Denmark, Albany and Ravensthorpe -

Denmark, a safe haven for lovely blouses and pinched cheeks

We made it to Denmark before the day was out, and the quaint English countryside feeling continued to grow. Gone were the days of the grizzled Aussie sausage-sizzle, this was a place of pate, and wine, riverside picnics and oh-my-don't-you-look-well-in-that-smashing-blouse conversations. But, of course, Denmark's past grew out of harsher soil.



Ghost gum tree branches look beautiful against a blue sky

It grew out of the timber industry in the 1870s, and the railway that interlinked it with the logging towns of Albany and Torbay which produced timber to send to the goldmine in Kalgoorlie, as the demand for timber grew significantly while the mine expanded. Settlers to Denmark were given the herculean task of clearing the land for pasture, which, of course, meant chopping the giant Karri and Tingle trees down. The timber industry has slowed dramatically over the years though, and it is with relief that we heard this.





Greens Pool ,Denmark is a shelter of calm clear waters

Because the loveliness of south-west WA is really, well, lovely. It is very easy to love the landscape, with none of the harshness of the vast Outback. It certainly is a picture: the pastures, fields, little hills, vineyards and forests of huge, elegant trees in an autumnal hue, a cool breeze and swaying grasses; the rolling Indian Ocean o'er yonder hillock, and the sand-carpeted beaches and granite outcrops that lie ever so invitingly and not too far away.











Arriving in Albany next day the breeziness continued. Invited to dinner at his restaurant, Nonna's, later that evening by Michael John Delli-Bendetti, we were also assured of a morning's work next day, helping him build a wall. Joanna, owner of the YHA Backpackers could not do enough for us, and Wayne, owner of the local pub, decided we were worth the donation of a "carton of piss", ('case of beer' in English). It seemed that Albany had deicided to join in with the lovely-theme of the past few days.



Elephant Rocks; it's clear to see the reasons for the moniker



We stayed in Albany over the weekend, earning donations while there, and enjoying the friendliness and ease of being there.



Albany





The natural bridge in Torndirrup, Albany



Next stop, we stayed with Jenny and Andrew Chambers, at Yoorooga Farm, in Ravensthorpe, about 300 kilometres from Albany. We had been put in touch with Jenny via Derek Clarke in Esperance, an Apex man contacted by Mike Gilbert in Perth. Derek's sister, Mazz, was a neighbour of the Chambers' and it was a lovely home cooked roast that greeted us as we arrived.



Gareth and Phil with the lovely Jenny Chambers



The chambers family, Maz and friends



Phil and Gareth accidentally lock themselves out on the veranda while they were washing windows, a passer by had to rescue them

Jenny had organised some work for us the next day at the Ravensthorpe Community Centre where she works, for which we were handsomely paid, squeezing in a gardening job with Jessie and Geoff Fairhead, who read of our trip in the local paper.



We're becoming dab hands at gardening





Phil sweeps away the cobwebs in a grand old room at Ravensthorpe community centre



Leaving Ravensthorpe, en route to Esperance, we were warned by Mazz that Derek had something planned for us, something grand and steeped in mischief, a flourish of activities and to-doings, and we drove towards his scheme, with but the words "budgie-smugglers", his only clue, reverberating in our heads.