Days 24 & 25, Wednesday & Thursday 12 & 13 August 2026

 Well, it has finally happened, it was a toss up whether my ancient steam powered laptop got the heave ho or my even older DSLR camera went to the camera happy hunting ground.  By a very narrow margin the camera has gone and has been replaced with a new Canon mirrorless unit.  The camera comes with a decent lens but of course my old Canon lenses wouldn't fit the new camera so hand over a $100 for an adapter.  Of course you only get one battery but you really need two so that you don't get caught with a flat battery so hand over another $100 for a second battery.  But I do have to admit that it is a nice unit and if anybody wants a used older DSLR let me know.

I hope the laptop lasts the journey cause if I have to buy a new one I might be joining the shouty ill at ease on the streets.  I am thinking that like rural communities in Victoria such as Shepparton & Mildura these WA communities probably have a drug problem most likely with ice. 

Apart from the vagrants Bunbury is a nice town with a population of 32,000 and 75,000 to 85,000 residents in the Greater Bunbury area.  Settlers were atrracted to the area in the 1830's and settled in Bunbury due to its sheltered harbour and the establishment of a timber industry there was also a coastal whaling industry. I am staying in the Rose Hotel in the middle of the town. This hotel was built in 1865 and heavily renovated in 2016 but the history and the heritage of the building has been nicely preserved.

There is a large dining room which has been very busy the two nights that I have been here.  Last night was trivia night, held in the ballroom.  I decided after my disastrous trivia night in Kalgoorlie I would give this one a miss.

The Rose Hotel Bunbury

I met another interesting group of Bunburyites yesterday.  A half dozen or so locals were protesting outside the local Federal MP's office and they asked me to sign a petition supporting their claim of a genocide in Gaza . We had a civilized discussion about the situation in the middle east and departed as friends and I did not sign their petition.

Although the streets are quiet this time of year I reckon the town would be busy over Christmas and the holidays.  Although not much to see and do in the town it is surrounded by beaches and lots of interesting stuff inland.  

I am driving to Busselton tomorrow and as it only 53 kms I have decided to head inland to have a look at the Wellington dam.  Apparently the dam wall is covered with a giant mural and worth seeing, so the bloke fixing the printer in the visitor information centre told me.

Although it was going to be a quiet day today I have still managed to pace out 6,000 plus steps.  Most of this was around a coastal walking path and watching the waves rolling in from the Indian Ocean was fascinating.

Some of the photos from my walk are below.

Ships waiting to berth in Bunbury harbour

A lighthouse

Probably back to the pub dining room for dinner, not much else around although I did notice a Chinese restaurant, so might try for a succulent chinese meal.