Western Australia (South and The Pinnicles)

After finally finishing our 3 months of work, we picked up our rented Ford Falcon Station wagon complete with camping gear and headed to the southern areas of Western Australia. First stop was Busselton, about 2 hours south of Perth, we arrived in the dark hence plenty of fun and a few arguments in putting up our tent for the first time with no instructions. The first nights sleep was horrendous as we only had camping mats for comfort, the next morning i ached in places i didn't know were possible, so our first job that morning was to find a cheap mattress and the Salvation Army answered our calls for help supplying a thick foam mattress for mere price of $10, it fitted perfectly in to our tent. We were so happy. We now happily headed for the beach and took a stroll along the pier to where the Aquarium was, went 8 metres under water and looked at the stunning scoles of fish swimming about. From here we headed to Margaret River, passing AND STOPPING in numerous vine yards so Sonya could taste vasts amounts of different wines, it wasn't long till she was slurring and telling me how much she loved me. We had a walk around this small but beautiful town before taking a drive to the coast, the scenery was stunning and the waves very high, so we sat and watched some guys surfing while the sun was setting.
The next day was a long drive to Walpole. Along the way we visited Lake Cave which was 70 metres underground with some spectacular Stalactites and s/mites and then climbed the Gloucester Tree which is 60 metres high, only has metal poles sticking out to climb up and no safety harness or netting, so it was quite scary. We stayed the night in Walpole National Park which was quite dense in places and nervracking to sleep especially after watching a film called Wolfcreek (a film about backpackers being murdered in the outback). The following day having made it through the night alive (my mum will be having kittens reading this, hi mum) we visited the Valley of the Giants, a walkway built high up in the trees to view the wildlife. Sonya thought it would be funny to bounce on the bridges making them sway, i'm not good with bridges so wasn't happy. From here we travelled to Albany down on the south coast and stayed at a fantastic camp site complete with spa and swimming pool and right on the beach. The sea was crystal clear and surprisingly warm when i went for a dip. we abused the spa as much as possible and decide it would be best if we stayed 2 nights. We got up early the next day and headed to Two Peoples bay and found another lovely little beach called, ironically "Little Beach" again it had golden sands and crystal clear water, the sun was also shining and it was only the 2 of us on the beach, so while Sonya decided to relax in the sun, i put my goggles and snorkle on and went for a swim. The only thing i got to see under the water was a massive Stingray which was unbelievable as it swam by me without a care in the world. The rest of the day was spent looking at things like "The Gap" and "The Natural Bridge" Both rock formations caused by the hammerings it has taken from both the sea and the wind.
After another night chilling in the spa, we travelled back north to Bunbury, this took us about 5 hours in total, so by the time we got there and had put the tent up we were too tired to do anything other than have dinner and watch TV. The following morning we went to the Dolphin Sanctury and arrived right on cue as 2 Dolphins that were swimming near by came to within a couple of metres of the beach, so with the guidance of the Guides we waded in to the sea knee deep in a line and watched as the dolphins swam right up to us nudging our legs with their noses, a truly wonderful experience and then watched as they swam off out to sea. We made our way back north to Perth or home, as it has been for the last 4 months and camped on the north side of City near to Hillary's boat yard. The houses surrounding it are gynormaous with the boats to match, here we had another sunset moment while eating our fish and chips. Our final full day we headed 200 miles north to see The Pinnincles (Rock formations that were formed some 50'000 years ago) The drive was long and boring and at one point i didn't think we would ever make it, but we did and it was well worth the 3+ hours drive even if we did only spend about 30 mins there. Then it was a 200 miles, 3+ hours drive back. The only blemish on this 10 day trip was some shit nicking my jacket off the washing line on our last night, i only turned my back for 10 mins. Then it was a quick 20 minute journey back into the Perth City centre and hand back our companion of the last 10 days Fred the Falcon.