Bremer Bay .

Tez and I arrived first at Bremer Bay, As Stephen and Cas had to have some work done on their van and car. John and Sandy stayed with them and we come on ahead.
So that gave us a chance as there where only two caravan parks we had a choice, to choose what one was best for all.
So the one closest to the water won out.
It is another pretty part of Western Australia.
Whilst checking everything out we had a Phone call to say a dear friend of ours, Sandy lost her beautiful Father, Eric. That was very sad news.
Tez and I have not been to good, the weather has changed to about 15 deg cooler so it has played havoc with our joints.
This morning we were laughing at each other not being able to move. But as I said," We are not in a nursing home or even a wheel chair yet, so just keep moving". Hee! Hee!
The others all went for a drive into the National Park to do some walks. So Tez and I Opt for a tour of some of the beaches, and sit in the sun. I read and Tez had a fish, but caught nothing.
We were almost carried off by march Flies, The buggers.
To day was raining, so it ended up being a Hairdressing day. All except Stephen had their hair done.
Watched videos, as there is no TV coverage here.
There are heaps of Kangaroos in this area, and I spent about 15minutes trying to get a kangaroo to stand up. I was at the stage of not being able to see through the lens of the camera. Hee! Hee!
Still didn`t get it never mind.
Up early and we were all off to Stokes Inlet National Park. for one night.
We arrived at this great National Park as a last resort , And it was great. The sites were very big.
Big enough for the three of us to go into one sight.
The hosts at the Park were very friendly, and the new hosts that are to take over in two days. They were there as well . Believe it or not they are the people from Umina, that we met at Walpole.
They told us of a nice walk to go on, were the Cy cads are beautiful. The age of some of them must be hundreds of years old as they looked like Palm Trees.
When we returned to our site, It was time for happy hour, and Jan and her husband come to join us.
It was incredible the places they have been.
Now we are looking forward to seeing some of the places they have placed on our list.

Albany. W.A.

Well we drove a very short distance and arrived in Albany,
This is a large town with a Port and very big town.
We are staying out of town at a place called Emu beach.
The Caravan Park is very nice with in walking distance to the beach.
We went to the only Whaling station in Australia that is still on sight and able to show you how it all worked years ago.
 Gratfully it dosn`t any more.
It was very interesting and informative.  But those poor whales
.
We then continued, all around the peninsular and went to the lookout spots,
 Oh this country has the best Coast line it is so Ruggered and beautiful at the same time.
Tez and I had mail and shopping to do so we let the others go on a ruggered trail walk.
Steven has some work to be done on his van on Friday, and John may have to as well, so they are going to stay another night.
Tez and I decieded to go on to the next stop at Bremmer Bay and wait for everyone there.

Denmark W.A.

Just when you thought you couldn't`t see anything better.
You go around another corner and there is another WOW factor.
This state is  just  beautiful. Especially the southern End.
We have now made a left hand turn and are heading east. Although We do not think we will be home any time soon.
We are enjoying this Country so much. It is so exciting.
It is going to be so hard when we do come home, everything will be so boring, as every day is such an adventure.
I know  everyone thinks we have seen so much, but believe me there is still an incredible amount still left to see.

We met a lady and Gentleman from Umina the other day at Walpole, they have been doing this for five years.
Auntie Norma, they have a house in Rosewood drive No. 35. It is being rented out now.
They have given us some places to visit.

This is a very small town. but very pretty. They have flowers everywhere.
The caravan park that we are staying at is a Big 4 and is The Ocean Beach Caravan park, they have just spent 5 million dollars on doing it up. Over Xmas they have 2 thousand people stay here.

The beaches are superb, Have a look at the Photos they say it all. Especially Elephant Cove, I loved it. Also couldn't  believe that nature was so cleaver.
Every beach we come to we try to have a swim. as they are so great.
The boys have done some fishing, still no luck. A bream and very small spotted whiting, although Tez really enjoyed the bream for tea the other night.

We have been out every day since arriving, on dirt roads, our cars are filth. Tomorrow before we leave will definitely be a cleaning day..
Today Carol Stephen Sandy John and I, all went berry picking, mainly Raspberries. There were blackberries but they were American and New Zealand Blackberries and  they had a very sour taste. So we opt to just stick with raspberries. and they were pretty special. Although I did by some of their Blackberries Jam, It was very nice.
 We also went to a honey farm, where John was in his element as he loves his honey.
A Cheese Factory Where the girls bought some cheese.
Then we drove to town To have a look around and go through the local shops. Where I bought Tez an award winning Pie That he thought was great.

Well early on Sunday that is exactly what we did, all of us  from morning till night we cleaned, The inside and outside of cars, vans, eskies and freezers.
So by the end of the day we were all exhausted, but everything was very shiny.
Tomorrow we head for Albany.

Bunbury, Margaret River to Walpole:

Well we are all together again, and heading south.
Our first stop is Herron Point a free camp. not free as such, costs $10 per night. But that is very reasonable.
This is a great site. One problem the lady caretaker has a problem with Tez parking.
She has had him in the same spot different ways approximately 6 times, we are all waiting for him to say something to her but he has kept his cool.
Carol was with me and had to leave as she was in hysterics laughing, and didn`t want to sound rude.
We had good sites when we got in there.......
The most incredible thing was there was a whole camp site and we were the only three vans on site.
She had us all over the place.45minuets latter, we were where she thought we should be.
We were able to go crabbing here at night, For crabs that are, what we call blue swimmers,They call it raking. You have a basket on the end of a pole, and a torch. It was great fun, We caught 6 with lots of laughs.
We went to Mandurah for a look around. Saw the most beautiful memorial Park.
One of the Areas there, we thought we were in Italy, with all the canals and Bridges. It was really over the top.There is allot of money in Mandurah, because of the mines. So everyone is trying to out do everyone else.
We then headed for Iron Stone Gully falls. We stayed only one night very hot, although we did have
rain during the  night,And also had to pack up in the rain when leaving.
Tez and I had to go to Bunburry for Mail. The Others all headed for Yallingup.
Tez and I stayed at The Big 4 in Bunburry, Beautiful park Very good Position close to town , thank Heavens as we were in the Post Office for Three hours two days in a row, trying to get our mail.
Also have my Licence renewed, lots of forms plus photos taken, birth certificate, pension card Photostatted, then witnessed by the manager of the Post Office, each stage is reline up again. I am positive the people in the post office new me by my first name in the end, or shuddered when they saw me coming.
We shopped ,washed,and cleaned Then headed for Yallingup.
Tez and I couldn't`t get into the same park as the others as they were booked out so we went to the Caves caravan Park it was very good $32.00 per night with en suit that was wonderful. Very shady with beautiful Peppermint trees. They Look a little like Weeping willows.
Tez and I did a trip from the lighthouse all the way down to every beach. They were incredible and also AMAZING.
The township of Dunsborough Tez and I fell in love with. We could live there. It is a very quaint village you can just meander through all these beautiful little shops. Also  the beaches in the area are
magnificent.
We had another day in Bussleton at the Jetty That is 2 ks long so you go by train out to the end of it.
We all had happy hour each day together.
Then we went to Prevelly where the fires were at Xmas time. Unless you see it you cannot believe the damage.
 We all went to the local shop to purchase something so we could put some money back into their area, maybe to help just a little. Then we had lunch in a park in Margaret River.
The next day we all went on a wineries bus tour around the Margaret River Area It was great, a great bunch of people, really good fun.
Everyone was very surprised that I did allot of tasting.Stephen ended up with all my left overs.
We visited 7 Wineries a Brewery a Cheese factory, And a Chocolate Factory
The first one was Naturalise, owned by a lovely lady named Ginny.
No. 2 was owned by a Greek Family Called Driftwood.
No.3 was Knotting Hill where we all had a Bushtucker Lunch, of smoked Kangaroo, Bush Turkey, Roast Beef, Smoked Crocodile, bush tomatoes, bush pepper, bush limes, mango and quondong chutney, And beautiful seeded bread. It was very tasty Tez and I liked all the meats and especially the
bread.
Knotting Hill the winery was owned by a Father and son team, who had put their heart and sole into this. It was great.
After lunch we headed for the laugh of the day. The guy who owned The Grove, was Steve Hughes
He had the best Personality he gave everyone of us heaps. He was so funny, a real good sport.
Then it was off to  The Margaret River Cheese Factory, only small, was o.k., but we liked the[The Old Cheddar Factory] better.
Left there then it was of to The Margaret River Chocolate Factory, We all thought it was over priced.
But we did all buy a Simmo`s Ice Cream from there.
On the bus once again to the Duckstein Brewery . John And Stephen  tried a Beer but Tez said the ice cream spoilt it for him.
At the end of the day my most favourite wine was at the very first winery, There Rose` was very nice.
And on my birthday Sandy and John gave me a bottle.
We all headed out to the bus were we all lined up for photos. For a record of the day. It was very good.
We all packed up, and we were off again, this time we headed for Contor
For Tez and I It was only $10-00 per night.
We had a day out from there to Augusta Where we were almost blown off the face of the earth. At this point we were at the most southern point of Australia. Where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, and you are 5435 km from The South Pole. How is that for a little trivia.
 Hamelin Bay To swim and snorkel was the next outing from this site. That was very nice we saw large Manta Rays even got to pat them, they feel very slimy and soft. When you walk into the water they just come up to you. This is so exciting all these sea animals being able to touch them. We had a great day there.
Time to move on next stop was Pemberton. The caravan Park there was also very nice.
The National Park here holds Giant Karri Trees, They grow to over 75mtrs high. There are a few of them that are through the forest that have Rio Spikes all around them to form a ladder, like a spiral staircase. If you are fit you can climb these to the very top.We are not fit so did not get passed the first step. hee hee.
John got half way, and I am sure we would have done better had we have worn the right shoes. We all had thongs on not good for that sort of thing.
We then took a trip to a place called Windy Harbour. Where it is apparently Aptly named.  The day we went, It was perfect weather. We had Lunch In a small Park and then went to all the clifftop lookouts. The Coast line around this Country never ceases to Amaze us. It is truly beautiful.
We have seen fires in the distance but it seems to be moving pretty quickly.
On our way out we found little road side stalls selling fruit veges`s and another selling Blueberries.
They had beans  $2.00 a bag tomatoes $2-50 passion fruit $2-00 cucumbers2x$1-00 Blueberries $20-00 a kilo and delicious. love all this fresh produce. [and cheap]
During the afternoon I went picking Blackberries, The park we are staying in is surrounded with them.It brought back so many memories.Because in N.S.W. you cannot get them in the bush anymore as they poison them. I ended up with a Chinese container full and they were so good.
It was John and My Birthday on the same day so, I had bought Lobsters at Xmas and Cryvaced them for us to have on our Birthday. Definitely not as nice as if they were fresh.
Then the girls cooked tea Sandy cooked Tassie Scollop's and a beautiful Sponge Birthday Cake and Cas made a Nice Mango Salad. It was all very nice
Next day we were off to Walpole., To stay at the Restpoint Holiday Village
As we drove down today the fire seemed to get a little closer with the smoke.
Oh! my goodness this is a very busy caravan park, no Children but lots of boats and very expensive vans and trucks, plus 5th wheelers.
We went to do a tour of the area. There is the Forest known as the Land of the Giants[ meaning Trees]
This is Tingle trees. They are huge.
While we are checking all these trees out ,Tez has been catching little black crabs, so they can go fishing in the morning.
Today I found my arthritis is really playing up so time to slow down.
Tez went fishing with the boys this morning and had a fall getting into Stephens car, his foot slipped on the running board so he has taken a heap of skin off his shin. As he fell when he slipped He is very stiff.
So we stayed home today and organised ourselves to get ready for our move tomorrow to Denmark.

Perth, W.A.

What a surprise Perth was to all of us, If you had to live in a city this is the one everyone would love.
The rest of the country, especially N.S.W. Needs to take notice. It is truly beautiful.
It is very clean, no graffiti is seen anywhere
 The parks are spotless, not a blade of grass out of place.And there are so many of them,Full of the most beautiful trees. It is so family orientated. As you go around the city the water ways have all got walkways there isn`t one area that you can`t walk or ride a bike.
 The trains and stations are  immaculate, even carpet in the trains. The trains run down the middle of the Highway, and the stations are also there.They are so nice.
It is a very easy city to get around.
There has to be at least 30 shopping centres all absolutely chokers at all times, it is incredible.
Marinas on the Swan river there are five in this area alone. Perth is renowned for being the boating capital of Australia Millions of Dollars worth of  Luxury Boats.
 One of the Marinas that we really loved was at Sorento called Hillary`s. Just beautiful. { Try and get it on the net just to have a look}
It is so affordable and for all the family. So many people take advantage of this area, no matter what age group, It is always busy. Restaurants in this area, Cater for all, including diets of all types. There is expensive to non expensive. What ever suits the budget. Yoghurt Parlours,ice cream parlours, Juice, Coffee, etc. To Classy Restaurants. Sooo Nice..

We have done a tour down the Swan River  to Freemantle, Walked around the city, went to the Shipwreck Museum, Had lunch at Fishing Boat Harbour.
Then another day we drove down to Freemantle, then we did a cruise to Rottnest Island, That was nice. Although we were a little disappointed, I think our expectations are becoming a little high, after what we have seen. The weather was very hot 40deg. So that didn`t help. The beaches were incredible.And we did get to have a swim, [if only for a half an hour]. We all went home exhausted.

Then I had a nice night at a friend of a friends Unit in Perth City on Australia day were they had a Fireworks display. That was nice.

Then the next day we went to Kings Park, gorgeous park, but the weather was so hot we couldn`t stay to long. We ended up pushing kids out of the water spray park just to get wet. I went up to the kids and asked if I could play. They thought that was cute. We had a picnic lunch in some Shade at one of the areas with tables etc. It was a shame the weather has been over 40deg every day for the last 8 days. A heat wave for Perth.
That night we all went with David and Karen  to Hillary`s and had gourmet Pizza, very nice. Sat outside overlooking the water. It was great, Great company fantastic food. 10 out of 10..
Our air conditioner has been working overtime. So at this stage you  defiantly need to be in a caravan park.
That also had its problems there was so many air cons going at one time the electricity was going off and on.  So people were worried about fridges and freezers.  We all got through... It could have been worse, we could have been out in the country free camping....  With no electricity...
Today is Rene`e`s Birthday and also Annes. Hope they enjoy their day.
We are getting ready to leave Perth tomorrow to head south toward Bunbury.
We are looking at trying some free camping again, The weather has dropped down a little, so we will see what happens, we may have to go to another caravan park, but that is o.k. Wewill take it as it comes.
So we will talk to you all soon.