Perth and WA Roadtripping

Well it turns out I am a very laid back blogger....just too busy living the adventure to write about it.  Sorry!  But here will be two (or even three!) updates in quick succession!  Hopefully... Although it's nearly Chrismas so let's just wait and see ;)

So, what is now ages an ages ago, I went on a trip with lovely Maria to Perth and then to Thailand (more on that in next post!)  Actually it was Maria's trip in the first place but I decided to tag along for the ride...great decision!

Well anyway, we got to Perth and stayed two nights before deciding to get out of the city and explore some of Western Australia! We ahd only planned to go a little way down the coast but we were having so much fun I think we ended up driving about 800 or 900Km all in all! Of course it did help that we had an AWESOME van (that we named Chubs)...he looked like this....

And off we went! The first day we eventually (after taking a wrong turn pretty much immediately haha) managed to get to the beautiful Cottisloe Beach, via Freemantle Harbour (anyone who knows the area....just don't ask!) Cottisloe is stunning....and an incredible place to watch the sunset whilst eating your dinner!  And then you wake up in the morning and get this view whilst taking a shower...!

After breakfast overlooking the beach we took Chubs and headed South to visit our friend Jimmy in Rockingham.  Going via Freemantle (again!) and South Beach, we got to Rockingham and went to another (can you guess?) yup....amazing beach!! WA definitely knows how to do a good beach!  The fab weather helps too :) So that evening we were totally spoiled with a great BBQ from Jimmy and his housemates and then a real bed and a real shower!! Luxury!

Next day and its South again to Margaret River, where we had a campsite booked for the night.  We went via Bunbury, which had a stunning look-out point, Busselton with its famous super long jetty/pier and Cow City!!! It actually wasn't called Cow City but Cowaranup, but it was full of fake cows everywhere!! We actually turned Chubs around and went back for a proper look and take lots of photos! Finally we got to Big Valley Campsite - a beautiful farm campsite which was really friendly and also, had power!! We even managed to get some potatoes and brussel sprouts from our neighbours (Maria was so happy!!) And the next morning they had some milk so I could have a cup of tea (and then I was so happy!)

With only two days left until we had to return Chubs, we headed inland towards Balingup (via a cheese factory and a chocolate factory!!) where we had lunch with a friend of Maria's.  The drive was incredible, I just couldn't believe how many different landscapes you were able to see in just a few hours!! Western Australia is definitely very beautiful and we were so lucky to go at the right time of year when everything is still lush and green!  After a delicious (seriously!) lunch off we went again, this time to find somewhere to stay for the last night of the trip.  We drove, and drove but didnt quite make it to Freemantle, which we had hoped for.  But we did see a Kangaroo (at last!) and eventualy ended up in Madurah, another beautiful town.  We ended up parked up behind some guys from the Moscow Circus, who had just come into town which was very random, but very fun!

And so the last day of our roadtrip came and after a quick coffe and cake stop in Freemantle we had to give Chubs back :( A very sad day for us....what a great home for five days!!  But off to the next adventure and the last in Perth - Couchsurfing!  We were so lucky to couchsurf with Josh, who runs a radio station called The Backyard Project, a very fun electronic online radio station featuring predominantly DJs and artists from Perth and the surrounding area.  I would seriously recommend you check it out if you like electronic music - a great station and wicked people - also running events and opened my eyes to the fact that Perth really does have a pretty sweet music scene!  Anyway Josh was a great host and it was a great way to spend the last few days in Perth.

And then it was off to Thailand for Maria and Helen's adventure number two!  Stay tuned..... xxx