Camping for Christmas. Part 2.

Tuesday 27th December and the beach beckoned once more. We'd been talking to another local chap, Greg, who had a caravan across the road from us. He was a fisherman and said the surf was up so Greens Pool would be packed to the rafters. He recommended that we turn left just before it and head to another beach called Madfish bay further down a dirt track. Always quieter but still great for the kids. So that's what we did. As we passed the car park for Greens Pool we were very glad we'd been chatting to him too, because it was overflowing and there were cars way up the road. Meantime where we went was almost our own and another stunning sight.

B with picnic bag.

The boys get to work on paddling...

...and sandcastles.

 It was windy though so I was grateful of our pop-up beach tent for more than just my usual shade. We all shared it for the picnic of cheese sandwiches and apples we'd brought with us. The only thing missing was "lashings of ginger beer" Famous Five style.

Eventually the wind got the better of us and we packed up and headed back to the site, to be met by wheelie bins everywhere. Well, not everywhere perhaps, but several of them across the tracks on site. Our friend Bob again. He'd got annoyed with some of the newcomers onsite driving too fast (lots of people only came down after Christmas so the place had really filled up). So he had painted signs saying "SLOW DOWN. KIDS" and stuck them to the bins, then put the bins in awkward places so that you really had no choice but pay heed! Gotta hand it to him. Especially as our little darlings (devils) were cycling round in loops constantly. He came out to tell us it was his handiwork and show us the paint stains on his trousers!

That afternoon, determined to make the very most of our trip, and with kids who were never off their bikes anyway, we went for a family cycle. There was a great track straight from the campsite which reminded me slightly of the old railway line near where I used to live in Devon. Totally safe for the kids and coming out near the water a little way along.

My only slight concern was the possibility of snakes, which we'd been assured were resident in the area. There are both Tiger snakes and Dugites in the area, both of which are potentially deadly. We had actually seen the very first snake of our Australian adventure on the trip out to ocean beach the day before, when we ran over it in the car. We're such typical clueless foreigners that both Brian and myself had assumed it was a bit of tyre rubber when we saw this black thing in the road. It was only after we caught it with our own tyre and saw it turn and slither off that we were awakened to the reality. Anyway, that day we saw nothing more interesting in the way of wildlife than a dead gecko (which was enough to entertain the boys for several minutes). Liam's Dad had seen a 3 foot long Racehorse Goanna on his cyle out that way the day before and we had our eyes peeled for anything. The next day I went out again with Ru and this time I saw a snake. A dugite I'm fairly sure having researched them since. It was just slithering out of the bushes to bask when it obviously felt the vibration of my bike. Thankfully it turned right back into the bush and by the time Ru and I flew past all I could see was its tail. Never have I pedalled so fast or encouraged Ru along more. I didn't dare tell him why 'till after in case he wanted to go and have a look!

On the Wedneday we headed inland to a local maze, which I must be honest and say I was rather disappointed by. There seemed to be no real objective in the thing and we ended up just going round in circles till we eventually ended up back at the car! After the superb one down in Yallingup there was really no comparison, so we moved on fairly swiftly and visited a farm instead.
It was billed as an alpaca farm, but in fact had much more to offer, and with a bag of food given out with every ticket you can imagine the fun the boys had.

 There were goats..

..koalas..

...Alpacas....

..Kangaroos....

Mummys with joeys still in the pouch......

..when they're really far too big to be....

..A pony which James particularly took to....

...and a Highland Cow which Alfie didn't take to at all after it tried to headbut him!

 ..Not to mention the chickens, bison, buffalo, and foxes. All in all it more than made up for the maze and we were there for ages.

The next day, Thursday, was our last, as we were due to pack up and move out on the Friday. We decided to head along the coast to Albany, the largest town on that stretch of coast about 50km away. After stopping for coffee we headed to the waterfront to see the historic brig the "Amity". She's a permanent museum on dry land now, but fantastically restored so that you can go round and see the whole thing. The history of her voyage was amazing as she had travelled from Sidney to Albany in the early days to suss out the possibility of a settlement there.

 She had 40 men on board, many of whom were convicts picked for their skills such as carpentry, gardening etc. and the space down below was not big.

Heading down..

The officers quarters, pure luxury compared to..

View through the door into the main "below deck" area. It really is that low and is a living space, not a store cupboard as you might assume.

After lunch we headed out to some blowholes further out on the coast, but they were not doing their thing according to the disappointed people coming back up the steps so we decided not to bother. Then we went to another fab beach where there was tree shade and grass as well as sand. We all got in the water and the 3 boys spent ages making a sandcastle fortress.

On the way home, we stopped at a sea arch for more spectacular views

 and then back to camp to ponder the work ahead of us on Friday.

Packing up went remarkably smoothly really and we almost made it out of the campsite by the allotted hour of 10am. We certainly didn't get hit by the promised rain storm, the first threat of rain all week. After a stop for coffee and pies in town (Denmark's bakery has award winning pies it seems) we were off. Our arrangement to meet up again just over half way home for some lunch worked well too, with only 5 mins between us.

What we weren't so prepared for was that we hadn't entirely avoided the rain. As we headed off up the road again it started to pour and suddenly we were in the middle of a big tropical style thunderstorm. Forked lightning was flashing up ahead and getting ever closer till it was actually forking down in fields to either side of us. What to do? Well given that the only shelter around would be trees, we just had to plough on and hope for the best. Not a comfortable experience though, and I speak as one who quite likes a good thunderstorm - provided I'm safely tucked away inside my house.

Which is rather a good thing really cause there was another one that night when we were.

Camping for Christmas. Part 1.

Friday 23rd December dawned bright and sunny (as most are here) and we were off down to the far South coast to a place called Denmark. Denmark is a beautiful "hippy" style seaside town about 450 kms from Perth, a drive which takes approx 5 hours. We were to spend Christmas camping with Brian's cousin Lorna, her partner Sue and their son James. We had told them that our earliest likely departure time was 9am, possibly 10 if things went badly with the packing. They were aiming for 7am, definitely no later than 8, as they have a trailer tent which takes a fair bit of putting together. We agreed we'd meet en route or possibly even down there.
10am came and we were still trying to fit everything into the car. I was worrying about how far behind the others we were when the phone rang. The conversation went a little like this.
Sue: " How's it going there?"
Me: "Erm, well, we're not ready yet. Thought the car was packed till we realised Brian had forgotten to put in the ice box." (the ice box is 62 litres so this was a major problem)
Sue: " Well, we haven't actually left yet either, but will be gone in the next half hour or so."
Me: "OK. Still got the bike rack to load but we won't be too far behind you."

At quarter past twelve that day, after having to remove pedals from bikes and stuff things under seats, we pulled into the local "Super Cheap Auto" store to buy more straps for the roof rack, before finally setting off !!

By five thirty we arrived on the camp site and had the further stress of unpacking everything again, putting up the tent, blowing up beds, putting up fairy lights etc. The kids just got on their bikes and cycled round in laps of the site until it made us adults feel giddy to look at them, but at least it kept them happy.

Next day was Christmas Eve. We went into town early to get some shopping, then back a little later to get a new gas bottle for our camp stove as it turned out the one we bought with it wasn't compatible ( thanks very much Mr shopkeeper for selling us that combo). The weather was beautiful and we decided to take a trip to a beach called Greens pool a little way along the coast.

Wow, they sure know how to do beaches down there. It was a stunning inlet with rocks around so that the full surf was broken up and the "pool" area was perfect for children to go in. There were plenty of steps to go down to get to it though. A fact which caught me out later when Ru needed an urgent poo after going in the cold water, and the loos were up top at the carpark!!

  One of the permanent residents of the site was a 75 year old white rasta with beard and dreds called Bob. Bob could take up a whole blog post all to himself, but suffice it to say he had taken rather a shine to us, largely on the basis of Brian and Lorna being Irish ( he was of Irish descent) and Brian's ability and willingness to chat to anyone. He lent us a second icebox for our beers, some glasses, and generally offered words of wisdom about the area. He also decided to pop over for a few Guiness' that evening, when we were trying our hardest to get the kids to bed and do the "Santa" thing successfully in tents. It was an interesting evening to say the least, but we did eventually manage to get everything done and be a little bit sociable too.

Christmas day came and Alfie tiptoed across from the boys room in the tent to ours. In the middle section was Santa's sack full of pressies for the boys. He whispered as if Santa might still be around "He came Mummy. He did!"  Ru awoke and the tent was soon filled with the sound of ripping paper and oohs and ahhs.  At ten we went off to Christmas day mass in the town. This is a picture of the first thing I saw as I got out of the car:

Approximately the size of my hand. Yuk!

The church was so cute, like something from a film, felt like it should be full of Amish or something:

Oddly enough the parish priest was an ageing Dubliner so there was some small hint of home for Brian at least!

When we got back to camp we had a visit from Santa in the local fire truck. They tour the whole town and park on Christmas day every year, sounding the siren, ringing the bell and throwing sweeties to the children. What an exciting sight. I was so thrilled for the boys I nearly forgot to take a photo!

Christmas dinner consisted of breaded chicken, mash and glazed carrots. The breaded chook was eaten with a dollop of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce on the side as a nod in the direction of proper Christmas dinner, but we passed on the Brussels sprouts this year due to lack of demand. In fact we ended  up with a rather larger group at our table than originally planned as the boys had made a friend, Liam, who was with his parents a couple of tents away. They came over for a glass of bubbly in the run-up to dinner and ended up bringing their table, chairs and meal over with them. We had plenty of crackers and Santa napkins to go round so the more the merrier it seemed.

I did insist on one Christmas tradition. Christmas Pud. There was a brief interlude after the main course while I cycled up to the microwave in the camp kitchen at the other end of the site with said pud tucked under my arm, and orange paper cracker hat at a jaunty angle on my head. I then had to wrap it in a couple of teatowels to bring it back, turn it out and feed some brandy in and over it in order to set the thing alight. This was a novelty for all at the table apart from Brian and myself, but everyone entrered into the spirit of the thing pretty well and we sang "We wish you a merry Christmas" before devouring it with loads of brandy butter and squirty cream. In all, it could be said to have been an unusual, but not at all unpleasant, Christmas day.

Boxing day we headed West to the "Valley of the Giants", a forest of huge Tingle trees where they have built a treetop walkway that takes you 40 metres into the canopy itself.

 Sue is terrified of heights but was persueded to give it a go. She did amazingly to get all the way round as the whole structure had a definite swing to it.

Presentation of a well deserved certificate!

The trees themselves were really beautiful, old and full of character, something that could actually be appreciated far more from ground level.

This one made me think of Enid Blyton stories, there's surely an elf living there.

This tree is actually named "Old Grandma Tingle" I think you can see why.

The boys stand inside a huge tree trunk.

Chilling out, hoping for ice cream.

We went for dinner on the way home as between fear and plain old excercise we were all starving, then Brian and I took the kids for a drive to have a look at another beach close to town called Ocean Beach. Thus called as the ocean meets the inlet on which Denmark sits, it has beautiful views from its viewing point, and scary currents in parts.

You can just see the inlet like a lake to the left of the picture.

The actual mouth of the inlet.

Then we went down onto the beach itself and very soon this happened..

!!!

I'll update you with the rest of the week later.

Carols by Candlelight.

The weekend started well on Friday evening when Brian's cousin, her partner and their son came over to babysit and let us have a night off. It was the best Christmas present they could have given us. We headed for Fremantle to the Little Creatures brewery for some food and delicious beer. How good it felt to be out walking through town on a Friday evening, specially as the World Sailing Championships have been on down in Freo for the last couple of weeks so there was a bit of a buzz. We decided that we haven't done enough as a couple recently (read "nothing at all") and determined to get a babysitter and go out at least once a month for our new years resolution.

For the rest of this weekend we've been keeping busy getting organised for our big camping trip. I say getting organised when I really mean doing random bits such as fitting the roof-rack to the car and figuring out how best to fix all the bikes to the bike rack. I don't feel very much more organised at all but I'm sure it will all come together on Thursday night in a panic as usual.

Then last night we went back to Freo for the second time this week for a wonderful carol concert. Probably the strangest carol concert I've ever seen, coming from the northern hemisphere where we expect to be indoors trying to keep warm. Friends from the school were coming too and had warned us to get there early so we could all find a spot. We queued with our picnic rugs, esky's(cool boxes), and bottles of wine, and then streamed into the gardens of Fremantle Arts Centre, picking up the programme/ word sheet as we went. After an hour or so wholly devoted to eating, drinking and chatting to friends in the warm evening, the sun started to go down and the carols began.

Pic of the stage (taken with my phone so no such features as zoom).

 With traditional carols such as "Silent Night" and "Deck the Halls" mixed with childrens favourites like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer we all had a good sing along, even if we couldn't see the words as it got darker! I was also introduced to an Aussie favourite called "Six White Boomers" which was great fun and was astonished when Alfie sang his heart out in the chorus as he'd learnt it at school!

Children by (battery operated) candlelight!

The evening ended around 8pm and we were just packing up our belongings when "Boom" a firework went off. Clearly the sailing championships were also at an end, and we got full advantage of their tremendous fireworks display for the best part of another half hour.
What a beautiful end to a wonderful evening. And I think I'm starting to feel rather more Christmassy at last.

Christmas time is coming.

I can't believe another year is nearly done, and that this time last year we had barely made the decision to come to Australia. Then we travelled in thick snow to do our shopping and see our families, whereas this year it's been 30 degrees C and we're planning a camping trip for Christmas. The time has flown by (and what a busy year it's been) and we are settling in really quite well, making friends and starting to feel a bit more established. But I have to admit it feels strange to be so far away, and in such sunny climes at Christmas.

The past week or two has been filled with Christmas parties, nativity plays and Santa Claus. First was a couple of weeks ago when Alfie had to dress as an ancient Egyptian for a party at school celebrating the topic they have been looking at this term- ancient times. With a pillowcase, tasseled curtain tieback, a decorated paper plate and lots of kohl eyeliner, I think he made a reasonably convincing figure. He flatly refused a black wig, but did give in on the eye make-up after a bit of work!

Did ancient Egyptians do cheesy grins?

Then last week Brian had to go off to Singapore again, but was due back Wednesday afternoon just in time for Alfie's nativity play and carol service. On the Tuesday we had major storms all day, which threatened to go on on Wednesday too. To my amazement (as one for whom Christmas and bad weather are inseperable and normal) this resulted in the carols being cancelled because it was to have been an outdoor affair. They moved the nativity indoors and ploughed on with it as they felt it would be too disappointing for the children to cancel. In the end there was only one person who was really disappointed- poor Brian whose flight was so delayed after the previous day's disruptions that he was still on the runway in Singapore while his little boys class sang their hearts out on stage. He eventually came in the door around 11.15pm.

Waiting to go on stage..

Next day was Ruairi's turn. He was a shepherd in his 3yr old kindy nativity, and at least B was able to be at this one. We walked in the door and asked each other where he was. I was just starting to think he must have refused to wear the costume and been asked to sit out, when I spied him in full garb. The headdress obscuring his blonde head was amazingly disguising and I really had failed to recognise my own child on first glance! It was lovely to see them all do their bit and sing songs with shy delight- I had wondered if Ru would cope with the pressure!

Proud mummy with her little shepherd boy.

Friday came and first of all Ru had to go to see the optician. Of course Alfie has worn glasses since the age of 2, but Ru never seemed to squint so nobody really worried. Then amongst the other goings on last week, he had his 4 year old jabs and health check (before he starts kindy in the new year), and he seemed to struggle with some of the picture tests. So off we went, only to come out an hour later with a referral to the paediatric opthalmologist and the news that his sight appears to be even worse than his brothers!! Poor old Ru, I always knew he was a bit clumsy (like mother, like son etc.) but he must have been struggling quite a bit. He won't get seen now and get the glasses till the new year,but at least we're onto it and I can give him a hand where needed.
Then Friday afternoon was Alfie's Christmas party. No dressing up this time, just lots of food and a visit from Father Christmas! All the children were given a gift. Alfie got an archaeology set from ancient Egypt (lucky Santa had been watching what they were doing!), and Ru a lovely Christmas book.

Such digging and brushing was done on Saturday morning. Eventually two figurines were revealed- a cat and a bird-god type thing. Alfie was thrilled to bits and went to bed with them under his pillow!
Ru's Christmas gathering was a playdate this morning. Also incorporating a Santa visit [from a different one of Santa's helpers you understand ;o) ] Ru got another book, a really special one about a big green tractor.

 We've already read it several times over and he's pointed out from the back cover that there are 3 more in the same series so I may have to hunt for those too!
Tomorrow is Alfie's last day of pre-primary- basically reception class if he was back home. In 7 weeks time he'll be starting out in uniform as a year 1 and I'll have a tear in my eye I'm sure. Ru will be going into kindy class for 2 and a half days each week, which will suit him very nicely I suspect and I may just find myself feeling more at a loose end than I'm used to. Mind you, by the end of a 7 week school holiday, I may just be delighted with the break!