Awesome scenery – but not too much Internet coverage for a few days

19/2/2015

The first night in the van was great. My body took more than 10 hours of sleep and I woke up refreshed and full of energy. The last few weeks were a bit hectic but I made it through it successfully.

Prevelly and the whole Margaret River region are arty

I tried intermittent fasting today. Some research suggests, that you should not eat for 14+ hours several times a week. From how I understand it, our body was used to long stretches of not getting fed in our earlier days as humans. Furthermore, digestion uses a lot of our blood and energy, and some people even argue that you have more mental clarity when your body is in a fasting state. There is a lot about this out there in the Internet at the moment, but as with most things, trying it out and observing what it does for you is my preferred way to test it.

The learning curve for camping is steep: While I selected a relatively wind protected place for the gas burner, I was not careful enough. Had to restart the flame at least 4 times to prepare my shakshuka for brunch. But it was well worth it ;-)

Shakshuka - awesome brunch

Being still inspired by Bill's guitar play, I practiced for quite a while after breakfast, followed by some reading. As my eyes got tired, I went for a run, this time turning left on the limestone path – well worth it! Awesome views all around and hills to get the heart rate right into the (crossfit) zone!

Seaview Gardens, a restaurant right next to the caravan park, served me a wonderful dinner, some wine, a sunset and big waves in the distance rolling in.

I hit the deck quite early again, and gave my body the sleep it craved.

Distance traveled: 0km

20/2/2015

I woke up early and had a generous breakfast of bacon and eggs. I've filled up the water tank of the camper van for the first time as I'm heading into the Stirling Range where bush camping will be very likely.

 

On the road, with Austria 3 and STS

After a long day of driving, some nice photos taken, I reach my destination for the night – Mount TrioBush Camp and Caravan Park. Lovely place, deserves its great rating in the camping app. It is located only a few km away from Mount Trio, which I plan to hike up tomorrow, and has all the facilities that are needed. The local bush nature walking trail was a welcoming change for my legs that got a bit tired of holding the accelerator down.

What a great place to bush camp!

The definition of an 'open kitchen' no walls on 3 sides - awesome

For people that can't see the Trail on the ground (like me *g*)

Sharing dinner (very decadent – including cucumber salad with Steirischem Kuerbiskernoel!)in the bush kitchen with two young German carpenters, they are currently working at this property as part of their Work & Holiday visa. Nice chaps, complained the massive number of Germans in Australia and about our racism over here. Apparently Germans are more tolerant, especially from the area they are from – near the Swiss and French border in Germany.

Bush camping - still living like a gourmet

Distance traveled today: 415km

21/2/2015

After a rather cool night, I got up around 6am to get to an early start. Wolfing down some breakfast I drove to the Mount Trio car park. The hike up the 856m high Mount Trio is apparently 3 hours return, including taking some photos I did it in a bit under on hour. But to be honest, I pushed very hard.

The right one is Mt Trio, actually higher than the left one, but this photo is misleading

Bluff Knoll, 1099m, is the highest peak of the Stirling Range and was next on my to-do list. Wonderful hike up, overtaking everybody that I met, despite not eating since breakfast and the 'crossfit style' hike onto Mount Trio ;-)

Bluff Knoll

Great views from the top – quite a prominent peak when you look down over the wide lands. The return trip took me 1h36, instead of the 3-4 hours posted at the bottom. I guess they scale down the times to families.

At the lower right side you can see the carpark - and Wookie if you got eagle eyes ;-)

The Stirling Range is amazing - and has a very diverse eco system, well worth a visit!

As it was only 11am, I had some coffee and cake at the Bluff Knoll Cafe, and revised my plan for the day: hitting the road and covering a good part of the way to Esperance to have an easy day tomorrow.

How is that for 'authenticity'?

I chose Stoke National Park as my overnight stop (lovely walking trail!), leaving less than 100km to drive to Esperance tomorrow and spend my day there.

Who are you?

The only things I'm struggling with a bit at the moment: Internet coverage, a power plug to charge my computer (the inverter in my car doesn't want to work!) and finding a shower ;-)

Distance traveled today: 360km