Esperance- the return.

Ahhh lovely Esperance...so much to soak up in so little time. Again there were no camp sites left and we even struggled to get any accommodation this time. Luckily we scored a 2 bedroom apartment right across the road from the jetty. This time Sammy the Sea Lion was on show and trying to impress. He pranced about scaring away the crabs we were trying to catch! He definitely knew that early evening was the best time to find the fisherman cleaning their fish. He even sat for a pat with one. Campbell and I went for a walk along the jetty while the boys kept pretending to catch crabs- they admitted in the end that they ended up giving most of the bait to Sammy!
My very wise and gorgeous husband convinced me to go back to bed with a cup of tea and my book when we all awoke very early in the morning. He had decided that we might as well make the most of the 10am check-out and rest up before hitting the Nullarbor again. What a sensible plan :)
We said our final goodbyes to Sammy, who was enjoying a doze in the sun. I also got the absolute best coffee I have ever had from a little caravan set up by the jetty. Ohhhh so many reasons to make a return trip to Esperance.
We hit the Nullarbor full of energy and excitement. We were facing it with hindsight this time and we were ready!! Eric had done a shop in Esperance and had very enthusiastically stocked up on salad forgetting that we had to forfeit it all at the border. That meant we had plenty of picnic supplies for the road...and it all HAD be eaten. After our stop for dinner (salad was on the menu again) we tucked the boys in for the night, reclined their seats and hoped we could get in a good run. We decided to drive as far as we could all cope and did well until poor Joe starting moaning in the back at about 10pm. We decided that we should probably pull in and set up camp. He really was pretty sick when we stopped- all over the place. I really enjoying doing a big stretch of the driving today but it was hard to relax while driving at night. There were many rabbits bounding across the road, a constant stream of mice and we even dodged a couple of cats! No Roos though thankfully. We ended up stopping at The Border, which will mean another pretty bit stretch of driving tomorrow.
The Nullarbor was much easier the second time around and we were all relaxed and making the most of our time together- pretty special.

Lovely Esperance.

The Great Australian Bight.

Norseman.

Valley of the Giants

It was a bit of a shame to pack up in our lovely little bush haven, but more adventure awaits! Today we did the Tree Tops Walk which was designed to allow for full wheelchair access. It was a huge achievement for Drew because he really hates heights and this was all about the height! He almost backed down when he felt the swaying and looked down, but once he had one go he asked to go again. The second go was even better than the first. Eric & Cam went to check out the gift shop instead. Eric & I ended up buying the exact same tin cups as souvenirs without knowing that the other had bought anything- great minds think alike :) We stopped at the honey place before reaching Denmark for lunch and an ice- cream by the river. We pushed on to Bremers Bay and got there just in time for dinner. We probably tried to fit too much into one day today- we were all exhausted when it was finally time for bed. We are all looking forward to staying in Esperance again tomorrow night- we will need a good rest before hitting the Nullabor.

Shannon National Park

We had another full day after leaving Bussleton. First stop was Dunsborough and then onwards through the Margaret River down to Augusta. The Chocolate Factory and Providores were on the wish list because we missed them on our last visit- well worth the stop too. We had a picnic lunch in Augusta and ventured on through Bridgetown- which was a very pleasant surprise. We hadn't expected to find much but discovered lots of heritage buildings and quirky shops. It would have been nice to have had more time in Bridgetown. We were thinking that Walpole might be a good stop to set up camp but we stumbled across Shannon National Park and found the perfect spot. There were excellent accessible bathrooms and it was so nice to escape the caravan parks for a night. It got dark quickly but our saggy, baggy tent was hastily thrown up just before dark and served us well. Not sure where we will end up tonight but we are planning to stop at The Valley of the Giants and Denmark today. Everyone is traveling well and enjoying our adventure. Looking forward to seeing how our day unfolds.

The Margaret River Chocolate Factory- with lots of free samples!

Giant freckles!!!!

Bussleton Jetty

Our stay in Bussleton has been action packed. When we arrived, set up camp and had some dinner we discovered that there was a torch-light bug and frog adventure to join. Joe particularly loved that. We started early on Monday morning and had a look around Bussleton before heading to the Jetty for our train ride. The underwater observatory at the end of the jetty was fantastic- we saw lots of fish and the pylons look gorgeous under water. Eric and Campbell opted to walk back along the jetty but Drew and Joe really wanted another ride on the train. We hit the waterslide after a quick lunch and then a swim in the gorgeous, clear water of Geographe Bay. Drew and I had fun running along the jetty and jumping off.
When we got back to the tent for dinner we discovered that a rock climbing wall had been set up AND that 'The Smurfs' was showing in the games room!! The plan to go fishing/ crabbing went out the window. I think we jammed as much as possible into our Bussleton experience. It is such a beautiful place to be.
We are exploring the Margaret River region today and really don't know where we will pitch the tent tonight- we will see how our day unfolds :)

Pretty yummy left- overs dinner.

Frog tour with a possum as an added extra.

The Bussleton Jetty train.

Perth

Fully recharged and relaxed, and ready to embark on the return voyage. The boys opted to do nothing else but hang out with Deb and Sam and enjoy the constant offerings of incredible food cooked by Sam. We loved watching Sam and his brothers make tomato sauce. It was a long process and took them the entire morning to push the tomatoes through their very nifty machine. We are excited about creating some meals using our precious bottles of beautiful sauce with basil and chilli. Eric and I were inspired to extend the garden even more than we did after our last visit with Sam & Deb.
We had a lovely dinner at Hilary's Boat Harbour with fantastic ice- cream creations for the boys to finish off our last night in Perth.
Sam took Eric & Joe to the fish market this morning to get some prawns for a quick lunch. Well....we ended up with a feast of squid, crab, marron and prawns. Sam taught me some tips for the crab sauce and how to cook tender squid. We all ate beyond our limits because it was all so, so good! Joe was in his element cracking open crab and marron claws. Kate joined us for lunch too which was lovely. She very patiently participated in Campbell's play.
We are excited about Bussleton for the next two nights with our train trip down the Bussleton Jetty booked for Monday morning.
Thankyou Deb & Sam for spoiling us all so much and helping us feel refreshed and ready to enjoy the rest of our journey.

Albany

We got to Albany late in the afternoon and set about sorting an early dinner. Our body clocks are a bit confused and we find that we just eat and sleep when we need to- today that meant we awake at 5:30am and eating dinner at 4:30pm. We pulled together a yummy feast of smoked salmon, cheese, crackers, salad, pizza and gnocchi! With still plenty of hours of daylight to follow dinner I had a lovely long walk along the beach while the boys played. My calf is holding up well- I managed the soft sand without any trouble at all. I took the boys up to the pool for a swim and we were all ready to crash by 8pm! After some sight seeing tips from Deb we woke early to discover the rest of Albany and cut through Denamrk before heading up to Perth. We have never seen so many bookshops in one small town- Campbell was in his element. We arrived in Denmark at lunch and had a cheese platter with warm crusty bread at one of the winery's.
We didn't get into Perth until late and felt very spoilt to have a huge and delicious dinner ready for us. Thankyou Deb and Sam xx
We made it to Perth!!!! We will enjoy a few days of rest before we turn around and do it all again in reverse- with a few lessons learned :)

Esperance

We have left Esperance after 2 days of bliss. It was such a terrible shame to discover that there were no camp sites left and we had to settle for a cabin instead. Ahhhhh our own shower...a lounge....a TV (which as it turns out we hardly watched). All of this and no sign of any mice :) Not only did we enjoy a good rest from setting up the tent we discovered the most sublime beaches. The coast was like nothing we had ever seen. Drew had a wonderful time body surfing and although Campbell initially resisted the call of the ocean, he gave in and we joined the boys on the beach. Esperance is a gorgeous little beachside town but very windy all day long! Eric managed to find Sammy the seal at the jetty while he went out to find some seafood for dinner, but he was gone when we all went down to meet him. We will try again on the return trip- and try to get another swim at the beautiful Twilight Beach too. We are almost at Albany where we booked our site ahead for only a snippet less than the cabin at $100 for one night- the most we have paid for a camp site since we left home. We are assuming that Albany must be pretty special.