Western Australia

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(Entry by Gemma)

We arrived in Perth on the 28th November and were joined 10 minutes later by my Mum and Dad who had flown from Adelaide. They had a few weeks touring in Australia whilst we were still in New Zealand, then we met in Perth for the last week of their trip. We had a fantastic time together. The first 6 nights we stayed in an apartment on Scarborough Beach, one of Perth's beach resorts. The best thing about it was having a swimming pool and jacuzzi which we used every morning and night! The pool was freezing, but it was a good way to wake up in the morning! We had a lazy day on the beach and spent a couple of days in nearby Freemantle (or 'Freo' to the locals), a lovely port town with historical buildings and a lively cappucino strip, very European. On our second visit to Freo we visited the weekend markets and had lunch at an Italian restaurant on the cappucino strip. We had a fun day on Rottnest Island, it is a 45 minute boat ride from Perth and is beautiful. There aren't any cars on the island and it has a beautiful coastline all the way around, with little sandy bays and good snorkelling spots. On the island there are these little animals called Quokkas, they are sort of a strange mix of a rat and a kangaroo! Whilst we were having lunch at the Dome restaurant on the island, one ran between mums legs and she screamed so loud, it was really funny! (sorry mum!)

We also hired a car for the day and drove up the coastline to Hilary's Boat Yard so Dad could admire all the yachts and then on to Cottesloe beach and spent a lazy afternoon admiring the views of the Indian Ocean. We had a posh afternoon tea in the Indian Tea House which is right on Cottesloe beach, the biggest slices of cakes ever! We watched sunset over the ocean, the Western Australian coastline is beautiful.

After 6 nights at Scarborough beach we moved into the city for the last 2 nights. The aparment we stayed in was amazing. We had the executive suite on the 18th floor of the building, so we had great views of the Perth skyline, it was so pretty at night with all the city lights. We had free internet and a very plush apartment. There was a swimming pool and gym and felt very luxurious after 7 months of hostels! We spent the last two days exploring Perth, we spent a day on the tram touring the city and had a walk around King's Park, which gives brilliant views over the city. We had two nice meals at the Belgian bar that was close to our apartment. Dad had mussels about 3 nights in a row, so he was made up and Dave and Dad worked there way through the beer menu. Me and mum even sampled a couple!
On Tuesday 6th dec, Mum and Dad left for Singapore where they had a 3 day stop over before returning to England. It was very sad to say goodbye. We had a great week together though, exploring Perth. We had some great meals out, mainly at the Dome restaurant, there are quite a few dotted around Perth and we somehow ended up in one of them every day, creatures of habits!

The same day Mum and Dad left, the girls from home arrived, Rachel, Lisa and Alex. We hired a car to pick them up from the airport, it was very exciting waiting for them in arrivals! It was so great to see them. They had flown from Sydney, where they had spent a week with our other friend Zoe who is also travelling. We had an apartment together for 5 nights in Cottesloe, one of Perth's other beaches. We went out for a meal that night and caught up on all the gossip, poor Dave, i don't think we stopped talking! The next day the sun was out, so we headed to the beach for a sunbathing session. We had a game of frisbee and fried in the sun, each getting random patches of sunburn! That night we went into Freemantle to do a torchlight tour of the Freemantle Prison. It was so scary! There were a few surprises such as actors that came out of the cells, my nerves were on edge, the girls were all laughing at me! It was great fun though and we ended the night at a lovely Italian restaurant on the cappucino strip and had some wine to calm our nerves.

On the Thursday we had a great day trip to the Swan Valley on a wine-tasting day. The minibus took us to four vineyards, where we sampled lots of Swan Valley wine and cheese. We had a bbq lunch next to the river and finished the day sampling chocolate at a chocolate factory. By then we were all a little typsy and giggly, the day ended in a bar in Northbridge for a beer. It was a perfect day, the sun was shining and everyone was happy. The next day Alex and Rachel were up early for an excursion to Rockingham to swim with the dolphins, they had a brilliant time and saw lots of dolphins. Me and Lisa went into Freemantle and hit the shops and the markets and Dave had a rest from us girls! We all met up in the city centre in the afternoon and had a couple of hours shopping. That night we went out in Cottesloe, it wasn't a mad night as we didn't go out until late and managed to miss all the restaurants, it was a fun night though.

On the Saturday we got the boat over to Rottnest Island. We hired bikes for the day and cycled around the island, stopping off at a couple of bays to soak in the sun. It was great fun! Had our last night out on the Saturday night before the girls flew on the Sunday. We got taxis into Freemantle and had a lovely meal in a mexican restaurant, we had cocktails and then moved onto a bar called the Sail and Anchor. We ended up staying there all night as there was a great live band on, so we danced the night away. More goodbyes on the Sunday, we were sad, it was so good to see the girls and the week had been perfect.

So we were back on our own after all our visitors. We spent two nights after they left at a hostel in Perth called Governor Robinsons, which is where we are staying for Christmas, so we thought we would check it out. It turned out to be lovely, really small and friendly, so we were pleased. We spent the Monday doing lots of sorting out, deciding what we would do for the next couple of weeks, it was a productive day. I bought some new walking boots, to replace the pair that had fallen apart in New Zealand, which i was very excited about! We hired a car from the Tuesday and left Perth, heading South to spend time in the South-West. On the way we bought a very cheap small tent which would be our home for the next couple of weeks. We thought it would make a change from hostels to camp and it would also save some pennies! It turned out to be a good decision as we have had so much fun camping.

Our first stop was Bunbury, just south of Perth by a couple of hours. We stayed two nights at a nice campsite close to the beach. Bunbury is famous for it's dolphins who visit the bay almost every day. There is a dolphin discovery centre on the beach run by volunteers and for $2 you can go and swim with the dolphins. The ticket actually lasts a whole year. We went both mornings and sure enough were joined in the bay by three dolphins. We waded into the water and they came right up to us. We put our goggles on and went under the water, the visibility wasn't great, but you could here their echo-location so clearly, a soft clicking noise. They are such beautiful creatures and it was a brilliant experience to be able to get so close to them. The campsite had great facilities, swimming pool and tennis courts, so we made good use of them.

Our next stop after Bunbury was Busselton, another sea-side town, famous for having the longest pier in the southern hemisphere at 2.5km. We just spent one night there and walked along the pier, it was very pleasant. In the evening we went to a drive-in cinema, it was so much fun. You drive upto a space and attach a speaker into your car, the screen was massive! We bought popcorn and ice-cream and settled in to watch the movies. There were two on and we watched them both, Skyhigh and Flightplan. It was a great night, very different experience.

After Bussleton we moved on to another campsite in the Margaret River, famous as a winegrowing region. It was very pretty and the town itself was lovely with little cafes and bars. We went for a swim at the local pool on the Friday. On the Saturday the sun finally came out as it hadn't been very warm the previous week. We had such a good day, the campsite we were staying at was right next to the river and had canoes for hire. So we hired a canoe and canoed along the river, you can see how pretty it was from the photos. That afternoon we had a surfing lesson at the Margaret Rivermouth, a famous surfing spot. It was so hard, much harder than when we surfed in Byron Bay, the waves were much bigger. It was good fun though and we had a good laugh as we took turns to fall off! (that is when we managed to get up in the first place!) Lazed on the beach for a while, it was a pretty beach. In the evening we played badminton at the campsite next to the river and we saw a really poisonous snake. There was a guy taking photos of it and he was a snake expert and said it was the second most poisonous snake in Australia, if bitten you have two hours to get the anti-venom! Glad I didn't see the snake before we went canoing otherwise I don't think I would have been as keen!

On the Sunday we moved from Margaret River to Pemberton, away from the coastline and into the forest. We climbed the famous Gloucester tree, 61 metres high! It used to be a fire watch tree and has a ladder attached to the side of it. It was so scary, you weren't tied onto anything, you just climbed up the ladder, so it was a good job we didn't slip as it was a long way down to the ground. The views from the top were amazing over the forest. That night we camped for free in the national park, there was just a toilet there, so it was not as luxurious as staying in campsites with showers and campers kitchens. It was good fun though, apart from the flies and mossies which really bugged us. The kookaburras were also really noisy, they are so funny though, it really sounds like they are laughing, but you wonder what they are laughing about at 4 in the morning when you are trying to sleep!

The next day we went to Walpole, a sleepy little town on the south coast and stayed at a campsite right on the beach at coalmine bay. It was a lovely location, but the flies drove us mad! They are really bad at this time of the year in Australia and when you are camping I guess you notice it all the more as you spend more time outdoors. We spent the afternoon in the forest on the tree-top walk in the Valley of the Giants forest, which is a platform suspended 40 metres high amongst the tree canopy. A great experince, really gives you a different perspective of the forest and you get to see lots of birds in the trees.

From Coalmine beach we drove further along the coast to Middleton Beach in Albany. The beach was beautiful and the campsite was right next to it, so a few steps out of our tent and we were on the beach. We had a real sea-side experience, a bag of chips from the wrapper from the local fish and chip shop and a 99 ice-cream from the ice-cream van. It was lovely! The campsite was a bit too full of noisy children though, so we only stayed there for one night!

We drove on to the Stirling Range National park and camped in the outback. It was very pretty, but it didn't feel like a place that you would want to live, the environment seems so hostile. The heat was incredible and the flies were even worse! We had a lovely afternoon at a Dutch windmill, it was very strange in the middle of the outback to see this windmill. It was built a few years ago by a Dutch man who bumped into a landholder that shared his unusual surname whilst in Australia. The guy agreed to sell him a small plot of land (which most farmers won't do) and he built the windmill, achieving his dream. It had a lovely cafe next to it, which actually used to be a railway station and we had a slice of homemade Dutch apple pie.

The next morning we got up at 6am to climb Bluff Knoll, the hightest peak of the Stirling Ranges and actually the highest peak in the south-west of Austalia. It wasn't that high though, only 1000 and a bit metres. We set off early to avoid the heat and the flies, it was a good idea. It was a nice climb and the views from the top were great.

We packed up our tent and then headed on the long five hour drive back to Perth for our last night of camping. We set up our tent for the last time at a campsite just outside of the city centre. That night we had tickets to see Dirty Dancing at a theatre in Perth. It was the final night of the show as it is on tour and we managed to get really cheap tickets. It was such a great production, everyone was singing and clapping all the way through, there was a great atmosphere. Everyone got up and danced at the end. It was so much fun!

On Friday morning we packed up our tent, we were sad that our camping experience was over, but were looking forward to sleeping in a bed! We checked into the hostel where we are spending christmas (Governor Robinsons) and Dave returned the hire car. We went out for lunch and then spent the afternoon on a shopping spree to buy my present from Dave, it was great to go shopping, something I have missed over the last 8 months. I got two tops, which was very exciting. We also did a big food shop for Christmas, got in lots of goodies.

Today is Christmas eve, one more sleep night before father christmas comes! It is very hot here and we are looking forward to Christmas day, which we will be spending on the beach and then back to a bbq at the hostel in the afternoon. Tonight there is a cheese and wine party at the hostel which should be fun!

We are sad that we will be missing all our family and friends this christmas, but we are going to embrace the Aussie chrismas and soak up the sun.

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