from a stout. 7.5/10.

4. Long Man Best Bitter – 4% - Smooth, light honey notes. 7.5/10

5. Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter – 4% - Nice, tasty, smooth with light honey taste. 7.5/10

6. Langham Aegir Smoked Baltic Porter – 7.5% – Very tasty. Deep roasted, almost coffee/almost chocolate / almost toffee, with additional smokey flavours. Low fizz. Great mouthfeel. 9/10

7. Conqueror Sussex Stout – 4.5% - Rich dark roastiness flavours, slightly sharp. A little watery. Very dark to black with mocca head. Tasty. 7.5/10

8. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen – 5.1% - Very smoky dark brown lager. Tasty rich maltiness, but overpowered by the smoke. 7/10

9. Brewdog Lost Lager – 4.5% - A tasty, almost floral, easy drinking light coloured lager. Probably not for drinking a few of, just one or two. 7.5/10

10. Brewdog Shore Leave Amber Ale – 4.3% - A slightly paler than usual brown ale. A bit insipid, watery, with just light flavours that didn’t linger. 5.5/10

11. Brewdog Black Heart Stout – 4.1% - A solid, dark-looking stout that just missed the mark. Flavours were there, but not much of them. No real mouth-feel. 6.5/10

12. The Kernal Export India Porter – 5.4% – Quite dark with a coffee coloured head. Strong, sharp hopsy flavour, similar to a strong IPA, with hints of the usual porter notes, but not much. No mouthfeel. 6.5/10

13. Butcombe Original beer – 4.5% - Slightly darker ale with a creamy head. A touch more bubbly than most ales, but in a pleasant way. Usual ale notes minus the “honey-ish” flavour. Quite nice 7.5/10

14. Surrey Hills Brewery Shere Drop – 4.2% - A fairly standard English ale. As the day was warm I thing it could have been served a bit cooler, but cellar temperature is what it is. Mild notes, lightly honeyed, but nothing much either way. 6.5/10

15. Butcombe Underfall Triple Filtered Lager – 4.1% - Light amber with light bubbling and also light honey notes. Perhaps closer to an ale than a lager. Quite good. 7/10







Tuesday 1st July 2025

Tuesday 1st July

SHE SAID:

Once the rain squalls passed Dorte & I had a long wander around the property; I was hopeful for some orchids. We saw Banded Greenhoods, lots all around, Jug buds, finishing Hares, finished Bunnies, budding King-in-his Carriage, & a new population of Mosquitoes close to the squashed ones (a tree fell on the only known population that Dorte found a year or so ago). Then, I found some budding Helmets, which I assume are the Common Helmet. That was a new species for the property; Dorte & Gary were happy with that find.

A tip-tray truck arrived at the property, arranged by Dorte, to remove an old, dead tractor. The guy did it for free as he is a scrap metal dealer. It was quite a process to get this heavy machine onto the tray, as it didn’t go on square, but the guy knew what he was doing & sorted it out eventually.

After lunch Dorte & I headed to the Yelverton NP for a couple of hours look around. I found several open Helmets & a single Mosquito flowering, as well as lots of Banded Greenhoods & budding Birds.

For dinner we took Dorte & Gary to Margaret River, to the La Scarpetta Italian Restaurant. We wanted to thank them for looking after Bertie, & I always wanted to try this place as it looks super quirky. It was good food & wine!


Old tractor moving home





HE SAID:

There were several tasks that needed doing in preparation for our departure tomorrow, so I had a steady stream of activities around the car and van. Gary also asked for assistance moving a couple of heavy things from his shed that were going to be taken away with the old tractor as part of the clean-up around their place. Watching the tractor getting loaded on to the tilt-tray was interesting, especially when I thought a couple of times that it was going to roll off. It was an eventual success, and Dorte was very pleased to see more ancient rubbish removed from the bush block.

Dinner was an amusing time, with a lot of banter. The food was tasty and filling, though paying nearly $40 for a bowl of pasta had my wallet cringing!


Monday 30th June 2025

Monday 30th June

SHE SAID:

We slept till almost 9am!

We had a long list of things to do in Busselton, getting most of what we hoped to.

The Steak & Kidney Pie & Sausage Roll from the Vasse Bakery went down very well for a 2pm lunch.

Dorte put together a lovely fish dinner, & along with bubbles & salted caramel cheesecake it rounded out the meal nicely. I was SO full afterwards!



Dinner with Dorte & Gary

HE SAID:

My jet-lag still pops up every now and then, but is ideal when I get a good lie-in. There were several things we needed to do around Busselton, and as it was getting late, we decided that the kebab shop that we had often discussed would be the place to get lunch. I was really looking forward to a kebab, but when we got to the door it was locked! Closed Mondays! Despite the flashing lights indicating that they were open. So, we back-tracked to the bakery, where I grabbed the last steak and kidney pie.

Sunday 29th June 2025

Sunday 29th June

SHE SAID:

The trip back to Oz was about 5 ½ hours. Long & boring, as Malaysian Airlines have done away with screens & entertainment on the plane, instead you can connect through your phones. They never bothered to tell you this though, so I didn’t have any way of listening to shows or movies, as I don’t have those wireless ear buds & the phone doesn’t have a jack! I didn’t bring a book as I didn’t realised I’d need one. Thanks, Malaysian Airlines, it was a really tiresome flight!

It was good to get back to Bertie & see Dorte & Gary again.



Leaving KL & flying into Perth


Sunset Australia style

HE SAID:

We were up and gone from the hotel before 6am. The drive to Kuala Lumpur Airport is about an hour, and luckily there were no hold-ups being early on a Sunday morning. The Malaysian self-serve check-ins were the usual mess of companies saving money by having fewer staff, but lots of customers needing to speak to an employee to get things done. The lack of entertainment on a long flight was also a pain. The aircraft seats were so thin, to fit more in I assume, that there was probably no room to even fit a screen into the back. They were also uncomfortably firm. Not our best experience with Malaysian, who, up until now, have been quite good. We’ll think twice in future if this is their new standard.

It was just under three hours driving to get back to Bertie, Dorte, and Gary in Yelverton. We had a chat and a drink before heading to the van for pesto, a quick sort out, and an early night.

Saturday, 28 June 2025

Saturday 28th June 2025

Saturday 28th June


SHE SAID:

Our final day in KL; we decided to do the very touristy tour out to the Batu Caves. We booked it at the hotel & were surprised to have a private car & driver. Baln was our driver, of Indian descent, a very chatty & friendly man.

The hotel “forgot” to tell us that it was a long weekend in KL, so the traffic was crazy busy. It took us longer than usual to get to the Batu Caves, which were full of tourists! Oh well! I did manage the 272 steps to the open karst limestone cave at the top. It was a Hindu “sacred” shrine, with many tacky shop outlets & deities / temples around the entrance & in the cave at the top.

We were also taken to a Bakit shop, the Royal Selangor Pewter HQ, the National War Memorial, the Royal Palace & a small Indian restaurant / shack serving Marsala Tea. It tasted nothing like tea, more a slightly sweet, spiced milk drink; not awful, but I wouldn’t buy myself!

The final stop was the Kingdom of Chocolate outlet, which had about 6 busloads of Chinese tourists crowded into a small area; we didn’t stay very long! We were dropped back at our hotel 2 hours over scheduled time, but it was a nice & different day.

We rounded out our trip with cocktails for me, & Tiger beer for Geoff in the Sky Bar, overlooking the park & twin towers. Before coming to Malaysia, I didn’t have any clue about Kuala Lumpur but have enjoyed the 2 ½ days we have had here. The Trader Hotel was perfectly situated for us, a lucky chance for us!


Batu Caves



Royal Palace & War Memorial


Royal Selangor


Indian Marsala Tea

HE SAID:

We didn't get up very early but just a little before we could have. Our breakfast was at the hotel's Gobo Chit-chat restaurant again, but it wasn't crowded this time. On my wanders I saw that there was a section serving Laksa, so grabbed a freshly made bowl. It was very tasty, and brought back memories of our time living in Darwin, when we would sometimes go to Parap Markets for one. 

The day out was good, and interesting. I got very sweaty climbing the stairs to the cave in the tropical heat, but cooled down quickly when back in the car. The traffic was rather dense at times, extending our trip by almost 2 hours, but Baln (pronounced Bal-uhn, as in balance without the c and e) didn't say anything, just continued the itinerary. 

Nachos with our drinks in the bar, and beef rendeng in our room rounded out our last day in KL.