Thurs, 29th Dec, 2016 Bob & Margaret’s, Florida Beach, Dawesville to Kev & Linda’s, Eaton, WA

Cold night but ok temp when we got up this morning as the sun was out. Packed up and said our farewells. Thanks so much to Bob & Margaret for having us. Will catch them again soon as they might join us in Albany to visit the lighthouse where his grandmother lived.

Down the Old Coast Road till we met Forrest Highway then we turned east to Waroona. Lots of burnt out pine plantations. Through open farm land. As it was a minor road it wasn’t too wide and a F250 came roaring towards us then got into the dirt and hurled a rock at us. We heard it smack the canopy on Steve’s side which was better than the windscreen. Found the dent later but it was only small.

Stopped for a cuppa At Waroona. Only a map here – no info. We went to Drakesbrook Weir the other day which was closed due to algae infestation but we didn’t get up to Waroona Dam.

Continued south past the turnoff to the Alcoa Alumina Refinery and its long conveyor belt. Stopped at Yarloop to get some photos. The fire raged through here on 4^th Jan, 2016 burning and area of 70,000 hectares over two weeks and destroying 181 properties and two lives. Very sad. The township was reopened in August after all the destroyed buildings etc were cleaned up so now it is just clean house blocks.

All that remains of the Yarloop Hall (built in 1938).

Not sure if this was here before the fire as there doesn’t seem to be any damage. There is no information about the fire anywhere either.

Amazing to see how the trees have all resprouted.

There were info boards around and some silhouettes so we wandered along reading them.

Sadly only the sign remains of the Yarloop Hotel.

The remains of the pump station beside the railway line.

Wandered up to the site of the railway museum – so sad. It is all fenced off.

Across the road the War Memorial is the only green spot in the place.

Back up to near the shelter we found another one about the Mill Manager’s Residence.

Seen a few of these along the way.

Passed an Internment Camp as we headed into Harvey. Around to the citrus area, Harvey Fresh Fruit Juices, with its big Orange.

Continued south through dairy farms and Harvey Cheese. There is long-life Harvey Milk too. Cute cows started to appear along the highway.

There is another big dam in the hills near Harvey but we decided we didn’t need to tow the van up the hills for that. Next town was Brunswick Junction which is the Cream of the South West. More cute cows.

Parked up in one of the many parks in this small town. Walked down the street – nice soldier & horse outside the Memorial Hall.

Steve liked these ones.

On the corner was The Cow on the Corner.

Walked along to the Brunswick River. A man & daughter were catching fish in their trap.

The river was made into a swimming pool in 1952 (like Malanda).

Back to the van for lunch then on the road again. Passed the Peters Creameries which is now run by the current dairy company.

Turned off and headed east to Eaton where Kev & Linda are house-sitting. Found the house in a lovely new suburb. They have two dogs and the house to care for which might be something we can do.

Parked the van in the empty block across the road and moved into the house with them.

After lots of catching up we took the dogs for a drive to the beach for a run. Up through Australind (where there is a Brotherton Way – will have to get a photo) to the top of Leschennault Inlet. A channel leading north from the inlet and then south over the inlet.

Onto Buffalo Beach where lots of people were fishing even though the wind was blowing strongly. The dogs had a great time chasing their ball and we wandered along the beach. No shells here. You can drive along this spit all the way back to near Bunbury.

My old camera packed it in too after these photos!! Will have to try the Android phone I bought. Will send off my camera tomorrow and hope they get a new one back to me quickly!! 

Back home for dinner and more chatting. I looked up the origin of all the ‘up’s on the end of town names – it means ‘place of’.

The suffix originated in a dialect of Noongar, an Indigenous Australian language, in which "-up" means "place of". The suffix "-in" or "-ing" has a similar meaning in a related dialect of Noongar.^[1] Places tended to be named after their distinctive features, whereby the place names could be used to create a "mental map" allowing Indigenous Australians to determine where water, food and other raw materials could be found. These sites were often located near sources of fresh water, leading to the common misconception that "up" and "in" mean "near water".

Boyanup - The small town of Boyanup, originally spelt "Boyinup" was first recorded in 1852. The Aboriginal word meaning 'place of quartz' - 'Boya" means rock or stone.

Burekup - In 1910 the Railways Department requested to name a new siding on the Pinjarra - Picton line as "Boorekup" -the Aboriginal word of a wildflower that grows profusely in the area. The spelling was altered to Burekup according to the rules of orthography used by the Department of Lands and Surveys.