We leave the 'Top End' flying from the heat of Broome to the relative cool of Perth.

A chance to have some time with relatives and then explore the area south of Perth which we had missed last year.

We are met at the airport by Andy and Janine, new found relatives of only three weeks

Jeannie and Doug make us really welcome

Doug is pleased with his present - an original copy of the Times published on his birth date

The next morning Doug has us out on a bike ride!!

Doug's having fun

Fremantle in the distance

It's Melbourne Cup Day and Jeanie wears a fancy hat for her lunch

Fremantle Harbour

Doug shows Kairen the 'Welcome Wall' which records many of the thousands who emigrated to Australia and arrived in Fremantle

Doug, Joan, Wendy, Susan and Jean are recorded on the wall

This dam retains water for pumping to Kalgoorli

It takes around 11 days for the water to reach its destination.  Around 90 million litres of water are pumped every day

Jeanie arrives home and she's won two prizes for her hat!

Wendy and David welcome us aboard 

I think David likes his boat

Wendy looks after the anchor

Kairen, Doug and Wendy

life can't get much better.  These folks anchor out here for 6 months of the summer

David catches herring

gone fishing

Wendy supervises brunch

some expert rowing by Doug and Kairen and we are ashore

Laurie tests the water temperature

look what we found!!! 

lunch

back in harbour as the sun sets.

Charlie Susan and Laurie

Kairen and Murphy

Laurie admires Charlie's tractor

One man and his dog!

Susan and Charlie and the Chamberlain

The following day we explore the area around Margaret River and up to Busselton

Eagle Bay

It's Spring and the flowers are very pretty

Busselton Jetty is over a mile long

at the end of the jetty is a 9m deep observatory where you can view the jetty and sea bed

pretty coral

and you have to walk all the way back!

the sun comes out and it's beautiful, but still cool

We had to visit Laurie's favourite vineyard selling Mad Fish

he's having fun.