This morning we said our goodbyes to Marty, Robyn, Sophie, and Isabelle. We were on the road by 9:30am, and heading north once again. We passed through the Swan valley wine region, and I could tell that Nana would of liked to of stopped at a winery or two. But we had already agreed to do a slight detour from our days destination, and were heading up the Great Northern Highway to a town called New Norcia. By my reckoning it would take us most of the day to get there.
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| Monastery in New Norcia |
We also passed by RAAF base Pearce and dropped in to see Geoff, he works here as a Fire Fighter. I took the opportunity to give him some items that I had forgotten about, and it was good to see him one last time before we were on our way.
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| Abby Hotel |
New Norcia; as we soon discovered, is the only Monk town in Australia. Here, the monks continue a 1500 year-old tradition and pray 6 x times a day in their private chapel. There are numerous buildings here; including Abbeys, Chapels, a Monastery, Bakery, Art Galleries, a Museum and a Gift Shop to name a few. We also discovered the New Norcia Hotel where they brew their own brew called 'Abbey Ale'. Nana shouted a round of Ale to sample, and I must admit it was different, but very refreshing.
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| Enjoying an 'Abby Ale' |
Both Nana and I found it had a distinct citrus flavour and I quote; "New Norcia Abbey Ale is the product of Australian pale malted barley, raw and Belgian sugar brewed with imported hops and fermented with a Belgian Ale yeast. The result is a golden coloured monastic ale with intriguing aromas and a rich heavenly finish" unquote.
We were then hitting the road again, and heading west. Tonight we were staying at the Pinnacles Caravan Park at Cervantes, where we meeting our 'mates on the road' again; Jace, Jo, Maya, Grace and Jai.
Two and a half hours later we pulled into the caravan park, and were immediately greeted by our 'mates'. Scarlett ran off with the kids straight away, as Bec and I caught up on all the goss and swapped stories. Nana was introduced, and quickly joined in on all the action.
We headed up to the Bowling Club where the kids had a go at Bare-Foot Bowling. They had a 'ball' - literally! It was soon getting dark, so we found the light switch to the light towers and continued playing for another 30 minutes before heading inside to have dinner.
Inside was a yummy choice of local seafood's and produce. Nana, Bec, Scarlett and I chose a dish called 'A taste of Cervantes' as well as a side of Salt and Pepper Squid! I would have to say that this was one of the best meals we have had on the road yet, and the crayfish was succulent and tasty! Yummy!
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