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June 2020
01 June 2020
With the COVID 19 intrastate travel restrictions lifted it was time for us to get back on the road, so on the 1st of June we connected up and headed out of suburbia where we had been hunkered down for just over 7 weeks, firstly with friends Kim and Carolyn, and then with our eldest daughter and family.
Heading out on the last day of the Western Australia Day Long Weekend, we were heading South as the those who had gone away were heading back to Perth, and there was plenty of them.
We had settled on a first night stop at the abandoned Buckingham Hall near Collie, and on the Collie River. Arriving to find we had the place to ourselves we set up camp and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the countryside, and of course some photography.
Sunrise the next morning was nothing to write home about, but the view down the river as the sun rose above the cloud bank was just magical, and of course had to be captured with the camera.
The sun lighting the tree's as it got over the clouds provided a magical feel to the river.
A slightly wider view of the same shot.
02 June 2020
Moving on from Buckingham Hall we made our way South through Kojonup and Katanning before stopping in the small town of Borden. As always, Borden was a great camp, made even better by the fact that we had it all to ourselves.
03 June 2020
The following day it was time to head to the Stirling Ranges to see the growth from the recent bush fires, and to take the gravel road through the ranges, but not before a side trip out the back of Amelup where we got a great view of the ranges.
Just one of the great views of the Stirling Ranges as you approach from Borden.
Not a bad place to stop for a cuppa and some photography.
With some photo's taken and morning tea over it was time to take the roller coaster ride on the dirt road through the ranges (the start can be seen above the ute in the photo above). It was a pleasant ride and view of some burnt and non burnt range. We stopped at the Central Lookout and took the short 400m walk up the rather tricky track to the summit where we enjoyed the 360 degree views of the area.
Before long we were heading down and out of the National Park and then through the small town of Kendenup, where we found a nice gravel pit on about half a kilometre from the highway. Deciding we had had enough for the day we found a nice level spot on the gravel and set up camp for the day, and even managed to get some photography in.
Sunrise clouds over the canola stubble.
One of the character tree's I have been looking for, and I find it in a gravel pit!
04 June 2020
After a peaceful night in the gravel pit we made our way South through the back roads and the Mount Lindsay National Park to Denmark, and our intended destination at Ducketts Mill Wines and Denmark Farmhouse Cheese, the same place we had left from just before the COVID 19 fun started.
Greeted by everyone like we were long lost family we set up camp in the same spot as last time, and then spent the rest of the day just catching up with people,enjoying the place and getting ready for some work tomorrow.
05 June 2020
Removing and burning old grape vines and rotary hoeing a large part of the lawn for a veggie garden and putting two long strips in the orchard area for passion fruit vines were the tasks for the day, and by the end of it we were feeling the effects of some more than normal expenditure of energy, but it felt good anyway.
18 June 2020
The past few weeks have flown by. Partly because we have been busy and partly because we have been looking around the area and getting plenty of photographs.
Joanne and Von have been working in the garden and shop while Phil and I have been outside in the vineyard. Pulling the vines out has progressed well but then came to a stop when the tractor gear linkages broke, and in true Denmark style the repair will happen when it does.
So in the meantime we have been using the quad bike and trailer to pick up the stumps we have already got to take them to the large bonfire we have going. Cutting some of the vine trunk wood up for our nightly fire with Phil and Von, then burning the rest. We have also rotary hoed some of the lawn area to put in a large veggie patch. And on those wet days we get the day off.
The soon to be veggie patch.
Sunrise through the clouds and over the dam just down from our camp is often a pleasure to witness
Sunrise through the tree line.
Just one of the many coastal views around Denmark. This one near the surf club.
Sunlight for a brief minute on what was a wet, wild and windy visit to Lights Beach.
The surf and the sky were pretty wild at Lights Beach.
A slightly different view of the photo above.
The wind was whipping the surf up and the spray off the top added to the drama.
The power of the ocean could be felt even over the wind.
More fabulous wave action.
With a short 20 minute drive to the beach through the farmland and forest it is easy to become distracted by the tree's and the very green, open grassland, and views out to the ocean. As such, the trip is often interrupted by stops along the way.
We just loved the way the big tree on the left was twisted as it grew.
Near the Ducketts Mill Wine and Cheese shop/cafe are these silver birch tree's who are perfectly socially distanced.
The weather of late has become more wintry with rain and strong winds, so it's been a mixed bag of work and no work, and we are hoping the weather will ease somewhat when we start pruning the vines in July, but time will tell.
28 June 2020
Well the July start to the vine pruning has come forward, and between pulling the old Cab Franc out with the tractor, pruning vines and and of course dodging the rain, we have been kept fairly busy.
Of course trips to the beach and other places for photography have continued and there is the occasional trip into town for shopping etc. We even managed a trip to Albany and checked out some properties we have been looking at on the way back.
The walkway down to Lights Beach during some of the prevalent stormy weather.
With sunrise around 7.20am each day and before we start work, there is the perfect chance to take in a photography session down at the dam, just 100m away, and some of the mornings have been just fabulous.
20 minutes before the actual sunrise this was the scene down at the dam.
And this was the scene at sunrise itself. What a great start to the day.
Our days are fairly simple, and just the way we like them. We catch the sunrise, then put a few hours work in in the vineyard, then it's lunch (provided) up at the Denmark Farmhouse Cheese Shop, after which it's an afternoon doing whatever we like, followed by the evening and a meal spent sitting around the fire with Phil and Von (the other nomads here), chatting , drinking wine and generally relaxing. Weekends are totally our own, and sometimes we even put an hour or two of work in just because we can, and because we want to. Life sure is good!
So the end of another month, and a financial year is just a few days away. Touring at this stage is on hold and with plenty of vine pruning, ripping old vines out, cleaning up and then planting new vines, we intend to stay here until it is time to go and bring in the grain harvest.
Mark Twain once said "...years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do that by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - and so we will.
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