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Blog 24
Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while since our last blog. We've been too busy having fun whilst my mum's been over to get chance to do it. We've taken lots of photos between us so will put a good selection up.
Mum got here very late on Sunday (16th) which meant we had the whole day to entertain ourselves. We went down to Scarborough in the morning hoping to have a surf. Within about 10 seconds of being in the water a wave slammed me and I twisted my ankle badly so we got straight back out and I was pretty much immobilised for the rest of the day.
We went up to visit Irene in the afternoon then went into Perth on the internet and then into Freo to the pub before we went to the airport to pick mum up. I was so excited when she arrived and when we started talking it felt like I'd never been away.
On Monday we were expecting mum to be really tired but by about 9.30 she as raring to go. We spent a lot of the morning just chatting with Irene then we headed out. The fist place we visited was the Swan Valley. We didn't bother with the wineries and instead headed straight for the chocolate company for lots of tasters and of course for an ice cream for James.
Next we drove down the Zig Zag to see the great views across to Perth then we went up to Lesmurdie Falls which was only giving a pitiful trickle due to the dry summer we've had. The views were spectacular though.For lunch we went into Kalamunda to a café there which does some wheat free food. We've come to the conclusion that Australia is far more advanced in wheat free foods.
After our lunch we went up to Mundaring Weir and saw some Kangaroos. Mum knew that she was definitely in Oz then. We went back to Irene's for the evening and she cooked a nice dinner. It was a really pleasant evening.
We got up quite early on Tuesday ready to head over to Rottnest. When we arrived we went to the bike hire place and got mum sorted with a bike then we rode to the Wadjemup lighthouse in the middle of the island. After a look around we went to Little Salmon Bay, on the south of the island and went for a swim and a snorkel. It was great looking at all the fish. We sunbathed for a bit coz mum needed to top up her tan! We had lunch back at the settlement and picked up the keys for our cabin, then we went to the pub. We watched the sunset at Vlamingh lookout then had a bbq dinner back at our cabin. Mum went to bed fairly early and James and I went to the pub for a drink to say bye to Dani.
The next morning we went to Dome for coffees to get us going. Samala gave us them all for free, and we even got given extra stuff we hadn't ordered! We went for a swim at James's favourite beach, Little Parakeet Bay, then got the train to Oliver Hill and did the 'guns and tunnels' tour which takes you all around the WWII fortress on the hill. The island played quite a major role in defending Fremantle port during the war which was at the time the 2nd biggest submarine port in the world after Pearl Harbour. It was really interesting and there was far more to see than we had anticipated.
After lunch we took mums bike back then went to Pinky's Beach where mum went for another swim and I had a paddle. We got on the 4pm ferry which takes you all the way up the Swan River to Perth. James rode in the wheelhouse with the captain, Roger, for a bit too. We were allowed onto the foredeck once we were on the river, and James and mum got to see all the scenery on the way up to Perth. I fell asleep!
When we got to Perth we went to 'The Old Swan Barracks' where we were supposed to be staying but they messed up on the booking so we didn't have a room. The man there was very helpful though and got us a room in a different, more upmarket, hotel and even paid the difference in cost. The hotel we got to stay in was right in the centre of Perth so pretty handy. In the evening we wandered in to Northbridge and went to 'Il Padrino', a pizza place which does wheat free pizzas. They were fantastic!
After dinner we were pretty full so had a walk around Perth CBD then got Gelato before heading back to our room and watching Austin Powers.
On Thursday (20th) James and I went to pick up a hire camper van, a Toyota Hiace, from Travellers Autobarn for us to travel the South-West in. Once we'd collected it we went up to Kings Park and climbed the DNA tower then walked through the water gardens and across the bridge which gave great views of Perth city and the rivers.
After Kings Park we went down to Fremantle and went to Kalis fish market in the harbour and had fish and chips for lunch which was delicious. The day got pretty hot. We went up to Hillary's Boat Harbour for a bit but it was so hot we didn't stay long, just enough time for mum to pick up a new hat then we went down to Scarborough beach where we went for a nice swim and a body surf. We spent the night in the car park at Scarborough.
We all had a lie in on Friday despite being in a car park then mum went for a morning dip. It was another very hot day. We went in to Freo and went round one of the markets. We then tried to go to the Maritime museum but with it being Good Friday it was closed. We walked round the outside though then went to the Motor museum instead which James really enjoyed. It was too hot to do a lot of stuff and loads of places were closed so we went and checked into the caravan site in Freo and chilled out there for a bit and had lunch then we walked down to the beach.
In the evening we were hoping to go to Little Creatures Brewery for a drink but they wouldn't serve us without food so we got an ice cream, walked down to the beach then watched some street entertainers outside Cicerellos. It was really enjoyable. When they'd finished we went back to the site for dinner.
On Saturday (22nd) we began our trip round the south-West. Our first stop along the way was Mandurah. It's so pretty there and somewhere I could see Grandma and Grandpa living or Lindsey and Rob because there are canals which run behind all of the houses and everyone had moorings for their boats. We walked around the harbour there and along the bridge and boardwalks and had lunch at the waters edge.
We continued to Bussellton following all the scenic drives along the way. We were hoping to go into the underwater observatory but there were no spaces left so we just had a nice walk along the jetty. On the way back James managed to get 2 Herring off some people fishing. Only thing was we didn't have a bag so he had to carry them the whole way back to the van. We enjoyed them for tea later that evening.
We drove up to Sugarloaf Rock near Cape Naturaliste and set up camp at the top of the cliff. We ate dinner there then watched the sun go down, the moon come up and the sun come back up the following morning. It was beautiful.
On Easter Sunday we went to Cape Naturaliste lighthouse in the morning and had a guided tour around it. It was a really short light house as its only 19 metres tall but there were spectacular views from the top.
After that we went to Margaret River and did some gourmet shopping. Our first stop was the Dairy Company where we got some cheese and yoghurt, then the Nuts and Cereals Company where we made our own wheat free muesli and mum got some wheat free biscuits then we went to the Chocolate Factory for our chocolate fix. All our shopping made a great lunch down at Gracetown beach later in the day.
We spent the evening and night on a campsite a little bit out of town.
The next day we went to Calgardup cave. It was very exciting as the cave was not lit and we went on a self guided tour. We were all kitted up with helmets and torches and left to explore the cave. When we turned our torches off it was pitch black. The formations in the cave were amazing!
After our cave trip we went down to the River Mouth and hired a couple of kayaks. James had a double and mum and I shared a single which meant I could be lazy when I felt like it. We had a good two hour trip up the river and had a good work out. It was very peaceful.
After all the exercise we were really hungry so had lunch over looking Surfers Point then we went into Margaret River for a walk then went to the pub for a couple of drinks and ended up having dinner there too. We were all shattered after that so went back to the site and watched a DVD.
On Tuesday (25th) we went to Ten Mile Brook Dam in the morning for a walk then we set in the direction of Albany. On the way we stopped in Pemberton, an olde worlde township. We went to the station and saw a tram and steam train but didn't go on them. Instead we went to the Gloucester Tree. This is a 61 metre high fire look out tree in the middle of the forest, apparently the highest one in the world. It step going up it so we climbed to the top and enjoyed the amazing views. Coming down was harder than going up! We were all a bit achy the next day.
Our next stop was Greens Pool. The weather was a lot better than last time we were there (5 months ago) so we decided to go for another nice walk along the beach and up some rocks. The water was really colourful and looked inviting but none of us went in. We finally got to Albany and checked in to our caravan site and had dinner.
The next morning mum went for a walk whilst James and I had a lie in and came back with bacon and eggs which she cooked us for breakfast. Yummy! After that we went to the Gap and the Natural Bridge and got refreshed by the wind then mum and I went for a swim at Frenchman's bay. It was quite cold being in the Southern Ocean but we still had a nice time.
We then into Albany town and went to a café to get a warm drink after our cold swim then we had a walk around the shops. We had some scrummy take away noodles for lunch which we ate in the van then went back to the site and walked around to Emu Point where there is a harbour. We had a pretty lazy evening.
Thursday was a less exciting day as we had to drive back up to Perth and it seemed to take forever. We stopped for a picnic along the way though. Back in Freo we managed to sell the roof rack we had for Kevin which we'd forgotten all about until Irene reminded us. We went to Little Creatures in the late afternoon because Helen was there having a few birthday drinks so we decided to join her.
After a drink we went up to Scarborough where we were hoping to spend the night but there was an event on so we couldn't stay there but James went for a swim and Sarah Blondie met us down there then we all went to City Beach for a BBQ. We decided to stay there over night but at 07.15 we were woken by the ranger who asked us to move on. It had bad nights sleep anyway as in the middle of the night some super powerful sprinklers came on and seemed to water our van more than the grass.
Friday morning we headed straight into Freo and had breakfast at the bakery. They even had extremely good wheat free bread there so mum had bacon and toast. We then walked around the markets and a couple of shops and picked up some fresh fruit.
After shopping we went down to Cottesloe beach for a swim and sunbathe and spent a good few hours down there as it was really pleasant, not too hot! When we were done we went up to the caravan site near the airport. It's also not far from the river so we decided to have a walk there. We spent mums final evening in Northbridge. We had a really good meal at Oliver's restaurant. The best meal I've had in ages.
We then took mum up to the airport and had to say goodbye. It's been awesome having her here and we've had so much fun. Thanks Mum!!!
We're going over to Rottnest today to collect Helen ready for our travels over East which we're going to start on Monday.
This blog's been pretty long and I'm getting bored of typing now so that's it. Hopefully we'll get another blog done next weekend but it really depends where we are.
Speak to all soon, take care, lots of love xxx
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