The JaYmes Escape

In the late nineteenth century timber from Western Australia was shipped across the world. The unique properties of the local trees, particular the Jarrah and Karri made them ideal for street paving and railway sleepers in places as far flung as Africa, India, New York, London and Berlin.

From Augusta and Cape Leeuwin I veered East to the Australian epicentre of all things tree. Surrounded by forests and surrounding the timbermill, Pemberton is a charming little wooden town. Then it was down to the coast again and a stop in the little city of Albany with it’s beautiful natural harbour, and then a day further East and slightly North to the remote town of Esperance. The Easternmost major settlement on the South coast of Western Australia is known for stunning beaches and diverse wildlife. East of here there’s not a lot for over a thousand miles.

Every so often the bus slows down to avoid hitting another Kangaroo. Fremantle Prison, housing the convicts of the early Swan River Colony, and Rottnest Island, a popular nature reserve off the coast, were the highlights of my last week in Perth. I then headed south down the coast stopping in Bunbury to see the local dolphins, and Margaret River, the Bordeaux of Western Australia, where some of the country’s finest wines are made. Time for a canoe trip, some bush food and a tour of the wineries before I moved on to the township of Augusta and walked the 6 miles or so out to the lighthuse at the far South Western tip of Australia, Cape Leeuwin, where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern. This is Australia’s Lands’ End, and the terrain has it’s similarities with Cornwall, although it is much bigger and wilder than my childhood home.

Pictures of Fremantle prison and Rottnest Island are all online. The others will be available in a few days.

The sun shines every day and the insects bite every night. One of the most remote cities in the world, Perth is confident and elegant, vibrant and friendly. Far from the American or European style seriousness of the East coast; Western Australia has a spirit more akin to New Zealand.

The 2 night train journey from Adelaide was strenuous but fun. Joining me on the train were a Russian film crew, filming a reality TV show about 2 contestants crossing Australia with $200. My hammy pigeon Russian phrases humoured them, but then I was the only non-Russian on the train to know any word other than ‘Babushka’.

Pictures abound in the Perth and Indian Pacific galleries. A few short videos on the way too, if I can ever get them uploaded.

It was apparently a Cornish miner that first discovered silver deposits in the Broken Hill area in the 19th century. With less than 20 inches of rain over the last 6 years this dry sem-arid outback town is still a thriving community based around the remaining mines. The workers’ monument and unionised past couldn’t help reminding me of Gdansk, although the setting couldn’t be more different from the Baltic port.

On a hilltop beyond the town stands a number of sandstone sculptures; these were created in 1993 as part of an international symposium and are now one of the town’s biggest attractions. Some amazing pictures of these in the sunset, along with more of Broken Hill and the first two legs of the Indian Pacific rail journey are now online. Temperatures in Broken Hill were suffocating whilst I was there; 38 to 39 degrees and searing sun every day.

I’m currently in Adelaide, which is less spectacular and a bit cooler, but very nice all the same. I’ll be back on the rails heading towards Perth tomorrow.