Week 12

Perth  - stay extended 21st - 25th March

Well, we had to extend our stay in Perth. There were a few thing that need to be organised. (Thanks Jayco...) Unfortunately we have been let down again by the quality of our van. Lucky for us, the staff at Caravanland (Perth's Jayco dealer) were very helpful in replacing our microwave, our wheel jack, a broken handle.... but didn't have our replacement seat cushions that should have arrived from ordering them back in Jan in Adelaide. After some snooping it turns out they (ADL) didn't send them. We were told they would be here by Friday.

We couldn't extend our stay at the same park so we changed to the discovery park in Forrestfield.

We filled in the days with visits to the shopping centres, watched a movie, and visited a nearby botanical gardens near Armadale.

The Perth Caravan & Camping show was on so it was decided to go and buy a new caravan to replace the lemon that it seams we have......  just joking... Rachel said no..... But we did get some great information about the next leg of our journey north and a few bits to make things a bit more comfortable. Zachary now has his own tent and is happy to have his own space.

Well, Monday came and still no replacement seats. We had to move on to our next destination. On the way through the top of Perth and after a few interesting phone calls directly with Jayco, we were able to get the seats posted to a caravan park in Geraldton where we would be staying sometime after Easter.

Sandy Cape 25th March - 2nd April

On the way we stopped at Cervantes for lunch. The weather was changing and we were expecting some rain at night.

At Sandy Cape we setup camp, everything was looking great, Zachary was eager to get his tent up for his first sleep in it.
Miffy, Darren and kids were staying here too. Jake had missed playing with Archie and looked forward to some new adventures.
Well night came, so did the rain. Just a sprinkle at first, I turned to Rach and made the comment "is that all? I thought there would be more?" At 12am, it stared to bucket down and the wind was shaking the van... 30mins later Zach decided that was enough and abandoned his tent and bunked down in the van. Surely it would pass soon. At 2am, it was getting worse. camp gear was being blown away so Rach and I made the decision to pack up the awning and shower tent before they were destroyed. It was howling... I reckon the wind gusts were around 100km/h by now... (sorry for the novel..no photo's so a thousand words instead...lol) We were soaked by the time we locked thing down. We left Zach's tent up, hoping it would still be there in the morning. it was hard to get any sleep. I did take a few  photos in the morning... a lot of broken tents, awnings and a lot of water...

Week 11

Perth  -- 14th - 20th March

Wow.... we're in Perth. The drive up was a bit slow due to traffic but it allowed us to take in the views of this beautiful city. we couldn't help noticing the trains gliding past in the middle of the freeway and the modern and clean stations. It put Melbourne's system to shame. We setup camp at the Karrinyup Waters Resort in Gwelup. We caught up with Bruce and Judy ( We first met them in Port Lincoln.)  Hey... I thought this was a cool photo. If you see a rainbow, there's no pot of gold, just us camped at the other end (lol).

Swan Valley

Swan Valley, what a great place there was something for all of us from a chocolate factory, to the Whiteman Reserve playground for the kids, then the was wine tasting at Lancaster's for Mum and Dad, then on to the Cheese Barrel for a cheese and wine matching session.

We learnt from our own experince that Midland is a suburb to avoid after witnessing the gang culture at the shopping centre.....

We went for a drive through Kings Park around took some photos. The day we went was too hot too let the kids play on the playground so it was a quick look around then back to the airconditioned car.

We also drove around the city, taking in the sites.

An afternoon visit to Fremantle was great with a visit to the Maritime Museum. Zach and Amity learnt about the history of shipping in the area and played with the interactive displays.

A visit to the boat harbour Hillary's gave the kids a play on some waterslides and a well sheltered beach area.

Guy was able to catch up with his old workmates Amanda and Alex. It was great to see them and hear about all the great thing Perth has to offer if we wanted to stay....

Week 10

Busselton 4th - 14th March

The first day was spent doing the washing....Sorry to the other campers for us hogging the washing machines for most of the day! We were dirty... By the 3rd day we were back to normal and had a good feel for the town so it was time to get the school work out of the way and get out and go exploring. On the Wed (6th) we went out on the Busselton Jetty, it was one of those bucket list items now ticked off.

During the week we drove south to Augusta. We visited the light house at Cape Leeuwin and witness with our own eyes the joining of the Southern and Indian oceans. We also explored the areas in between like Margaret River and Yallingup

Zachary’s 12th Birthday. March 9th.

 

This card says a lot. It was hand made by the kids adopted grandparents; Zach and Russ built up a lovely relationship both enjoying each other’s company. Mainly discussing fishing, that is. Barb and Russ had a lot of time to give to our children even the early morning hellos’. Afternoon tea together was wonderful (Which consisted of pancakes and gluten free for Guy and Amity.) Jake was asking for more.

We had the pleasure of Barb and Russ being there for Zach's birthday and we also had the pleasure of Miffy, Darren, Archie ( Jake new found friend) and Rosie ( Curtis New cuddle friend), joining us for Zach birthday.

Zach's Birthday Party.

 

 

Donnybrook & Yallingup

What a great playground, it’s big, but is it the biggest? Well I’m not sure. We have seen some playgrounds on our travels and it’s hard to say. The kids loved the playground and the big kids too..... Jake was surprised by his visit from Archie, he was happy to have a playmate. We stayed for awhile until we headed on our way, stopping at a fruit grower’s, collecting some fruit.

Yallingup maze was a lot of fun for all, did we complete the maze? Nope! We found out later that there were hidden doors.  They left that out when we paid for our entry fee. We meet up with Miffy, Daren and the kids got to play and the adults tried their skills at the many puzzles on offer.

Bunbury.

We did a few day trips to Bunbury too. once for retail therapy and the second time to visit the Dolphin Discovery Centre. Curtis got to see a turtle (which he says now quite clearly). Amity and Jake got to learn about sea urchins and watch them roll over. We met an octopus that could work out shapes in a toy shape sorter. Unfortunately we missed the wild dolphins at the beach but we still had a great time.

Week 9

Pemberton 4th March

We stopped for Lunch here, Jake cut his foot, we searched out and found the Gloucester tree.

You could climb it if you dared. we all tried but we all were not brave enough to go too high!

Busselton 4th March

We decided to move on and arrived a day earlier than planned in Busselton. It was very expensive to stay at the caravan parks so we managed with the help of Barb and Russell, to book and stay at the Anglican camp site, 10km south on what is known by ther locals as the "holy mile". 50m from the beach.

Week 8

Albany 19th - 22nd Feb

We left Cape Richie before 8am and drove on to Albany. We stayed at Emu Point beach caravan park. Rachel did well to get the price down to $36 a night. Funny enough we bumped into Barb and Russ again! Out of 6 parks we picked the one they were staying at.

We explored the area and Amity was given a task to find as many things possible with her name on it. there were about 6 things. The Brig Amity, Amity settlement legal services, Amity Taxi, Amity Motel and various signs.

We also visited the near by National park and did a walk to the Gap and the blowhole.

After three nights we were organised again and set off to Denmark for morning tea and then onto Parry beach to see if we may stay there for a night.

Parry Beach 22nd Feb - 4th March

$10 a night, kids stay free. What a relaxing place. what started as a few nights have turned into over a week stay. The caretakers have been here for 59 years we were told. Funny,Sam nicknamed Jake "Snowy". Many people here have been visiting for years. Lots of Herring are being caught first thing in the morning. The kids are getting stuck into their school work so its good to stay put for a whole week. Zach and Guy went out to nearby Irwin Inlet with Darren and came back with a bucket full of Blue swimmer crabs. Zach thought it was great fun! Zach is pictured below with his new adopted Uncles and Aunty...

 Amity organised herself a craft market and did well selling her handmade earrings and cards.

 

A seafood van comes once a week to sell to those who haven't got up early enough to catch their own fish. a kg of snapper fillets for $18 sounded good. Also a wheel barrow of fire wood for $5 kept us entertained for many nights. cooking dinner on the fire was fun, potatoes pumpkin and fish in foil..... the potatoes were a little burnt well black on the outside.

We went to the tree top walk at the valley of the giants west of camp...... Rach is scared of heights. She did well all things considered.

 
Rach took Amity,Jake and Curtis out for a tourist visit to the Toffee Shop and the Honey Ice creamery.....

We explored the local area including Green Pool.... great for snorkelling, swimming, it’s naturally sheltered from the large swells from the motion of the ocean.

We hope to one day come back to the area again as the people we met were great and we felt so relaxed and welcomed by all.