5th July-19th July, sun, sand, walks and lots of cakes and a smack in the face .....

I am not even going to attempt to update you lot day by day, as the days go so quick they seem to be over in a blink. But I just sort of captured a couple of funnies and a batch of piccies for you, so here goes.

I will own up now, in that when we arrived we were met by Mike who greeted us with a 'sorry guys, we have a power cut!!!!" I look at John and we just laugh cuz everywhere we have been they have had a power cut.. so cud it be us???? But no... its defo not us this time. Mike explains that a man driving his 4WD had a stroke and heart attack at the wheel and ended up driving the car into the power pylons up the road. Anyway about 5 hours later power is restored and the top road re-opened, poor man...., but at least now know where the candles and the torches are, so there is no more falling over each other and getting lost...we've had a number of 'outages' while we have been here, buts its just become the norm, so we just carry on as best we can and wait for the power to be restored.

Now, you have to imagine its first thing in the morning and showers have been had and we are just getting dressed. Buddy and Missy are just getting up and I turn round to see John, one hand on the sink area of the bathroom, one hand and arm spread back and one leg back and one leg forward.... sort of stretching..."what are you doing I ask?" 'I was copying Buddy" he replies ???  Well that just about says it all, next minute he has swapped legs and arms and he is doing it the other way round??? It must be his age, as I cant think what else it can be, but proberly lest said the better. Its just that I have to live with him.....he then stands up straight, has a giggle, gets dressed and leaves the room.

Its fair to say we have had lots of laughs and giggles along the way, but probably more so here as its so relaxed. I've also been baking and I might add they are flippin good cakes, so good, that a batch of twelve lasts about 1 day!!! and as there are only the two of us here, that takes some doing..

The local shopping is quite good and there is a large shopping mall about 15 mins away. I drive there on my own now and am also able to pop into another centre on the way back and still manage to arrive home having not got lost and in one piece.

Buddy and Missy are great and no bother. We have to keep Missy on her lead at walk times as she has taken to wandering off into the bush of the local reserve and not coming back!!! Fair to say Mr Smith was not impressed at these antics, especially when he had to get right in the bush, find her and get her out, after she had decided to hide herself in the middle of loads of brambles and bushes. She then became trapped, so in went Smith....,. Added to which when we called her she took the silent vow......little madam. Long story short, she came out being carried under Johns armpit looking very pleased with herself!

The local reserve is called 'Denis De Young' ( He was a local man who left hundreds of acres of bushland to the council for the community to use providing it remained as bush land and not built on) and its just acres and acres of open bush land, no cars, no bikes, no nothing, just walkers and their dogs and a really large 'trotting track' for the local horse community.  Its alright but you have to watch out for spiders (redbacks, seen and 'deaded' one so far!) and snakes and stuff, luckily a gravel path has been laid through some of it which as you can imagine I sort of favour.

Then there is the torrential rain and when it really rains here you know it. I will leave you with the piccies. This where the ozzies come into their own as they collect gallons of the stuff...

There we are sat out the garden, eating cakes and tea as you do... and up pops a small black and white jack Russell. He just wanders up and walks around. I look at his collar "Jake", oh I say to John this is that dog the neighbours were talking about, he lives next door with Alan and Jude and goes walk about for days. So I go inside and get a lead, put it on him and take him back and over into Alan and Judes garden, where I let him go, so peace is restored.. Next day a slightly bigger black and white dog wanders into the back garden and then promptly wanders back out again??? Outcome was neither dog belonged to Alan and Jude (hahahaha) turns out their dog is called Jack and is a very large sandy coloured lab, so I think I will keep stum about putting Jake into their garden!!!

Well, Kouy is due here later tomorrow, so off I go to the shops to get her a balloon, you know those helium things with the messages on. But thats easier said then done. I could not believe the price either. The standard 'small' balloon that we would normally pay about £3-4 for is $25 (£18) plus  a further $2 blowing charge???? . WE love Kouy dearly but flippin hell, thats a bit steep, so I am thinking outside the box.... The lady at the local Spotlight (Dunelm Mills sort of shop) suggests I go to the local party shop as they are the only ones who do plain balloons. So directions in hand and off I go, venturing in to a new area. The party shop is bright pink and just as the lady says stands out!. I ask the man for a plain balloon that I can write a message on, he looks at me like I am mad. His wife explains' we don have much call here for plain balloons" anyway long story short I buy a plan balloon for $7, and if I want a weight on the end its another $4, so I bypass on the weight as I have a nice cuddly toy back at the house that will make a really nice weight. and just pay the $7. I talk the man into lending me his perm marker and I stand in the shop and write the message on the balloon... Both he and his wife stand watching my artistry, YES artistry , wish me well and warn me to get it out of the car asap as its a tad hot today and the balloons don't like extremes of heat either way.  Now all I have to remember is to tie it up in the car and take it out the other end. So tied up it is, and its off back to the house... AS I'm driving along, I have got this bloody balloon making a break for freedom and bopping about all over the back seat and yes I did tie it to my shopping!!!! but clearly not tight enough. I am concentrating so hard on the balloon that I nearly miss the turning, but eventually arrive back, pull slowly up the drive and park amidst Buddy and Missy trying hari kari in front of the car....  I carefully open the back door and make a mad grab for the thing before it flies off and into the WA skies. It gets tied to the 'duck' and all is well. Lest just hope it stays up as promised (7 days apparently)...

John and I have now realised that we probably should have emigrated here years ago and when the kids were really young. The quality of life, the opportunities, the weather, the education, the outside life, the space, because as a place to live its just got so much to offer. Who knows where we would have all been now, but hey ho we did't, lifes still good and we are still seeing lots of it, so no regrets just some missed opportunities.....

Anyway too much said, so heres the pictures..

The washing line is to low, so I ask John to pull the rope up!!!!

Umm tightening that line, that was a big mistake, because washing line is now broke, cuz tightened rope, pulled down tree trunk, smacked Linda round chops, bought tears to eyes and her drawers to the floor!!!! so I say no more..

Pleased to say tho... the rotary line is now out of the bush(I mean John cut the garden back) and in  full use ! and my drawers are back where they should be, flying high!!!!!!

A view down the side of the house.

This is Missy, enjoying the dregs of Johns ice cream... love her..

Bonnie, only time we cud get a piccie...

John hoovers the pool edge..

yes this me, cleaning the pool.

and still cleaning the pool..

I collect wood for the fire, well yes it is only one, but be fair it is a big one !!!

Off for walkies...twice a day..

Madam, with her new collar on that I made, dosent she look pretty?

This is the lemon tree in the garden, all the veg left overs are put under this tree for the local wild life to feed on... The lemons are massive, juicy and really tasty and the tree is full of them, so we are gonna make some lemonade (well Kouy is when she gets here lol)

John really!!!!! you greedy boy...

Theres no ships in there John... ( he is actually checking the water level as we have had some heavy rains...) he confirmed it was full...so we will continue to shower....

Cutting wood for the fire....thats heats the house, and the kettle and the washing up water.

This was the brambles, that Missy decided to hide in....

Yes, the long walk through Denis De Young reserve and those two black dots are Buddy and Missy....

more of the reserve..

and some more...

These are 'pig melons'  they just grow on the roadside and are sort of attached to each other by some sort of string that they produce. No one seems to eat them, they just lay and rot back into the ground over time..

Western Australia (WA) is well know for its flora, this is actually just one of many in Mike and Cheryls garden..

The rain is diverted with pipes, when the tank become full. I kid you not this pipe gushed... I had palpitations that we were going to get a repeat of Dawesville...I had started to look for a tinnie and oars....

Well once again thats all, sorry the blog got a bit behind, but this retirement lark is hectic.....

The kids are doing great, Roxanne has had her graduation form Uni and very lovely she looked too, Billee is now searching for a job as she has left school... (still remember her in her fairy dressing up outfit!) and she is off to Florida In Aug, lucky girl xx and Kouy is working and studying hard and trying to calm her excitement at coming out to stay with us here....yippeee. Steven awaits his next baby. So overall things appear fine and seem to becoming together for all of them.

Love to all, and just to remind you all that our Kouy lands at midnight tonite, so tomorrow will bring lots of cuddles and hugs.

We just have to get through today and then she will be here, and it cant seem to go quick enough....Just to let you know its 7.20am in the UK, and 14.20 here, so I am off to make a cup of tea, cup of coffee and add those to a cake ( yes been baking again xx) and no doubt you are all getting up and having breakkie....

Bye.... xxx Love to all our kids and friends xxx

4th July Up with the larks and straight into training.

Mike and Cheryl who own the house are lovely, both are teachers , so very informed and both have a smashing sense of comedy...and have become like old friends really.

So the day unravels and Mike and John go and off and do the man things, you know fire wood,
chainsaws, cars, how the wood burner works, how to clean the pool (yes the pool) etc etc and Cheryl pops into work for a meeting for a few hours, so I potter and find my way round the kitchen. Cheryl is back and off me and her go to the shops to sort stuff out as you do!!! (well as we women do so well...). Overall busy day resulting in us taking Cheryl and Mike to the airport at about 10pm ready for their adventures in Singapore,Germany, Sardinia and Scotland....

Not going to say too much more about the end of the day, but lets just say the journey home from the airport in the pitch black of nite was not smooth and resulted in some stern words between John and I, oh why you ask... cuz we got flippin lost.... I reply... Less said the better but the 35 min drive there, took about 3 times that to get back. But back we eventually did get.   phew...

Heres a few piccies....

The pool, very theraputic to clean...and yes I do it to...

No silly... this is not the house this is the tree house that the kids used to play in..... what a great thing to have..

Across the garden and through the gazebo

The  bore water tower..

The main water tank is the big silver one set in the ground, its the only water they have here for washing and everyday use and its all rain water...water is precious here so its certainly not wasted. They also have bore water which is straight from the ground but cant be drunk and in most places will be rusty in colour and sometimes quite smelly (Thats the white thing on top of the tower). They use the bore water on the gardens. The fine here for using water at drought times is $1000 and they all seem to take it really seriously. So you rarely see a car being washed and where gardens are being watered the owners tend to hang a sign on their gate for all to see sayin 'bore water being used'. (the little upturned green pot, is just that an empty upturned pot!)

This is the wood burner, flippin brilliant, and yes that is the kettle and a pot of water being heated on it. As I said all energy is really valued here and rather than waste the heat from the burner top its used to heat the kettle and washing up water...It makes you realise how wasteful we Poms, are..(me included) and yes John did chop those logs....

Anyway, thats all for now, love you all lots, byeee....

3rd July, bye Pinnacles and Banjup here we come.. Yehhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Up and at em..... we start to pack up and the usual conversations with other campers ensues. Vicky and her hubby come out to say bye and to exchange email and numbers... all good, lovely couple.  They are gonna try the travel bit and see how they get on.  Vicky also wants to take photos of John and I on the bike, so we oblige ...There is some luxury in their caravan , so it should be quite a nice time for them on the road...anyway I digress. We finish getting packed, showered and are fully loaded, it never ceases to amaze us or other people how much we manage to pack on Ruby.... We drop the keys off and say our goodbyes and we are off.

We head back on the road toward Perth via the Brand Highway initially and then we cut back across to the Indian Ocean Drive and everything is going well. We need to get fuel, so John heads towards what we think is a roadhouse (Australian garage), it appears to be off the Ocean Drive, but just round the corner
( never trust an Ozzie who says 'oh its only down the road, or just round the corner mate' cuz I kid you not its never just down the road, its always lots of KM's down the road...... and guess what ? some 8 km later we are still driving out further away from the main road and toward the coast. Wheres the garage??? I ask John, he just shrugs his shoulders and carries on driving, about 15km later  we see it. We pull in, John fills up and we go inside and order two lattes'. They dont do latte, but if we carry on down the hill and head toward the sea, theres a cafe there, says the girl on the till, they do nice lattes... So off we go down to the sea and the cafe. The town is called Guilderton...... its another 'little beauty'. We pull in and park up and decide to treat ourselves to fish and chips in the restaurant. As is often the norm, we are the only ones eating in the restaurant, pity we did not realise why until after we had ordered and ate. Its $18 (£12) each for fish and chips and then $4 (£3)  for each coffee. The meal is actually really nice. There are quite a few people sat outside eating their fish and chips out of the paper......... Anyway, meal had and we walk outside where I spot the menu board and the penny drops as to why everyone else is sitting outside. Fish and chips out of the paper is $9 (£6) and the coffee in a paper cup is $2 (£1.50).. so peeps be careful about your ideas of grandeur as they could cost you hahahahaha.

Anyway, the pictures speak for them self.

A view from the Indian Ocean Drive, Its only been open a few months and we have driven down it, coooool.....it has loads of sand dunes just appearing in between the bush and the road, amazing....

More Drive...

This is the first person we met at Guilderton.......... hahaha. He/ she was a right cheeky chappy...

.....  Blimey, he must have been here a while .......a view across the Moore River at Guilderton.......

The Moore river meets the Indian Ocean....look at that view....

and again....

and still more... River....meets Ocean

a view back across the river and town..

From the top of the hill and over the beach..and more of the river meeting the sea....

and the waves crashed and they crashed...and yes there are kids playing on the beach..

and more..

The causeway, only on view when the tide is out...real big river meets real big ocean.

Across the local camping site...

and yes we/ did flippin well climb these stairs, thats how you lot got all these lovely piccies to look at.

Out of Guilderton... and back onto the Indian Ocean Drive and heading towards Perth, Roads busy as usual!!!!!

 Heading into Perth. No chat just piccies, cuz this is a real busy city, so hold on.....here we go.

Its not unusual for the mainline trains to run directly both ways in the centre of the freeways...

PERTH.......modern, different, and very busy...

More Perth

Here you go, a train in the middle of the freeway and doing about 80km an hour...and as you can see we are going in the opposite direction...

Across the water and we are nearly through the city and on the outskirts ....just need to cutover to state highway 2 now...Me thinks, me is gettting flippin good at this navigating lark....

Its now nearly 3.30pm and we are still about 45 mins from Banjup, so fingers crossed we will get there while its still light..just!

Onto the SR2 and exit at Rowley road, left on Littlelow road and then left into Wilga Court, first house is number 11? next house is ummmmmm 23??? dont even ask, but anyway we are here. I get off the bike before we go up the drive to the house as its mainly soft ground and as you know Ruby does not like soft ground, so here we go. We get a lovely greeting from the dogs who are doing all sorts of dance styles in front of the bike with John trying not to flatten them....

The driveway in.....and 5 acres to enjoy..

more drive...

The house through the side entrance..

The shed... say no more, ozzies seem to have a thing about sheds, they have them built bigger than their houses????

Our two charges for the next 5 weeks, The handsome boy on the left is Buddy and this is his best mate Missy... Theres also a cat called Bonny but she is not keen to be filmed!!! She is however the biggest female cat we have ever seen and is a fantastic 'mouser'.... She has also (for some reason...... (lol) taken a great liking to John....must be his dulcet tones.

Anyway its been a long day, we need to get unpacked, trained on the little quirks of the house , have dinner, then off to bed as tomorrow will be very busy...

Nite you lot, love to all...xxx