Rolling in to Rockingham
15th August, Rockingham, Australia
We ventured a little way out of Perth to day to a place called Rockingham. It is further south than Fremantle and is your typical holiday seaside village. We had picked a great day for it, and so did everyone else. We had to fight for a parking space as it was market day (or, at the very least, car boot sale day).
For a holiday getaway, there were surprisingly few shops around. This was a place for sightseeing (if you consider another beach a sightseeing opportunity), relaxing in the park under the shade of a palm tree or enjoying a refreshing drink at one of the seaside esplanade cafés. We opted for the latter (and I opted for a latté) where I snapped another shot for the Mirror Project.
Me reflected in Manda's sunnies, the beach and water of Rockingham clearly
visible in the distance.
After the brief mooch around the seaside area with all the other day-trippers, we headed off to a lookout just a little to the south where a World War 2 bunker still remains. It always seems like a good idea to go take a look at these things but you soon discover that it's not the same as finding such a place as a young lad. If I were 25 years younger, this would have been find of the century! Realistically, though, it was an ugly old shell of bricks with years of graffiti set into the hill.
Not much to look at, but the view from this point makes it worth
the (very short) climb.
Down in the parking area, however, was something much prettier to look at - another VW Kombi, an 8-seater (microbus) with a beautiful paint job. We had got chatting to the owner after he had come over to give Ethel the once-over, so it was only fair that we reciprocate. I have noticed a lot of Kombis in WA, particularly around Fremantle. It's good to see that they are being looked after over here. I imagine the climate is good for them here, which might explain why there are VW traders in the UK actively importing batch-loads of them back. Or maybe there aren't more of them - maybe I'm just noticing more of them now, and checking them out all the more often, because I know it's only a matter of time before we leave Ethel behind. Still, there's no harm in looking, is there?