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.

DAYS 86 TO 91 - MAKING BABY DECISIONS IN ALBANY

From Fitzgerald National park we drove west to the city of Albany which seemed huge after our 6 weeks of tiny towns. Actually it only has a population of 30000 but big enough to find decent supermarkets again. So with our son's due date rapidly approaching we had to make a decision as to where to be for the birth. We had wanted to get up to Margaret river about 350 kms North West of here but first we needed to see an obstetrician to check all was well with baby and that he was facing the right way etc. So we phoned around but all the obstetricians were full up for the next few weeks! On our last call the receptionist must have heard the desperation in my voice and after some consultation said that the obstetrician could fit us in that evening. Well Doctor Darcy turned out to be a great choice as he was highly qualified and was very apt at finding baby's position in seconds which was head down thank goodness. We told him that we didn't know if we would stay in Albany for the baby's birth because we had no one here to babysit the children so that I could be at the birth. Well on hearing this he went off to reception, run by 2 lovely older ladies. He brought them back to his office to meet us and they said they would love to look after Ayla and Kyra when Stef goes into labour. Also Doctor Darcy announced that he would love to help deliver our baby! So suddenly our decision was made for us and Albany would now be the birthplace of our little boy. Well that was a huge weight off our shoulders and next I applied for some jobs and the first place I rang gave me a job starting 16th February supporting a young disabled guy. So we spent the week organizing a campground we liked, to settle down in and work preparations. Also we had a tour of the maternity unit here in Albany which is almost brand new and everyone there was super friendly. Stef will have a lovely room all to herself which includes a mini bar...........(only joking about that last bit!) They have great baths in the birthing units for water births so Stef has opted to try that out for this birth. Exciting times!

One of the incredible beaches here in Albany

Stef and Ayla doing tug of war on the beach.

Our camp spot on the Kalgan river which was home for this week. 

One of the blue wrens that hung around our caravan.

The Kalgan river just below where our caravan was parked.

DAYS 76 TO 85 - FITZGERALD NATIONAL PARK

So we left the farm with Milo the Emu and headed down to Hopetoun on the south coast or as it's known here, the Australian Bight. Great to finally see the sea after so long driving though the dry hot dusty wheatbelt. Our first night we dressed up to go out for a drink. Steffi finally found a place that did soy decaf late so she was pleased.

The next day we went into Fitzgerald National park which has just had a 40 million upgrade so the fanciest long drops I've ever seen! The sea was a turquoise blue and refreshingly cool i.e bloody freezing!!

Day 78 and we decided to climb East Mount Barren, all 311 metres of it. Armed with day packs we set off on this hot day up quite a difficult route, Kyra leading the way to the top.

Kyra leads the way.

Incredible views of the clear ocean below.

Later we strolled along the beach looking for cuttlefish to study for a school project.

From Hopetoun we drove 250 kms around to the south end of the national park where we camped in the bush at Tozer's Bush camp run by Tozer himself. He had 2 dogs the girls pulled all over the place. Luckily they were extremely patient and placid dogs.

There was no power so we had the solar panels out again. The stars here were amazing at night.

From Tozer's we went fishing, climbed another small mountain and relaxed on the endless white beaches.

                                     

DAY 75 - EMU ENCOUNTER

From Lake Grace we drove south getting ever closer to the sea. As we arrived into Ravensthorpe 50 kms shy of the coast we could at last feel a slightly cooler breeze coming through. From here we drove out of town a few kilometers to a little dirt track up to Fitzy's bush camp on a farm run by a very friendly couple, Alan and Kay. We had a great view up on their hill and their resident emu Milo came to visit in the afternoon for his daily feed from Alan. The girls looked so small next to this long necked creature.

DAYS 71 to 74 - SWIMMING OUR WAY ACROSS THE WHEATBELT

There was a film I once saw as a boy called The Swimmer with Burt Lancaster where a man decides to make his way home via his neighbours swimming pools. Well travelling through the Western Australian wheatbelt felt similar as each town had a wonderful swimming pool to cool ourselves off in as we made our way down from Perth to the south coast. These towns we travelled through had received funding for their nice state of the arts swimming pools through the Royalties for Regions funding project to inject life into these tired dusty towns. Not only did these towns have new swimming pools but also often brand new shire caravan parks which were very cheap to stay in but of a high standard.

So from Wave rock we travelled about 100 kms to the town of Kulin with it's 18 meter high, 182 meter long water slide. The campground had lovely brand new double concrete pads to park on and the toilet block had individual bathrooms with posh fittings and huge shower cubicles. Ayla loved the waterslide sitting on my lap as we went down at speed. Kyra was not so keen. The first day I had the wrong top on which slowed us down but the second day without a top we really did fly down the slide, painfully bumping knees and elbows as we went. There were only a few kids using it so we never had to queue.

The next day we drove without the caravan 70 kms to the dentist who mucked up gluing my crown tooth back in. Hopefully he is a dentist! Who knows out here in the wheatbelt, anything is possible! He still didn't do a great job filing my teeth down to make them fit together better. Roll on dentures! So we made a day of it visiting the Grain discovery centre explaining how the whole wheat growing process works. I wrote in the visitor book that I was gluten free! Then we visited the Hidden hollow for a picnic and the girls learnt to make a rock cairn. From there we drove to Buckleys breakaway, where erosion has cut through orange laterite exposing beautiful coloured cliff.

sunset over our lovely camp spot at Kulin

The day after we got up early to climb up the monolith of Jilakin rock with it's great views over the salt lake below it and then we drove along the Tin Horse highway stopping to take photos of the hilarious barrel drum sculptures which locals have made which line the road into Kulin.

After Kulin we drove south slowly heading closer to the sea and stopped at the small town of Lake Grace for one night. It takes it's name from the huge salt lake next to the town which stretches as far as the eye can see. At this town they have a 50 metre pool which was just great for Steffi and I to do laps and it had a great children's paddling area for the girls too. I took a photo of the pool for the blog and the young guy running it came up to me to ask me what I was doing. I told him about the blog and he just gave me a blank stare and said that people weren't allowed to take photos of the pool. He repeated this a few times to make sure it sunk in. Reminded me of the days of being arrested for taking photos in countries where the people were paranoid of spies.

This is the photo I took of the pool that I got severely told off for!

the very salty Lake Grace