Day 9 to 11 - Holiday, Holiday part 2

Ouch

The day started with Jenny announcing that she had bashed her "dodgy" knee against her bed and moved her knee cap.  It was nothing too serious as she had done it before, but needed some para's and  supporting bandage which we did not have, so the first stop would be the pharmacy.

Jurien Bay

Our first destination for the day was Jurien Bay 130 km further north along the coast road, which promised one of the best beaches in Western Australia (quite a contest!!).  A quick pit stop in Cervantes on route and we were there and straight to the pharmacy where the bandage was procured.

Jurien bay is glorious.

$25 "free" swim

I don't usually 'do' sand or swimming in the sea, but I was inspired by the beautifulness of the see-through water, it looked so clean and inviting, so I had my first swim in the sea for a long time, what could possibly go wrong....?

Well, a jelly fish sting, that's what.  Somehow during my meandering around in the sea a "stinger" jelly fish got caught up in my swimsuit and delivered half a dozen painful stings.  At first my frenzied splashing around exclaiming; "I'm being strung" was met with laughter, but concern soon took over when they realised I was being serious.  So it was off to the pharmacy for the second time in the day.  "Was it a stinger?", asked the chemist in a matter of fact way - which certainly described the feeling!!  Anyway 25 dollars later I had some Soov gel and anti histamine tablets which eased the pain.  Safe to it will be a long time before I venture into the sea again!!!!

Selfie

Always time for a cheeky selfie on route

Cheeky selfie

Photobombing a Pinnacle selfie

the Pinnacles

Next we headed south and 11 km in land from the coast road to a natural attraction called the Pinnacles.  On arrival at the booth we were greeted with; "G'day, welcome to the Pinnacles, that will be 12 dollars please".

There is a 4km off-road track around the Pinnacles, with a number of stop off areas which we followed to look and photograph.

Lancelin sand dunes

The final stop for the day was Lancelin, which is renowned for the sand dunes and offers the opportunity to do sand boarding.  A quick stop at the HavaChat General Store to hire two sand boards and the requisite wax, and of course a round of ice creams, and we're off - the results can be seen in the video below produced by Jodie, and features spectacular fails by Simon and Paul.

As you can see the Dunes are big and whilst the slide down was great, the yomp back to the top on fine, soft sand looked like hard work. I stayed in the boot of the car mainly due to my recent injuries, partly as it had been so hot I felt I needed the safety of the shade and lastly because I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered to walk up to the top of the dunes. Still, I really enjoyed videoing from my iPad especially capturing Simon & Paul's falls which REALLY made me lol!

Internet cold turkey

At the base camp there was no wifi and no internet available to the kids.  The activities of the first night meant that this passed almost un-noticed, but despite attempts during the day to find free wifi at our various locations, the kids had been "internet cold turkey" for almost two days and were starting to "crack" with the enforced detox.  Auntie Biz and Uncle Paul, noticing with concern the state of the kids, seized the opportunity to become the "best Auntie and Uncle in the world" for 10 minutes by setting up "personal hotspots" on their iPhones so that Jodie and Jenny could get their internet fix.  All was right with the world once more.

More pictures from the day can be found by clicking here

Day 9 to 11 - Holiday, Holiday part 1

The time arrived for us to go walkabout in Australia for two nights in what we called our Holiday, Holiday and sometimes Holiday, Holiday, Holiday in honour of the Micky Flanagan piece, out out which we had recently watched on DVD.  In fact we used the terms a lot such as lunch lunch, swim swim, shower shower etc. much to the annoyance of Jodie and Jenny.

Open road

We headed North out of Perth on the main road, and as we got out into the outback we rarely saw vehicles behind or in front of us, with the occasional vehicle passing in the opposite direction.  All you had to do was turn the music up, set the cruise control to 110 kph, steer and watch out for oncoming Kangaroo's. 

Open road - to infinity and beyond

Destination Gabbadah

Our destination was a holiday (holiday) home at Sandalwood Rd, Gabbadah WA 6041, 122 km away, which was rented from a friend of a friend and provided an ideal base camp for the next few trips.

Base camp Trafford/Anscombe

Guilderton

With the cars unloaded we headed off to Guilderton the nearest coastal town, for a bit R&R, a swim and an Ice cream.

One of Simon's (many) Pano's - Moore river to the left, the Indian Ocean to the right.

Love this picture

Looking inland at Moore river

Another glorious empty beech

Moore river walk

We then took a short drive along the Moore river to a designated walk which provided yet another photo opportunity.

Another pano....

Kangaroo's

On the way back to base camp we got to see a Kangaroo and Joey who lived very close to base camp.

Kanga and roo

In one of the cupboards we discovered a store of games, which included a well used pack of UNO.  So several rounds of UNO ensued with some very dubious collaboration on the call of UNO.

It was a very clear evening and the stars shone brightly in the sky, so we decided to have a go at time lapse photography to capture them.  None of us had done it before and without internet access it was a case of trial and error, with mixed results.

The moon and some stars

So we started painting with light to try and figure it out, but got distracted and had more fun with a torch and iPhone lamp.

Paul and Porter

It is amazing what you can create when you go internet cold turkey!!

More images can be found here.

Follow the link to Part 2.

Day 8 - Train, Bus & Boat

Train

We took the train from Kwinana to Perth (Esplanade).  There are four stops, Cockburn Central, Murdoch, Bull Creek, and Canning Bridge.  The electric train itself runs down track in the centre of the Freeway.

Next stop Perth

Bus

We then decided to go on the City Sightseeing tour open top bus all around Perth.  A good photo opportunity.

The route

Lunch was at the Lucky Shag (named after a bird in case you were wondering!).

Boat

We booked a Jet Boat Experience, which was basically a high speed blast around Perth's Swan river doing 360's and emergency stops.  Strap in and enjoy the ride, the emergency exits are all around was the safety tip - you may get a bit wet.  Thankfully we were given waterproof coats.....

Damp!!!

Well the waterproofs were useless and we got absolutley soaked through to the skin on the boat but had lots of fun doing it! Jodie was convinced that a jellyfish had been thrown on board via the massive splash waves, we all found Jodie just as amusing as the boat ride itself!

Still it provided a beer opportunity to dry out.

We then headed back home where Simon & Paul built the BBQ, finished with sausages and corn on the cob.

Click here for more pictures

Day 7 & 8 - Project Barbie

BBQ Day one - the purchase

With the workmen almost finished on the outside area of Hotel Anscombe, it was time for the most important purchase of all........the Barbie.  Luckily corporate Australia has recognised this and provided the suitably named "Barbecues Galore" to cater for all things barbie.

A vast selection was narrowed down to a couple of options, but as any hardened shopper knows a shopping trip always requires a price/model comparison, so it was off next door to Bunnings, the Aussie equivalent to B&Q.

Meanwhile the girls relaxed and tested out the comfort provided by the Aussie seating solutions

Unfortunately the options provided at Bunnings were not suitable, but all was not in vain as a Frangipani plant was selected....  

Frangipani

So it was back to Barbecues Galore to do the deal, and a Discoverer 5 burner with accompanying Gas and tools was procured.

Next stop Coles (supermarket) to stock up with supplies for the inaugural Barbie.

A quick Barbie update on Skype was provided back to the UK as progress was being closely monitored.

BBQ Day two - the big build

So where to start?

Any idea Porter?

Instructions included, that's a good start!!

Floor section completed, with wheels!!

Base section done, just doors to add. 

Firebox in place.

Sides on, gas connected, good to go.. time for a beer and a barbie :)

Complete job

Click here for more pictures