Page 3 of MattCaz Odyssey Travel Blog Posts


Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Cottesloe May 28th 2013

Another repacking and unpacking of bags and we are settled into the Cottesloe Beach Chalets. Again, it is so nice to have facilities such as hot water, shower, toilet and to the excitement of the girls, a TV, yep moving pictures and words! Tahlia and I enjoyed some catch up time, taking the train into the city and hunting for some bargains in the mall. Matt, Ki and Ella head to Perth’s aquarium to check out the amazing sea life. They then go ten pin bowling, where Ki pumps out some moves to Gangham Style! The days seem to fly by and Tahlia’s last day in WA is rapidly upon us. We spend our last morning together catching the train to Fremantle, where we enjoy a walk about and a tasty lunch. All too soon we ... read more
Rocking Out Gangham Style
WA Aquarium


So this next part involves taking all the crap out of the van, figuring our how much of it we can take to Rottnest with us (eg clothes, food, surfboard, snorkels, flippers, bikes etc etc). Then with much excitement we are finally ready to pick up Tahlia and head to Rottnest Island. So Tahlia has a · 3.5 hour flight from Adelaide to Perth · 30 minute drive from Perth Airport to Northport Ferry Terminal (flight was late so we missed the ferry, then) · 30 minute ferry ride to Rottnest Island · 10 minute bus ride from harbor to Geordie Bay Villas And that was Tahlia’s long journey of plane, car, boat and bus ride to get to Western Australia and spend some time with her family! We check into our small seaside villa and ... read more
Bicycle Brigade
Go Ella!
Our Villa

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Perth May 22nd 2013

After one month within the confines of our van we are excited to indulge in a night at Joey and Heidi’s home in Perth...yes Ella we're going to sleep in a "house" tonight. Heidi cooks up some tasty tucker and we sit down to a meal, then the girls enjoy racing around the backyard with Ava, Sienna, Tia with Seb not far behind, even Wally got in on the fun. We crash out in a real bed and look forward to seeing Tahlia tomorrow.... read more
A bit of a change from the country roads!
Sienna, Ava, Ella and Tia

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Yallingup May 21st 2013

We are joined at Yallingup by Joey and Heidi and their tribe, the triplets, Ava, Sienna and Tia and Seb and their friends, James and Kate and their children Holly, Karri (mini Carrie) and Stirling. The kids set straight out to explore and discover a small forest of climbing trees and spend much of their time playing amongst the trees. They also undertake bow and arrow construction led by foreman Ella, so that everyone is armed and ready for play. We spend our days, the boy’s (Matt and Joey) enjoying the surf and the kids swimming in the lagoon created by the reef. We also head out for an afternoon at Margret River’s Duckstein’s Brewery. An amazing building landscaped to perfection with a dam, complete with island as the outlook, accessed by bridge...it was suggested that ... read more
Bow and Arrow Master
Off To The Forest
Camp Yallingup


We were keen to camp amongst the giant Karri trees at Pemberton, but alas, overcast skies and constant drizzle, change our course and we continue to head west. On our way through we stop at Augusta and in particular Western Australia’s tallest light house Cape Leeuwin, which sits at the most south western tip of Australia where the Indian and Southern Ocean’s meet. After making our way as far west as possible we are certainly ready to start our trek north. We make our way to the outskirts of Margaret River and set up camp at Conto’s Campground in the drizzly rain. Rain, rain, go away!! In the morning we head out to explore Jewel Cave, the largest show cave in Western Australia. As soon as we enter the cave we are immediately awed by this ... read more
It's Real Heavy!
Where the Southern & Indian Oceans Meet
Conto's Campground

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia May 16th 2013

As we continue to head west we drive to the “Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk”. An amazing 70m high steel walk way that sways with the wind along with the huge Tingle Trees, whilst taking you on a loop walk through this majestic forest. The girls enjoyed swaying and jumping on the board walk just to scare the poor Mum even more! An awesome feeling being around these massive and historical trees, many of which have been here for at least 400 years. Time to find a camp, we head into D’Entrecasteaux National Park and to the 4WD track leading into Banksia Camp. Once again we have the place all to ourselves which means we have the pick of the camp sites and choose one with a beautiful view over the bay. The beach ... read more
70m High Amongst The Tingle Tree Tops
The Old Tingle Tree Forest

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Albany May 14th 2013

After doing some Toyota fault finding and web forum searching, radiator flushing and "a lot" of crawling around, under and everywhere else we packed up and headed toward Albany, but alas that heat gauge began to rise again. After a couple of middle of no where emergency stops we were able to slowly roll into Albany and in particular to the Middleton Beach Caravan Park. Odyssey Issue No. – Car overheating Matt knuckled down to contacting mechanics whilst the girls and I were keen to explore what activities the park had to offer on another wet and rainy day. What we found were: · Pool · Heated spa · Games room · Camp kitchen with flat screen TV We were certainly impressed by the facilities and of course the girls were straight off to the pool ... read more
Our Little Home
Small and Cosy
Night Owl

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Bremer Bay May 9th 2013

Tuesday 7thMay saw us spending a long day in the car with a quick stopover at Hopetoun (for a stretch and play at the park) and a road side stop in the middle of nowhere with an overheating car. Oh No! After refilling the car with five litres of water, we slowly head off again and are relieved to arrive at the small coastal town of Bremer Bay. The caravan park is tranquil and shady and we luck in with a site next to the swimming pool. The girls are most excited, even though the water is freezing, so wetsuits are squeezed into and in they go! We spend a quiet couple of days catching up on journals, playing UNO and exploring the bay. That strong offshore wind ensured that we all stayed out of the ... read more
An Ice Cold Swim
Hmmm, What's Up With You?
Bremer Bay

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia May 7th 2013

We decide to venture down the sandy track to Skippy Rock 4WD camp. We bump and wind our way toward the campground and once again have our pick of the sites, we have it all to ourselves. We spend the morning at Skippy Rock snorkeling, exploring rock pools and Matt surfing. The afternoon saw the girls keen to stay in the van and chill out whilst Matt and I decided to try a spot of beach fishing. We were rewarded with a delicious seafood basket dinner of tommies, trevally and sand whiting. With the imminent forecast of some wild weather (30 knot winds and torrential rain), we didn’t want to get trapped at a 4WD camp so we packed up and headed to the protected coastal inlet of Bremer Bay.... read more
Ella's Cubby
Beach Babe
Exploration Collopy Style

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia May 6th 2013

We headed back through Esperance to stock up on supplies (oops its Sunday and no shops are open!) and to get Matt’s blocked ears looked at (again, Sunday, no doctors open so off to Emergency to wait, wait, wait!). Two long hours later we happily leave Esperance behind us. We plan to stay at Stokes National Park but as night begins to fall we find the nearest coastal camp ground and set up. The trees are overgrown, the mozzies and bugs prolific and a morning walk to the beach uncovers smelly seaweed and black sand, this is certainly no Lucky Bay. Hence Quagi Beach gets renamed by the Collopy’s, “Unlucky Bay”. As you can imagine we commenced a hasty pack up that morning and were quick to hit the road again.... read more
Tree Dwellers




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