29. The one with coins, quokkas and a cat called Pus Pus

Total distance travelled: 26,946km (+491 km)

We approached Perth with mixed feelings. A significant time had passed since we had visited a major city and we have grown to love small town, coastal life. So, the thought of being among the hustle and bustle again was met with some trepidation. We were, however, excited to see the sights Perth has to offer and we weren’t disappointed!

After rejecting many caravan parks near Perth due to their expense, we settled in a nice, small park, Banksia Tourist Park, largely populated by permanent residents (although not your typical caravan park residents, thankfully!) It was a quiet park with an awesome camp

kitchen, pool and rec room facility where we whiled time away playing card games, pool, foosball, and caught up on some school work with the kids.

Eager to explore the city, we parked at Optus Stadium, and then rode around the impressive structure, home to Josh’s beloved Eagles. We then continued over the Matagarup Bridge (which you can zip line off!) and along the banks of the Swan River. We then rode through the city to visit the Perth Mint where we were entertained and educated by our ebullient tour guide. Highlights included viewing a 1t pure gold coin worth more than $90m (despite its legal tender value being a measley $1m), watching a bar of gold being poured the old fashioned way (after melting in a furnace heated to 1,300 degrees Celsius), and measuring our individual weights in gold (the one time in your life you want to be at your heaviest!) The kids also got to stamp their own coins, making pretty special keepsakes.

After enjoying lunch in the landscaped gardens of the mint, we returned to the car and drove across town to the Kings Park Botanic Gardens, where we enjoyed views over the Swan and Canning rivers. We all agreed that Perth is a beautiful city - having the best bits of

Sydney, but much smaller, with plenty of green space, and a ridiculous amount of water frontage! We topped off this brilliant day at Cottesloe Beach where we went for a walk and indulged in ice cream and hot chips while watching the sunset.

You can’t visit Perth and not make the trek across to the famous Rottnest Island. So, early on Friday morning, we made our way to Fremantle to board the ferry. After deliberating about whether to take our bikes across, the choice to do so proved the right decision, as we spent the day riding and snorkelling our way around the island. Even before we reached our first destination (a lighthouse), we sighted our first quokkas. It quickly became apparent that even though you are not meant to feed or approach the quokkas, many people do, as they are rather forward little creatures - not afraid of humans at all! We were fortunate to find a secluded little spot for our first snorkel where we could shelter from the sun in the rocks and enjoy the water away from fellow tourists. While the water was super cold and the experience very different to the Ningaloo Reef, there was still plenty to see amidst the sea grass and under the rock ledges.

Unfortunately, the island’s water refill stations are sparse, so after

enjoying lunch overlooking the water, we rode back into the main town to replenish our empty drink bottles. As we had exerted a fair amount of energy cycling around the hilly island, and snorkelling, we were delighted to find a general store where we purchased a pack of 8 ice creams and a couple of sports drinks to share in the hope of restoring our electrolytes. While we savoured these treats on a park bench over looking the ocean, we were entertained by a very game quokka sneaking up on unsuspecting individuals in hopes of finding some treats of it’s own.

We then rode to another lighthouse and enjoyed another short snorkel at the more popular Pinky Beach, before further indulging in some hot chips by the beach for dinner. On the return ferry, we were treated to a resplendent sunset which seemed to last forever… the perfect end to a very special day.

Next we moved to Rockingham, where we spent 3 nights in the shadows of the grain silos at an awesome caravan park just across the road from the beach for under $30 per night. Much to our delight, there was a very friendly resident cat named "Pus Puss" who willingly soaked in our cuddles; I’m not sure who enjoyed it the most!

Whilst in Rockingham, a key aim was to have our car serviced. The kids and I were once again thankful to Matt who has endured hours of loading and unloading bikes from numerous set ups so that we can go on family rides. This presented the perfect opportunity to ride along the beautiful esplanade to the jetty, where all 4 of us made daring leaps into the ocean below, some more hesitantly than others! The kids then tried to swim out to what they thought was a ‘nearby’ pontoon, but learnt a valuable lesson that water always makes things look closer than they are. It did, however, provide great entertainment for Matt and I who were watching from a nearby park bench.

The following day, we hired kayaks with the plan to venture out to 2 islands: Seal Island and Penguin Island. We made it out to Seal Island without hiccup and enjoyed a snack while watching the slothful sea lions sun bake on the nearby shore. Our trek out to Penguin Island was less successful, as a strong south-westerly wind picked up and we soon realised we had no hope of competing against the wind and waves. We conceded defeat and headed back to shore, thankful it was an onshore breeze enabling us to catch some waves to carry us back to shore. We were then faced with the monumental task of

getting the kayaks back to the jetty. Matt put in a valiant effort fighting the waves in the shallows to drag each one back individually, but we couldn’t have been more thankful when the guy we hired the kayaks from spotted us struggling and came and picked them up at a nearby beach entrance. We consoled ourselves with the fact that we were unlikely to see penguins anyway, due to their steady population decline in recent years.

Each of our nights in Rockingham, we were treated to breathtaking sunsets as we moseyed along the beach, which (as seems to be the case everywhere in the west) seem to only get more brilliant once the sun is down. The sky turns into the most radiant colours and patterns… a testament to the beauty and splendour of our amazing God.