A Day In Harvey

Harvey Mosaic - Oranges, Dairy, Water, and Sunshine

 Yahoo!  I survived the first term.  After 11 and a half weeks straight with only one 3-day long weekend in between and through the hottest summer on record our 15 day Easter holidays is well deserved.  For our first break my parents came from Canada and we are also hosted Becky's mom from Canada, so our house is full and our days are booked with sights to see.  First up.... Harvey, Western Australia.  What to do in Harvey?  Yesterday and today we found out.



Harvey Fresh Big Orange - climb it to view the orchards.

Stop number one - Harvey Fresh.  The Harvey Fresh brand has sold fresh orange juice (and other orchard fruit juices) and milk for many years.  Now it has expanded into wine and cheese , yogurt and other dairy products.

Ma and Pa Walker toasting to the tasting.

  

View from half way up the big orange of the surrounding orchard.

Stop number two - Harvey Golf Course.  An excellent course just on the outskirts of town.  I bought a 'gently recycled set of clubs' from the tip (Aussie word for dump).  The green fees for 9 holes is $15 and wildlife sightings are free. 

Ring necked parrots looking for my golf ball.

Nice and green for being a drought.

Can you spot the emu?  Grandpa Walker did!

Stop number three - Harvey Visitor's Centre.  Not all venues were visited this time as we were pressed for time to get to the dam for dinner and kangaroo spotting at dusk. But, below are two places of interest.  Inside the visitor centre are an arrangement of locally produced foodstuffs, aluminum-bauxite mine site replica,  plus excellent tourist information and local art and Australiana trinkets for sale.  It is also the site of a World War Two Internment Camp.  From 1940 to 1942 Harvey held 1000 men in this camp.  Of those 800 were Italian men who were born abroad, but living and working in Australia for years and put behind barbed wire.  Most felt it was unfair, but realized it was wartime.  Many of these men returned to Harvey after the war to start fruit & vegetable farms and dairy farms and new lives.  To this day many descendents and Italian family names are present in Harvey today. 

Some of the local products produced in the region.

Internment Shrine built during the camp's operation from 1940-42.

 
Stop number four - Harvey Dam  Sausage sizzle at the dam.  Harvey provides much of the southwest with fresh tap water and irrigation to farmland.  It is so, so low this year and many locals are praying for rain to fill it up this winter.  Grandma Hughes, grandma and grandpa Walker enjoying the picnic - with locally bought Harvey cheese (sorry no picture of the cheese factory tasting), Harvey River Estate wine, Harvey beef sausages, and produce from Bunbury Farmer's Market.

Stop number five - Roo Spotting   What every Canadian wants to see in Australia is a kangaroo safari at sunset.  Below is a big boomer that we spotted in the Harvey Hills, just a few kilometres from town.  Just one of about 40 or so we saw.  What a great day!  What a great place to live for the year!

From on top of the hills we can see the Indian ocean in the distance and a few roos in the foreground.