Fun in Perth as 2006 draws to a close...and a few more pics

Howdy everyone. Our time in Perth is flowing past quickly and we are enjoying spending some of summer here. We are so close to the beach and in the mornings we (well sometimes we, and sometimes just me!) walk/run/ride bikes and have a swim- the beaches are lovely- so clean, with clear water. We have caught up with our friend Darren who has moved over here- we had a lovely lunch at Scarborough and swapped news and it was great to sit and talk. Hoping to do something together for NYE also. Yesterday the wind strong in the afternoon and we went to the river and had a great windsurf (we also went the afternoon before, and I sailed, but the wind was only light and it wasn’t that great sailing on the river). Adam finally got to test out his brand new board and sails and is thrilled with how it performs. Meanwhile, I was also thrilled with how I was going…I was in the harness, both both feet in the footstraps and going very fast! It was lots of fun and I have progressed a bit futher. Beau, Marcus and Tarni also came down to the river and watched yesterday afternoon. Tarni is such a little character! It was windy again this afternoon so we went out windsurfing again- I sailed on the river first, and then we went to the beach so Adam could sail in the ocean, where the wind was a bit stronger. A good arvo. We are catching up with some more old friends tomorrow which will be fun. Hopefully we will hit the water for another windsurf in the afternoon. Not sure yet what we’ll do for NYE- hopefully see some fireworks, or at least sit somewhere nice to see in 2007. Hope you have a fun 2006 NYE. Best wishes to all for a wonderful 2007!! Love and hugs… Em & Ad xx



Christmas day at Pelican Point on the Swan River.. Marcus, Tarnishia, Adam and Beau












Sunset on Christmas Eve- a perfect evening



Emma sailing at Pelican Point this afternoon












Stunning Christmas morning at the beach- where we had breakfast and a swim

A couple of other christmas time snaps...

Christmas Eve festivities: Adam, Beau, Marcus and I gathered in a park near Trigg Beach on Christmas Eve for some lovely dips, cheeses, olives and biscuits, with good wine and beer...just getting into the festive spirit! We watched the sunset over the ocean. Lovely.



Christmas Day Beach Breakfast: Yep, doing it in style...Adam and I put in a bit of effort and cooked up French toast right on the beach, with berries, yoghurt and maple syrup..delicious. It was also hot and sunny, with crystal clear water for swimming- a perfect morning.



Today reached 38 degrees...we actually went into a shopping centre with Marcus and Beau and bought a few things and enjoyed the airconditioning!

Hoping for a windsurf tomorrow and also plan heading out to Rottnest Island soon.

Hope all's well in your part of the world.

Love and hugs from us xx

A Christmas snapshot

Our group at Christmas- at our picnic spot at Pelican Point, on the Swan River.... from left to right: Beau, Tarni, Marcus, Emma, Adam.

Will put up some more photos tomorrow.

Happy Boxing Day everyone!

E & A xx

Christmas, Perth 2006

December 25th, Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas in Perth, despite me being a bit homesick and missing my family. The weather was hot and sunny, with offshore winds. Adam and I opened presents in our caravan this morning, with Adam wearing a santa hat, which was fun. Then we set off to the beach for a walk. The ocean was calm and flat- and aqua blue. Just perfect. After our walk we took our folding table and chair set down to the beach, and our gas cooker, and Adam made us French toast which we ate with vanilla yoghurt, strawberries, blueberries, ham and lots of maple syrup. Beautiful! We had a swim and then packed up and came back and showered and prepared to head to lunch with Marcus, Tarnishia and Beau.

We had a picnic lunch at Pelican Point, on the Swan River- a lovely spot with plenty of shade trees, which were essential as it became very hot…probably about 33 degrees or so. We ate prawns, hot and cold, with some salad and fresh rolls. Then we all enjoyed watching Tarni open her pressies, before it was time for dessert. I brought along some custard, which was served with strawberries and blueberries, mars bar biscuits and vanilla cream wafers…..YUM. We then all lay around relaxing. All in all, a great day.
The only thing which would have made the day better would have been a strong seabreeze in the afternoon, so we could have gone windsurfing on the river! Maybe tomorrow…or sometime soon, as we are spending a couple of weeks here and both hope for more windsurfing time before we head off and start our journey back east.

It’s now about 10pm and still warm, although not oppressively hot, thankfully. We’ll try and post some piccies from Christmas soon.

To those of you reading this, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! And Jo- I hope you had a terrific birthday too!

Sending our love, Emma & Adam xx

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! With love from Perth xx

Dec 24, Christmas Eve…Santa comes tonight!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!! Thinking of you and sending our love….


We are now into our third evening in Perth, at the Scarborough Beach Caravan Park, which is a very small (a bit claustrophobic at times) rundown little park, but located conveniently close to the beach, which is why we chose to stay here. I’ve been on my usual morning walks, and the weather has been hot and sunny- quite a change from the weather we had in Albany! Today was about 35 and there was a strong offshore wind all day- not the seabreeze we need for windsurfing, but nevertheless great beach weather just for today anyway- the water was flat and crystal clear and we had a beautiful swim.

We’ve been enjoying our time here so far, and been getting ready for Christmas. It’s also been great to see Marcus and Tarni again, and Beau, who’s in Perth visiting. Adam had a busy day with Marcus yesterday, as they visited several windsurfing shops and both came home with a new board, plus new sails for Adam and I. Needless to say, Adam is really hoping for some good wind to sail in soon, so he can try out his new toy! We have bought the board of Marcus’ which I was learning on in Geraldton for me…it’s a short board, but big enough for me to be able to sail at this stage in my learning. So we are all decked out with new gear now!

Today we went to the beach, as I said, and did some final grocery shopping for tomorrow. This afternoon we had Christmas eve drinks, along with gourmet cheeses, olives, dips, ham, salami, in a park near a beach not far north from Scarborough. It was warm- it’s still about 32 degrees and its 10pm!- and a really lovely evening. We watched the sunset over the flat ocean and relaxed and ate good food.

Tomorrow Adam and I plan having a walk and swim in the morning and then cooking some breakfast on the beach- French toast and berries. We’ll take down our folding table and gas cooker. If the weather continues as it has been, it should be a good start to our Perth Christmas! Then we are meeting with Marcus, Tarni and Beau for lunch- we are going to Pelican Point, on the Swan River, as there are more trees there than at the beaches here and more space. We have prawns and fresh bread, salad, and will have custard and berries for dessert- should be a good day.

I am a bit homesick in spite of the good time we are having- it’s Christmas time after all and I do miss my family and our usual routines at this time of year. Nevertheless, it’s nice spending Christmas here in Perth, doing something different.

I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow, wherever you may be.

Best Christmas wishes,
Love Emma & Adam xx

Moving on to Perth

Well, the weather here in Albany has not been teriffic, but we have had a lot of fun anyway. We are heading back to Perth today, in readiness for Christmas festivities with my brother, niece and dad. We are staying at Scarborough, in a van park very close to the beach.

I am in the process of updating the windsurfing gear, so that Emma and I can sail together. I am trawling the net for cheap second hand gear which is quite proliffic in Perth.

Here is a picture of the Natural Bridge, just off the peninsula near Frenchman's Bay. It will be an awesome crash when the stone eventually gives way!

The Taking of the KNOLL

On the way to the knoll, we saw it's awesome peak in the distance, with clouds passing through the saddles on either side........we couldn't believe there was actually a hike to the top!





Here is the Knoll in context, with the start of the path to the left. It went from an easy paved stroll, which quickly turned into a steep rocky track, weaving around valleys and over saddles to reach the summit.

Me on the trek up. The vegetation became very 'alpine like', with the tallest shrub being 3-4ft. Lots of wild flowers out up there still, probably because it is a lot cooler up the top then at the base. You can see the road snaking it's way through the National Park in the background. This is about 3/4 the way up. We thought we were at the top, then turned a corner and saw the trail still going up!

Emma, on the 'stone seat of death'. This is on the bit that sticks out on the bluff, you know the type of formation that cuts under before it then falls vertically.





At the summit. We loved the view, it reminded us of some of the scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies.






Ok, the pictures came up at the top of the text.....sorry! Anyway, we decidied to trek to the top of the highest peak in Southern WA, Bluff Knoll, which lies within the Sterling Range national Park, about 100k's north of Albany. The distance to the peak is 3.1k's. The trek was certainly tiring, but not at all dangerous, although a fall from the top would be a heart stopper. The path vertually goes straight up via valleys, ridges and saddles, with no flat spots to catch your breath.

More Piccies of the SW region

Here is the Tree Walk "suspension bridge".....40 meteres up there!







This is inside the "Lakes Cave". This feature is called the 'suspended table'. It just hangs from the roof, over the water....beautiful, especially with the reflection





Here we are at Wise winery....sampling the goods whilst overlooking Eagle Bay






These are known as "elephant rocks" just around the corner from Green's Pool. The one in the back left is probably the best representation....the rest require a lot more imagination!

Lovely Albany

Dec 17th

Hi- we are now at Albany, which is a beautiful place, lovely town centre and surrounded by hills, forests, and wonderful beaches with white sand and clear water. It’s cool- yesterday was lovely and sunny and today was cloudy and rainy.

Yesterday we drove here from Denmark and bought some fresh produce at the local Farmer’s Market, did some grocery shopping, set up the caravan and looked around town. We drove around the area and I had a swim at a lovely sheltered beach at Frenchman’s Bay, about 10km from the town centre.

Today we began the day with a bike ride along a fantastic coastal path. I had a morning swim too at Middleton Beach where our caravan park is located, before we had some breaky and set out to do some more exploring. We drove around Torndirrup National Park, looking at impressive rock formations and beaches, a natural arch in the rock etc. The National Park isn’t far from Albany and is part of the beauty which surrounds this town. We spent the arvo relaxing-we’ve been so busy and seen so much since we came south of Perth- it’s been great but we are both feeling a bit tired at this point so a bit of down time was good (poor Adam was especially relieved, as he is usually running around on the busy schedule, which I, the Trip Planner, have set for us!).

Tonight we went to the movies and saw Eragon- I loved the book and enjoyed the movie also, with the boy and his dragon, although the movie was rather simplified, and as is so often the case, the book is better.

It’s now cool and rainy. We hope the weather will clear as there is lots we plan to do here, which is all outdoors and will obviously be far more enjoyable in sunny weather! There are more beaches east of here to explore, a nature reserve, and also a national park, about 80kms north, which has a mountain higher than 1000 metres which occasionally receives snow on its peak- we plan to hike up it.

I have put a few chrissy decorations up in the caravan, although its doesn’t really feel like Christmas time to us- perhaps because we are on the road and out of routine, and away from home. Nevertheless, I do always love Christmas and am looking forward to it- I am glad we can spend it with some of Adam’s family in Perth. I will miss my family this year!

On another note, travelling fun aside, we are finding the caravan a bit small again at this stage- Adam especially is dreaming of a more comfy, larger bed etc. Plus, we’ve had a few issues with the electronics in the van lately and need to sort those out. We won’t know ourselves when we have the comforts and space of a regular home again! Being on the road is great fun, but sometimes we long a proper house.

Anyway, more news soon. And Amy, lovely to hear from you and thanks for the comment!

Love Emma & Adam xx

Denmark, Oz style

Hi all,

Yesterday we did the tree top walk through the valley of the giants (trees). The tree top walk was a 41metre high walkway suspended between sparsely placed poles in this fantastic forest. The thing wobbled a fair bit when you walked on it, like an oversized suspension bridge, but it seemed very well built! 41 meteres doesn’t sound high, but it was. Considering the tree that Emma climbed was 61 metres high (50% bigger), and with no railings and sparse safety features, I’m glad I didn’t attempt it!

Before we left Walpole this morning, Emma saw a little Quokka on her walk. She was most pleased!

Arrived at Denmark this morning. What a naturally beautiful place. Tall trees, clean beaches and a cute town centre. We visited a meadery and tasted some honey wines, liquors and ice cream. Bought some Mead (particular style of honey wine) flavoured with clove, rosemary and cinnamon. Very tasty! Then onto the cheese factory and bought some melt in your mouth Garlic and Chive Fromage……….this will last about five minutes in this caravan!

Went swimming at Greens Pool, a fantastic natural saltwater pool, enclosed from the ocean by massive boulders, but with enough gaps to let water flow freely in and out, but the holes are small enough TO KEEP OUT THE MENACING WHITES! There are some piccies below of this. The internet speed here is ordinary, so will post more piccies later. Until next post, keep well.

Love Ad and Em


Beautiful Clear waters of Green's Pool, Denmark. Was deeper then it looks, and very cool







I found this mermaid at Green's Pool. Her name is Emma. I will keep her I think!








Here is a welcome visitor to our camp site at Pemberton. This little fella is a Ring Neck Parrot, or a "28" as they call them over here.

Walpole trekking

Today we trekked up two granite peaks, Mt Pingerup, and Mt Frankland. Both we challenging, and despite the weather being overcast, windy, and occassionally light rain, the views were terriffic. After our walking, we went to the herb farm and indulged in rosemary scones with jam and cream, orange cake made on Almond meal, and coffees. Quite a good day all up!


Here is the lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin, near Augusta. To the left is the Southern Ocean, to the right is the Indian Ocean.

Here I am on the top of Mt Pingerup. A great view over the Karri Forest and inlet which the town of Walpole is nestled on.

Hello Walpole!

Howdy

We have just arrived in Walpole, on the far south coast of WA. The trees are still big, the water refreshing and air cool, despite a beautiful clear sky. There is heaps to do here - Tree canopy walks, quite a few national parks to trek in, and access to lakes and beaches for some windsurfing. Staying away from the surfing whilst down here due to all of the sightings of large great whites close to the coast near here.

Here are some pics from the last few weeks


Second sideways pic....sorry! Now tilt you head 90 degrees to the right. This is Emma on her gallant climb up a 61m tree. Not much room for error as there is little in the way of safety! This would never be allowed in a NSW National Park.....hairy stuff!





Emma swimming in the beautiful clear water of Bunker Bay. We haven't swam in water this clear since Matangi Island, Fiji. The water was a lot cooler then Fiji though!

Ok, this went up sideways for some reason! Tilt your head 90 degrees to the left, and what you have is a view from the underwater observatory, 8meteres below the end of the Bussellton Wharf, which is 1.8km long. Lots of fish, starfish, spongey coral formations and some very rotten wooden support structures.


Love Ad and Em

Life is good...

Today we explored another terrific forest drive, did a bushwalk around a dam and saw more birds, then continued on through beautiful karri, marri and jarrah trees to some cascading falls and a pretty stream. At the end of that we went to a winery called Gloucester Ridge and sat on their verandah overlooking the vineyard and karri forest and had a lovely lunch- I had thai prawncakes, with mango and an avocado dressing- excellent! It was a warmer day today too.
Now we are relaxing with our fire going. This morning we lit the fire also and had breakfast outside (yummy French toast with strawberries) and watched all the birds. Some of the beautiful Australia ringneck parrots landed on our arms to take pieces of apple- it was terrific!
We leave here tomorrow for Walpole and more fun days ahead.
Love Emma & Adam xx

The beautiful forests of the south west- now at Pemberton

Sunday, Dec 10

Pemberton is beautiful! Huge Karri trees in the forests all around the town, many hundreds of years old and so tall- up to 80 metres. It’s a refreshing change to be off the coast in forest, with cool temperatures. We’ve been busy since we arrived here yesterday afternoon, when we hit the ground running as usual (I also started the day yesterday with a morning walk and swim at Prevelly which was really refreshing, and the sun was out, before the clouds came back over).
We set up our caravan in a lovely little park which borders the forest- we have an excellent site, right on the edge of the park, surrounded by trees and lots of birds, which we love. We are seeing lots of parrots, including the pretty western rosellas, plus some gorgeous wrens (red-winged) and finches (red-cheeked firetail) which only live in a small area of this south west corner of Australia.
After unpacking and having some lunch we set off on the “great trees tourist drive” through Shannon National Park, about 50km from here. It was a beautiful drive, and we also stopped at one point and did a 6km bushwalk. We also drove to Manjimup and looked at that town and a giant Jarrah tree. By the time we arrived back it was nearly 8pm, but thanks to daylight saving we still had light, and lit a fire, cooked a bbq dinner and then sat by the fire for a while. Great.

Today we had our breakfast outside looking at the trees and the birds, before heading off to explore more of the region. We started in the Gloucester National Park, where there is a “climbing tree”- they are basically huge karri trees, with small cabins right at the top of them, and ladder rungs sticking out all the way up the side of the tree- they were used as fire lookouts. There are three in this area and the public is allowed to climb up them, with signs saying do so at your own risk etc. I decided I wanted to make it to the top of one, and along with some others who were taking on the challenge this morning, I started climbing up on those rungs, which had been drilled into the side of the tree. The top of the tree was 61 metres above me-straight up! There was a sort of wire mesh around where my back was climbing up, but absolutely nothing behind the rungs themselves, which had large spaces between them, through which I could see straight down to the ground. In places the rungs going up the tree, near the top, were almost vertical. It was bloody scary!! I stopped for a while about half way, with my heart beating- a couple of people climbed up past me. Then I decided to just focus on each step, and I made it to the top. The view up there was great, over the forest! Coming down was hard, but easier than going up. I was proud I managed to do it. Adam, with his fear of heights, nervously watched on from below.

We then set off for the coast, heading south through the town of Northcliffe to D’Entrecasteaux National Park. It was very wild and untamed and impressive. We drove to one beach with huge, wild surf, and dangerous rips, and cliffs up behind the beach. I walked down onto the sand and sat for a while and there was not another soul in sight. Fairly awe-inspiring. We also hiked to the top of a granite outcrop at the top of a hill, which had some good views.
After that we took a drive through nearby Warren National Park, with more huge trees and lovely forest scenery. We did a short bushwalk and had our lunch (back to tuna and crackers today) and enjoyed the peace and sounds of the bush.

This evening we lit the fire again and enjoyed another barbeque dinner, read the paper and watched the birds around our campsite. It’s so lovely being surrounded by nature. Tomorrow we are heading out to see some more natural attractions, on another tourist forest drive, and may treat ourselves to a café lunch at one of the regions vineyards, which are really starting to take off in the pemberton area.

Hope everyone is well and happy and getting ready for Christmas. Sending our love and best wishes to you….
Emma & Adam xx

Friday Dec 8

Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you had a great day.

We’ve continued to be busy the past few days and keep loving this region, with all its diversity on and off the coast, beautiful trees, beaches, gourmet cheeses, olives, chocolates, fruits, jams and wines.

On Wednesday our car still wasn’t ready so we stayed on in Busselton, while the repair work was finished. The weather was surprisingly warm, probably the first really hot day since we came south, and we took a drive through some pretty farmland and forests, through the small towns of Nannup and Balingup and Bridgetown, where we stopped for lunch. We stopped at a jam place in Nannup and picked up some nice sauces/jams and other stuff. It was a good day. When we arrived back at Busselton we went for a swim and a bike ride, and ate a hastily thrown together picnic dinner on the beach, which was fun.

Yesterday it was cool again and cloudy, and after a morning bike ride around the water, we picked up our car and journeyed with the caravan south to Prevelly, on the coast near the town of Margaret River. On the way we stopped off at a vineyard and also the little town of Cowaramup, where we visited the Fudge Factory (yummm) and a nice body products shop and had lunch at a little café.
Once we had the caravan set up in Prevelley we watched a couple of guys kitesurfing- it wasn’t super windy, but there was a fair bit of swell around. We watched a few whales off the coast heading south.

Today it was still quite cool (about 17 degrees) and we toured south, to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin, which is Australia’s most south-westerly point. It’s a wild and beautiful stretch of coastline, and Augusta itself has some nice protected beaches in a large bay area. We visited the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, and despite having packed tuna and crackers for a cheap lunch, instead went into the Lighthouse Café for sandwiches and Devonshire tea! It was very tasty and beats tinned tuna any day. Once we are out of this region, we will no doubt return to our more budget fare, but right now we are enjoying the change.

Today we also toured through one of the limestone caves which are dotted throughout this region. We went into Lake Cave, which is down more than 300 steps, and a ladder, through a small hole in the ground. As its name suggests the cave still has water running in it (it’s water which formed the cave, by dissolving the limestone over many many years), and is quite beautiful. We were very impressed, and lights in certain sections of the cave, reflected in the water, added to its eerie, magical beauty.
Coming out of the cave, you can look up and see the sky and giant karri trees, framed by the cave entrance- it looked great.
This afternoon we checked the beach to see if Adam might be able to go windsurfing here- but the wind wasn’t strong enough and the swell was right up, so it wasn’t a very attractive option. There was one guy sailing and he was impressive to watch on the sizey waves- there were even a couple of guys out surfing on the same break, right near the reef. A bit later on a few kitesurfers went out, as they can handle lighter wind conditions better (their kites are larger than a windsurfers sails).

Tomorrow we continue our journey- heading east to Pemberton, home of the giant karri trees. We’ll spend a few days there and are looking forward to it, hoping to do some bushwalks in the surrounding national parks.
More news soon and hopefully some photos!
Love Emma & Adam xx

Wining and dining...living the good life

Hello …

Today was partly sunny, partly cloudy and we had a lot of fun in Busselton itself. We rode our bikes into town along the foreshore track which runs right in front of our caravan park (we are about 4kms out of town) and then walked out on Busselton’s famous jetty which extends 1.8kms out to sea! In recent years an underwater observatory, which goes down 8 metres to the ocean floor, was installed at the end of the jetty…basically like a big concrete tube with windows. Money from entry fees to the observatory is being used to restore and maintain the historic jetty. We went in, and it was better than expected. We had a fantastic view of the eerie world under the jetty- we saw a lot of fish, and coral and weed growing on the jetty pylons… we also saw cuttlefish and an octopus… so well worth the visit.

We then walked back to the beach and rode our bikes back to our caravan park…the sun came out and I went in for a swim in the aqua blue waters- lovely!

More news tomorrow…. Love, Us xx

Tuesday, 5th dec

Another day living the good life here in Busselton and the Margaret River Region- we are really making the most of our time, perhaps because we know that in about 3 months we'll be back home, and we are soaking everything in- or perhaps it's because we just really like it here! Today, after a morning walk and swim, we wined and dined at a lovely restaurant near Bunker Bay at Wise Winery- a fantastic, high location with views over the vineyard, bushland and out to the ocean. We indulged in a beautiful lunch- I had beef, encrusted with pine nuts and parmesan and mashed sweet potato and goats cheese and broccoli, and Adam had roast lamb- both dishes were excellent and Adam also enjoyed some top class red wine. We finished with coffee and cookies! A top afternoon (I went for a bike ride later on in a bid to ensure the old saying “a minute on the lips, an inch on the hips” does not become a reality for me… hehe). We also went to another winery and bought a preservative free white wine, in the hope I might be able to drink it without my usual headaches etc, which come usually from even one small glass of wine.

Looks like we’ll have tomorrow night here in Busselton too, as our car is in for some repair work (an oil leak, which required the engine to be taken out to be fixed) and it isn’t quite ready yet. Luckily Toyota had a car we could use, so we are zipping about in a toyota corolla at the moment.

The weather was cloudy, then sunny by lunchtime today, and the evenings are cool.

Another day touring the countryside is planned for tomorrow- there are so many small towns here with arts and crafts, rolling hills etc

Bye for now… xx

Aqua clear water, olives, cheese and chocolate!

Sunday, Dec 3rd

We had a really terrific day today, being tourists in this lovely part of WA. We started the day with our usual morning walk, then set off for Cape Naturaliste, where we did a short bushwalk to a whale watching lookout. From there we went into Bunker Bay, which is protected totally from the prevailing SW winds as it faces north east. Today was sunny with clear blue skies, and Bunker Bay was picture-postcard perfect! In fact it is probably the most beautiful spot we’ve seen in WA. The sand was white, the water was totally clear, and the entire sea/sky scene was framed by a pretty, tree-lined rocky headland. We had a swim (the water is much colder down here than we’ve become used to after our time further north!) and sat in the sun for a while, then found a shady spot on the headland to have our lunch (our usual basic picnic fare of tuna and crackers!).
We drove around some more beautiful beaches including Eagle Bay and Meelup Beach, and may head back to that area tomorrow if it’s sunny.

We then set off for an afternoon driving through the Margaret River Region and tasting buying some nice local produce.
We sidetracked into the coastal towns of Gracetown and Prevelly, where we watched some guys out windsurfing (we are staying down there next, so hopefully it will be good then too and Adam can get out- it’s a waveriding spot, so not for an early intermediate windsurfer like me!).
Then it was into an olive farm, followed by the Margaret River Cheese factory where we sampled some delicious cheeses, including double cream camembert- divine- and a melt in the mouth chilli vintage, plus a spicy herb fetta- we bought some of each of those.
Our final visit was, for me anyway, the best- The Margaret River Chocolate Factory- heaven! There were so many beautiful chocolates to choose from, so I bought a small mix of gourmet choccies (very expensive) and sampled some others. Then we both had a “real” hot chocolate, which was actually made with real melted chocolate in the bottom and was absolutely creamy and beautiful. A perfect way to finish a lovely day. We’ll go to a couple of wineries another day, probably once we move on to Prevelley itself. Meantime, we need to keep up our morning walks to work off all this good food!

Yesterday was also a top day, not quite as sunny, but mostly clear with offshore winds in the morning. We headed to nearby Yallingup, a coastal town which looked spectacular in the offshore conditions, with the water smooth and clear. There was some small surf breaking on the fringing reefs, but it wasn’t really big enough for us to go out. Then at lunchtime the wind turned onshore.
We had some lunch and then visited The Wicked Ale Brewery which does novelty beers, like chilli beer and chocolate beer. We tasted a few and some were good and some were just weird…the chilli one was actually hot!

So all in all having fun here. Today was actually the Busselton Ironman Triathlon, which is why we went on a day trip to get out of town. I’ve seen enough triathlons back home for work.

Also, daylight saving has been introduced to WA and started today…so we are now just 2 hours behind the east coast.

Love and hugs,
Emma & Adam xx

Now at Busselton and having fun....

Hello...we are now at Busselton...it's the coldest weather we've felt for a while...been a bit cloudy and rainy, but the sun was back out late this afternoon with a fine day expected tomorrow....after a cool night.

It's lovely down here and yesterday we had an excellent day exploring the region inland from Bunbury. We drove into Donnybrook and visited an apple orchard, famous for its ciders, before heading down to Balingup, where we wandered around beautiful gardens at a lavender farm...the lavender nearly all in beautiful purple bloom. We had some coffee and lavender shortbread biscuits on the verandah overlooking the flowers which was lovely.

We then had a light lunch in Balingup, before heading back to Bunbury, where we played some tennis (the park had courts).
It was then time to go to Todd and Denises place for dinner. We had a fun night...crayfish salad (Todd had caught the crays himself)- yummo. It was nice for me to meet them and for Adam to catch up with Todd.

Looking forward to continuing on the tourist trail around Busselton tomorrow and hoping it will be warm enough for a swim as the water is so clear here.

Love and hugs...thinking of you...
Emma & Adam xx