Another cool night in the van but not too bad at around 4 degrees although we were able to cheat a bit as being in a caravan park we were able to use our heater. We took our time leaving the park as were not planning to travel too far south and once sorted along with our route out of the city planned we were off – well nearly as part of the tow hitch fell off just as we got out of the park. Blue job not done right… No dramas and we were off again. Without too much difficulty we found the main freeway south figuring it being Sunday and all, the traffic would not be too heavy and it also meant we could travel at our own speed in the inside lane without having to worry about tail gating trucks – something that regularly happens on the open road where one comes up behind and tends to sit as close as possible until they can pass. We have only really noticed this since being in WA.
The freeway was an excellent choice with good traffic flows and of most interest the electric commuter train system running down between the opposing lanes. By late morning we had taken the turn off to Mandurah and parked up at the visitor centre for a rest stop and to check out what was worth looking at. Another good choice as there was no time limit on the parking and we were central to the touristy part of the town which is very much centered around the waterways that are everywhere – natural and man made in the form of canal developments and the marina complex. There was even a section made to have a bit of a Venice look with lots of arched bridges across the canals…
Mandurah must be where the money is as the city is really developing with new subdivisions and bucket loads being spent of developing apartment complexes and the like around the waterfront. Quite a few of the units were for sale however so there may be a bit of a glut at the moment. We priced some on offer and it was no problem getting something for under $1m. Its close proximity to Perth with about a 50 minute commute by train would make it quite attractive and with excellent beaches and even the doggy bags colour coordinated with the wild flowers they really do have their shit together (pun intended).
After lunch at the visitor centre it was back on the road south towards Bunbury. It took a bit of an effort to get out of the city as the map did not indicate that a certain bridge was only one way – details like this are always a challenge especially when the wrong road ended up taking us through the café area of town where the road is very narrow and designed for pedestrians with gazillions of skinny little roundabouts. No matter and in spite of the few strange looks from people saying “what idiot would bring a caravan through here?” we made it. They would know the answer to that question after we had passed them of course as our wheel cover shouts out the fact we are Kiwis.
Our map indicated the highway would follow the coast but as we have experienced so often on this trip there was no view of the actual ocean and some 75km further south in the midst of some light rain we stopped at our rest area for the night. We have an annoying little leak on the front window of the van that we have been really slack about repairing (no rain so no worry) but now we are back into the wet stuff we will have to sort it out.
