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.

Week 7

Cape Le Grand -

Words aren't enough to describe how beautiful this place is....so here's a few photos of many to drool over..

 



We stopped at Esperance for a few nights to restock / re organise and then hit the road again, following the coast west.


Cape Richie
18km down a dirt road from the hwy 100km east of Albany,$10 a night, a quiet spot, small beach, good fishing, kangaroos and Bung arrow lizards to keep us on our toes.

Week 6

The Nullabor leg - Ceduna to Norseman 6th - 8th Feb 2013

We moved on to Ceduna and stayed at the shelly beach caravan park to catch up on the washing and resupply. The mozzies were nasty. sorry no photos of our stay here. One morning we went fishing at Denial Bay just up the road. Guy did well and caught a few squid until the weather changed and it soon hit 40.c so back to air con comfort we went. Food was expensive and so was the fuel prices.

Left to Right; Fowlers Bay, Boarder Village Rocky, The Great Australian Bight, Fowlers Bay Sand Dunes, Free Camp Site Before Boarder Village, The Great Australian Bight. The Boarder.

 

Well after a long and exhausting, driving we made it to the WA border. The kids did extremely well considering how long they where stuck in the car for. There were a lot of stops to stretch and move around, and in between the drives there were some thing to look at as you can see. Along the way we stopped at the tip of the Great Australian Bight, what a breath taking view. The signs kept us aware to look out for the Emus, Camels, kangaroos..... and the Eagles! There were no road signs saying to watch out for them!!!  We saw a van with a smashed windscreen from an eagle and a truck that was tipped over from trying to avoid hitting something.

Guy decided at the Cocklebiddy roadhouse to have a hit at one of the Nullarbor Links holes...The work boots were allowed here. hee he..

We had all intentions to stop at a free camp area at Noresman, but we changed our mind once we where there. After something to eat, we drove at night until we made it to Esperance. 940km one day drive is the longest the kids have ever experienced.

Esperance 8th - 11th Feb 2013

A beautiful seaside town. we met up with Barb and Russ again... it was great to see them. We relaxed and enjoyed what the town had to offer.

We heard that the most beautiful beach in Australia was claimed to be somewhere here.... what do you think?

Beautiful yes.... but still was not very safe. Life guards were on duty on the Sunday arvo when we were there. A young girl and her brother younger than Amity, were playing on the rocks when a large wave washed them off. The girl went under and came up screaming as the under tow pulled her out of her depth. Dad didn't wait for the life guards to respond and ran in and saved her and her brother. Their father soon arrived shortly after.

Week 5

Hello this is Zach updating the blog;
(Mum and dad will do the photo's)

Port Lincoln 30th Jan - 2nd Feb

At Port Lincoln, we meet our neighbours from Adelaide, Barb & Russel. Russel took me fishing and I caught a squid, it was my first time catching a squid. It was very exciting. Then Dad and I got some fishing gear (new luires, new reel and braided line).
Dad and I went fishing we didn't catch anything again.
We went to the Maritime Museum and there was alot of history, there were boats, fishing gear, there was even a display of the old living quaters of the boat builders.
Mum and I went fishing and guess what? My mum caught a squid, it was about half a meter long.  Mum was winding it in I took over and pulled it up and it inked all over me, it got my face.
On the Friday 1st of Feb we got to meet Fred Wright he is the presenter on the DVDs that come with the Caravan and Motor Home magazine. Mum and Dad will be in the May magazine for Happy Hour. We got a free sausage sizzel that night.
We drove throught the Lincoln National Park, to have a look at some of the spots that we were going to stay at, we had a picnic at September beach.
There was a really nice couple that were camping next to us, Bruce and Judy. Bruce tought me how to gut and clean squid, he also gave me a fishing net which I appricated alot.
It was very windy when we where there.

Elliston 2nd Feb - 3rd Feb

On our way to Elliston we stopped at Coffin Bay for lunch. We had a look through the National Park and we saw Barb and Russel again! We seem to be playing a game of hide and seek. When driving through the National Park dad almost hit Emu's he had to put the brakes on hard.

We stayed at Top Tourist park at Elliston and the whole family went fishing on the big Pier at Ellsiton and dad lost his whole rig, it was very windy and we didnt catch anything.
We took the senic drive around the cliff edge, and we saw some sculpture's.

Streaky Bay 3rd Feb - 4th Feb

On the way to Streaky Bay we stopped at Colton little farm gate bread shop, its a self serve stop and honesty payment system. Mum got some bread and sticky buns.
We stopped and had a look at the Muphy Haystack. They are a group of large rocks. Mum wanted to look at Venus Bay too. I told Dad to go jump..... off the cliff (jokes...)

We stayed at a free camp stop at Perlubie Beach, 21klms out of Streaky Bay and this place looks great. Mum saw a camper walking around in the nude..... Ewww... Dad asked him to put clothes on so we didn't see. there was a stub tail lizard cooling down under the outside shower. It tried to bite dad's foot when he tried to make it move away. One morning, we found holes left in the sand at low tide where stingrays had been sleeping the night. A man called Peter was catching blue swimmer crabs from his kayak. Dad talked to him and he let us have a go of his kayak. it was cool. I want Dad to buy one. Amity an I had to start our school work but I just want to fish!