Sad day

Today three years ago my Mum died, I can't believe it is 3 years already. I felt like a fraud being so miserable when in the UK it hadn't happened yet, even though it was 3 years ago....weird huh?

To stop a miserable day being simply dismal Mr Hojo drove us out to the Cape Naturaliste Lighhouse where we had a cup of coffee (only sold in takeaway cups boo) and went for a walk around the coastline. Simply gorgeous and lovely to see how much the area has regrown after the huge bushfire that almost wiped out the lighthouse. We stuck to a level walk as we were a little sore after our trek yesterday, for the locals we walked from Broadwater to Siesta Park and back again, for non locals a flippin long way! 10k I guess as we went the long way both times.
The less flat path takes you past the whale lookout where we have walked as a family a fair amount.

Todays pictures are wildly different to April 2009 after the burn.




















We wandered around Dunsborough for a while and went home as someone wanted to buy the Kayak (yay). We had many hours of fun on that little kayak but we have to clear out so off it went to it's new home.

Petra Olive Oil Estate

Sunday 25th October 2009
Having had an early night we were able to wake up early and go out for breakfast, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and at about 28c, the perfect temperature for not doing a lot.
We went for breakfast at Petra Olive Oil Estate in Yallingup, or at least somewhere near Yallingup, it was recommended to Ian by one of our suppliers, so with only one child in tow we thought we would give it a go.
It is a bit out of the way, but we found it in the end and after tasting a few dips and oils we ordered our breakfasts.
Ian had had the Olive Pickers Breakfast which was basically a big breakfast with a twist, the scrambled eggs were mixed with an Indian style chutney to give a very tasty and interesting flavour, the only downside was the Yallingup Wood Fired Sourdough Toast, which didn’t seem to be as fresh as some that we have tried.
Carolyn had the Poached Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and enjoyed it apart from the eggs being a bit under cooked, she doesn’t really do runny poached eggs.
Kristian had Toast and Jam, except he didn’t want it toasted and that was fine, it was the same Sourdough and he did struggle to get through it a bit, but he did enjoy the jam, although his favourite part was probably making friends with the house dog “Gemma”, but then he is young and has never been hungry enough to really appreciate food.
It was a very nice setting with a good ambience and a nice dog; we will try it again sometime. They also have dog friendly accommodation, just in case you are interested.

After breakfast we drove to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse so that we could go for a walk down to the Whale Watching area, it is Whale Watching season, we haven’t seen any in the wild and we wanted some of it.
As we walked round the headland we saw a couple of spurts of water going into the air as whales surfaced or submerged or whatever they were doing, when we got to the Whale Watching platform we saw a few more.
Unfortunately they were quite a way out and there weren’t any Liverpool fans around, so no beach balls to play with, they were barely breaking the surface and even with binoculars we could only see the water breaking as they came up for air or went under, but based on the position of them we reckon that they were Humpback Whales as they don’t come too close into shore.
After that we went to a school fete in Dunsborough, talk about a professional job with plenty of local business backers, this was an event that was going to raise a fortune, just not out of us, we wasted a couple of dollars on a wine raffle then headed for home.
We got home to find two manic puppies, starved of attention for more than ten minutes and desperate to get outside to relieve themselves, so we let them do that, put out some washing to dry and went down to the jetty for a coffee in the sun.
After coffee we went for a walk round Busseltons two art galleries, before stopping at Gelato for the obligatory hot weather indulgence, ice cream.
From there we went home to wait for Fraser and Marisa to come back from camp, when they arrived we were informed that Marisa was grumpy because she didn’t get much sleep, no surprise there then, she never does on theses things then wonders why she is tired.
It’s been a very enjoyable day for us and we weren’t going to have it upset by grumpy kids, so we stuck them in the shower, fed them and sent them to bed, peace by 7.15pm, not bad.
We watched a couple of episodes of guff that we had recorded and had an early night ourselves.

Best Own Goal of the Season

Sunday 30th August 2009
We were up at a reasonable hour this morning, Ian watched the Man Utd v Arsenal game while the kids cleaned out the rabbits.
Ian was gutted by the football result, he had suspected that the Arsenal team were still a bit lightweight compared to Man Utd and had expected to get beaten, but they were the best team on the day and were beaten by what will probably be Best Own Goal of the Season and to make maters worse, the scum (Spurs) won again.
After the football had finished we went to the market to pick up some fruit for the week, before going down to the foreshore for a coffee.
From the foreshore, we came home, dropped off our fruit and then drove out to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse so that we could go for a walk along the coast path.
The coast path is called the Cape to Cape Trail and links Cape Naturaliste with Cape Leeuwin, we walked just a part of it from the Lighthouse to a place called Sugarloaf, about 8km/5mls round trip and extremely undulating, so good exercise.
We don’t know why this particular Sugarloaf is so named, we don’t suppose for a minute that it is anything remotely like Sugarloaf Mountain in Brazil, it is only a couple of rocks being pounded by the waves and although we aren’t quite sure what a Sugarloaf should look like, we feel that if we made one and it looked like that, we might be a tad disappointed.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Monday 13th April 2009
Easter Monday and no work, what a lovely feeling, the weather is great, so we went to Meelup beach for a while to have what will quite possibly be our last swim in the sea before next spring.
When we got to the beach the water was a little bit on the rough side for Meelup, but that didn’t stop Ian and the kids from going for a swim and gave Marisa a chance to practice her surfing.
Carolyn and her dad didn’t fancy a swim today, so just relaxed under the umbrellas on the beach.

After an hour or so on the beach we loaded up the car and drove to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, Carolyn and the kids had been there a couple of months ago and said how beautiful the area was, that was a week before a bushfire swept through the area, coming within a few metres of the lighthouse.



We did the Lighthouse tour, we felt we needed to keep our legs moving after the last couple of days doing the tourist bit and where else could you be guaranteed to find some steps in the middle of nowhere.
Fortunately this Lighthouse only had a few steps as it was built about 130 feet above sea level, the guide said it was 130 metres above but that doesn’t sound right, it did however mean we had to walk up a hill to get to it.
After the Lighthouse we went home for a late lunch before Ian and Carolyn went to the Café to get the machines ready for work tomorrow, Carolyns dad and the kids carried on building the bunny run.
In the evening we had a BBQ and watched the film Iron Man, it was good fun viewing.

More Caves

Sunday 12th April 2009
We went to visit a couple more caves today, they are both down towards Augusta and on the same ticket as the Lighthouse and Jewel Cave tours that we did on Friday, they were Mammoth Cave and Lake Cave.
We went to Mammoth Cave first, there were never any mammoths in this neck of the woods so it got its name because it is very big.
The Cave offers a self guided tour using MP3 technology, so you can take as long over it as you want, you just tap in a number at the points of interest and get a full commentary as you go round.


When we came out of the cave, we took a walk through the forest of Marri and Karri trees that surround the cave, they are quite spectacular, untouched apart from the odd bushfire for hundreds of years. There were hardly any dead ones, even the ones that had been caught in bushfires were still growing above the point where the bushfire had swept through.


We got the girl at the Mammoth Cave reception to phone ahead and get us booked on a tour of Lake Cave, she managed to get us booked on one an hour and a half later, so we drove there and had Tea with Hot Cross Buns while we waited for our turn.
How civilised is that eh, 30+ Degrees and there we were, sitting outside eating Hot Cross Buns and drinking Tea, almost reminiscent of the days of the Empire.
When we had finished eating and drinking we went into the visitors centre, there were the usual displays and descriptions of how the cave was formed and a manmade fibreglass tunnel which was supposed to be a cave tunnel simulation and a good excuse for the kids to chase each other through it.


Carolyn and her dad both went through the tunnel much to the amusement of the kids, Ian preferred to walk round instead.
When we went to join the tour we had to descend about 300 steps just to get to the entrance of the cave, it was in the bottom of a massive crater known as a Doline, basically a cave where the roof had fallen in.
From the entrance to the cave, we then had to descend a load more steps before we reached the water level in Lake Cave.
We followed a small stream which slowly spread out in front of us, there were, Stalactites, Stalagmites, Straws, Columns and a Suspended Table made from Stalactites that had reached the water level and joined together many years ago and now just hung there above the water since the water level went down.


With all the lights and shapes glistening off the surface of the water, it was quite spectacular and well worth the visit.
Then came the hard bit, we had to get back to the top again. 300+ Steps and we all did it in one go, Kristian seemed to run most of it while the rest of us put our defiant heads on and marched to the top without stopping.
At the top we stopped at a viewing point to get our breath back and wonder whether we were wise to do the steps in one hit, it hurt a bit but none of us died of heart failure, therefore it must have been good for us.
Apparently, some time ago, some plonker said “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, he/she obviously hadn’t walked up those steps in one go before, it didn’t kill us, but we certainly felt weaker for doing it, although the fact that it was past lunchtime might have had some bearing on it.
Having got our breath back, we drove to Margaret River for lunch. The problem with going to Margaret River for a late lunch on a Sunday is that, despite the town being chock-a-block with people looking for entertainment and food, everything (virtually) closes at 2pm.
We did find somewhere in the end, a Café called Sails, we were going to have a look at it when we were down this way over a year ago, it was closed.
It was up for sale then and we were having a weekend in Margaret River while looking at different businesses in the area that were up for sale, it had closed by the time we got to Margaret River so we decided that we would go and have breakfast there the following morning, looking at it from a customers point of view.
Anyway, we got a call from the agent who was handling the sale of the Olde Chapel Café suggesting that we might like to put in an offer on the Olde Chapel just in case the sale fell through, Sails was closed the following day and the rest as they say, is history.
We had a nice lunch at Sails although they did close the kitchen just after we arrived, we don’t think it had anything to do with us, but it certainly upset a lot of other people, who seeing us sitting outside eating assumed that the place was open and were not happy when told otherwise.
After lunch we had a little walk along the Banks of the river in the hope that Carolyns dad might see a Kangaroo, but to no avail.



We headed for home, stopping at the Beckett’s Flat Winery to sample and purchase some wine, we were probably not in the right frame of mind for tasting serious wine and opted for a few bottles of Rose to take home, it tends to be our preferred wine on the odd occasion we do drink wine, easy to drink, whatever the occasion.

Augusta Lighthouse

Friday 10th April 2009
Today is Good Friday and a chance for us to get out as a family and do the tourist thing, so we headed for Augusta.
A couple of weeks ago we did the Augusta Lighthouse Tour while Marisa was away on camp, we thoroughly enjoyed it and thought that it would be the sort of thing that Carolyns dad would enjoy doing and Marisa would never forgive us if she had to wait too long to visit a place that her brothers had already visited.
We drove down to the Lighthouse and got ourselves booked on a tour for about forty minutes later, so to pass the time we jumped back in the car and drove a few hundred metres down the road to the remains of an old Watermill that used to serve the site that the Lighthouse has been built on.
Carolyns dad is a Millwright back in the UK, so to see this Waterwheel on the other side of the world and read about its history was of interest to him.
After looking at the Waterwheel we went back up to the Lighthouse and had a look round the grounds, it is situated on an outcrop of land that separates the Indian Ocean from the Southern Ocean, that is to say the bit of land only keeps them apart until the land disappears, then it’s a bit of a free for all really.
It’s incredible really how they can tell which bits of water belong to which ocean when they get so close to each other that you can’t even see the join.
After going up the Lighthouse and having a look round we went back to the reception to ask them to book us on to a Cave Tour that was on the way home, they rang through and got us on a tour about an hour and a half later.



So with an hour and a half to spare and the cave only fifteen minutes away we drove into Augusta for a spot of lunch, we stopped at a Deli that we had stopped at on our first visit to Augusta.
If you are ever in Augusta and feeling a bit peckish, the Gourmet Deli is the place to go, this is only our second visit but it was as successful as the first.
They have a good variety of foods from pies and cakes to sandwiches and wraps, with some really interesting fillings and reasonably priced. It’s not very often that we all enjoy what we have ordered, so for us all to enjoy everything on two occasions is pretty remarkable.



After lunch we drove to Jewel Cave, we arrived with about fifteen minutes to spare before our tour was due to start.
When the Guide introduced herself and told us a little bit about the cave and what we would see, she pointed out that we might start to feel very tired and out of breath, this would be because the CO2 level in the cave had risen above normal in the cave today.
If this sort of thing happened in the UK to the extent where they had to warn you about it, they would have cancelled the tour, at least until the Guide got Danger Money, so we were surprised to be told all this and for the tour to continue.
We expected Jewel Cave to be all sparkly and glitter, instead it was just a big cave that was quite interesting with the Jewel bit being probably the most least interesting bit of the tour.
It was hard work walking up and down the steps in the cave with the raised CO2 levels and we were certainly feeling it by the time we got out, but it was a good trip all the same.

Yes Dad, the Southern Ocean is freezing

Sunday 23rd February 2008
We have decided that as it is Sunday and we wouldn’t be able to get much done business wise we would go out for a drive and spend a bit of quality time with the kids.
We decided to head South to Augusta and quite by mistake ended up on the coast road, it was beautiful, driving through Vineyards and Forests, from time to time we drove through an area that had been caught in a Bush fire and the Bark on the Trees would be totally blackened but there would be fresh green leaves and branches shooting out of it and where the ground had been blackened Ferns and Bushes had re grown, it was quite a spectacle to look at as we meandered along the road hardly seeing another vehicle as we went.
When we got to Augusta we carried on through the town until we got to a place called Flinders bay, it is beautiful, there were a load of older people sitting at the waters edge all dressed up in their Sunday best and a few other families scattered around on the beach. This is the Southern Ocean, we have got to go in it, so we got changed into our swimming gear and went into the sea, it was definitely colder than up where Sharon lives but unlike up there the water is Chrystal Clear and not very salty. Ian was swimming underwater with his eyes open and could see really well without any bother at all. The sun was starting to get hot and you can’t afford to spend long out in the open in the middle of the day so we dried off and headed further round the coast to have a look at a Lighthouse and what is left of a very old Waterwheel that was used to pump water to the building site when they were building the Lighthouse. Then we drove back into town where we found a Deli/Café where we had a most delightful lunch.
After lunch it was back in the car and off to find another beach this time it was Hamelin Bay, a beautiful Bay with Golden Sand and Crystal Clear waters, it was hot so we all went for a swim , this was still the Southern Ocean and we can’t get over the difference between the water down here and a couple of hundred Km up the coast. Again the sun is still hot so we are only there for about ½ hour before drying off and heading up the coast road again, we went down a few side turnings along the way and some of the views and houses out in this remote area are amazing, if you want to lose yourself somewhere this is the place to be.
We then went to a beach which is probably one of the Closest to Margaret River, Gnarabup, yet another lovely beach and as it was about 5pm and starting to cool down we were able to spend a bit more time there which pleased the kids. After a couple of hours we headed back to the Chalet and while the kids were getting showered Ian went to the supermarket to organise the evening meal, the kids favourite, Picky Bits, just simple nibbles that they can eat with their hands and then another early night.