Chad Is Everywhere

 The final day of the Intrepid Tour of the Southwest Western Australia saw an early start with a group improved breakfast. I was keen to do a little bit more than cereal for the first morning of 2021. After all it was the new year and I was on holidays. We had prepared ahead the day before picking up some Hash Browns, Eggs, and Bacon to go with the planned pancakes. It made for a worthy new year morning feast for new years day. From there the day started with a tour of the local caves. A good experience run by a local indigenous community. I've not seen too many cave experiences during my travels in Australia. The guide knew exactly how to get the best sound out from a didgeridoo in the amphitheater sized cave.  After the caves it time to really head for home. With a drive onto Busselton and its famous long jetty. Happy to say I walked it's length. It was a fair walk considering it was the peak of summer. And well considering the crowds I was lucky to still be able to get a s...

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.

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...

I feel like I should go straight to the point all my friends, family, and readers of the title of this post post want me to go. However I will not. As per normal I want to get a fuller description of this day in Amalfi. So scroll a little further if you want to find the much anticipated video of me falling in. In the meantime I guess I'm writing this for myself, as per normal. This day in Amalfi started with a walk up behind the town to a spectacular nature reserve with waterfall and plush almost rainforest like vegetation. Don't expect to find this spot yourself without a guide. The area is strictly controlled by the Italian parks service and others. We even needed to pass a checkpoint with our guide showing papers of authorisation. Alas it was perhaps more a sign of Italian bureaucracy at work than thoughtful planning to protect a region. Somehow the tourists without guides were still making it inside the restricted zone which angered our guide. The area up here although no...

If there was ever something that stuck in my head from our Amalfi tour guide Giovanni it was the pronunciation of Italian cities we were visiting. You see you couldn't just say we were visiting Positano. In Italian it was Pos-it-an-o. The town of Praiano was Prai-arn-o, and the Island of Capri was no exception. Over and over there was Giovanni making it sound so much more exotic. "Today we go to Car-pre". It did sound a bucket load better when he said it. Alas Ford thanks to their vehicle of the 1990s has so much to answer for having butchered how the town is pronounced by the English speaking world. Perhaps any future Italian friends and visitors will forever roll their eyes when I put on what seemed an over the top exaggeration of speaking Italian. Anyway the day over to Capri could not have been any nicer. Especially considering as the day before had ended in an afternoon storm. From Amalfi it might have been just over an hour of ferry cruising via Positano to arri...

Day 3 of the Intrepid Amalfi Coast Walk Hike and Boat Tour was all about the most famous walk, and most famous town in the area. Using a starting point of Agerola our morning was to take us as far as was possible on the Path of the Gods . Unfortunately landslides the year before had actually closed the official path for hikers to take it all the way Positano. Or well definitely officially according to the guiding association to which our guide was registered and affiliated dearly. Alas there were some unofficial guides taking their guests further and perhaps through even though it was illegal and unsafe. Intrepid obviously adhered to the rules. I'm sure in the very least it makes sure the insurance is covered. As a result of the change our walk took in the upper reaches of the Path of the Gods until we reached a viewing point looking towards Positano. From there we backtracked and headed down to a monastery overlooking i believe Praiano to then walk right down into the town...

  For 2 nights our Amalfi Tour was based in Agerola . For some this may seem like an unusual choice of accommodation by a tour company. One of those cheaper nights out of the way. However it made perfect sense when you get a full appreciation of the landscapes your dealing with around the Amalfi Coast. Agerola is a tiny bit inland when you look at a map of the Amalfi district. So yes you're not really on the coast. But the coast here goes pretty much vertical to this area. In the past when tourism might have just been about being at the beach, or at the coast we were told the communities like Agerola missed out on tourism. But now with the popularity of the Amalfi Coast has meant there is a growing demand, and presumably a very successful series of developments or programs have been made to ensure this community doesn't entirely miss out on the tourism market. Agerola was our setting as the town provided the perfect launching pad for two days of walking. The first was ...