Sunday 17th November 2024

Sunday 17^th November

SHE SAID:

Day 2 of the field trip & Marg & I headed off before 7am as we wanted 1 stop before we got to the meeting point. We saw about 6 different orchids at the Perup Rd stop.

The rest of the trip was around the Seaton Ross / Mersea Reserve, which I knew, though there were a couple of new locations for me. The trip wound up around 1pm as most people were heading back to Perth. I had 1 more stop back on the Muir Highway, finding loads of Swamp Leeks (green form), some more Ray Spiders, Mignonettes, Pink Enamels, & Tall Donkey/Bees.

I think I surprised Geoff by getting in around 3.15pm.

Clubbed Snails, Pink Fairy, Caldyanup Snail
Little Laughing Leek, Karri Cowslip, Blue Lady

Karri Spider, White Fairy

Christmas Spiders & hybrids

Swamp Leeks (green form),
Swamp Leek (dark form)

Racehorse Goanna

HE SAID:

Varena was up at 6am for her day out with the WANOSCG group so I was sort of awake too, though I didn't actually get up. My plan for the day only had a few little tasks so I managed to call Carmel to check on her post-op recovery (all good), also do some book reading, web searches for potential new phones (to replace my 4 year old Pixel 4a which has had 2 hiccups lately, and has no more security updates) and lithium van batteries, for whenever we may need them. The earlier than expected return of Varena enlivened the afternoon. She Skyped her Mum around 6pm and we had a tasty salmon dinner afterwards.

Saturday 16th November 2024

Saturday 16^th November

SHE SAID:

I had a full day out with Marg on the end of the year field trip. The day was mostly along the Muir Highway with a few excursions off to different locations. Orchids were found at each place, though nothing new for me this year.

We got back to Frankland River around 6.30pm & Marg joined us in the van with her dinner. She is sleeping in her car tonight, next to the van! I would freeze, I think!

Little Duck

Swamp Leeks

Ray Spider

Christmas Leek, Karri Cowslip
& Albany Spider

Tall Donkey 

Christmas Spider 

HE SAID:

I deferred a couple of jobs today due to the fairly constant breeze here in Frankland. And it was cold. There were a few jobs that I managed to complete while Varena was out, and I also had a chat with Dan, and Kathy. After 4pm I watched the T20 v Pakistan, and was glad to see Australia win again.

Friday 15th November 2024

Friday 15^th November

SHE SAID:

We headed out of Manjimup for Frankland River today.

And, we found orchids on the way; no surprise really! LOL!

The Frankland River Caravan Park was empty - we have the place to ourselves. GOOD!

Tall Donkey / Bee?

Bristly Donkey 

Frankland River Country Club

HE SAID:

There were no dramas as we relocated to Frankland River this morning. After setting up the van we decided we may as well eat out at the local (and only) place in town, as it is less than 200 metres from the van. Our meals were tasty, and filling, though neither of us took our coats off, and the fire wasn't on!

Thursday 14th November 2024

Thursday 14^th November

SHE SAID:

We caught up with Rick from the Warren Grange Heritage Vegetable Farm for morning tea in town today. First thing he told us was that the farm is sold. He didn’t seem overly happy about it though.

As it was a hot day we didn’t head out orchid hunting but stayed by the van. Around 4pm we were suddenly jolted forward; a new arrival had backed into us! The woman said that they had parked a foot away from our van & theirs “must have rolled backwards”. She then claimed we were parked over the line...NOT! Geoff got their details in case we have problems down the track; hopefully not!

The slow-cooked Sri Lankan Beef Curry went down nicely for dinner.

Bugs & beastie

HE SAID:

Our meet up with Rick was fun. He's good company. And, I got some naughty elevenses! Varena took the opportunity of a lay day to do some catching up with her orchid photos and information.

The late afternoon was unusual, as we were rammed from behind by another caravan trying to position themselves on the site behind us. There is a slight slope, so I guess that if they left the van handbrake off, or it failed, they would certainly roll downhill and hit us. When they hit us it was quite a lurch we took. We both darted out of our van straight away to find their van hard up against ours, with the female of the couple, 2 small dogs (miniature collie x?) in tow, looking at the collision site. She told me that their brake must have failed, that they had had nothing but trouble with their van, that they hadn't used their van for months, and she seemed quite remorseful. So, I took some photos and said that I'd pop along after they had set up properly and get driver license details, just in case we noticed some damage later. When I wandered back about half an hour later the woman had had a change of attitude and was blaming us for having parked our van an inch over the line marking the sites. We know this isn't correct as we spent considerable time making sure that we were within our site when we set up, even though it wouldn't matter if we were over the line a touch. You can't go around ramming caravans. I reported the incident to the van park staff, who said they'd advise their manager. One of the staff members came around shortly afterwards and said that it would be on CCTV if needed later.

I'll regularly check our van over the next couple of relocations, just in case I see any damage, such as cracked welds, or bent struts, or anything amiss.

The curry for dinner was very good, as usual.

Wednesday 13th November 2024

Wednesday 13^th November

SHE SAID:

ORCHIDS, ORCHIDS, ORCHIDS. What a great day out!

Between us we found 16 different orchids on the back roads south of the Muir Highway, despite it getting to the end of the season. All but one site was new to us, too!

From Spider Orchids, to Birds, Cowslips, Suns, Mignonettes & heaps of very cute Pink Beaks in a burn. I was happy-dancing around the bush! We also encountered a couple of distant Emus, scared a few Kangaroos, & came across a “digging for dinner Goanna”.

Pink Spider

Bird sp?

Ray Spider
"Mottled" Pink Enamel

Pink Beaks & Leopards

HE SAID:

We had a fairly long day out, but we found plenty of orchids. So, Varena was very happy! Lunch and elevenses sustained me. In fact, I had a very tasty choc chip biscuit for elevenses, and Varena decided to wait until after lunch, to have hers, and guess who saw most of the orchids before lunch? Proof is in the pudding (or biscuit!).

Tuesday 12th November 2024

Tuesday 12^th November

SHE SAID:

We packed up our “bongos” & headed east for Manjimup today. We had a brief stop on the Brockman Highway for an orchid wander & a cuppa, then another unplanned stop east of Nannup when the firies were doing a prescribed burn. Burning just as all the plants are going to seed; well done DBCA, you are MORONS!

The Manjimup Central Caravan Park was our destination, right in town. I chose this place as it is one of the KUI Park members, so we get a 10% discount. It seems to be nicer than I expected.

Cinnamon Bells

Flying Ducks

Huge fungi 

HE SAID:

No rush. We left Sue's Bridge just after 10. The stop for orchids took a while. The 10 minute stop at the burn-off site, with several trucks, utes, and a helicopter, was just annoying. We set up in Manjimup and had a tasty toasted sanga for lunch just before 2. We both did some catching up with others after our 4 days with no signal, then headed to Woolies for a stock up. Washing kept us going before Varena Skyped her Mum.

Monday 11th November 2024

Monday 11^th November

SHE SAID:

We had a quiet day at the campground. I got on with my photo sorting; I’m up to mid-Sept, almost. My culling seems to be progressing slowly at the moment, but they have been big days out.

We had the rest of the soup & Turkish roll for lunch, & dinner was creamy chicken & pesto pasta. We had this by the light of the fire; it was very nice, the fire & the pasta!

HE SAID:

The orchids in this district are not new, and they are not abundant, so the day in was fine. I read, played suduko, read some more, gathered firewood, collected kindling, and had a chat with the Fire Services bloke who informed us that there was now a restriction declared on fires between 10am and 6pm, so we would have to wait before I lit my small wood mountain. Bugger. It was fine in the end, and we had our pasta and vino by the fire until about 9pm. And, seemingly, we were the last in the campground to go to bed. We are still the wild ones!

Sunday 10th November 2024

Sunday 10^th November

SHE SAID:

I made us a cooked breakfast around 9am; it has been a while since we had one.

Around 10am we went off for a few hours looking for orchids. We didn’t have any luck at the first road we went down, though Geoff tested out the “diff-locks” on the car. We had a couple of deepish looking puddles to get through. Thankfully we didn’t get stuck!

Next, we headed down Dennis Rd in hopes of finding a burn; yes, we did! Though, there wasn’t much in it; a single Karri Spider, Blue Lady Sun & some White Fairies.

As expected we had more luck at the stops along Milyeannup Coast Rd. They were places we’ve stopped in the past. We found Spiders, Enamels, Suns, Mignonettes & Pink Enamels. I think the total was 12 types for the trip.

Back at the campground we had late nibbles outside followed by a fire around 5pm. It was a warm afternoon, so I managed to sit outside by the toasty fire for a couple of hours!

A family of Emus &
a few Black Cockies

Forest Mantis x Karri Spider,
Pink Enamel, & White Fairies

HE SAID:

We enjoyed a bacon, fried egg, and baked beans breakfast. So tasty. Topping up with elevenses meant that I was happy with just cheese and crackers for a very late lunch. 

Having a fire when camping is just great. Sitting outside, staying warm, enjoying the night; it's a pleasure.

Saturday 9th November 2024

Saturday 9^th November

SHE SAID:

We left Augusta at 10am heading only 50km up the road to Sue’s Bridge. This campground is “off the grid”; no power, water, phone, or internet, in the Blackwood National Park. We have been here before a couple of years ago; sadly the price has gone up to $30 P/N!

We had a fruitless orchid stop on the way & arrived around 11.30am.

After soup & toasted Turkish bread for lunch we had a walk around; as before there were some Cowslips still going, but not much else.

HE SAID:

It was not a long drive to our next camp. We left Munday Campground late and took it easy getting to Sue's Bridge, mainly to be sure that any previous occupant of our booked camp site had cleared out. There were no dramas along the way, though, on arrival, it was a bit of a squeeze getting into our camp site, needing two goes at backing in due to the confined space and encroaching shrubbery.

Friday 8th November 2024

Friday 8^th November

SHE SAID:

It was an interesting day out. The Sun orchids were finally open, lots seen in 4 locations.

At the last stop we bumped into Tom & Sally Tolman, whom we met around 4 years ago. They are Pommies that come over frequently orchid hunting. Well, Tom is the orchid nut & Sally is the “tag-along”. 

There were also other hunters around. Tom told me one was Nick Prest (I know the name, but never met him). Plus, friends with him.

Back at the campground the wind must have been strong as the awning was torn slightly, though the frame, luckily, wasn’t bent. 

Geoff battled to put it way. We were both amused at the set-up routine of the people next to us. We think the caravan might be either hired or very new to them. It was a pop-top with 2 expandable beds, one at each end, which they them seemed to struggle to sort out. We think there are 3 or 4 adults & possibly 2 kids! Cosy!

Purple trigger plants
Karri Cowslips & a bright coloured Karri Spider

 
King-in-his-Carriage 
& a fading Flying Duck

Blue Suns: lots of different shades
including a pink one!

Christmas Spiders, quite colourful

HE SAID:

It was a cold start to the day, but luckily it warmed up nicely. Meeting Tom and Sally randomly in the bush was a surprise. Tom said that he had just emailed Varena this morning, but nothing received yet. We found a few orchids today, so Varena was pleased.

Thursday 7th November 2024

Thursday 7^th November

SHE SAID:

An orchid morning around the Augusta area with plenty found at all but 1 spot.

We bought a pie for Geoff & a sausage roll for me at the bakery for lunch, & also scored a Lions Club Christmas Cake & pudding too.

Geoff stayed at the van in the afternoon & I zoomed out to the O’Halloran Rd area of the National Park, spending a further 2 ½ hours hunting down more orchids. It was another good day's haul, 22 different flowering types!

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse & Indian ocean views

Skippy Beach

Hardy Inlet, Augusta

Hardy Inlet

HE SAID:

We were running short of bread so hitting the bakery for a pie suited me perfectly! I managed a couple of small jobs at the van while Varena was out, waiting out a squall or two which Varena didn't get where she was. They must have been very isolated as she was only about 10 minutes away.

Wednesday 6th November 2024

Wednesday 6^th November

SHE SAID:

Geoff & I met up with Evelyn & Ian on the Milyeannup Coast Rd. We were hoping to see the Coastal Spiders. Happily, we found lots; they are a colourful late flowering wispy spider. Several other orchid types were also seen. We checked out about 8 different areas in the Scott River NP, finding 13 different flowering orchids.

We parted company around 2.30pm & we got back to the campground at 3.15pm. 

We hadn’t paid yet so Geoff headed off to find the owners. He came back saying it was $45 p/n! Bloody hell! The website site says $35-$45 seasonal & I thought this was the shoulder season. 

Too much just to camp, in my head at least.

Forest Mantis, 2nd one with a dropped labellum (tongue)

Coastal Spider

Snail sp? Scott River Spider, Late Bird
Christmas Spider, Leopard & Karri Spider

Club-lipped Spider

Cicada

HE SAID:

I thought I'd tackle a full day out with others and it was fine. We managed to find several orchids so people were happy. Unfortunately the price at our campground did not make me happy.

Tuesday 5th November 2024

Tuesday 5^th November

SHE SAID:

We left Busselton at 10am, heading 81km south to Augusta. We had a brief tea stop at the big layby on the Bussell HW where we found the expected orchids. I have been here several times, but it was a good way to kill some time before getting to the campground.

This is a new camping place for us, called Munday Camp Ground. It is quite small, only 8 or 10 sites, surrounding the owner's house. We back on to bush, which is nice, though orchid free!

After lunch I wanted to check to see if the Albany Spider orchids were flowering on Jewel Cave Rd. They have just started. We also saw Forest Mantis, Common Mignonettes, Karri Spiders, Suns, & lots of finished orchids, including Southern Curly Locks, I think.

I did one of my favourite “cheat” meals, Woolworths cooked roast chicken & all the trimmings.

Karri Spiders

Freshly opening Albany Spiders
& Geoff's munted one!!

Leopard & Blue Lady Suns

Munday Camp Ground 

HE SAID:

We took our time. With only a short distance to travel we wanted to be sure that any previous occupant of our site had actually departed! The latest departure time is usually either 10am or 11am. We dragged it out so that we arrived well after 11. Having a leg-stretch in the arvo was a good idea, with several orchids found.

Monday 4th November 2024

Monday 4^th November

SHE SAID:

We headed into Busselton for groceries & fuel this morning. We leave for Augusta tomorrow, where the supplies are more limited, & I assume more expensive!

The washing got done, & Geoff managed to watch some cricket, too! The full-on cricket season is rapidly approaching; happy hubby.

Overcast view of Hardy's Inlet:
Flat Rock reserve sits on the inlet

Busselton Art

HE SAID:

We needed several things done in Busselton and were there a couple of hours. After that there was the washing, plus a little packing up before we move on tomorrow.

The imminent US civil war, or at least several nutbags with guns doing awful things, may kick off on Wednesday our time, incited by the criminal, bankrupt, immoral, pedophile, rapist, draft-dodger Donald Trump after their election. I'll be glad when we don't get so much US election coverage. It is draining, and a freak-show.