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This entry has been a particular hurdle for me. I haven't updated photos here, or on facebook, though it was 2 months ago now...I've been doing by darndest (not a word i usually use, but whatever) to get this whole blog updated but I suffer from a very common illness, called procrastinationitis. It's ok, I'm receiving treatment, but sometimes I suffer a relapse. I'll get through it, thanks for the caring messages (nagging) and everything.


So....Down. South. Here are a few words to get you thinking.

Awesome. Joyful. Relaxing. Surprising. Peaceful. Beautiful. Exciting. Natural. Sublime. Refreshing. Soulfood.

It's one of my favourite places to visit, and well worth the trip down there. A 2 and a half to 3 hour drive south of Perth, 6 and a half of us got our bags packed and set off. This was a feat more easily imagined than accomplished, as desired departure times varied from person to person and we had to all get together in Perth before making the trip down.

Danilo and I usually set off by 7am when we head down ourselves, and he's left at 4am for trips with his brothers in the past. Neither of these were an option, as not only did we have beautiful Bella (nearing 3 years old) that Maria would have had to prepare for, but we had the lovely Lauren, who considers waking up before noon to be a cardinal sin (not that that's an issue...I eat horse, so who am I to judge), as well as her sister Kristen, coming from some forsaken suburb somewhere (kidding..I just don't know where). Danilo was with me, and once we all arrived at Maria's, the task of squeezing the baggage, stroller, 2 boogie boards, and the 5 and a half people into two cars began.

Feat accomplished, we started our journey south, with oetrol breaks and energy drink stops slowing us down, and we had to make a stop half an hour later to get the last member of our party-Igor. This was accompanied by the tour of his house (which I had only before seen on webcam), and a beautiful house it was. It was probably nearing 10am by that time, and we all trailed one another to Danilo's place to pick up the spearguns and snorkelling gear.

After that, the REAL journey started. We had 3 cars full to the brim, and switched our lights on though ti was the daytime. This handy tip was brought to us by Lauren -surprise!- who learnt about caravanning during her weekly trips to the dark wilderness of Mandurah (LOL). Our journey was fraught with danger...changing lanes, listening to music, chatting away. It was hellish. The only real trouble we ran into was a road detour, due to fire. Lots of cars were making u-turns at traffic lights, and the road ahead was becoming obscured with smoke. We drove up the chunkiest curb in existence, and made our way across the sandy islant to the other side...no mean feat considering I drive a Mazda 2 - not exactly the latest word in off-road driving if you know what I mean. This fact was pushed home by the loud scraping noise that accompanied our journey onto the road again. I was a bit grumpy at Danilo for that, and his getting us minorly lost didn't help my mood change. We did find a small park along an estuary, where Bella ran around and we took a break, but then the trip started again and off we went.

If you're ever driving south of perth and you have a chance, visit the Miami Bakehouse in Bunbury. They have some award winning pies there...and it's not hard to taste why. Delicious. The chilli beef one is my favourite so far, but Danilo favours the stockmans, which I haven't been game enough to try. (Excuse the pun, but I had to - The stockman's pie is filled with Roo, Emu, and Camel). Perhaps now, after my culinary adventures in Japan, I will be able to give it another go.

Danilo and Kristen swapped cars, and I took the wheel of my car (still grumpy over the curb incident), and we set off on the final leg. It was nice to catch up with Kris as it had been a while since i'd been able to talk to her - even before I left for Japan, and driving at 110 after living so long in a 30-50 area back in Shiga was quite exciting. Hey, driving at 80kph is exciting for me now...not my fault!

We stayed at Taunton Farm, where i'd been once before. It sits right between TWO cheese factories, and across the road from a giant winery, so it's location is not one to be sneered at. They had made some changes with the place, incorporating a giant bouncy floor into the grassy barbecue area, and they had some horses this time, which the kiddies were able to feed - and not only the kiddies. We stayed in Chalet 11, Danilo and I nabbing the double bed (a bed! not a futon! wow!), the girls nabbing the bunk room, and Igor being left with the antichrist sofabed.

The pictures say more than I can. I'm not about to give you a 5 day itinerary of our trip.
Events included food shopping, barbecuing, drinking, drink spilling, bouncy mat racing, sleeping, snorkelling, tanning, spearfishing, cheese shopping, dining, wine tasting, beach barbecuing, sunset watching, stargazing, and lightpainting.

It was a killer trip down south, and I wouldn't mind it becoming an annual event. Getting good friends together and hanging out in a place as beautiful as Margaret River or Dunsborough, is something everyone should be doing as often as they can!

xx
Snickers

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