Exploring South West Australia

It was lovely to be welcomed to Perth at the airport by Cat's old friend Alana and her boyfriend, Andrew. They whisked us back to their beautiful house with an incredible view over the river, where we sat on the terrace catching up over beers. Flora was delighted to be in a house full of toys, although unfortunately Alana's kids were in the UK with their dad. She did take quite a shine to Andrew's 17 year son Damon, who was very sweet.
The following morning we woke up, had a lovely breakfast, and went down to the river beach, just a few minutes walk from the house, to swim and jump off the jetty. After a relaxing morning, Pedro's parents, and their cousins, Isabel and Victor came to collect us to take us to their house for lunch. It was lovely to see them and very sweetly they had made Cat's favourite Portuguese dish, Polvo a Lagareiro. Their daughter Joana and her husband Roland also popped over. It was great to catch up and eat delicious Portuguese food.
Much chilling occurred over the next couple of days. After so long on the road it was lovely to

be settled in a big house with lots of room and great hosts. Cat, Flora and Alana went for a walk along the headland and to a play park.
When Alana and Andrew headed off to work, we borrowed their bikes and cycled to North Fremantle beach. The bike Flora took was a little big for her and much heavier than her own, and so it was a bit tricky. The beach was gorgeous (Cat had forgotten how lovely the beaches are in Perth) but for Flora, as in Victoria, the water was a bit chilly. After a few refreshing dips we headed back to get ready to go to Isabel and Victors for a big family dinner with their daughters, Gida, Catarina and Joana) and families. It was a lovely afternoon and evening getting to know their family over beers and wine whilst eating delicious Portuguese food.

We had spent the previous days gathering camping stuff for a trip to the Margaret river, so we went to collect our hire car, packed up the car (to the brim) and headed south. We stopped for lunch in Margaret River and then headed to Conto, our coastal national park campsite. It was simple with not much infrastructure which made us feel adventurous and excited. On arrival we drove around the loops to select a good spot and were slightly concerned that it appeared to be empty, especially as it was supposed to be peak season. We eventually found a car and trailer and set up nearby. Our first hurdle was when we realised the attachment for the pump didn't fit the air mattress. Oops. Should have checked! We drove around the loops again looking for someone with a pump, and although no one had won, we were reassured to see more people had arrived and were setting up. Eventually a guy set up next to us and he managed to fashion a workable attachment with some pipe and duct tape. We were also delighted to see that a few kangaroos began to appear. Once organised, we drove to check out the beach (from up on the headland) and then headed into Margaret River for supplies and dinner at the local pub.
More kangaroos (or the same ones!) were outside the tent when we woke up, which Flora was pretty excited about. After breakfast we went to the local beach with a family we had met during our search for a pump the previous evening. The drive and subsequent walk to the beach were beautiful. It was wild and felt isolated. Aside from a few surfers

and coast to coast walkers, we pretty much had it to ourselves, and their were loads of rock pools to explore. After a couple of hours we headed further south through the Karri Forest Tourist Drive (gorgeous) to Hamelin Bay, where we were met with a beautiful stretch of white sand and clear turquoise water. Hamelin Bay is famous for its rays and sure enough, following a short stroll down the beach we encountered manta and sting rays playing in the shallows. We had taken a boogie board for Flora, but like in Victoria and Perth, she found the water too cold to spend much time inside. After a few hours enjoying the beach, we headed home before dark to prepare a camp dinner and have a few beers. When we arrived a family was setting up next to us. They had a few kids with them that Flora had a

great time playing with. They were really nice and friendly, but exceptionally loud, and later in the evening a fellow camper became quite irate and was pretty rude to them.
The next morning the temperature had really dropped and although we went to Prevelly beach, there was no way we would be swimming. It was really windy, so instead we went to the cafe and enjoyed the view before heading to the brewery in Margaret River to meet Micheal and Cheryl Ann, who are neighbours of James and Deborah in KL. The brewery was great - excellent beer and food, a kids playground. Everything you need!
On our last day in the region we went to a couple of wineries that were recommended and bought some

Christmas gifts. We then went to Yallingup, but again it wasn't warm enough to swim. But we caught up with Rachel who we had met in Bukit Lawang and arranged to meet her later on in Dunsborough after we had visited Ngilgi Cave. The cave was pretty spectacular, with lovely formations and Flora even managed to see some fairies inside! The people that worked their were really enthusiastic and very sweet with her. So on to the pub to meet Rachel. It was great to see her and meet some of her friends, and we ended up staying longer than we should have and then had a long drive back to Perth afterwards.
Our little camping trip was an absolute success. So much wildlife, amazing forests and fields, astonishing beaches with dramatic rock cliffs, sophisticated wineries and gorgeous coastal towns.