7th November 2022
Katanning to Myalup
An early morning wake-up call (05:30?) for Jo as I heard a train hooting as it approached the level crossing just outside the hotel. I was too late to grab my phone to take a photo, but was glad I woke Jo up in the nick of time - I wouldn't have wanted her to have missed it!!
Breakfast at the Premier Mill Hotel. The most memorable aspect of which was the small fruit salad ordered by Jo that turned out to be exceptionally large. I had also ordered toast for Jo (wholemeal - corrected by Jo to Ciabatta), and marmalade (despite the fact that Jo wanted jam!)
A short walk up and down the main street to see the town on a 'busy' Monday morning. The walk was interrupted by a lady who had seen us at breakfast and decided we were foreigners; she had lived in the town for most of her life (I guess she was mid to late seventies) and her family had owned and run the 'Stock and Hardware Store' - currently run be her daughters. Two or three yards further we were accosted by a couple we had directed to the hotel entrance the day before who accused us of mixing with the the locals. It transpired that the chap (Keith) had moved to Australia in 1973 having studied Modern Languages at Worcester College, Oxford. His wife. Linda, was also originally British having been brought up on the Surrey/Sussex border. Keith's dry sense of humour reminded me of Robert Cooper.
On the journey we stopped at Wagin for a quick drink and to see the Ram. Next stop was a lookout over the opencast coal mine outside Collie. Lunch was yet another cheese sandwich (surely the last of the Red Leicester), this time in a small park in Collie.
The route took us through a small part of the wheatbelt - huge fields with wheat ready to harvest in the coming six weeks. It makes one wonder how they manage to harvest so much wheat in a relatively short time. Roads were empty as usual, only the occasional 'road-train' passing us. We assumed these road trains were carrying wheat that had already been harvested further north, to the silos at Albany.
Last stop before arriving at Leah's was to see the mural at Wellington dam.
Another warm welcome from Leah. Bruce was at a horse race meeting where I think he had an investment in two of the horses. The style of racing Bruce is interested in is 'trotting' where the jockey sits in a low-slung 'chariot' behind the horse. After unloading the car, we are treated to tea and cake. Jo gave Leah the travel wallet which is graciously received. Leah told us (possibly when we first stayed with them) that she and her sister-in-law were going to visit Japan next year, so the gift seems very appropriate. Haydn, Leah and Bruce's son, drops in for 20 minutes on his way home to watch a T20 cricket match. Leah then takes us on a tour of Harvey, showing us the dairy farm they used to run, together with other local sights. A lot of the dairy farms in the area have now given up dairy and have changed to other ventures, including orange and avocado orchards.
We pass Leah's house on the way back and go down to the beach to watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. Amazing.
Bruce is home when we return and shows us recordings of some horse racing. Earlier in the week one of 'his' horses had won a race, Bruce regretting that he had only taken a 5% investment in the horse rather than 10%!
Leah had cooked another fantastic supper and we enjoyed another evening of talking.
