Arriving in Mandurah and catching up with family.

I was up early this morning; my mind was in overdrive after yesterday afternoon.  First thing I did was get up and walk around the car to make sure that there were no more flat tyres!  All was good so then the normal chaos started as we wanted to be at the service centre as it opened at 8am.  It was only 21km away so not far and we missed the first turn but quickly worked out another way, then we pulled up at a place and read that the service centre was further down the road.  So off we went.  We asked where we should leave the van and then proceeded to unhitch it.  Jason went inside to give them the list of things to look at and hand over the keys and found out we were at the wrong place.

The first place we stopped at was the right one (insert face palm) so of course we re-hitched which thankfully we got first time and the right place was just around the corner.  This time we were smart enough not to unhitch until we double checked that we had the right place.  Yes we did so I packed the necessities (all our beer) into the car and we were off to my sister’s place which was just down the road.  There the kids quickly made themselves at home and had heaps of fun playing in the toy room.  Jodi took over teaching school whilst I managed to catch up with some of the jobs.

Oh look toys.

Poor Madie at the bottom got taken out.

Little Mister Hugh.

Most of the day was spent with Jodi teaching school, myself catching up on washing and taking Kayla to the doctors (minor issue – just needed some cream) and Jason looking at getting our tyre fixed.  Naturally as we expected the tyre that had the nails could not be fixed but we also asked them to check the condition of the other tyres as they were looking a little worn to me.  So yep in the end they recommended two of the tyres should be changed.  So we booked it in to get four new tyres on Thursday morning but are getting some tyres that are more suitable for towing and going off road.  Something we have always wanted to do but weren’t going to worry about it until we had to.  I think I am relieved about this as safety on the road is important to me.

Later in the afternoon, after lots of nagging from Hamish, Jodi finally agreed to pick up Madie and Hugh from day-care early.  It was a nice easy walk down to the centre and I don’t think I have ever seen Hamish move so fast.  Later, after a while, we even ventured out for another walk to the top of the nature reserve near their house.  From there we could see how close they live to the ocean and the inlet areas nearby.  We took their two dogs for a walk which caused lots of dramas as there were only two dogs but three kids that wanted to walk them.  I think Kayla cracked it for over half the walk, only stopping when she either got to hold the leash or we put Missy on her lap to hold.  Even that didn’t last though as Missy eventually jumped off.

Still we were very appreciative that we had a place to stay and I got to catch up with my family.  The next day we didn’t have much planned and couldn’t really go out too far in case we got the call to come and pick up the caravan.  Jason and I couldn’t decide on what caravan park we were going to stay in, so ended up popping out quickly to check them both out.  The one we thought we would like, as it had everything for kids (jumping pillow, playground and pools), was nice but my gosh it looked cramped and hard to get into and out of the sites. 

So we headed to another one further down the road but actually closer to my sisters place and it was lovely.  Yes nothing for the kids but nice big sites that looked relatively easy to get into.  Nice green grassed areas and some big tall trees added to it but I think the big selling point came with how close it was to the estuary.  At least now we won’t have far to go when we take Hamish crabbing.  Now we had picked a park, we just needed the phone call to come and get the van.  That thankfully came just before lunch and I was rather nervous driving to pick it up.  Mainly because I was just hoping it was all sorted and they had found the real problem with the hot water system as I wasn’t convinced the element was the problem.

This time we took Kayla with us as she was getting rather grumpy so I thought she would just fall asleep.  Well she wasn’t asleep by the time we got to the caravan centre, so in we all went.  I must say I have been very impressed with their service and to call ahead of time to say come and pick it up in an hour just means that you aren’t having to rush back to it straight away.  Justin finally put my mind at ease explaining that the tank inside the hot water system was leaking so they replaced that and also swapped over the element whilst they were there.  So yes a leaking hot water system would explain why it would throw the safety switch on power and sometimes stop the gas from working.

There are ducks at our caravan park - Kayla is happy.

They also installed our carbon monoxide alarm we had bought and checked over the pump that we had the issue with.  He did explain that the pump could have been having trouble switching off if the hot water was leaking which did make sense and I had read it on my google search that one of the tips to fixing it was to make sure no taps were dripping.  However I did not think I had a leaking hot water system and it must have only been a little bit but that is all it takes.  So then we set off to hitch on and take it back to our caravan park.

I had a little scare hitching on as just as I was doing it I heard a guy yell but thankfully it wasn’t involving us, just working in the caravan centre nearly hitting one of the sales people in the yard with one of the vans as they moved it out.  Obviously the sales guy was not watching where he was going as he walked right in front of it.  At least they got a good laugh out of it all and when I looked back down we were perfectly hitched on.  Then it was our normal routine of checking everything was all good before pulling out.  I think we impressed Justin with these checks as he was going to do them but I was all over it and said we had our little routine.  Really wonderful customer service though and I couldn’t fault them one bit.

So we took the van to the park and managed to score our second pick of sites and booked in for the two nights.  Even though we are planning to stay a week I didn’t want to get ahead of myself and pay for a week up front in case the hot water system did go again and we needed to take it back again.  Reception was really nice and they made sure we were on a site that didn’t have anyone booked in for the next week and noted we would most likely extend.  I certainly hope that I will be in the office there on Friday morning paying for the weekend as I really don’t want any more troubles with it.

The drive to the caravan park was interesting, especially since we have found out that it is quite fine for everyone to exit through the entry at some carparks.  Certainly makes trying to turn right in a van even harder.  Made so even worse when they don’t look before taking off!  Once we had quickly set up all the outside furniture, which we keep in the back of the car, we headed back to Jodi’s place.  Sean had arrived home from work so while Jason caught up with him, Jodi and I popped out to the shops to grab some stuff for dinner.  Our plan was for drinks and nibbles watching the sunset over the ocean and then come back to their house for a bbq dinner. 

Once we were back from the shops, Jason and I loaded up all our stuff that we had taken to Jodi’s place into the car (golly gosh we had taken a lot of stuff for one night).  So we ducked back, put all that away and then returned again and headed down to the beach.  The colours of the sunset were beautiful and it was such a treat to watch the sun go down over the ocean.  The kids all had a blast in the water and the sand and before we knew it we were back at the house having a good dinner.  It was a late night by the time we left and when we got back to the van I was happy to see the power was still on and I could enjoy a nice hot shower.  Oh the small things in life are sometimes the best.

Something got the boys attention.

Having a bit of a dig.

Sunset with a seagull photo bombing it.

Cousins having a blast.

Not a bad way to see out a day.

And then it was gone.

Well I woke up and we still had power so that means the hot water is still working.  I do wonder how long it is going to take for me until I start to not worry about it every time I wake up or return to the van.  I guess it is only a matter of time really.  Before we could function though, we needed to stop in at the Miami Bakery for some coffee and delicious morning treats.  It just happens to be perfectly located out the front of our caravan park – what a coincidence!  It is a really great bakery which has won numerous awards over the years.

So today we couldn’t go far as we had the car booked in for its new tyres at 11 so we did some school before meeting the Connolly family down at the information centre/foreshore at 10am.  Jason went in to get some information whilst I stayed outside with Jodi and the kids.  After that Sean followed Jason to the tyre place to bring him back and we enjoyed a picnic on the water front.  It is a lovely area with so much happening and looks like there are great places to eat.  Probably should have chosen one to eat at as the sandwiches I had made were pretty basic and ordinary really.  Oh well we saved some money.

We all managed to fit on one carriage.

Off we go.

Hamish and Hugh on their boat.

The boys took the kids for a  paddle.  The kids came back soaked.

From there we went to a chocolate shop and I had huge expectations but for some reason I just wasn’t in the mood for chocolate.  I hope I am not getting sick as hello I love chocolate normally.  Everyone else had a slice of cake and drink and I just had an ice coffee.  Not even a slice of the very delicious looking cakes!  Obviously my ordinary sandwiches had totally ruined my appetite.  So never going to do that again!

From there it was time to get our car back so the boys all went in one and they picked up the car whilst we girls headed home.  Kayla fell asleep so I was really enjoying the peace and quiet but it didn’t last too long.  Jason loves our new tyres and I have to admit so do I.  Maybe they just make us look like more the part or maybe I feel safer, but they are pretty cool as far as tyres go.  As we were having a roast for dinner the boys headed out to get some more beer.  Two hours later they returned.  I was so worried as I had tried to call and text Jason and hadn’t gotten a response, which is so odd for Jason.  Anyway I was just so relieved when I saw them pulled up in the driveway safe and sound.  It turns out Jason had accidentally left his phone in the car.  God help me when my kids grow up and start to go out!

So another lovely dinner was enjoyed with the Connolly family but this time we headed off home a bit earlier to get the kids to sleep at a more reasonable time, in an effort that they wouldn’t be as tired and cranky the next day.  I even volunteered to babysit Hugh and Madie as Jodi got a call for some relief work next week when Sean is back at work.  I then realised what I had just signed up to. Madie will be a piece of cake but Hugh needs to be constantly watched as he is at that age of putting everything (and I mean everything) in his mouth.  Oh how you easily forget what it is like to have kids at that age.

Friday was finally crabbing day.  Hamish was super doper excited and my brother-in-law Sean arrived spot on time.  Pity we were running a bit behind time with our organisation, however it certainly did not make a difference as to how many crabs we caught.  Absolutely none.  It was such a letdown after having such high hopes of being in the crab capital.  We did actually get two but both were under size.  Still we will not give up and have been told of another area to try.  The water was so nice and shallow so the kids did enjoy walking around in it and we even saw a stingray (thankfully from a distance).

Trying their luck crabbing.

Jason decided to pull out the big guns.

Hamish wasn't too impressed there were no crabs.

After that we headed back to the Mandurah foreshore for a swim and the boys and Jodi tried some paddle boarding.  We were a little late getting there as we seemed to miss-place (i.e. did not put back where they belong) important things like the kayak plug, car keys and even the caravan park boom gate key.  All of which eventually turned up when we started searching in odd places or in the car keys case, where they belonged.  I think it was just going to be one of those days and well to be fair to us we hadn’t had a proper coffee yet.

Sean having a go on the paddle board.  No he didn't fall off!

After a nice picnic lunch we returned to the van.  The idea was to get some school done and send off the last unit of work.  This did not happen though as we suddenly couldn’t open the files necessary on the computer.  So we spent what felt like forever trying to fix it (we knew what caused it… never say yes to a pop up box unless you know what you are saying yes too).  In the end I have worked out a temporary work around so we can continue with school, however that wasted most of the afternoon and it was time to get ready to go out for dinner.

So off we all went, mentally exhausted from a long day with no real coffee included in it.  See that is where we went wrong.  Dinner was down at the local pub with the Connolly family and it was rather busy with kids everywhere.  It was hard to sit down and fully enjoy the meal as kids were being quite loud and active on the playground.  Honestly none of them were being that bad really, just kids having fun but it is hard to relax when others don’t see it that way.  Sometimes I feel people expectations of kids go back to the old era when they were expected to behave like adults.  Childhood only last for a short time, let them enjoy the innocence before they know the worries and judgements of the world.

After we left there we weren’t ready to go home so we headed to the Mandurah night markets and enjoyed strolling up the streets before treating ourselves to some ice-cream (Baskin Robbins) for dessert.  Now that hit the spot and instantly we all felt at ease and happy again.  So off we headed home to get the kids to sleep and start to do some more research into where we go next.

We had big plans for Saturday as I had booked us into a cruise of the Mandurah canals and estuary.  So after a really slow start thanks to Kayla who decided she needed a bigger bed to sleep in, we managed to do a bit of school and be out ready to board the boat.  Of course we got a little lost getting there as I had in my head the wrong place to go but had luckily also put the flyer in my bag which had the address.  The cruise was wonderful and just the right length really.  We got to see the new canal living area which they refer to as little Venice.  It looks quite cool and we want to go back and explore it on foot.  Mind you I couldn’t live there now as there is no room for kids to run around but I can see why the retirees or young couples would love it

Just a little boat.

Loving the cruise.

Little Venice - didn't do it justice.

Then we got to see two dolphins swimming around so naturally the kids just loved that.  From here the cruise took us into the canal area so we could all admire and dream of owning the massive homes on the canal front.  It seems to me that even if they bought a double block they just built bigger homes rather than having a yard.  Oh and most of them were holiday homes.  I think the cruise said that about 40% of them were empty the majority of the year.  We did see one we liked, probably because it also had a tennis court and was right near the park but I highly doubt we will ever be able to afford that.  Oh and in case we were thinking of buying a block the cruise did inform us that the land costs about 1 million dollars and you have to build a house that is of the same value or more.  They specifically mentioned that you can’t park a caravan on it!  Well there goes that plan!

One of the dolphins.

Jason's favourite house.

The one had won lot of surprises.

The biggest house.

I thought this one looked cool, pitty it had no garden.

Finally they took us into the estuary for a look around before docking, just in time for lunch.  My brother in law had told Jason that there was a place nearby that did great chowder so of course Jason wanted to try it.  Lucky for us it was right near where the boat docked so off we went for lunch.  The meal was great and had really nice views out over the water.  If I had my time again I would have booked a table near the fish tank as that would have kept the kids entertained for ages.

Great place for a meal.

After this we all felt a bit tired so headed back to the van for a rest.  Kayla of course didn’t rest, therefore making it hard for any of us to fully have a nap.  Still it was probably a good thing as I had arranged for us to go and meet some fellow Coromal Caravan owners ‘Tracey and Steve’ who were camping around on the other side of the estuary.  The drive around was really scenic and before we knew it we were there.  The kids loved checking out their van.  I on the other hand kept having a heart attack at the mess they were making.  It was so great to meet them and we got some great suggestions of places to visit and camp when we head down south.  I have already gone in and booked marked them all before I forget. 

Tracey and the kids holding the cool placemats she gave them.

Even better was that Steve gave Jason some tips for crabbing and that we should go out at night to see if we can find any.  So of course that was what Jason wanted to do that night.  After we said goodbye to Steve and Tracey and thanked them for their wonderful hospitality we headed straight home.  Kayla of course decided to have a nap on the way home – typical.  The rest of the evening went by in a blur as I was super tired, but I did meet and chat to our neighbour as he had a disco ball radio outside so of course it drew the kids over to his motorhome.  Mind you when Hamish kept trying to turn it up and down in volume it was a clear sign the kids were ready for bed.

I crashed as soon as I had finished reading the book to the kids.  I have no idea if they went to sleep at the same time or not but I was out to it.  Jason on the other hand did not go straight to bed and actually went out looking for crabs.  He managed to see six and tried to catch one in his bucket but he really needed a scoop thingy that all the locals around here have.  So I think he will be hitting up my brother in law tonight to see if he can borrow his.  I am glad he got to go out and enjoy that on his own while the rest of us got our much needed sleep. 

Free Camping Our Way to Mandurah

Another cool and crisp morning in the countryside saw us pack up and get ready to hit the road again.  We have the caravan booked in at Mandurah first thing Tuesday morning so we have three days up our sleeves to get there.  I had been looking for free camps and found a nice looking one only about 80km down the road so not a big drive at all.  Jason had a chat with Ian and decided we would travel together until that point.  We even managed to knock over two school sessions before we left.  The road to Kulin was interesting, quite narrow in parts and bumpy but at least it wasn’t a long drive for the day.

When we pulled up we were quite excited as it was a nice gravel area next to a pretty looking park which had a big playground area.  So we unhitched the van as this place is well known for its Tin Horse Highway and well there is no way we were towing a van down and back a patch of highway for the sake of it.  Then we took the kids for a play in the park after ordering some lunch in the café across the road.  The steak burgers we had were delicious and so filling which was great as we didn’t need anything more to eat until dinner time. 

The pretty park area beside the free camp.

Looking back the other way.

The kids favourite spot.

After we had finished them off we headed off to do one half of the Tin Horse Highway.   About 5km out of town we realised we had actually taken the wrong road.  This was no fault of the navigator as she did ask if this was the right road to which she was re-assured all the signs pointed this way.  On returning to town it was discovered that all signs actually pointed left!  Still off we went and it took a while but we started to come across them.  A lot of effort must go into making these and coming up with the unique and quirky ideas.  I loved the one that represented the towns water slide.  

Just the start of many.

You are going to see more.

I thought this one was very cool.

At the start of the Tin Horse Highway.

 After we had reached the last one we turned around and headed back to town.  Kayla was fast asleep so we jumped at the opportunity to all have a rest and relax for a bit.  The boys watched a bit of Top Gear while I caught up on the blogs, posting one and typing the next.  When Kayla woke we headed straight out to the pool.  I mean what else would stop Hamish from asking when we were going to go.  I mean the place has the biggest waterslide in regional Australia so one must tick that off their list of things to do. 

Jason didn’t seem too keen to go up at first so I thought I would take Hamish up.  Probably about half way up I did start to wonder if it was such a great idea.  Maybe I should have done it on my own first up.  Hamish did a great job climbing all the stairs and by the time I got to the top he was a bit scared but once I sat down and managed to get him on my lap there was no turning back.  He did get a bit scared at first saying we were going too fast, but in the end it was fine and we had a blast.  Then I convinced Jason to have a go with Hamish.  The only problem was that he lay down part way down and couldn’t get back up, so he had water going up his nose and had a big splash at the end!

The biggest waterslide in regional Australia

Here we come.

Kayla loved the little house.

Still it was fun and a great way to get a bit of exercise.  Hamish and I went one more time before retreating to the pool area.  It is a great little setup and they even had a little kid’s playground which Kayla seemed way more interested in then actually swimming in the pool.  Sometimes she looked very torn between the two but the little house won her over and she claimed it as hers.  It was a lovely relaxing afternoon but as it neared 5pm we decided we needed to get out and go check out the other half of the Tin Horse Highway, this time heading more south.

Very creative.

Jason's favourite.

This poor fellow got bucked off.

Jason wanted to take a photo of every single one of them, and at first I thought that was a great idea.  However there were way more along this road then the other one so in the end we decided to just pick the ones that made us laugh or caught our attention the most.  It was also hard as a lot of them didn’t really have places to pull over and take photos so you had to be careful.  I think it is a great idea and hats off to the farmers and people who made them all.  On returning to our van we noticed another family had pulled up for the night (pretty easy to spot with the bunk bed windows).

This would have taken a while to build.

Nothing like a cricket match.



Love it.

One last one.

The chaos of dinner and showers started and low and behold our hot water system worked with no issues!  However we had already decided to use the free hot showers there as that would save our water and allow us to free camp all the way to Mandurah.  As I returned from the shower Kayla went to join Hamish who was already playing with the other kids.  I got talking to their mother Kelly and it ends up that I was already following their page and had only had a conversation with Jason that morning about this family setting out on their trip that day from Bunbury.  I never thought for a second we would cross paths.  We also found out that they had been reading our blog. 

It was great to have a nice long chat and admire their awesome setup with the boat and everything. We kind of looked like the sad cousins with a van with three legs that is extremely dirty.  I hope none of our stories scared them off their travels but they were all told whilst laughing as looking back most of them are quite funny and all part of the trip.  Maybe without the issues, but still we are becoming experts at trying to work out solutions or working our way through the problem.  I just have to remember that in three days, the van will go in to be fixed up and all these problems will be a distant memory and shouldn’t (fingers crossed) happen again!

The night was pretty cool but luckily we have become experts at predicting it and had all rugged up in our winter pjs.  Our water pump decided to play up a bit.  Well we thought it was playing up but in the end we actually think we didn’t fill the back water tank properly and was probably empty (whoops) so we turned on the front tank and ran the air out and all was back to normal.  Still we should probably get it checked out all the same to make sure everything is all good.  I mean there is no harm in getting things double checked!

We hit the road after saying goodbye to the other family as we had just under 200km to go.  It was a good drive with the countryside constantly changing.  Before we knew it there was only 50km to go and after a quick toilet stop we were on the home straight.  Jason and I were saying what a great day it had been and how we were enjoying it but then suddenly we saw cop car lights ahead.  We knew that couldn’t be good but it was off to the right and wasn’t stopping traffic so it wasn’t going to affect us.  However as we drove past we realised there had been a caravan accident and the car had flipped onto its roof and the caravan was ripped open at the back.  How the mood suddenly dropped and we just hoped that the people in the car were okay.

Sunset in Boddington.

Suddenly we just wanted to pull up and set up for the day.  We have no idea what caused their accident but we had an urgent desire to get off the road.  Luckily we didn’t have far to go and both of us admitted that once we pulled off the main road and headed along a back road we both felt a sense of relief.  Before we knew it we were in Boddington which is where I had found another free camp by a river this time.  The camp area isn’t huge but being the only ones here we got the pick of sites and unhitched.  The idea was to fuel up and find a laundromat to wash our clothes.  Well there wasn’t even a fuel station open so I didn’t even try to see if there was a laundromat.  Worst still they didn’t even think the service station would be open tomorrow!

Our free camp in Boddington.
 

Obviously they didn’t expect much weekend traffic.  So not wanting to be caught up tomorrow, Jason took Kayla for a half hour round trip drive down the road to the nearest open service station.  Whilst he was gone Hamish and I did a bit of school work.  The rest of our afternoon was spent relaxing and checking out the river and the streets of Boggington and catching up on a load of washing at the local laundromat.

Another day, and another short drive to the next place.  For some reason, even though it is the last day of the long weekend here in WA, most of the caravan parks are still charging top dollar.  I found an awesome one that the kids would just love, but at $61 for one night I quickly decided free camping was the way to go.  Luckily I had already bookmarked one that was only 20km from Mandurah where the van was going the next day.  That way we didn’t have to get up too early and have a long drive to be at the service centre as it opened at 8am.

So we moved to the town of Pinjarra which was an easy drive of less than 80km through the ranges which weren’t too bad at all.  We were amazed that our fuel economy was sitting at under 17L per 100km as we came into Pinjarra.  I did notice too that we had a good tail wind so maybe we could just turn off the car and it would push us into town.  We pulled in the free camp nice and early and were the second person to arrive (there were more there but they were leaving).   As Jason did some school sessions with Hamish I took Kayla for a walk and went past the pub and over the bridge and there we discovered an awesome playground.   So we spent a bit of time there before venturing over the suspension bridge and back to our caravan.  When the boys finished their lesson we headed back over there and managed to do another lesson in the park and let the kids have a play before going to a local café for a delicious lunch.

Hamish walking across the bridge.

Now for Jason and Kayla (who didn't like it in the stroller).

Then we headed back to the van as my sister Jodi, niece Madie and nephew Hugh had decided to come out for a drive to say hello.  So we showed them through our new home (which filled in a minute) and then spent the rest of the time catching up.  Jodi then took all the kids to the nearby little playground while Jason and I madly packed her car with everything we might need for two days while they work on the van.  We don’t have suitcases so plastic bags it was!  All that is left is the dirty washing, school books and toiletries.  I so wanted to head back with Jodi and the kids to their home but one more night and then we will get to have a quality catch up at their place.

I think I more so wanted to go to their place after they left us.  We went to turn on the hot water system on the gas and of course it didn’t work!  It is all okay though as I gave it a little time to think about its actions (just turned it off) and when I turned it back on it worked.  Yay hot showers tonight!  So just as Jason started working on dinner and I had given the kids their showers I popped outside.  I have no idea why but for some reason I looked at the car and noticed one of the tyres looked flat.  Hoping I was wrong I glanced at the front one and then back at the back one and yes it was flat! 

So we then had to unhitch the van and Jason moved it to flat ground to make changing it easy.  I then proceeded to cook dinner whilst cooking dinner and keeping one tired and cranky little girl inside.  The last thing Jason wanted was Kayla wanted to help, especially considering it was his first time changing one on the Pajero.  I needn’t have worried.  He handled it like a pro and that 12 volt ratchet gun that took us forever to find in Mt Isa was a true blessing.  So by the time I had cooked dinner and fed the kids Jason was done so we sat down and enjoyed dinner.

Jason changing the tyre.

Before we could fully relax we had one more job to do and that was to hitch the van back on.  Normally a simple task but this afternoon it was proving to be a pain and we just couldn’t get the hitch part locked in.  It didn’t help that I had a friendly fellow nomad chatting in my ear wanting to watch whilst I was trying to give Jason directions.  I think by now we were just tired and over all this but we eventually got there and proceeded to go inside to get the kids to bed!  One more night… just one more night and the caravan goes in to get fixed up and we will spend the night in a house and I am going to have the longest, hottest shower without worrying about the water or if the hot water system will work!

 

Heading back inland to Wave Rock

I am not going to lie.  As beautiful as Esperance was, it wasn’t hard to leave with those neighbours beside us.  Still it did take us a good while to actually get out of the van park by the time we stopped and chatted to everyone.  As we hopped in the car I looked at the arrival time our navigator had and thought that surely can’t be right.  I mean we only had less than 400km to go but surely that wasn’t going to take us five hours to get there.  Obviously the navigator knows us too well and can now plan its trips based on our speed and how long we will stop for (not really but it was only about 10 minutes off in the end). 

Half way there we did stop to stretch our legs, fill our tummies and top up with fuel.  They had a little outdoor area with a cage with rabbits.  That certainly entertained our kids for a long time but eventually we had to get back in the car and keep going.  There were storms around but luckily we seemed to miss them all and no bushfires were started from the lightning which is definitely a bonus.  Before we knew it we were pulling into the Wave Rock Caravan Park and booked in for a night.  The lovely lady at the reception let us pick which site we wanted so we quickly picked one nicely positioned half way between the pool and playground that seem to be on relatively flat site.

So our first task was to go for a swim.  It was a lovely hot afternoon and the pool area was a welcome sight.  After a nice and relaxing swim (which isn’t really true as it is never fully relaxing with two kids hanging off you) we headed off to Wave Rock.  It was so cool to see something we had always wanted to visit and tick off our list.  The only thing I was surprised about was that it wasn’t as long as I expected.  I honestly thought that it would go for a kilometre or not (totally unrealistic I know).   It is still magical and the colours are beautiful and best of all you can climb up on top of it to take in the view of the local area. 

Hamish trying to climb up (in the wrong spot).

Trying our best surfing pose.

Check out the view at the top (well as far as the kids and I walked).

On our way back to the caravan park I saw a snake on the path in front of us.  It was fast though and was off the path before the others could see it.  We read up on the flyers of the area and found out that there were a few more things that we wanted to see so decided to book in for another night and unhitch the car.  The unhitching was easy but as we were putting down the caravan legs a pin broke on one of them, rendering it absolutely useless.  We have since found out that we were advised incorrectly on the handover as to how much to wind down the legs.  It certainly is not until you hear the van creak; it is pretty much once they touch the ground!  Hmm not so happy as that is now the second thing we have been incorrectly advised or not told.

Looking back down on the campground.

We made it - this is where we stopped and waited for Dad who explored further.

Hamish and I checking out the rock more.

Unfortunately when it came time to have showers we could not get the hot water system to stay on, instead it kept flicking to error mode.  Just brilliant, it doesn’t work on power, and now it is not going to work on gas!  Luckily we had enough hot water still for us all to have a quick shower.  I mean realistically we could have trekked over to the amenity blocks but we like the luxury of our shower and having everything right there.  It really is starting to feel like we are limping into Mandurah, but hopefully it will all be sorted out by next week.  The silly thing is the hot water did stay on later that night and then the next morning!  Temperamental might be a great way to describe it and at least we could give the service centre the heads up there are now issues with it on gas.

Still we decided to make the most of everything and have a nice BBQ dinner over at the camp kitchen area (which is probably one of the best we have come across).  We even heard from Ian and Gwen that they were thinking of coming up here the next day.  It was welcome news but we did ask that they leave the riff raff at that caravan park.  It was a great evening and we loved the smell of the rain nearby on the trees - so calming.

The next morning we headed across the road to the Wildlife Park to see the white Kangaroos.  I thought they must have been albino but the lady said that they are a rare breed from South Australia.  Before we even found the Kangaroos we discovered that there were so many other animals here and I just fell in love with the wombats who were fast asleep on their backs.  There were also koalas, camels, donkeys, millions of birds, rabbits and the list could go on and on.  For only $24 for all of us to get in it was definitely worth it as we got to pat and touch so many of them.

A white kangaroo.

The friendly camel came up and let us pat him.

The donkeys were friendly too.

After we had seen all the animals we headed back inside to enjoy the treat of a yummy morning tea.  We had certainly worked up a good appetite after all that walking around.  Finally before we left we headed into the toy soldier museum.  It was certainly interesting and there were lots of the different wars all set up but if I had my time again I wouldn’t have gone in.  Don’t get me wrong, if you are into the history then that sort of thing is brilliant, but with two little kids it was like holding a lolly out in front of them and saying they couldn’t eat it.  Mind you there was a little table with a few play things set up which did entertain them for a while, but they kept being drawn to other things like the castle set up.  Pretty sure people would know that the modern day army tank does not belong in a medieval castle!

The roof of the café was decorated with dried sunflowers.

Sleepy wombat.

Think this swan was a bit confused as he was trying to impress a statue.

From here we returned to the van for a bit of a rest before heading out to see Hippo’s Yawn and the nearby caves.  We honestly haven’t had to deal with touristy tourists for a while and I had forgotten how some people really seem to hog a photo opportunity rather than taking the photo they want and moving on.  Instead we waited patiently while they took their photo in the Hippo’s mouth and then when we got all ready for our photo they just walked on in behind!  Honestly though it isn’t anything major and if that is the worst that happens in our day we are very lucky.  The caves were another 18km drive away and whilst they were interesting it wasn’t anything we had seen before.  We were also very lucky and managed to get in and see them and get out just as a massive bus load of tourists rolled in.

Hippos yawn.

Aboriginal paintings in the cave.

The fence to the caravan park was pretty cool.

From here it was back to the pool for a refreshing dip before having some happy hour drinks with Ian and Gwen at the camp kitchen area.  Then it was a quick walk back to wave rock for one last look at it and we managed to get a photo of the kids with Ian and Gwen.  I think the kids are certainly going to miss them as even that morning at about 8am Hamish asked where they were.  Kayla also just walks in and makes herself at home inside their very nice caravan. Our hot water system again wouldn’t work.  We do joke that it isn’t a fan of night times as it did work in the morning.  This will certainly make the next few days interesting and maybe we will end up hot footing it to my sister’s place in Mandurah and hogging her shower!

Tin statues in Hyden (which is where Wave Rock is).

Hamish looks pretty impressed.

Checking out the rock one more last time with Ian and Gwen.