Week 13 – Jurien Bay and Perth…the first time!

Leaving Kalbarri behind it looked like our luck with the weather had run out as we headed into heavy rain on our drive south towards Gerldton.  We planned on pushing further down along the coast but needed to stop for food and groceries.  AS luck would have it the rain stopped and we managed to get in and out of Geraldton dry before driving again in the poring rain.  The decision was now whether to stop at Dongara or push through to Jurien Bay.  Poring rain at Dongara meant we kept going, down the Indian Ocean Drive along the coastline and heading for what we hoped was a blue patch of sky ahead.  We arrved in Jurien Bay in bright sunlight and set up no probs…the weather gods clearly still on our side.  That night however it pored and as it turned out we were in a slight hollow and so the water rose in the annexe to an inch or so deep and we thought we were in for a wet few days.  But the stars came out about 11am, the water soaked into the sand and blue sky we had for the next few days. 

Jurien Bay, whilst not anything like Kalbarri was another nice little getaway 200kms north of Perth.  We rode our bikes along the cycleway along the waterfront, walked out the jetty, had a picnic at  the park and had a thoroughly lovely and relaxing time.  We also spent a day driving down and  walking around the Pinnacles.  Now we have seen some amazing things this trip, and this was right up there.  Towering pinnacles of rock everywhere you could see, the sun shining from over the ocean casting shadows on one side and bringing out the colour on the other just made for a magical place.

After Jurien Bay we headed to Perth, Fremantle to be exact where we once again had 4 nights and days of magic weather.  Perth was about catching up with friends and family.  Lewie and Abbi had pizza with us in the tent one night…they froze and needed to be wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags not being accustomed to living outdoors.  Dinner with Daniel, Lisa, Michaela and Josh, who we hadn’t seen for 10 years when their kids were our kids age, and finally afternoon tea with Jack and Goldie, Bron’s great Aunty and Uncle, where the kids had a dose of craft making bling boxes.

We had a picnic in Kings Park, which overlooked the city in a great panaoram, but we chose to hang out in the Dinosaur Park where the kids had a ball on the slides and firman pole, climbing the dinosaur statue in the middle and kicking the footy and soccer ball around the big grass areas.  And to finish our stay in Perth, a day in Freo, exploring the makets, buying more fresh fruit and veg, fish and chip down on the jetty made for a really great day.

Oh, and we got Alex’s tooth sorted…all good, just ligament damage so a great outcome.