Denmark Day 3 - Denmark Village, Sheila and Alan

Betty John and I set off in the car after breakfast. Firstly we went to the Leather Shop and looked at the array of Ugg boots, Leather belts, sheepskin slippers and leather handbags that were on sale. Loads of stuff made from leather that I had no idea that I even wanted!

Next we went to the Honey Shop as Betty wanted to replenish some skin cream that she bought from there. Sadly they were out of stock but have promised to order some and get it to her as soon as possible.

Then an off road adventure. Betty decided to take us down to the shore. It is quite a long drive to get there from the Southern Highway, but off we went. The tarmac road took us to Parrys Beach, a beautiful place with a large camping and caravan site under the shelter of the Peppermint trees. The beach looked beautiful but the sea was very high with massive breakers bearing down on it, so not conducive to swimming.

From there we headed back towards the main road, but turned off to the right along a red sand track. It was flooded in places and John was a bit nervous taking the car down there, but Betty reassured us that the track was good, so we continued towards Hillier Bay. When we got to the end of the track we here high on a sand bluff with a wooded platform and steps leading down onto the beach. I spoke to someone else there and they said they had been watching a whale in the bay. we waited a while but we were not lucky enough to see it.

With some difficulty John managed to turn the car, and we headed back to the Southern Highway and set off in the direction of Denmark.

First things first. Found the toilets!

Then the bakers so that we could buy some cakes to take with us when we visited Sheila and Alan.

Then another bakers, this time for a large plate apple pie for after our tea!

Got to get your priorities right!!!!

Then we went in search of the shop where John had bought the huge wooden urn that sits in out living room. Unfortunately that shop has now changed hands and no longer stocks wooden objects like that, so we were both disappointed.

So we left Denmark to visit Sheila and Alan (with a side visit to the Alpaca Centre - the shop was very disappointing, it was full of stuffed animals!!!).

They both made us all extremely welcome in their home, The views they have are stunning, drawing the eye across the land towards the ocean. Their house is perched high on top of a small mountain and from there you can see 360 degrees across the land around. Alan has a telescope and he uses it to watch the shipping as it passes before him on the ocean. A fantastic house that truly makes the most of it's position.

On top of that they both entertained us with old films of the Wilson clan, especially John at the tender age of 26! Long haired and thin he was almost unrecognisable now that he has matured. Margaret and Betty also starred, but it was their Mum who stood out for me because I was convinced that she was Margaret.

Denmark Day 2 - a day with Whales

Oh no, an early start!

Up and out by 8am! Off to Albany, a good hour down the coast, to catch a boat that will take us to see the Whales. The morning was damp and misty as we drove along the Southern Highway. There was no improvement when we got there, and we all half expected that the trip would be cancelled, but we were all wrong and after they took our money we all boarded and we were off.

Sailed out through the harbour and very quickly we came upon 3 whales in the bay. They were shy however, and seemed to be making a run to get away from us, so our captain (John, but a different one)  set off to another part of the bay to try and find some more.

We were at sea for over 4 hours. We saw another 6 or 7 whales and a larger number of seals as well as numerous sea birds. We went a long way passed the sheltering cliffs of the bay, out into the Southern Ocean where the swell and waves were very high. I was more than a little nervous a few times, as I looked up at a wall of water heading our way, but we all came through safely and without injury.

A couple of the ladies on the boat turned green and were very sick, but the four of us were all fine. Betty and I had taken Kwells (a sea sickness preventative) the night before, but I think that we would both have been absolutely fine without!

Got some super snaps of John and Betty, but I am afraid that the Whales were all much more elusive. Either that or I was just too busy gripping hold of the rail to notice any photo opportunities!!!

After we had regained the shore, and got home for our meal, I managed to get another shot of Betty and John to add to the collection, this time holding a snap that had been sent to us by their sister Margaret back home in Blighty

As you can guess, a good time is being had by all!!!!

Denmark Day 1 - Walpole

After the shock of the early start yesterday we both slept in. It was almost 10 o'clock when we surfaced!

A very leisurely breakfast of porridge and toast, with copious amounts of coffee.

Fortunately both of our hosts were generous enough to allow us time to wake up properly and shake off our sleep.

After food we discussed the day ahead, and Betty then dropped the bombshell that we would be having a second EARLY START there following day. This time because we were all aft on a catamaran onto the Southern Ocean to watch Whales (so there was an excuse).

So it was decided that today we would have a quiet time, and that John and I would go with Betty into Walpole, one of the local towns, to try and upload the photographs that are already on my Kindle Fire. Betty needed to get a prescription filled, which gave us another reason for this trip.

Walpole is a major town in this region, but to our eyes it is little more than a large village. There are a few shops, a Post Office, a Petrol Station and a Community Centre (I am sure that I have missed loads of things, so apologies to all concerned). I tried to upload the photographs from my Kindle Fire to the net, but with no success. I had to pay $2 for 15 minutes WiFi, but the connection was too slow to be of any use. Feels like we have slipped back 10 years because when I asked about free WiFi I was looked at as though I had come from Outer Space!

The three of us had a coffee in the local cafe before heading back to the house to prepare for dinner.

An early night followed, to get a good nights sleep before the day on the boat

Perth to Denmark - what a drive.....

An early start!

On my holidays!

Unfair

Unheard of

Uncomfortable....

But necessary. We had to get to the airport to collect the car, and by the time we had done that, visited David and Sammie then taken the long drive down to Denmark we were concerned that it would be nightfall. That concerned us because we had been told that driving in Australia after dark was dangerous because Kangaroos have a habit of jumping out in front of cars and causing crashes.

So, the early start.

We had the grumpiest taxi driver ever from the hotel. I can only assume that he had had a bad night because he made no effort to help with our bags, or to speak to us while he drove. At the airport all he could do was grunt "$26". Very uncooperative, so he got the tip he deserved (none!)

Fortunately the staff at the Europcar desk were delightful and helped cheer up our morning. Business was done and completed quickly, so despite the rain we were in the car and on our way.

Got to David and Sammies house about 11 and we were both made very welcome. They both looked well, and David was on good form making jokes and laughing with us. Chantelle was keen to show off her new car and both her parents were very proud of her. Brendon was there too, and both of them were eager to explain their future plans and tell us of the road trip that they were going on, to the north to Port Headland to see her sister Kristie and her boyfriend Daniel.

Anne and Mick (Sammies parents) arrived with food, so we took ourselves off for lunch. It was great to meet everyone, and they all made us feel both welcome and special.

Sadly we had to leave before 12.30 to allow time to get to Betty and Mick's in Denmark, so off we went. The journey was fine, just a long straight (ish) road, but it took us over 5 hours with only minimal stops. My were we glad when we finally got there and out of the car!

They too have made us very welcome, and have fed us to bustin'!

Because we were so tired we had an early meal, with a glass of wine each and it wasn't long before we were beginning to droop, so we took ourselves off to bed for a good nights sleep

Perth - Day 2

We walked down to the river, and from there to the bell tower.

Our goal was to find a ferry that would take us to Freemantle where we will meet Kelly again. Found the booking office and booked for the 2.15 sailing, leaving us with the remainder of the morning free.

We walked into the city where we managed to successfully use an ATM to replenish our diminishing supply of cash (very important!!) After that we walked along the road to get back to the hotel to get what we needed for the afternoons sail.

We got back to the wharf at 1 and went to the 'Shag' for lunch (no I am not being rude, it is the name of the pub next to the water, and named after one of the birds that inhabit these water).

I had a very presentable Ploughman's Lunch that was reasonably costed at just $17 (about ten pounds). Then it was time to get onto the boat.

We were very lucky with the weather and the sun shone as we sailed down river. The Perth skyline is amazing from the water, and was visible for miles.

We passed Kings Gardens and saw the Glass Bridge that we had walked across the day before, and saw just how high off the ground we had been. Then it was off passed all the sailing clubs (I counted 10 but there might have been more) and the mansions of the rich and famous. The captain pointed out a number but the one priced at 47 million caught our eyes the most!!!

Took us almost an hour to reach Freemantle, just in time for the sun to disappear behind a bank of clouds. So we went into the Maritime Museum for an hour until we were due to meet Kelly and Benny. The museum was fascinating with thousands of exhibits including at least 10 sailing boats suspended from the ceiling, including one that had been sailed single handed around the world 3 times (by the same man!!!)

We left there at 5 to walk into the town to meet Kel. We got to Gino's and had a coffee each while we waited. They turned up shortly and we decided on Pizza, which we all enjoyed.

We are so pleased that we have been able to catch up with Kelly and meet Benny. He seems quite a catch and the two of them seem to be so right with each other. We hope that everything will go well for them, and that we will get the call for us to start buying some new hats!!!

Too soon it was time for us to head back to our hotel in the city, so we had to leave them with our hopes and good wishes (we love you Kelly)

Perth - Day 1

WE ARE HERE!

Woke up, had breakfast then we set off. We walked into the city and had a look round. Went to the railway station to find out about the train times for us to get to Freemantle later (to see Kelly and Benny).

We found out about the CAT buses (Central Area Transport) that were free to use all day. There are 4 lines but we only used the Red one, as it ran from the outside of our hotel all the way across to Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens.

We used the Red Cat from the Underground station up to the closest stop to Kings Gardens. The view across the city and the waterfront was just amazing. The sky was blue, the city looked clean and white and the towers gleaned in the sunshine.

We stopped for lunch at the cafe overlooking the bay, nothing exciting but it was lovely to get a sit down and enjoy the view.

From there we walked into the Botanical Park to look at the plants, and walk across the fabled Glass Bridge. That was stunning although I was just a little disappointed to see that it was only the walls that were glass, not the floor (but I think that John was very relieved at that!!!)

Then back to the hotel to get cleaned up before we set off for the train to Freemantle to meet Kelly. Got there safely and despite being a little late (as is normal) Kelly was there to pick us us and take her to her house and introduce us to Benny.

A bit chaotic as Mel, her ex housemate, was still in the process of moving out (more than a few days late), but we got to meet her, her boyfriend Ryan, and Benny of course. Kelly and he took us across the road to see the beach (yes, just access the road) before we all set off back into Freo (as they say) to get some food.

Meal of choice was a Mexican (which was lovely) and a great time was had by all. We both really liken Benny and feel sure that he and Kelly are very happy together.

Set off back to the City on the bus, as the trains had been cancelled to allow work to be done on the line. And from the station we had to take the long walk back to the hotel where we sank into bed exhausted after a long and tiring day!!!

Singapore Airport

What a place. It seems to be HUGE, but much more fun that Heathrow. There seem to be millions of shops and food dispensaries, but there are also large areas of (free) seating and plants. Some of these also have 'sculpts' too, and there will be some photographs of one of these too.

Upstairs, on the roof, we also visited the Cactus Garden. Beautiful, but of course it was extremely hot and humid out there, especially after being in an air conditioned environment for so long. Great to get out and stretch out legs in the open air, but we were grateful to get back into the cool!

That's it for now, more when we get to Perth.

TTFN