The Kowsas' Big Lap: Jurien Bay to Albany

Where is the time going? You know that feeling when you are on holidays and just starting to get into the groove of things, then the next thing you know time is ticking away and your days of vacation are numbered. Well that's how I am feeling! All too soon this will be over and our glorious days together in our little home away from home will be a distant but wonderful memory.

The last few weeks have flown by. After leaving Geraldton, we spent a few days at Jurien Bay. Such a lovely place it was, right on the coast a few hours north of Perth. The weather wasn't the best while we were there, but we still enjoyed our stay. We ventured out for a walk around the national park and were surprised at the abundance of beautiful wildflowers...and also the massive amounts of flies! A few big rides on the new bike track following the water's edge was also enjoyed. Another highlight was an afternoon drive down to explore the Pinnacles Desert. It was another fascinating part of Australia to see and our stroll through the park was great fun. The girls' imaginations seemed to take them on a skipping journey through the desert!

Finally though, it was time to head to the big smoke...Perth. We were all really looking forward to getting there and catching up with my family and friends. There were so many people to catch up with and also some sight seeing to be done, so our 10 days just flew by. My family home in Bayswater, the beautiful Kings Park and fish and chips at Cottesloe Beach where experienced in a day out. No swimming though, as we weren't about to be Great White bait!

Lots of lunches, dinners and drinks were had with all the special people we knew around Perth and also a very big surprise for the girls...Nanna and John arrived through the night from Brisbane.

Another special event also took place whilst in Perth...Imogen lost her first tooth and a very special tooth fairy visited her at Aunty Mauretta's house. It ended up being a very special time in Perth and the girls were quite sad to be leaving, as was I. Paddy too was a little sad...he hadn't drunk so much and been fed that well since finishing work!

We only moved slightly south to start with once we left Perth, as we had one last lot of relatives to catch up with at Mandurah. Two more nights of being spoilt at my Aunty and Uncles and we were ready to get the show on the road again. We had a lovely drive south through some very beautiful little towns and magnificent country side, stopping in at Gnomesville near Dardanup and also a huge play ground at Donnybrook.

We finally made it to our destination for two nights - Big Valley Camp Grounds, Margaret River. It was a fantastic caravan park/farm stay, which is based on a working sheep farm. The air was fresh and crisp, with a mixture of manure, mown grass and campfire smoke. I was in heaven and all I needed was an open fire...although maybe not such a good idea in the van!

Thursday we headed out for the day's drive around the Margaret River region. First stop was Candy Cow and the girls were in heaven! They were aloud to take some of their money for the day and had a lovely time choosing what to spend it on. A lolly pop and some bubble-gum fudge each was the pick and then we headed off to Busselton, which is a lovely town on the water overlooking Geographe Bay.

We progressed further along the coastline to the Bay to Dunsborough (another beautiful place) and ordered our fish and chips from a well known shop in the area call Squid Lips. Naturally we had to order a serve of their famous salt and pepper squid. Yum! We took our paper wrapped goodies a little further up the coast to Meelup Beach and enjoyed our lunch with a view.

We meandered onto the next cove and were delighted to spot two whales no more than 300 metres from the shore. Just magic! After a drive by Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, we started our trip back to Margaret River. We stopped into a few beaches along the way and also endured a pit stop at the Bootleg Brewery. It was really all about the girls as there was a playground...it had nothing to do with the beer!

Yesterday we departed our little sheep farm stay and drove down to Augusta for a peek at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. We had been there long ago on a trip west before having the girls and were a little disappointed to discover it now had a fee just to enter the grounds. EVERYTHING seems to have a price tag!

We took some photos from the gates, kept our coins in our pockets and moved onto Pemberton with the thought of the Berry and Lavender Farm for pancakes for lunch. Unfortunately they were closed for the day, so it was back into the pretty little town for yummy pies at the bakery. We journeyed on a little further and set up for the night at a free stay just near the Valley Of The Giants Tree Top Walk. We have enjoyed some of our best nights sleeps at free stays and this spot was no different. I made a lamb casserole, the girls rode their bikes and we chatted with another family that were travelling Oz with three boys...and it didn't cost us a cent.

This morning after a sleep in and another slow start, we were ready for our tree top adventure. The walk amongst the tops of the enormous Karri and Tingle trees was great fun, although I felt a little pale on a few occasions. The construction of the walkway was quite amazing, with only a few viewing platforms perched high on a single pole and the rest being suspension bridges in between that sway about with each footstep and gust of wind. We then moved onto safer territory and did the walk on the forest floor to admire the beauties from ground level.

After an exhilarating morning, it was time to move on eastwards. Denmark was the destination for lunch, but a quick stop into Williams Bay to admire some of the areas beautiful coastline was needed first. On our walk down to the beach I heard some rustling in the bushes beside me and quickly sidestepped in front of Paddy wanting to move on quickly. He laughed at me and said it was the wind, but then the people passing us saw a lovely sized brown snake slither out from behind us. BLOODY SNAKES!

Once on the beach I quickly forgot the snake though, as Greens Pools was just spectacular. A short walk around the corner and another beautiful spot was Elephant Rocks. Unfortunately too cold for us to swim though, but lovely to see. Denmark was a pretty place. We had heard about the bakery which had won many awards, so it was another day of pies for lunch...and they didn't disappoint. With full bellies, we made our way to Albany and have booked into a park on the water near town for a few days. It is quite cold and windy, but we are reminding ourselves how close to the South Pole we are!

For now there are blue skies though and our list of things to see is big. Oh and how lucky for me...another thing we can add to our list tomorrow is the Southern Forest Street Machines Show and Shine. It's an annual event that Paddy just happened to snag hearing advertised on the radio as we arrived in town!