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Final post...back home!

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Friday 5 April We arrived home in the early hours after flights from Singapore to Frankfurt and a connecting flight to Birmingham. After a good night's sleep the priority was to get Jimmie from the kennels....the boy's not been pining for us and has put on a bit of weight. After unpacking and other chores it was great to do one of our favourite walks to Swithland Reservoir - still light after 6 pm now that we are in British Summer time. It's a bit cold for April and freezing compared with Australia and Singapore.  It's a good job that Jane bought a wool/possum fibre beret in New Zealand......there's a funny story attached to this which I'm sure will be retold a number of times! It's great to be back home  and have lots of happy memories of a fantastic trip!   We saw some lovely places and superb wildlife.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stays with Sue, Gavin in Sydney and Pippa and David in Wellington and caught up with other friends as well....
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Homeward bound!

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Wednesday 3 April  - A final few shots of our Mandurah surroundings before setting off for Perth and a flight back to Singapore. We had breakfast outside on a beautiful morning.    It was only an hour's drive to Perth so time for a selfie. Thursday 4 April Singapore airport was our final overnight stop on the holiday, just to break the journey.  A few things to see as well.  Pippa had told us about the butterfly garden and there's also a sunflower garden. The butterfly garden was more impressive... and then in the main concourse, there is an orchid garden. Apart from this we were amazed at the temperatures...over 30C outside but Mark wore his coat all morning in the lounge while I kept warm by last minute shopping!
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Margaret River and Mandurah, Tuesday 2 April

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We left Cape Lodge near Margaret River late morning after a leisurely breakfast and a few photos.  The weather was back to its best.  This was the view when I looked out of our window first thing. These photos were taken on our walk back from the restaurant.    The picture with Mark in it would have been a bit better if I had n't stepped on part of an ant's nest while taking it.... no lasting damage fortunately. A final shot of the terrace.  Our next stop, Mandurah, is about 70 km from Perth Airport and is an ideal stop over.    After a 2 hour 30 minute drive we cooled off in the resort pool - very pleasant.   We've just walked back after a thai meal in the town.  Lovely views from the jetty near our apartment.
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Exploring the Margaret River region, Monday 1 April

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Cloudy and a drop in temperature today but a pleasant view from our lakeside room.  The Lodge restaurant is at the other end of the lake - we had a fine breakfast. We drove the entire length of the Cape - Augusta is the southern most town and Dunsborough is the most northerly.  It's just over 60 miles north to south. After a brief stop at Margaret River we went to Cape Leewin lighthouse...this is where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.    On a stormy day the waves are tremendous....today it was pretty benign. We found a few things to amuse us.  Australia goes in for odd art....this is one of 85 maroon marauders that were positioned across the region in 2010.   The sign stated that `Cow parade' was the world's largest public art event. The `cows' were auctioned off for charity. The lighthouse was manned until 1998. By British standards it was n't that big or old, dating back to 1895. We drove north through the Boranup K...
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To Margaret River via Fremantle

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Today we've driven down To Margaret River - it's a big wine producing area. We stopped off at Fremantle, Perth's main port.  Above is the round tower which was the first prison, dating back to 1830. Freemantle is a short drive south from Perth,  very  historic (for Oz) and busy. Great place to visit for a couple of hours but not a place to stay overnight.   We were tipped off about this by Viv and Graham (thank you!).  It was seriously hot at lunchtime - 32 C and  this is meant to be autumn. Interesting market selling all sorts of goodies! View of  the successor prison to the Round Tower.  This one was built by and for convicts! Now at the Cape Lodge near Margaret River which is just outstanding.  We both swam - the water was 19 C - brisk!   They brew 3000 bottles of wine annually on their own estate. This is used for guests at the lodge and not sold externally....looking forward to sampling a glass or tw...
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A nature day in Perth

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Another beautiful morning in Perth.   We went west up to Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens via the excellent free bus.  Superb views over Elizabeth Quay and the city shoreline.  Also some guns dating from Crimea and Napoleonic wars....just up Mark's street. We came across the Scotch College pipe band...don't think our Scottish friends would approve of the terminology.  They were supporting the end of a charity bike race.  It was rather a hot day for kilts! We timed it perfectly to join the midday free guided tour that focused on indigenous trees and shrubs and a history of the memorials in the Park.  We were also told that WA (Western Australia) also stands for `wait awhile'...that maybe explains why it took nearly half an hour and 2 prompts for coffee to arrive. We analysed the working systems as we waited....  We learnt lots in 90 minutes from Di who loved living in Edinburgh and Bradford a few years ago.   We ...
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Narrowly avoided headache in Perth!

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We've been worried about snakes, spiders, sharks and crocodiles but no one warned us about `killer' palm trees! We were sitting near Elizabeth Quay waiting before our Swan River cruise to Freemantle when we heard this crashing sound....a big bit of palm tree landed behind our seat.  A guy sitting nearby suggested that we should do the lottery!  It was windy, but not gale force. We were lucky and left smiling! The river cruise took most of the afternoon and we loved it.  Great views of Elizabeth Quay - fairly new and aimed at the tourist market. The coast line near Freemantle reminds us of  last year's sailing holiday in Croatia There's lots of sporting activity in the Swan River,  paragliding and sailing....these photos  are for Rob T. We saw a couple of dolphins but they did n't hang around long enough to be photographed...or Jane doe...
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