Day 45: Thu 2 May 24 - Bunbury to Rockingham

Thu 2 May 24 - Bunbury to Rockingham (145km)

We had steady rain fall all night, clearing for a few hours early in the morning, before heavy rain started again at 08:30, as we drove away from Bunbury. About 100km later near Mandurah the rain eased, then it was mostly cloudy for the rest of the day at Rockingham, where it reached 25 Deg. At about 4:30pm, we caught the edge of a large storm that passed over Mandurah, about 35km away to the south. We were fortunate that our departure and arrival preparations did not coincide with the heavy rain, but the drive from Bunbury to Mandurah in heavy rain, combined with a lot of traffic was demanding.  

It was quite noisy early last night with hooligans running amok across the road in the carpark,  then after they disappeared, strong wind, thunder and waves crashing into the beach made for a restless sleep, so I woke feeling very tired. Otherwise, we were very happy with the 48hr rest area that Bunbury provides free of charge. With a break in the weather early this morning, I went a final walk around the City Centre and found some more amazing art work. With fewer people and cars about, early morning is so much better for photographing murals. Returning from my walk as we observed the next storm rolling in from the sea, I hooked up the van, then we said goodbye to Colin and Carol before departing for Rockingham. After only 30 minutes of driving in heavy rain, we stopped for coffee at a roadside bakery hoping the rain would ease. After 30 minutes, we decided we could be waiting all day, so we continued to Rockingham. The rain did eventually ease, becoming clear as we arrived and checked in at the Cee and See Caravan Park at midday. After lunch and a snooze, we went for a drive to see how much has changed since we lived in Rockingham between 1994 and 1996. We agree that the City of Rockingham has changed so much it's almost unrecognisable, and all for the better. We even managed to find our old home at 14 Manly Crescent in Warnbro. We were the first occupants of that new home, but it's now looking a bit tired and run down. Back at the van we were joined by my mate Fingers and his faithful friend Nikon who dropped by for a catch up. Fingers has arranged a lot for our visit over the coming few days, so he left us before dinner so we could get ourselves settled and have an early night.

Bunbury - Street Mural (Back of the Art Gallery)

Bunbury - Street Mural

Bunbury - Art Deco


Bunbury - Street Mural

Bunbury - Street Mural. Early morning is so much better for seeing the murals without people and  cars in the way

 Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - Street Mural.

Bunbury - A tight fit with a motorhome converted from 48 seater bus behind us. A bit noisy with nearby hooligans in the late afternoon and early evening, but more noisy from the thunder overnight. 

Settled in for five days at Rockingham


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