DAY 36
THURSDAY
2 February 2017 –
Melrose – Mt Remarkable NP – Booleroo – Port Germein
We had all intentions of being up early ish this morning but
it was 8am before we woke. We got ourselves sorted, the car packed and we made
our way to the Mount Remarkable National Park. It was a windy, roller coaster road
drive in to the Alligator Gorge, with steep inclines and damn dips, which were
a big pain in the butt. The euro, a type of rock wallaby, were also out and
about. I scared Paul at one stage when I let out a squeal seeing one heading
for the road and bounding across in front of us. Due to the road conditions
though, we were never doing more than 40km.
Once we found the parking area, we checked out the two
viewing platforms, Ali Lookout and Gorge Lookout, both required steady footing,
as the paths were steep and rocky, they did however afford awesome views into
the gorge below; the orange and black striped chunky rock so striking.
We grabbed our pack and then made our way into the gorge
following the circuit route. Getting into the gorge was again steep and we
needed to be weary of where we put our feet. Once at the bottom we followed the
dry creek bed looking up in awe at the rising rock face and the trees clinging
to their sides.
We were pleased that the weather was cool and overcast, as
it was warm work wandering through the gorge. We stopped continually to take in
the views and for me to take photos. The walk wasn’t particularly strenuous you
just needed to be wary of your footing on the rocks.
Paul pointed out a very insipid looking grey snake, all coiled
up in a rock crevice, he wasn’t perturbed by us, as we passed by, making it to
Blue Gum Flat before ascending the slope again to the car park 2km’s later and
about 2hours of walking.
We stopped to fuel up on water and muesli bars, then it was
back to the van, stopping a couple of times to take pics of the view. When we
were back it was time for lunch, to take stock and think about what next. We
decided on checking out Booleroo first. There wasn’t a lot at the town, we
couldn’t even find the Harris Hill Lookout.
Our next stop was Port Germein and to get there we had to
travel the Germein Gorge. Again this was a winding, twisting road traversing
the gorge. Once we passed through we made our way to Port Germein. The place is
known for it’s jetty. They say it is the longest jetty in the southern
hemisphere, at 1.5km. Paul was questioning this, as Busselton’s jetty would
certainly give this a run for its money. Unfortunately when we arrived we found
it closed for repairs, so we weren’t going to be getting our steps up.
We made our way around the front of the beach checking out
the local art then returned to the car and back through the gorge road stopping
to take a photo of one of the warning signs that we found amusing.
Before we knew it we were back in Melrose.
We stopped in town to have a wander around the old buildings
finding the Jackas Brewery building. This brewery ran in the 1830’s and was
built within an old mill. The building
was still in good condition, but you couldn’t enter it. We bought a delicious
and locally made Giant Twin ice cream from Joe’s Corner store before walking
down the main road again.
With our perusing complete we wandered back to the car and
on to the van. Time to pack up the car again and then enjoy some quiet time
sitting outside the van enjoying the view.
Paul went to investigate the laundry room and found a TV so
we were able to watch the local news and catch up with what is happening around
the place. When done we wrote in the visitors’ book before making our dinner
and enjoying the peace and quiet to read.
The pinky-red sunset had me out of the van taking photos. It
looked quite spectacular against the backdrop of the Mount Remarkable, a lovely
way to finish off the night.
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