We got into a right old PADI
Apologies that we have got out of date on the postings but we have been too relaxed enjoying life in Perth. We haven't felt like we've been travelling for the last month or so, therefore updating the web site has not been part of every day life.
Well here's a brief update of the last couple of weeks.
The last posting ended with us arriving at Jurien Bay with Tina, Thembi & Joel. We had a lovely weekend up there. Once again we were spoilt by the Master Chef (Thembi) doing the cooking, breakfast and bbq. We visited a beach (but before that we needed to go shopping as Lee had forgotten to pack his trunks, whilst at the shop we bought a frisbee and snorkel set) where we swam, played frisbee and got horribly sun burnt even though we smoothered ourselves in factor 30. The sun is just too strong.
Later on, we took a drive to see the Pinnacles which basically is a huge area of dessert which has thousands of limestone outcrops. Has to been seen to be understood. Lee was once again on Kangarooad kill alert, the journey out was very quiet but on the way back to the house we saw lots of live Kangas. Saturday night Lee and Thembi started on the whiskey whilst we had a game of Scrabble. Lee and Tina stayed up til 5am gossiping about Amaze. Lee hadn't bargained on a wake up call from Joel at 10am (I'm sure it was earlier! - Lee) Sunday morning to play Gameboy. Week-ending 14th February (Posted by Lee) My contract with work sort of come to an end, I say sort of as there was still work available for me, but not on a full-time basis... so I took the opportunity to sit back, watch some movies and chill out by the pool. Lucy on the other-hand didn't finish work until the following Friday. Wednesday Morning was an early start as we took Mair to the airport, she was off to Eygpt and very kindly leaving Lucy her car keys (Sorry Dad I know have had lots of practise driving a big powerful automatic - Lucy) On Thursday I realised that it was Valentine's Day tomorrow, so I started to put a plan together, but before I knew it I was back in work on Friday, and didn't have the chance to sort out anything. Yes thats a lame/loser excuse, but I'm sticking by it! Instead we had a very pleasant evening in front of the TV, after Lucy's week at work she fell asleep by 8:30pm - who says romance is dead? Week-ending 21st February (Back to Lucy) As Lee said in the last posting we were going down to explore the south west, here are the main events. Out of Perth on our way down South we decided to take a detour to have a look at a canal. The road we took lead us to millionaire's hide away called Port Boulavarde. A very grand man-made waterside housing estate. Next stop Bunbury where there was the Dolphin Discovery Centre, but we arrived in the afternoon and the dolphins only visit early in the morning - never mind hey!. So we climbed the look-out watch-tower in the rain and looked at the light-house - true Britz on holiday. The rain wasn't going to stop us. Spent the night at Busselton where the main attraction is the 2km long jetty which we walked along in the evening and the next morning looked around the local art gallery. After the art we drove to Cape Naturalise for the first light-house of the day, where we had a guided tour up the light-house. Spectactular views. Our quiet lunch on the beach was interupted by the Giant Skink and child that were wanting to eat our food. We jumped back in the car and headed south hoping to get to the sweet factory before it closed. Looking forward to watching sweets and fudge being made we were a little disappointed when we arrived at Candy Cow to find the factory closed and it was basically a sweet shop. Never mind hey (again). We headed down to the most south-westerly point of Australia where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean at Cape Leeuwin. The light-house was closed by the time we arrived so we climbed down the rocks to sit near the Southern Ocean. Whilst sitting there we saw a whole row of crabs sitting under the rocks. Having watched them for a while we headed off to find a bed for the night after driving round for an hour we eventually ended up near where we started from. We stayed in the No.1 back-packer hostel in Australia. My, it was posh! The visit of the day was to Hamlin Bay where we had been told Stingrays came to shore. When we arrived it was grey and wet and no sign of the stingrays. Not one sign saying Stingrays here!!! We had a little wonder on the sands thinking we must have the wrong place when I saw a large black patch moving in the water, it was huge but so friendly. Only once we had seen someone else stroke the ray we had the courage to attempt a stroke. The rest of the day was spent driving through forests of the giant trees. We took a walk amongst the tree tops which Lee wasn't too keen on doing. (It was 40 metres above the ground - Lee). We decided to spend the night in a caravan - typical it decides to rain. Reminded me of summer camps in England lying in the dry listening to the rain on the tent hoping there were no leaks. Luckily for us the caravan was dry. I woke early and decided to make the most of the quiet morning reading my book in the fresh air watching the birds on the river. The rest of the day was leisurely on the beach at Green's Pool and Elephant Rocks. This was a great place to do some snorkelling! In the evening we stayed at Albany Backpackers hostel, very friendly place... they gave us cakes and a free movie (with popcorn). Thursday was another grey day, checked out the local tourist sights. Dog's Rock, the Blowholes, The Gap and Natural Bridge all before the long drive back to Perth. On the Friday we got around to signing up for our Open Water PADI course. (Lucy is pretty good at throwing a paddy on dry land, so we'd see what she do underwater - Lee). Also we visited the Fremantle Maritime Museum, lots of interesting facts, we even got a tour of a submarine. Finally we managed to visit a good friend of Granny's (and god-daughter), timing was bad as they were preparing for a party the next day. Week-ending 28th February After a relaxing weekend, (well if spending 7 hour studying for the PADI is relaxing - Lee), we started our PADI course. First day was theory, second was spent in the pool, third and fourth days were the shore dives. After 4 river dives and 6 jelly-fish stings later, we qualified for our Open Water PADI! (Woo Hoo! - Lee) On Friday we met-up with Heather (friend from Amaze, and the sister of Captain Danger Dale - Lee) and Tina for breakfast, then went to the beach. In the evening I went for a girly night-out whilst Lee went round to Thembi's for a lad's night in. Weekend 1st/2nd March Our last weekend in Perth was spent buying last bits and bobs, sorting stuff out, and saying farewells to everyone! Coming soon... 44 hours to Adelaide - Can we survive each other?