Winter Wanderings

4 July 2015 saw us celebrating. No, not the independence of the American colonies from the British Empire, but the beginning of the Bridgetown in the Winter Festival. The night saw "snow" (complete with snowfights, snowangels, and snowmen), a hawkers' lane filled with lots of yummy food, the Bridgetown Town Hall turned into a Winter Wonderland, and the official turning on of Bridgetown's Blue Lights.

That was simply a teaser. The Bridgetown in the Winter Festival is Lela's project so I will let her tell you all about it. All I am going to say is that there are some great activities on offer, lasting all the way through the winter months, and that the myth that Western Australia's South West is purely for summer has been well and truly debunked.

The girls and I are trying to make it one of our missions to see something a bit different each time we go down South. This trip we took a drive down the scenic Blackwood River Tourist Drive.

It was a truly beautiful drive. Miss 16 put herself in charge of taking photos (which was useful as I was driving), and these were the only four she deemed blogworthy.

Are you spotting a flaw with the pictures? Did you notice there was no river?

I can confirm that there were several sightings of the Blackwood River along the drive, however the route we were on did not follow the river. It was fun playing spot the river though!

Enough about recent trips. There are still exciting things to come! Currently I am looking forward to a planning meeting with Lela for our big NZ trip on Friday ... and my trip to Bali with the girls next week.

Stay tuned for more posts, and happy adventuring.

Cath xx

B is for....Bridgetown Blues

**A-Z South West and A-Z Perth is an occasional series where we are tourist in our home state and explore WA with new eyes**

The Bridgetown Blues is an iconic music festival bringing new and old talent to the south west, and has been for 22 years! Held on the 2nd weekend of November, it is located in the beautiful Bridgetown, with the music festival spanning the main part of town.

The best way to describe ' the Blues' is to liken it to the entire town putting on a house party. And everyone is invited!
The buzz around town is contagious. Schools, business, council, residents....they all get involved in true down to earth country style.

Entertainment: Tickets can be bought via the organising body, Blues at Bridgetown, with varying options.
There is a mix of ticketed events, pubs with door charges and numerous free events and stages.

My absolute favourite was the street party. The main street is closed down, a market is set up and numerous stages are located along a strip of almost a 1km of road.

Street Party.....It. Is. Awesome.

Free Entertainment

 

This is followed closely by the Sundowner session on Sunday, located at the stage called "the Owls Nest", it is a casual finale for the weekend. Kids are welcomed, locals can have a catch up and its a great atmosphere.

Favourite band of the weekend...without a doubt, 19twenty and at 7 gigs in 3 days, including one at the local primary school, they were much loved by the crowd.

Transport: South West Coach lines has a bus service that will deliver you to the main street of Bridgetown. Or Bridgetown is a 225km drive from Perth.

On transport....this is a small country town. Normally the resident numbers don't exceed 3000. So you can imagine, no car parking high rises here.

Don't be a Dick. Park your car in a considerate manner. You may need to park on a side or back street. This may be a 5min walk to the action. Bridgetown does have a ranger, and he will issue fines.

Hot tip: Point your GPS to Roe St, especially the northern end, generally good parking opportunities are available on this street, in designated bays, and only about 3min walk to the main street.

 Accommodation:  Bridgetown has numerous levels of accommodations. Chalets, caravan parks, B-n-B's ect. However these book out super fast.
If you are coming in a campervan, the Showgrounds over is designated for you. If you are camping, space is available at the high school oval. Both of these venues have more info on the Blues at Bridgetown web site.
Also check out Gumtree, Air B-n-B and Couchsurfing for more options. Locals often let out a spare room or their front yard over the course of the weekend.

Hot tip: Bring warm clothes for the evening. Its spring, it might reach the low 30's during the day, but that doesn't mean the evening won't drop to 2 degrees overnight!

 

 

 

So overall, such a worthwhile event to go to! You'll get your money's worth.

 

Hot Tip: You don't need to be a fan of blues music to still have a ball.