Chad Is Everywhere

Hamelin Bay was the stop of the day for Tour Day 5 of the Intrepid South West WA tour. However this doesn't mean it was due to a lack of highlights. The stingrays are amazing. So graceful, so relaxed. Even with the hundreds of tourist at their beach in what would be the busiest week of the year. The giant Karri trees we stopped in at with the Gloucester Tree are great. But they're no stingray.  This evening on paper gave me bragging rights. New Years Eve 2021 I was in the Margaret River wine region. Sounds amazing like that. Alas reality was we were at a bush camp in the middle of nowhere away from the coast and majority of the tourist. But they do say don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Day 4 of my Western Australia adventure had me hiking Cable Rock. This was my first time where I've completed a hike with a ladder after having maneuvered through a short scramble of rocks. Makes it sound advanced doesn't it? Well it wasn't really so. After the early climb the tour left for a flyby visit of Albany before starting our journey towards Peaceful Bay. Along the way we stopped in the main highlight of the Elephant Rocks and Greens Pool near Denmark. We also took in the trees of Valley of the Giants.  Alas one of the lessor highlights was our arrival at the campsite in Peaceful Bay. We marked the disappearance of the last remaining patch of green grass used for makeshift soccer and football by the local kids. If looks could kill we were dead. A dozen 6 to 12 year olds were left fuming that their summer holiday oasis had been broken apart by a tour bus. The disappointment quickly descended into an outpouring of emotion, tears, and then aggression. We had caused a f...

So day 3 of the Tour of WA saw us depart The Cape Le Grand. We started early with a walk up Frenchman Peak. We were there in summer so it was worth being on the walk early. We were climbing by about 7:30am. The granite heats up under the sun. And well I could only think I was glad it wasn't me going up as we descended at about 10am. I would also avoid this if its wet. So many times I was picking a path up or down around foot grip. This is not a place I'd want to slip. From the peak we headed back to Esperance for a quick stop before venturing out to the better local beaches outside of town centre. These beaches are nearly as spectacular at The Cape Le Grand. Which is why locals and tourists are happy to just holiday here and not pressure the Cape Le Grand with even more tourists.

 The 2nd day of the Intrepid tour of the South West of Western Australia saw us driving to our most easterly point of the tour. The Cape Le Grand National Park. There are reasons why this place is considered one of the top 10 beaches of the world. I rate this as the most beautiful I have seen. The only thing I didn't get from this experience was a photo of the kangaroos actually on the beach. 

So 2020 was a bad year for most. And well travel was made near impossible thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic. All of my international plans for the year were left in ruins. Fortunately Australia had been somewhat protected from the virus spread. We gradually came out from our lock down slumber to allow domestic tourism. So with international travel helplessly just a dream I returned to domestic tourism beyond that of weekends away and city stays for AFL football viewing. Western Australia was the destination of choice. It made sense for a trip in the peak of summer to the southern parts of Australia. Big distances made a tour company even more attractive. So I called upon a trusted brand Intrepid Tours to provide my tour solution of a short 5 night tour of the South West of WA and added on a few nights in Perth after. As per normal I've packaged up my travel stories into short videos. Daily summaries for all to enjoy.

Yangshuo. Where is Yangshuo? That's exactly what most of you would reply. Or well some of you might add in a few might add in a few extra words. But same context of the response. My prior knowledge of China growing up was pretty limited. All we really learnt of Chinese history growing up focused on the Great Wall, the Mongol Empire, and Genghis Khan. If I were to refer to something more modern in history I'd admit to knowledge of the opium wars and then the resulting treaty that virtually created Hong Kong. But heck when I was young and learning of China I had no understanding opium was a basically heroin, and the British were basically a bunch of olden day methheads in the 1840s. Any description of China before this trip would omit any detailed understanding of the natural beauty of China. Sure I knew that pandas came from China. But it's only in recent times I even understood that you needed to go to Sichuan, and in particular Chengdu if you expect to visit them. The...

A hike to Ravello was the final daily activity on the Intrepid Travel tour. Now I must admit I had not really analysed the tour itinerary in great detail after making the decision to book. Features that had motivated my decision to book were more the fact the tour didn't move around too much, it completed the regional destinations of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii, Positano, and Capri, and it would also allow me tho opportunity to swim, get sun, and get active. Oh and eat. What I did not really consider was how many stairs is that. Which is probably a good thing as I hate stairs. Don't get me wrong like my gym trainer says I'll still do it when told, but I'll reserve the right to hate the process and voice my option to that issue. Ravello was the final stair climb. The penultimate day of stair climbing. It really was a pure climb up. From Amalfi we started the climb by walking around to Atrani. From there it was climb, climb, climb. Switchbacks aplenty were to be found...

It's only fair that Amalfi gets it's own posting dedicated to itself. After all it was the town that had hosted me for 4 nights on the Intrepid Tour . It may not get the accolades of Positano in fame. But to me it was the best place to base the majority of the Amalfi Coast stay in. Positano although beautiful, and a closer connection to Capri, was very hilly, and well seemingly even more over priced, and less connected. Perhaps too the glamour of being the most well known destination, the focus of the Americans we overhead on the local bus had jilted me. I may not have been out overnight in Positano however the impression was it was a place you walk down the main street only once or twice and otherwise stayed in your accommodation as it's quite a hike back up the hill for most guests. This was not the case in Amalfi. Most of the accommodation was towards the town centre right down in the town square. There was quite a connection to the town square with many cafes, restaura...