Walyunga NP

The next morning I woke to dark skies and quickly packed up my tent and looked at the forecast. So. Much. Rain. Every day in the 10 day forecast showed rain and a lot of it. I decided that was enough for me and I was heading North to the desert. I texted Quentin and he was already gone to the western portion of the peninsula well out of my path. He has a job in the area and so had planned to part ways in the next 3 days anyway. We texted goodbye for now and I headed north. As I drove the rain bucketed down. Every 40 minutes or so I would end up pulling over cause the road was so wet the car felt like it wanted to hydroplane. Luckily, the route had lots of cute farm towns and I stopped at many a farm stand and got lots of local fresh veggies and fruit. It’s apple season and I got some fresh in season apples that were absolutely delicious. I packed my car with so many good looking veggies and have been enjoying them ever since. 

Eventually, a little before nightfall I made it to Swan Valley and Walyunga NP, about 30 minutes north of Perth. I set up my tent and got a good night sleep despite the intermittent rain. 

The next morning I woke up and went for a beautiful hike along the river. They’ve been getting a lot of rain lately and it was flowing fast, but it was a stunning walk. I then headed north towards Wongon stopping at a few places along the way. I got a lovely hot shower in Northampton and saw a really beautiful art display and spoke with the artist a bit about the beautiful places he paints. Then stopped in a few towns for short walks looking at wildflowers. I’ve now entered the Wildflower Way, an area known for the extravagant spring wildflower displays. I’m a few weeks early but optimistic about finding some early flowers.