Catching Up

So the last time I wrote we were in Perth. And the last time I had such a long break from the blog was back in Exmouth, when we had all the dramas. Trust me, we have had plenty of drama this time around too!!

But, before we dive into the dramas, we will have a quick chat about where we have been. After leaving Perth we moved down to Rockingham, staying there for a week to pick up some work. On the way out from Rockingham we stopped off at Cape Peron. It had crystal clear waters and great views, definitely worth a stop off!!

After leaving Rockingham we moved down to Bunbury. For 3 days we stayed with a couple at Australind, which is just out of Bunbury. The boys got to help out on their farm, gaining some more experience along the way. We then moved into Bunbury, house sitting for a person that was going away for a week. We also took care of their greyhound, and the girls enjoyed taking him for a walk. We couldn't beat him running though!

Wellington Dam

The next day we went out to Cape Naturaliste. It sure was a beautiful place, and the surf was going alright. We didn't surf, as it was crowded out pretty badly. The sky was threatening all day, and it did sprinkle on us several times. We went out to the lighthouse, and had a look around. We did a circuit through the National Park and then retired to our beds.

We headed inland out to Donnybrook and the Ferguson Valley the next day. We had a look at the big dam that was out there, and visited honeymoon pool. Honeymoon Pool was a lovely spot, with a crystal clear river winding through big shady trees. The tranquillity of the place was very relaxing.

Gnomesville

After honeymoon Pool we set off to Gnomesville. It really is a fun place to go, and all ages will enjoy it. The amount of gnomes is absolutely amazing!! One of my favourite gnome scenes was a group of gnomes watching a pretend TV. On the TV it said “Please don't turn me off, we are busy watching Gnome and away".

The Apple Fun Park, it's not even all of it.

After visiting Gnomesville, we had a stop for a late lunch at Donnybrook, visiting the Apple fun park. The park is definitely worth a visit, with the girls especially enjoying the slides. I tried to squeeze myself up the slides, but learnt that I would have to shrink if I wanted an easy ascent. I made it up, but not without bashing myself around a bit. Chloe kept on complaining about how long I took to come back. She'll learn someday that it is not as easy to crawl around on kids equipment when you're double the size of the kids supposed to be using them!! Ater vising the fun park we headed home with only a few bruises.

In Bunbury, Dad again picked up work, and us kids started catching up on our school-work.

Just to get out of that spot (where we stayed)  in Bunbury, boy, it took some work. It had rained the day before, which didn't help, and the caravan was on quite an awkward angle. The wheels skidded, there was a burning smell in the air, and altogether it was not that fun. Finally, after about 1 ½ hours, we got the caravan off and set off down to Margaret River.

A beautiful sunrise

It was pouring rain (bucketing cats and dogs) when we first arrived in Margaret river but it cleared up quite a bit in gladness for us coming. We checked the surf down the coast, but it was just all closing out so we set off back into Margaret River. On the way, we dropped a snowboard off the roof, as the bag had perished a long time ago. The snowboard was luckily undamaged, as we are going to use them again this year!

Two cute little black lambs.

The next day we headed down to Port Augusta. We had a look at the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, which was interesting because of the meeting of the Southern and Indian oceans. We didn't do the actual tour of the lighthouse, mainly due to the cost. We did have a look at the old waterwheel, and it is well worth a look. Chloe enjoyed learning about how it worked, and asked lots of questions, not all of which I could answer.

The girls loooove chickens

We were staying on a farm out of Margaret River, and when Dad and I went for a walk we got some great photos of some cows, and then some really cute little lambs. The sunrise was also pretty amazing.

After Margaret River we moved onto Albany. Albany has quite a few hills around, and to get to where we were staying we had to go up a hill. Now our Transit goes alright while towing but it doesn’t have oodles of grunt when towing, lets just say I could have ran faster up that hill than the transit!! We were all praying when we saw a Stop sign at the top of the hill, “Please let there be not any cars, please let there not be any cars”. Luckily there wasn't and with one last final strain we managed to get up and over. Phew!

This is Chloe after running the whole blowholes track back
 to the carpark. If you have been there, you will know
what I am talking about.

While in Albany we visited Torrindup National Park. It is a great NP, with some amazing veiws over Albany and crystal clear water. We dropped by the whaling station thinking of going there, but again the price ruled visiting it out. We did visit most of the places through the park though, especially enjoying the blowholes. We didn't think the blowholes were blowing at first, but we were rewarded for our patience as we felt the air whoosh through the tunnel. Some people stood right on the blowholes, but we didn't (not recommended). We also visited the Gap and Natural bridge, which I remember hearing about quite a bit.

We were hoping to get out to Porungutup National Park, especially to visit the castle rock lookout, but we sadly never made it there. It's supposed to be excellent though!!

After staying for three days in Albany, we headed off to Esperance. However, that is another blog post, so you must have patience, and it will be rewarded.

The Gap

Natural Bridge