Thursday 5th April - The Swan river and meeting the family

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Our route in Perth Our route in Perth

Thankfully today is far cooler and more overcast than previous days in Perth. After waking late we discover that while showering the bath is filling up with water at Amanda’s (The bath and shower are separate!). We investigate further to find tht the drainage is blocked and sewage is flooding onto the patio! After attempting to unblock the pipe using a hose (nearly vomiting a couple of times) we called Amanda who was aware of the problem. She was so laid back about it! They are leaving ofr holiday tomorrow and are prepared to wait to fix it when they get back!

After scrubbing my hands are arms we head off to drive south to the mouth of the swan river near peppermint grove. Firstly though we catch sight of our first Kangaroo in a local crematorium.

Peppermint grove is an exclusive area of Perth on the north bank of the Swan River. It has a mish-mash of old Edwardian style houses and newly built mansions and villas. We continue on towards Perth hugging the north bank of the river via Crawley until we hit the university of WA.

Perth has recently seen huge increases in the cost of housing. In some cases house prices have tripled in the last 5 years. Kirsten is shocked at how expensive it is now! We continue on through Kings Park (Perth biggest park) where the weather suddenly changes and it starts to pour.

Perth is a small city of just over 1.5 million people. After driving from one end of the city to the other in less than 30 mins we stop to do a spot of shopping (a radio kit for the ipod) and visit the tourist info.

After returning to Amanda’s and thankfully picking up Kirsten bank card (the machine stole the original as it had expired) I set of to meet my Aunt Louise and my cousins Rebecca and Hannah.

Driving to the southeasterly suburb of Kew Dale I stop to pick up a bottle of wine. I;ve got say I’m a bit nervous as I’ve not seen my Aunt in nearly 20 years and never really met my cousins. After a warm re-union we catch up over a lovely BBQ prepared by Peter; Rebeccas boyfriend. It was lovely to see everyone and I really enjoyed the evening.

Returning back to Amanda’s we pack and get ready for an early start tomorrow bound for Pemberton & the Margaret River wine area.

Ta Ta for now K & M

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Photos

Kangaroo
In a crematorium

My Aunt & Cousins
Louise, John, Rebecca and Hannah