DAYS 92 TO 99 - A TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DENMARK BEFORE WORK STARTS.

So on the Saturday 7th of February, Stef's birthday, we headed off to the Porongurup range to do some hiking. However we got there only to find out that the national parks were all closed due to a high fire risk. A large area of south west WA was on fire and the sky was hazy with smoke. However we found a lovely caravan park next to the range to relax in and drove to a cute cafe for afternoon coffee. In the evening we sat outside eating delicious pink salmon as we were serenaded by the surrounding birdlife.

Our peaceful spot at Porongurup campsite

We give Stef the birthday cards we made for her.

Her homemade cards. Can you guess whose is whose?

Birthday coffee in the local village cafe.

The next day we we treated ourselves to a Thai meal at a restaurant in the countryside run by a lovely Thai lady Maleeya and her Swiss husband. People drive a long way to go there for dinner and it is only open at the weekends so we couldn't resist as it wasn't far from the campsite. We all dressed up in our finest and enjoyed a wonderful evening of great authentic Thai food.

We need a selfie stick!

When the parks were reopened and to help work off the large amount of thai food we had scoffed, the following day we climbed up Mount Hassel nestled in the Sterling range. This was a long hot climb, probably the hardest summit the girls have managed but the view from the top was worth the 2 hour climb.

Next day we climbed up to Castle rock in the Porongurups near where we were camped. This is a lovely hike up through a forest of tall trees to an area of huge smooth rock boulders where a walkway has been built that climbs up to the top of them and clings to the side of the highest boulder high above the ground below.

When we got back to our campsite we watched the sun setting through the smoky haze that hung over the south west from all the forest fires, turning it blood red.

From the Porongurups we drove south to Denmark by the sea where we stayed at the lovely Rivermouth campground right near the water's edge. About 20 kms west of here are the stunning Elephant rocks and Green pools which were great for a paddle.

At the campground we met a lovely couple Chris and Annie and their homeschooled kids who we hung out with and the children all got on like a house on fire. (or in our case a caravan on fire! Always thought that was a strange expression! )

We spent the 4 days in Denmark exploring the region like the forest maze where treats were hidden in the bushes by the fairies.

Or having some great coffee and the largest baby chinos (fluffy's for you Kiwis!)  we've ever seen.