Margaret River

We had a great weekend at Margaret River staying with some friends in their house. 

....Dr Fred went climbing 2 days running - Wilyabrup (pictured... Dr Fred halfway up..his climbing partner on the top) and Cosy Corner and now he's totally knackered but he did have a really good time.   We had a little wander around Margaret River.  It's a small bustling town with quite a lot of nice shops and a couple of interesting galleries plus some interesting street art.

There was actually one painting in the gallery I would loved to have bought but I don't think we could have carried it home...(or justified cost). I nearly bought a load of tat for the girls but decided that tat could be bought anyway so I would wait.  There were some nice coffee shops and a very beautiful tree - see photo it looked like a conifer with dreadlocks...

 On Sunday we went for a walk at a  coastal cove called Cosy Corner.  After brewing up on a very windy cliff top, 

Dr Fred and his friend went climbing and us girls went for a walk on the beach down a very very very steep sand dune ... and then a walk on some very lovely limestone pavements which were a bit like the ones you got in the Dales with clints and grikes. They were much darker and had fab blow holes where the sea would sudden send spray up.  I had to climb back up the sand dune using my most dignified all fours manouvre... 

We had ice creams overlooking Surfers Point and some of the surfers were really amazing.  Kite surfing, 'wing' surfing,  wind surfing  and one chap on a very peculiar piece of equipment called a hydrofoil surfer and we still can't work out how it works as it seemed to go backwards into the sea opposite the waves on it it was very extraordinary.. he said 'oh you just catch a wave... it works like an upside down areoplane'8!!!

We walked down passed the original Fraggle Rock to the Margaret River mouth... which just seems to stop at a sand bank - apparently in the winter it will break through and join the sea but the rest of the year it just seeps through in its own time.

On the way home we drove down the road looking for kangroos and suddenly they were everywhere... At last!! proper serial sitings of roos including a wonderful moment of watching several large almost elegant beast hopping along the pathway all in a line... sadly we were going in the opposite direction so no time for a photo but a superb memory. We did get giant spider picture... 

We had such a good weekend with friends and it felt quite sad to leave them behind but the next bit of our adventure calls and now we are heading north of Perth .. today actually marks the halfway point on our trip... so...after a quick interlude to visit the lighthouse and bushy fly ridden headland on the Cape Naturaliste National Park...

more flies in an hour than we have experienced in total on this trip so far.. so....its time to set the controls for the heart of the sun... eclipse here we come.... via lots more rocks beaches camping wildlife  and who knows what else- watch this space....