Rock Lobstered

WOW what a difference 24 hours makes, after a stinker yesterday we awoke to a much cooler day and for the first time since we left home we all slept in, it was nearly 8am before we were all up and out of bed - so nice to have a sleep in!!

Kids hit the skate park this morning - its pretty small so they didn't last long but at least its another one they can add to their list.  After a quick skate we headed to Jurian Bay, the books and brochures say its the 'Jewel of the West Coast' so we had fairly high expectations.  Sadly the day was overcast and windy so probably we didn't see it at its best but we were a little disappointed.  The beaches here have a lot of seaweed which makes them less appealing. 

The kids were happy though as Jurian Bay also has a skate park - again a very small one but they skated it none the less.  Video evidence only I'm afraid no photos taken of these ones.

Cervantes is very popular for Rock Lobsters and its a multi million dollar industry here.  Much of the lobsters caught are exported overseas live.  There is a processing plant here in Cervantes that offer tours so we went along to check it out.  A very informative tour, its self paced and they give you headsets to listen to as you go along - they have a program for the kids and another for the adults which the kids really enjoyed.

A load of lobsters was being graded and sorted whilst we were there so we got to check it all out first hand.

This big fella was in a tank in the shop at the Rock Lobster - he's not for eating!

The lobsters are being sedated prior to being checked for number of legs, size etc

The lobsters are being graded based on size.

At the end of the tour we bought some lobster for dinner - $15 for a half.  They are all ready to eat, they have been drowned (put in fresh water 20 mins), steamed and then dropped into a slurry of freezing cold salt water from the ocean, this is a unique preparation , most places don't use sea water they use butchers salt and water and they also boil them rather than steam them, so I couldn't wait for dinner!!!



We spent a lazy afternoon hanging around the van, kids did some reading and we worked on the photo album.  Its been so nice to just stop and relax and not have to rush around all day.  Also very glad that we went out to the pinnacles yesterday as they wouldn't have been very good today with the lack of sun.

Finally dinner time came around and we got to eat our Rock Lobsters, hows this for a camping meal...

Jade tried a bit and thought it tasted like salty chicken but Tom wasn't keen to give it a go.

We have some lovely neighbours - Ed and Laura and their little baby Isla, they are from the UK.  They were camped near us at Streaky Bay (we were staying in the same caravan park but we didn't meet them until here however they remembered seeing us there - we have similar caravans both Eagles theirs is the older model) and since then they've been to Kalbarri and are now on there way back - we're doing the same trip just sort of in reverse.  Spent some time chatting to them today.

We are on the road again tomorrow, this time off to Geraldton.

Escaping the City

A hot night was followed by a hot morning.  The temperature at 8.30 this morning was already 30 degrees and by just after 9am it was into the mid 30s.


We made our way out of Perth this morning and dragged the Eagle successfully all the way through Perth.  Dave made a couple of wrong turns - the GPS instructions were a little confusing...

Stopped at Nilgen Lookout for morning tea on the way through and to take some photos of the grass trees.  They are amazing, so many of them and so tall and with so many spears standing so tall across the paddocks, reminds me of something out of Madagascar.

Onwards them to Cervantes.  Its quite a contrast, only 2 hours away from Perth and here we are in a small town that literally has only a couple of streets, a general store that sells everything a pub and a petrol station.  The vibe here is so different to Perth.  People look at you and smile and you can actually have a conversation with them and most of all they are happy. 

The caravan park has been filling up quickly all afternoon with a constant stream of people arriving.  Late this afternoon I walked past the office and there is a sign up now saying there full and overflow camping is available on the oval across the road.  Not sure what the attraction is here but a lot of people come and seem to stay for quite a while.

We took a walk along the beach (so much seaweed) and had a swim.  Today has been a very hot day in the mid - high 30s in the shade and high 40s in the sun - actually it read 48 but by the time I brought it inside and got the camera it dropped slightly.

So we couldn't wait to get wet, the water here actually feels a little warmer than the Perth beaches too.  We were all enjoying a game of ball in the water and then Jadey got stung on the wrist.  I managed to find the culrpit and small clear jelly fish with purplish tentacles.  We all hopped out of the water and then it was off to the showers for her to try to stop the sting.  She was left with quite a welted mark down her wrist for quite sometime.

We headed out to Lake Thethis to see the stromatolites.  These stromatolites have been growing for about 3500 years.  They are believed to be the worlds oldest living fossil.

From there we drove out to the Pinnacles, these are limestone peaks that vary in size, shape and diameter.  We were amazed at how big the area is in the National Park where the pinnacles are.  The drive around through the pinnacle dessert is 4.5km.

We finished off the day with yet another beautiful sunset, the evening is still warm but very pleasant - perfect for outdoor dining. 

The topic of discussion amongst our camp tonight is should we keep going and head to Broome and just come back late for school and work or should we stick to the original plan - its very tempting to keep going.  The jury is currently still out on this one, its only an extra 3000 kms.

I wonder if and when we will get sick of the beautiful clear water and the sunsets...

Travelled today 232 km

Total travelled 7122 km

A very Hairy Day...

Today we finished off the last of our sight seeing around Perth.  First stop Kings Park...

...and then a spot of shopping at Subiaco, well mostly window shopping and then back to Fremantle via the supermarket for the food shopping.  The fridge and the cupboards are small but its amazing how much we can fit - currently in our freezer we have enough food for about 4 meals, a box of icy poles, a box of weiss bars and 1litre tub of ice cream!

Today has been our hottest Western Australian day - 38 degrees!  The temperature here is different to that at home, the humidity is a lot lower which makes the temperature a lot more bearable.  Still the sun is hot though and you feel like your frying when you walk around in it.  Each day a Southerly wind comes in (known as the Fremantle Doctor, as Dave discovered tonight there is also a beer by that name but that's off the track...)  normally around lunch time which cools everything down and whips the sand and the water up down at the beach.  Today (when we were desperate for it) it didn't come - or not as strong as it usually does - always the way!!

We tried to hide out a bit from the sun in the middle of the day.  Today was declared hair day - both the boys had hair cuts (much needed) and Dave coloured my hair - his first ever colouring experience and I must say he did a very good job!!  You know you've been away a long time when you need to do these things whilst on holidays.

We headed down to Coogee Beach this afternoon for a quick swim - the kids wanted to swim out to the pontoon.  It was a very short swim as once they got closer there they started getting stung by jelly fish.  Some people on the pontoon warned them not to come any closer as they were about to swim into a big swarm of them.  Tom got stung the worst so it was back for quick showers to wash the sting away.

We headed into Fremantle to the marina area for a walk around and the kids had a go on the bungee trampoline.

 We then had some dinner overlooking the water at Cicerellos.  A very nice dinner, great not to have to cook and a beautiful spot.  A very nice end to a few days in Perth!

Tom's bruising is coming out really nicely after his fall on Rottnest Island the other day.  Thankfully his head is feeling much better.  His response when asked about his bruising "Chick's dig scars"

After dinner we had ice cream down on the beach watching the sunset.  The temperature is still 30 degrees at 8:30pm so its going to be our hottest night yet I think.

Tomorrow we are off to Cervantes, looking forward to leaving the big smoke and heading to the country again.  We are now half way through our trip and looking forward to some new adventures further north...

Sunsets and Sunset Drives

Last night we spent sometime going back through photos that we took in the first 2 weeks of the trip - it seems like a lifetime ago and already we had forgotten some of the things we had seen and done - just shows the importance of photos as a memory jogger.  Hard to imagine all the memories we will have once we finish this trip and get home. 

After a sleep in we headed north this morning along the Sunset Tourist Drive.  This drive takes you along all the city beaches - Cottesloe, Scarboro, Trigg etc  They were all beautiful although HIGHLY populated and parking was next to impossible at many of them.

We stopped for a swim at Brighton, the water was crystal clear but cold which didn't stop the kids they spent an age in the water.

We tried to go into Hilary's for lunch however it was so busy that all the car parks were full so we had to pass on that one and went on a bit further to Withfords.  This one wasn't crowded by boy was it windy - we had to hold onto the beach umbrella with one hand and eat lunch with the other.

We headed back towards home and spent sometime wandering around Fremantle - shops were shut by this stage which was probably a good thing!

Sunset down on Coogee Beach tonight was pretty amazing.  Its been a hot 35 degrees today and should be equally as warm tomorrow.  The heat here is quite different to home - there is next to no humidity - only 16% today which makes the temperature warm but bareable.

Tomorrow is our last day in Perth before we head off to Cervantes.  I won't be sad to leave Perth, the people here particularly in the caravan park are not at all friendly and Perth really is just another big city - looking forward to some friendly country hospitality (hopefully!)

Killer Quokkas

Today we spent the day at Rottnest Island.  We caught the first ferry at 7:30am from Shed B at Fremantle.  The boat trip takes 30 mins and thankfully this morning the seas were calm.

We arrived early and had to wait for the bike hire shop to open.  Jade was the first to spot a Quokka, in the garden next to the shop.  We had only been here 15 mins and already we had seen one - they are so cute!!!

We picked up our bikes- 4 mountain bikes and helmets plus a cargo buggy to carry a days food, towels and snorkeling equipment and we were off.  There are no cars on the island only tour buses and lots and lots of bikes however once out of the main area you had the road to yourself quite a bit.  The roads are tar all the way and lots of rolling hills.  We were off to a slow start whilst Dave got used to towing a different kind of buggy - he now understands how the poor car feels going up hill dragging the van behind it!

The flies were incredible, the worst we've ever experienced.  They were up your nose, in your ears, behind your glasses whilst riding and I think we all ate a few!

We pulled into lots of the little bays and once again were awestruck with the colours of the water.  This one below "Little Salmon Bay" was our favourite

We snorkelled around - the water was freezing and even moving around didn't warm you up a lot but there were lots of fish to look at and the water was so clear that you just had to do it and the outside temp was so beautiful that you warmed up real quick anyway. 

We were sitting on the beach drying off and Jade says "Hey Mum that looks like Sarah from Nippers".  We looked around and sure enough it was Sarah and her whole family - amazing that here we are on the otherside of the country a long long way from home and we bumped into someone that we know that lives only a few blocks from our house!  Whilst on the island we bumped into them another 2 times also.  Yesterday the world felt so big and now today after this it seems so small...

Back on our bikes and we headed a little further down the road, stopping frequently to take photos.  The kids had been riding ahead and setting a cracking pace.

We rode up a big hill and then were flying down the other side, Thomas went whizzing past me, got the death wobbles and couldn't recover.  He hit the deck hard, ran off the road (and there was quite a drop off the side of the road) and then rolled down the hill on his face dragging his bike behind him.  The most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my life and I can still hear his scream ringing in my ears now.  If you've ever seen any of the footage from the Tour de France where the riders go over the edge in the mountain stages - that's what he looked like!!!

Amazingly kids seem to bounce.  Our poor boy has skin off all over and some really impressive bruises but thankfully no broken bones!!  Thankfully also he was wearing his helmet, it really saved his head.  I've always thought the silly bike helmets were useless and wouldn't really do much for you but Tom proved me wrong today!!

He was so incredibly brave even riding his bike away from the accident scene.  We soon realised this was too much for him, his legs weren't working properly and he was too shaky so we abandoned his bike and mine at Bus stop 7 and we got the bus back to the main settlement.  Dave and Jade road their bikes back through the middle of the island just beating us back.

We then had a quiet rest and some lunch under a tree overlooking the water - very pleasant.  Food followed by an ice-cream (cause we all know that fixes everything) and Tom was looking a little better.  We wandered around to the Basin and Pinky Beach playing with Quokkas along the way.  They were very friendly to the kids even taking leaves out of their hands and eating them...

But beware these cute and friendly little critters that have the tail of a rat, look like a wallaby, hop like a rabbit but run like a kangaroo have a nasty side - they don't like big peoples hands!  I know this from personal experience I got all sucked in by their cute gooey eyes and just wanted to pat one but sadly Mr Quokka didn't feel the same about me and bit me, yep took a chunk of my flesh and drew blood, so I warn you watch out for the killer quokkas.

The Basin looked lovely for a swim so some more snorkeling was done - not many fish here though!

We boarded the boat back at 4:30pm.  It was quite rough on the way back and poor old Tom didn't fair too well feeling rather sea sick for most of the journey.

It was toasted sandwiches for dinner all round tonight and off to bed, 4 very tired people in our home tonight.  Despite Tom's accident Rottnest was great, it would have been great to spend more time there today - maybe an overnight (or 2)....

Best Christmas Ever (according to Tom)

We awoke early this morning to some very excited children (and some text messages from people in the east who had forgotten the time difference).  Santa had found us over here and the sacks were full of presents.  The excitement of children opening presents and laughing could be heard all over the park - such a happy sound!

After presents were exchanged and phone calls made to family back home we sat down to a feast of pancakes - YUMMMM!!

Then off to the beach - less than 2 minutes walk from our camp.

We celebrated Christmas with a feast of roast lamb and salad followed by ice-creams!  Our tiny table was very full - and so were our tummy's when we finished!

We took this photo ourselves using a tripod and timer on the camera - much to the amusement of people in the campsite opposite us...

After a post lunch nap and some quiet time it was back down the beach for a late afternoon swim and a walk along the beach.  We finally got to watch the sun set fully over the ocean - very beautiful!

Our day has been a very quiet day.  There have been no activities arranged in the park and many people have either been out or stuck to themselves.  As we've never been away from home before at this time of year we weren't really sure what to expect.  The contact we've had with friends and family back home via phone calls, text  messages and facebook has meant a lot to us and its been great to hear what people have been up to back home.  In some respects today has been a bit of a lonely day however our family bond is stronger than ever and we've loved the quality time of just hanging out together.

Merry Christmas everyone! 

'twas the night before Christmas...

To all our family and friends - hope you have a wonderful Christmas, we miss you all and can't wait to catch up when we get home.

***

This morning we said goodbye to Busselton and headed to Perth.  Busselton was so lovely and the kids had made some nice friends so it was definitely harder to leave!  It wasn't along drive and the road was great, dual carriage way for much of the way - this was a change as we haven't experienced that since we left home.

We stopped at the Dolphin Discovery Centre at Bunbury but the dolphins had already been and gone for the day and didn't come back whilst we were there.  They had some lovely fish tanks and some interesting information about dolphins which was great for the kids to learn about as we hope to see and feed them at Monkey Mia.  I can't believe we are nearly half way through our trip - we've been on the road for 3 weeks today.

We arrived in Perth around lunch time and when we checked in we were given a package from Mum and Dad.  We opened it and their was a card each and some Ma bucks - chocolate money.  It was so lovely to have something from someone back home.  The kids were so excited and the cards are prominently displayed in the van. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for Christmas tomorrow.  The kids have coloured in Christmas decorations that are hung around the curtains in the van, they have made coasters, place cards and table decorations for lunch tomorrow and Jade and I have made Christmas paper chains that are strung around the van - we look very festive - very difficult to photograph though so you'll just have to take my word for it!

We took a walk down to Coogee Beach - it was very windy down there so didn't stay for long but will look forward to a Christmas dip tomorrow.

It was then time to do make the much awaited gingerbread house, there has been much talk and excitement regarding its preparation and its been carefully packed and carried some 6000kms from home.   Sadly it didn't go together as expected - the icing wouldn't set and before we could finish covering it in lollies the whole thing collapsed in a crumbling sticky heap.  The kids were very good spirited about it and anyway it will still taste the same I'm sure!

Barely holding it together for a photo!

Ooops!

We exchanged our Christmas presents with our families before we left home so we just have a little something Kris Kringle style to open tomorrow.  All presents are wrapped and under the tree..

We took a walk on the beach to watch the sunset - we are still yet to see the sun set truly over the water and then came back to admire Dave's Christmas lights - he finally found some!!

Kids are finally off to bed, Santa sacks and snacks left out and they are very excited and looking forward to tomorrow!

Kms travelled today 230 kms

Total kms travelled 6618 kms