Perth Day 2

Today we went into town. After a breakfast of leftover doughnuts from last night and a hot chocolate, we drove into Perth. When we arrived in the C.B.D we parked. On the way to the consulate Dad stopped at a phone shop to get a more reliable internet access thingy for the caravan. I saw the funny functions of the iPhone 4. It can be used as a remote control for theses things that fly around and are shaped very funnily. Then I watched the TV that they had there for people who are waiting. Then we walked to the Austrian Consulate. Dad needed his fingerprints renewed for his passport. The Consulate actually spoke german! After an hour of getting stuff straight in there we headed off down the streets in search of the Apple store.

Inside the apple store is what would be described as really awesome. There were about 10 iMac computers lined up along one wall, then came the Macbook Pro laptops in a row in next to the iMacs, then the Macbook air laptops in yet another row, then came the iPads in…… you guessed it, another row, and then came the iPods display along the room's other wall. Each display had an iPad to go with it where you could select and choose different things to find out about each item. At the iPad section you could test the iPads. They have everything from internet access to facetime. Mum was even able to check her email on it. My sister and I played games on the different iPads. My favourite game was Critter Ball. It's a game where you tilt the iPad to control this little ball and have to roll him to the exit. The only thing that I didn't like was that they only displayed the latest models of things. For example they didn't have the iPod generation 1 and 2. They only had the iPad 2 which is the latest model. But they had all the Macbook laptops which was good.

After that we looked for a bakery to have lunch at. We found one and went to choses our lunches. I chose a Chicken, Avocado sandwich (One of my favourites). Mum and Dad chose sweet chilli, chicken and salad sandwiches and wraps. My sister chose a Ham, tomato, cucumber and salad sandwich. They tasted great! After that we walked back to the Consulate to get Dad's passport back. Then we spent the avo walking around Perth and discovering interesting things. One really interesting thing was that they had an African store. You could buy all sorts of sweets, cheeses and spices in there. There were so many in fact that Mum could have spent a whole day on there and still not be satisfied with her time in there to shop.

Then Dad found a toilet which he described as an adventure toilet. It all works electronically. You push a button and the door opens, you push another one and the door closes. The tap is sensor operated. All you do is hold you hand in the tall basin and the water turns on automatically. The toilet flushes as soon as the tap sensor is activated. On the walk my sister discovered that the trees growing on the nature strip were Olive Trees. There were Olives all over the footpath.

When we finally arrived back at the car we drove to a caravan accessories store. At the store Dad bought a replacement pad for the broken one on the bottom of the caravan. Then we drove to All Tools but Dad didn't get the Jerry can that he wanted. After that we drove back to the caravan and I wrote the blog. Then we had dinner. Dinner was fried sausages with fried potatoes. Then I went to bed. I slept very well.

Perth Day 1

Today we traveled 400 km to Perth. In the morning Dad and and I packed up the caravan. We didn't unhook the caravan last night because we would be driving agin today. All we did was take the pressure off the sway bars. So in the morning all we did was put the sway bars back on and away we drove. The drive was pretty boring seeing as I couldn't do any school work because I'd get carsick if I looked down for too long. So we drove, only stopping for fuel, until we reached Perth.

At Perth we set up the caravan and then went into town in the hope of buying lunch. We drove to the local shopping centre and split. Dad and my sister went to buy my sister an iPod case at Harvey Norman. Mum and I went to Woolworth to buy fresh fruit and veg. After an hour of shopping we met outside Woolies and went to buy a late lunch. At the food court we looked around and decided what we were going to have.

I chose a Chicken wrap, Mum and Dad chose chinese and my sister chose a pizza. We all shared our stuff around and by the end we were full and felt very content. Dad went to buy dessert for dinner at the doughnut shop. He bought a family pack of 8 doughnuts. 4 were chocolate and 4 were jam. He also bought a dough ball bag. Its basically cinnamon doughnut dough rolled into a small ball and covered with cinnamon and sugar. They were a great driving snack and we soon polished them off. We stopped at Bunnings on the way back to the caravan for something that Dad needed to fix his chair.

When we arrived at the caravan Dad found some ducks and we fed them bread until it started to rain. Then we went inside our caravan and I did some schoolwork. Then, when the rain had stopped my sister and I went outside to find that the ducks had taken shelter under the caravan next to us. We coaxed them out with bits of bread that we threw to them. Then 2 more ducks came to join the free feed but one of the other ducks chased them away in an aggressive manner. After using up 2 slices of bread we went back inside and I started writing the blog.

I tried to ring Mitchell on facetime. The signal kept dropping out and after half an hour we had to stop yakking. Then I finished writing my blog and had a quick dinner of a few rice cakes, Avocado and cheese. Then I went to bed.

Hyden

Today we traveled 400 km to Hyden. Hyden is a town close to 400 km out of Perth. It is home to the famous Wave Rock. In the morning I was up at 6:28 AM and Dad was already up. I got out of bed and made myself a hot chocolate. After a breakfast of untoasted bread and a hot chocolate Dad and I hooked the caravan up to the car. After checking if we had left anything behind We hit the road and headed towards Hyden.

The drive was pretty uneventful and except for a stop just out of Lucky Bay to photograph some Kangaroos, we didn't stop until we needed fuel for the car. Then we reached Hyden and set up the caravan. After setting up the caravan we had lunch. We have now run out of Avocado and Mayonnaise. Tomorrow when we reach Perth we will go shopping for fresh fruit and veggies.

After a quick lunch Dad and I put on our hiking boots. My sister and Mum put on their runners. Then we set off along the track to Wave Rock. First we stood at the base of wave rock and Mum, my sister and I pretended to surf. Then Dad took a photo. One feels really small at the base of the rock that is nearly 15 meters high. After wandering around the base of the wave we proceeded up a trail which led past the Hyden Dam. It holds 29 Megaliters. Just 30 olympic sized swimming pools would fill the dam up to full capacity.

Along Wave Rock you will see cement and stone walls, these are to divert more water to the dam. We did the Hyden Rock walk which leads you up Wave Rock and on a loop around the top of the wave rock plateau. The walk goes for about 2 km and is easy grade. Along the way there are information signs telling you what type of tree a particular tree was. There was also an interesting sign which was about Gnammas. Gnammas are a type of freshwater rock pool on the plateau of a hill. We saw about 30 of them on the walk. They fill up with rain water and can be up to 20 cm deep. They are supposed to contain Fairy shrimp, Back Swimmers and some other minute creature who's name escapes me. They are probably microscopic as I couldn't see anything swimming in the Gnammas.

There are also things called Armchair Hollows. These are deep hollows in the rock about 5 metres deep and up to 10 metres long. These pools are called Armchair Hollows because three sides are naturally formed in the rock and the fourth side has no wall. You wouldn't believe how much greenery is growing in these hollows. You actually walk through one on the trail. There was a Sandalwood Tree growing on one pool. Theres no water in the hollows at the moment because there haven't been rains big enough to fill them up. After the walk we went to the Toy Soldier Museum.

The Toy Soldier Museum was really interesting and it contains over 8000 toy figures. It pictures all the different wars and the 2 World Wars. There is a massive table about 10m by 10m that was divided by country. The soldiers were in all manner of craft from Boats to Planes and Tanks. It was very interesting to see all the different wars and the little info slips next to them. There was also an old school classroom in which there were 3 wax life-size figurines of students and 2 school teachers.

After that we walked out of the Toy Soldier Museum to the souvenir shop and cafe. They have a really good display of all the Australian birds of prey. There was a life-size Wedge Tailed Eagle and other stuffed birds. The shop also had these really cute hand puppets of Australian animals like Kookaburras and Kangaroos. After that we walked back to the caravan and Dad and I had a shower. After having a shower I started writing the blog. Then Mum and my sister went and had a shower as well. After that we had dinner. Dinner was fried sausages and Mashed potato. After dinner I finished writing the blog then we had dessert. Dessert was some cookies that we had bought at the souvenir shop and cafe. After that I went to bed. I slept really well.

Lucky Bay Day 3

Today was another rest day. I woke up at 6:00 AM and read for a bit. Then we all got up and Mum and Dad made a lovely breakfast of Baked Beans and fried eggs. After breakfast Dad and I got our fishing gear ready. Then Dad went off to chat with some people that were across the road from us. They live in a motor home and are renting out their house. They travelling for four years. While Dad was chin flapping, Mum, my sister and I read our books outside in the sun.

While Dad was still talking, a really friendly Kangaroo hopped straight past Mum and my sister who were sitting right near the bushes. Mum and my sister nearly got a heart attack. It stopped just around the bush and looked at us. The Kangaroo returned after a few minutes to stare at us and it took a liking to me. Mum thinks it was following me around because I was holding our camera and the Kangaroo thought that it was food. I was taking some photos when the Kangaroo jumped over the wooden barrier and strait into our campsite. Soon it was under our awning looking for food. Then it started to look at our towels that were hanging up to dry.

At that point Mum said "Shoo" and the Kangaroo started towards her instead. I was snapping picture after picture of the Kangaroo. Its not very often that we see a Kangaroo barley 1/2 a metre away. I asked if we could pat the Kangaroo but Mum said no. Pretty soon this Kangaroo was getting to close for comfort to Mum. I got a good photo of the Kangaroo standing about 1/2 a metre away from Mum and staring at her. After a while it lost interest and hopped away to where Dad was still talking. Dad loves a good chat, so do most other people and these people were really having a good time yakking on with Dad. After hopping through the other peoples campsite the Kangaroo hopped into the surrounding bushland.

When Dad finally finished chatting we went down to the beach and started fishing. On the first cast I saw about seven or eight Salmon following my lure. They were pretty big too. After that though we didn't see them again. Dad reckoned that he saw a school of whiting in the wave. We didn't catch anything all the time that we were at the beach. Eventually we started heading back up to the caravan to have lunch.

When we arrived at the caravan Mum got lunch ready while Dad did some work on the fishing gear. Lunch was a great meal. We ate wraps and rice cakes with avocado, cheese, cucumber, tuna and mayonnaise. After Lunch Dad and I went fishing again, but this time off the rocks where we usually fish. Dad had made a really small hooked bait rig to catch us some live bait.

I tried to catch the live bait while Dad tried to entice the bigger fish to biting on the big surf rod. The little fish that I was trying to catch weren't scared of the float. They pulled the float under the water and swam off with it. The trouble was that the fish wouldn't swallow the bait. After a few hours of feeding the fish we gave up and headed back to the caravan for dinner.

We started packing up the caravan. Mum and Dad put the awning away and I cleaned the bait knife and put all the fishing gear away. Then we went inside for dinner. While dinner was cooking I started writing the blog. Then we had dinner. For dinner we had Spaghetti Bolognese and noodles. After dinner I finished writing my blog and went to bed.

Lucky Bay Day 2

Today was a relaxation day. I woke up after the sun was well and truly up. This morning was the latest morning on our trip so far. After getting up I made a hot chocolate for my sister, Dad and myself. We don't have any electricity so we have to toast our bread using the grill under the stove(Dad's idea). After a breakfast of grilled toast and a rather hot hot chocolate Dad and I set about making a new leader for my fishing line.

We were just about ready to go when Mum asked if we could set her rod up as well. So we set that up and by 9:00 AM we were on our way down to the rocks to start our fishing. The first thing that I tried was a Halco poppa. Dad was teaching Mum how to detect a nibble on a bait line and my sister was playing on the sand flats in the water. After a few hours of fishing we came to the conclusion that the fish weren't biting. We headed back up the track to the caravan and had an early lunch(It was only 11:29 AM). Then Dad made up another bait rig that was more suited for bottom fishing and we headed back to try our luck once more.

After an hour or so of fishing I gave fishing away and joined my sister who was wading in the water. Then Dad said that he was going back to the caravan to make some changes to his rig. I went with him to put on my swimmers. Then I grabbed my snorkel and goggles along myth my sister's goggles. I then walked back to the rocks and gave my sister her goggles and I put my goggles on. The snorkel was soon put away in the bag and I was holding my breath underwater. I saw a school of small 10-12cm Blackspot Trevally under there. Then as I turned my head I saw one of those Spanish Dancer fish thingys.

The Spanish Dancer looks like black rubbish bag full of water. It floats around with the tide and waves moving in the currents. Just then Mum yelled out that she had seen one of those Spanish Dancer fish too. I found another one a few metres further on. There were three Spanish Dancer thingys all together and they were really interesting to watch. Then a new disturbance occurred.

My sister had seen a Manta Ray come gliding onto the sand flats. I saw it as well but before Dad could see it the Ray vanished and we didn't see it again. I went back to looking at the fish but gave up trying to catch them. After a while I got out of the water because it was so cold. I lay on the warm rocks for a bit. I was like a lizard, after warming up I started looking for bits of Abalone shell. My sister soon joined me and pretty soon we had some pretty shiny pieces of Abalone shell. Mum packed up and left after a few hours.

Then the guy that was rock fishing a few hundred metres away hooked up onto a solid fish. It fought really hard and nearly everyone on the rocks was watching him. After a few minutes he landed the fish. Dad thought that the fish was an Australian Salmon. According to the locals you're supposed to bleed a Salmon straight away. Dad went over there to tell them that and I followed. The man and his wife were already bleeding the fish. But they didn't know how to clean the fish. Dad offered to help them and I got to carry the 12 pound Salmon over the rocks to a spot where Dad could clean the fish. The couple were very kind to us and gave us have one of the two fillets that Dad had cut off the fish. While we were cleaning the fish the man hooked up on another fish. This time it was a Port Jackson Shark. The stubborn little shark would not open it's mouth so the hook was more or less ripped out. While all this was happening Dad had taken our bit of meat and de boned it. After this my sister walked back up to the caravan with the bag of fish.

Then Dad and I did a bit more fishing but we didn't catch anything. So we started up the trail to the caravan. Mum was waiting for us. She asked what the fish was for and Dad told her that it was for dinner. Mum complained about already having the chicken thawed out for dinner. Your not supposed to freeze Salmon so we had it as half of our dinner. After telling Mum that the Salmon was not supposed to be frozen Dad and I went to the showers. I had a shower and so did Dad. After the shower we walked back to the caravan and lazed around for a bit. Then I brought out my book and started reading. It began to get dark so I turned on my reading light. Dad soon called me in to eat some fish.

It tasted delicious! Mum had made some fried potatoes to eat with the fish. The fish comes so tender out of the frying pan that it practically falls to bits as you put it in your mouth. I normally like my fish with a bit of lemon juice but the Salmon is so good that it tastes better without the lemon juice. After dinner I had dessert. Dessert was more german wafer slices for me. Dad and I are the champion food nickers of our family. If your chocolate is unprotected it will be in either mine or Dad's sights. Dad nicked my sister's chocolate egg and I nicked Mum's wafer slices. After Dessert I wrote the blog and went to bed. I slept very well.

Lucky Bay Day 1

Today we travelled 50 km to Lucky Bay campsite. During the drive I did some schoolwork. The activity I was doing involved discussing Democracy and stuff like that. I used Dad as a person to discuss with and the the conversation occupied the whole drive.

In the morning after breaky we started to pack up the caravan. We (or more like Dad) emptied the toilet tank. After that I helped Dad fill up the water tanks in the caravan. Then I coiled the water hose and put it in the boot of the caravan. Soon we were ready to go and by 10 AM we were on the road heading towards Lucky Bay. When we arrived at the campsite Dad and I unhitched the caravan and set up the awning.

Then we set up our table and pegged a mat outside the caravan. After that we had lunch. For lunch we had cruskits, rice crackers and wraps with avocado, tuna, cheese, mayo and cucumber. After lunch Dad and I went fishing and Mum and my sister went to the beach.

We fished with floats and a squid abut suspend under the float. The guy next to us caught 3 leather jacket. 2 hours of fishing resulted in one Rock Cod caught by dad and a massive tangle in my line. The Rock Cod was eating size but the guy next to us said that they don't make good eating.

Then as we were walking back to the caravan my sister came bounding up to us to tell us what great time she'd had in the beach. She accompanied us back to the caravan and when we got there we walked over to our neighbours. Earlier they had invited us for drinks at their caravan and Mum accepted. After a few hours of chatting and reading books we retired to the caravan and started to cook dinner.

Dinner was fried sausages, fried onions and fried potatoes. It was absolutely splendiferous. Then we had dessert and I wrote my blog. After writing my blog I went to bed and slept really well.

Esperance Day 4

Today I woke up at 6:28 am and made myself breakfast. Then Dad and Mum got up and they made their breakfast. After breakfast we started packing the car and were soon off to the jetty were the cruise boat was docked.

When we arrived at the je

tty we waited for a bit while the skippers got the boat ready and warmed up the engine. We finally got onboard and were soon off on our island cruise. The boat we were on was a 60 ft conquest the company running the island cruise was called Esperance Diving and Fishing.

First we drove to an island where there was supposed to be a Sea Eagle nest. The charter operator waved a fish around but the Sea Eagle would not appear. Then we drove on to another island where there were some Sea Lions on the rocks basking in the sun. There was even one in the water waving its flipper at us. The Sea Lions do this to cool their flippers down. After that we motored to a rock that had about 15 Fur Seals on it. I climbed up into the top deck and sat in the wheel house. I had a great view of the seals and all the people on the bow trying to keep their cameras steady in the swell.

Then we drove to Woody island and the skipper docked the boat there. Everyone got off the boat and walked up to the tourist centre on Woody island. Then we all had tea and choc chip cookies. After a while I wandered down to the beach and was amazed to find dozens and dozens of Cuttlefish bones. All to soon it was time to leave and head back to port.

That boat can really move when they open up the throttles. I sat in the upstairs wheel house. I had a great view of the ocean and, when we arrived at port I watched the whole thing from the upstairs wheel house. After disembarking from the boat we walked back to the car and ate lunch. We had made lunch before we left. I made myself an Avocado, Cheese, Salami and lettuce roll. Then we drove to Mermaid Leather.

Mermaid Leather is a company that make leather out of fish skins. At Mermaid Leather we learnt a bit about the making leather out of fish skins. It was a very interesting 2 hours we spent in there. We watched a 15 minute presentation about all the times Mermaid Leather had been on TV. All the different skins that are tanned and processed is amazing. The people working there can dye a Blue Groper skin green. All the colours are amazing. A shark skin leather feels like sandpaper and other fish leathers feel nice and soft. After that we drive to a jetty and did a spot of fishing.

Mum went shopping while Dad, andrea and I wet to the jetty to go fishing. Andrea found a crab but it didn't bite her nose (pity). Dad and I went fishing but we didn't catch anything. We eventually gave up and started walking back to the caravan but Mum picked us up halfway there. When we arrived back at the caravan Mum cooked dinner.

I stayed in my bunk and read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Then I started to write my blog. Dinner was ready after 10 minutes of me writing the blog. Dinner was Spaghetti Bolognese with sausages and noodles. After dinner I finished writing my blog and then we had dessert. For dessert I had 5 wafer slices. Then I went to bed and I sleep very well.

Esperance Day 3

Today I was up before Dad was even out of bed. Then I made breakfast for myself, and because Dad and mum weren't out of bed I had the whole kitchen to myself. After about an hour everyone was up and taking things to the car.

Then we drove to Cape Le Grande. It is one the the most beautiful beaches in the world according to some people. We arrived and were soon walking along the white sanded beach. I saw loads of small dead Mackerel and Garfish. Dad reckons some big fish were feeding on these small fish and a big wave came along and dumped all the small fish on the beach.

We crossed a little creek of outflowing water and proceeded along the beach. Then we turned back and were walking along the beach when I noticed a person in the water trying to catch something. Another person was saying "You won't catch the salmon that way." to the other person.

Then I happened to look up and in the next wave that was about to break I saw dozens and dozens of fish that were up to 1 meter long swimming around inside the wave. Well you can imagine my excitement after seeing this sight repeated over and over what with me being a fisherman and all. The sight of fish is enough to make me excited, but big fish just about drive me crazy. Dad said that the fish were feeding and sure enough, out behind the next breaking wave there were splashes of white water as the big fish were churning the water to foam chasing little baitfish. When fish start feeding it usually means action.

Today I was right. I asked Dad if we could do a spot of fishing and he said yes. Dad and I went up to the car and drove it down on the beach. Then we put our fishing rods together and I put a poppa on. Then we took off our boots and just about ran to the water. As we were entering the water I saw two big fish of about 80cm in length swimming away towards the breakers. This was in water that was barley ankle deep. Quick as a flash I cast my lure and started retrieving my poppa.

One of the fish heading out to sea must have grabbed my lure because, next thing I knew I was hanging onto a rod that was doubled over and a reel that was buzzing as the fish raced toward the wherever it wanted to go, taking my line with it. I couldn't stop it and within a 40 seconds the fish was 50 meters away and had shaken my lure. Disappointed but not disheartened I hurriedly did another cast. I was just as well that I didn't catch a fish as, after I reeled my poppa in I noticed that the front hook had been bent. The hook had been bent from vertical to 45 deg. If a fish had grabbed it again it probably would have straightened the hook out.

After that I had a hit from a smaller fish but no more hookups where had. Dad didn't even have a hookup all the time we were at the beach. Then we packed up and drove to Hellfire Bay.

At hellfire Bay the first thing I did was get my fishing gear ready in hope of hooking another fish. There were rocks in this bay. Dad and I went fishing off the rocks. After half an hour we had still caught nothing. I gave fishing away after 45 minutes and joined Andrea down at the sand and rocks.

We found cuttle fish bones. The bones were shaped like boats. Andrea and I tested the boats to their absolute limit. With each wave the rocks that were bunched up in the water were turned into a sort of white water rapids and currents and pools. The boats capsized regularly and were soon water logged.

After that we drove to Lucky Bay. It was absolutely magnificent with shallow turquoise water and it's abundance of fish. We had lunch and then walked down to the beach. Mum reckoned that she saw a snake. When we arrived at the beach we started fishing. Suddenly all these Garfish come leaping out of the water one wave after the other. This went on for several minutes. I think that there was a big fish chasing all the garfish, forcing them to jump out of the water.

I managed to catch a Garfish that was about 30 cm long. Dad has heard that Garfish make good eating so we kept it for our entree. Then while I was on top of a rock I saw a a school of big fish cruise in to the bay. I blooped a poppa right through their midst but they weren't interested. Neither Dad nor I could get the fish to hook themselves. We tried all manner of lures but the fish would not bite. One had a fair go at my lure but I didn't hook it. It jumped clean out of the water after my lure.

We didn't catch anything after the Garfish and soon headed back to the car. Then we drove to Thistle Cove and Mum said that it was the same beach as Hellfire Bay. She found out that she was wrong after seeing no beach access point. Then we had a look at Whistling Rock. It didn't whistle and we headed back to the caravan after that.

On the way back into Esperance we stopped at a tackle shop and Dad bought some swivels and some new lures. Then Mum had to go to Brumby's bakery to get something. While she did that Dad and I went fishing. We fished off the tanker jetty. We used the squid jigs that we bought yesterday. We caught nothing and when Mum arrived gladly hopped in and tucked into the pizza rolls that Mum had brought us.

Then we drove back to the caravan and filleted the Garfish. After that we had dinner. Dinner was Sausages, fried onions for Mum and Dad and Mashed Potato. For dessert We had a quarter of a vanilla slice and a quarter of a brownie slice each. After that I wrote the blog and went to bed. I slept really well.

Esperance Day 2

Today we didn't do much in the morning. We got up as usual and I made a hot chocolate for myself. After breakfast Andrea and I went to the playground and went on the seesaw.

Mum and Dad stayed at the caravan and did some work. After about an hour we walked back to the caravan to find that

Mum and Dad weren't ready to go yet.

When we finally got away at 10:00 am we headed for the tourist information. Then we wet to a fishing tackle shop and Dad got a possible booking for a fishing charter and bought some squid jigs. These little lures range from 7cm to 20 cm in length. They can have up to thirty hooks on them so the squid can actually hook themselves.

After that we drove to the local Woolworth. Mum and I spent over an hour in the supermarket. We stocked up on fruit and vegetables. After that Mum, Dad Andrea and me drove to the bakery and got some fresh bread rolls.

Then, back at the caravan, we had lunch. The fresh rolls tasted great filled with avocado, cheese and tuna. For dessert Mum had secretly purchased a chocolate chip cookie and a marshmallow cone at the bakery.

Then we went to A.R.B and Dad got something done on the car. There appeared to be a problem with the battery that ran our fridge.

Then Dad drove to Bunnings and got some key hooks for the caravan. After that we went to the smash repairs. Dad arranged an appointment at 3:30. Then we drove back to the caravan.

Dad then drove us to some lovely beaches near cape le' grand. I don't like it when Dad takes us to beaches because as soon as we get there we're already back in the car to leave again. Dad only takes a few photos and were usually not even there for a minute. He has no sense of time. The beaches look so nice but we can't even get a proper good look at the beach before we're back in the car heading for the next beach.

After that Dad and I dropped Mum and Andrea off at a craft shop while we went to the smash repairs to have our windscreen repaired.

We had a long crack from where a rock had hit the drivers side of the windscreen. It was stopped by some sort of drilling to the end of the crack. While we waited Dad and I played games on my iPod. Dad had a go at GT lure fishing and caught a small trevally.

Then the guy came back and we drove back to the caravan. I walked into the caravan and said to Dad "It smells like Mum cooked eggs in here!" Dad agreed and started searching and as I was lying in my bunk reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Dad came in and told me to hop in the car. Now the caravan battery had a problem. It had been overloaded and the egg smell was the battery.

After we returned Dad did something with the new battery and had the caravan lights working within minutes. Then Mum started cooking dinner and I started to write my blog.

Dinner was Butter Chicken with Naan bread. It was mildly spicy but tasted

great. I put butter on the Naan bread and it tasted like hot cross buns without raisins.

After Dinner we had dessert. It was wafer slices for me and chocolate for Andrea.

Then I finished writing me blog and went to bed. I slept really well.

Esperance

Today we traveled 300 km to Esperance. The drive was pretty uneventful. In the morning I got up at 6:27 am. Then at 7:30 Mum, Andrea and I got up. Dad stayed in bed making up excuses about there not being enough room in the kitchen. I made me a hot chocolate and then Dad got up as well.

After breakfast Dad and I hitched up the caravan. Then we drove out of Fraser Range Station. As we pulled out of Fraser Range Station there was a fog over the Nullarbor.

I listened to the audio book Ciaro Jim and the lagoon of tidal magnificence. Then we arrived at Norseman. Last trip we headed north to Kalgoorlie but this time it was south to Esperance. After a quick stop for fuel we drove on towards Esperance.

As we neared Esperance we stopped at a roadside stop to have a look at the caravan parks advertisements. We settled on a Top Tourist Park called Esperance Seafront Caravan Park. When we arrived Andrea and I went to the playground. The caravan park has an excellent seesaw. After that we drove to our site. After unhitching the caravan we drove into town.

Everything was closed so we went to the bakery and bought some rolls and sweets. I chose a Chicken Schnitzel and Avocado roll. So did Mum. Dad ordered a chicken salad roll and Andrea chose a tomato, cheese and avocado roll. Then we bought 4 jam doughnuts for dessert after dinner. For lunch dessert we bought 2 french vanilla slices for Dad and me, one bee sting for Mum and one butterfly cake for Andrea. After that we drove back to the caravan and ate lunch and dessert.

Then we drove around the town exploring the coastline and walking out on the tanker jetty.

After the reconnaissance mission we returned to the caravan and started to cook dinner. After a lovely dinner of spaghetti Bolognese we had the jam doughnuts for dessert. Then I wrote my blog and went to bed.I slept really well.

Rest Day at Fraser

Today was our first rest day. I got up at 4:39 am and Dad was awake already. According to our body clocks it was already 5:39 am and at 6:00 am Dad and I decided to get mum out of bed. She said that we had promised her that she could sleep in on today and she slept in for about 45 more minutes.

I had decided yesterday that if we stopped anywhere for 2 nights or more that I would get through as much school work as possible. Before Mum got up I had completed 7 weeks worth of reading work.

After that we all got up and made a delicious breakfast of baked beans on toast, bacon and eggs and a hot chocolate. It has taken me 1 year to discover that I actually like bacon and eggs. At first it was just scrambled egg that I liked but today I discovered that fried egg with a runny yoke tastes pretty good as well. Dad told me to mix the egg yoke in with the baked beans and it tastes great! I also tried a fried egg with a hard yoke which is definitely my preferred option of fried egg. After breakfast I did the rest of this terms math work and then did some more reading work.

Then Dad and I went and had a shower. It costs $1 for a five minute shower and we finished our showers in record time. Then we just enjoyed the warm water until our time was up. After we returned to the caravan, Mum and Andrea went and had a shower.

While they were gone the wind that had been blowing all day got even stronger and blew our bucket over. The bucket is a bucket that we put under the wastewater outlet outside the caravan. it was empty and a strong gust of wind blew it over and rolled it under the caravan and out the other side. I went and got it and put a rock in it to stop it happening again.

Then we had lunch. We still don't have any avocado so I eat mayonnaise instead. For lunch Mum made an egg spread and Mum, Dad and Andrea put it on their cruskits and rice crackers. I ate a mayo and tuna sandwich and two mayo and tuna cruskits.

After lunch one of the workers on the station came and told us that there was a movie night on tonight. Dad said that if Andrea and I had a sleep we would be able to come to the movie night. I read for a bit and then dropped of to sleep. The book that I'm reading is called Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire.

I awoke in time to hear Dad talking to Mum about doing a little walk that the station had on it's property. We only walked up to the water tank which isn't even a kilometre walk. When we arrived at the water tank we saw two wallabies and Dad took a photo of them. They were so cute! The wallabies, not the photos. Then we kept walking for another couple of hundred meters and stopped to take some more photos of more wallabies. Then after we had finished exploring we walked back to the camp. After that Andrea and I had some fun on the seesaw. I came back to the caravan half an hour later feeling a bit sick.

Then we had dinner which was spinach gnocchi for Mum, Andrea and Dad and for me stir fried dumplings. During dinner I looked so tired that Mum and Dad asked if I wanted to come to the movie night. I said that I was feeling a bit tired and that I didn't really want to go. For dessert Mum, Dad and I shared a packet of hazelnut wafers. Then Mum and I watched a movie on the laptop. It was called The Nugget. It is about three men who find a gold nugget and then someone else tries to steal it. After that I went to bed. I slept really well.

Fraser Range Station

Today we traveled 558 km to Fraser range station. In the morning I got up at 5:30 am and Dad was already awake. Mum was once again complaining about getting up so early. This morning I made me another hot chocolate and Mum made toast. Then we were amazed to hear the neighbours engines starting up at 6:30 am. They must still have their clocks adjusted to South Australian time.

We got away at 7:15 am, and at Western Australian time too. We then drove to the Madura Roadhouse where Dad filled up the car and Andrea and I cleaned the windows and windscreen. Dad had bought morning tea. It consisted of a container of chocolate milk, two Chocolate Muffins, one Fruit cake and one Walnut and Banana cake. Andrea and I had a chocolate muffin each and Mum and Dad shared the other two cakes. As we were driving we listened to some audio books and I did some drawing.

Our next stop was Cocklebiddy Roadhouse. There we filled up the car and Andrea and I cleaned the windows and windscreen again. We kept on driving until we reach Balladonia Roadhouse. We stopped to refill the car and, while Dad was turning on the fridge I got to fill up the car. We also had lunch there. I had a sandwich and a wrap with Mayonnaise and sweet chilli tuna.

Then we kept on driving until we reached Fraser Range Station. The drive was eventful but we reached the station in good time and we were soon set up for the night. Then we explored the station. They have a sheep and a lamb that run around free around the reception area. They like to head but you if you pat them but don't give them any food. Then I played with Andrea in the sandpit and she made a mini town. I made a rock mine and Andrea used the rocks to decorate the sand buildings that she had made. Then I retired to the caravan and Dad and I did some work on my iPod. It hadn't copied all the audio books down yet and some were only half complete. After that I started writing my blog.

Then we had dinner. Dinner was meatballs, noodles and a home made tomato sauce thingy. I continued to write my blog after dinner. After finishing my blog we had a dessert of a chocolate easter bunny left over from easter. Then I went to bed and slept real well.

Mundrabilla Road House

Today we traveled 800 km to Mundrabilla. In the morning I got up at 3 minutes to 6. Then Mum made breakfast and she complained that it wasn’t even light yet. We were driving by 8:30. We drove to a petrol station just up the road. While Dad filled up, Andrea and I cleaned the windows and windscreen. We were on the road again in no time and we soon we passed our first real road train. It had 3 trailers as (in my opinion) a road train should have.

We kept driving until we reached Ceduna. This town revolves around oysters. Dad filled up while the rest of us went to the toilet. When I got back to the car I found Dad loaded up with our morning tea. He had bought a chocolate doughnut, an apple turnover, an apricot slice and a cream filled doughnut. We shared the food around and Andrea managed to peel all of the of the dough off her bit of chocolate doughnut. I shared the apple turnover with Dad and also had a bit of chocolate doughnut myself. Mum enjoyed her apricot slice. Andrea shared the cream filled doughnut with Mum.

We reached the Nullarbor. In case you don’t know what the Nullarbor is, it is a massive stretch of road between Ceduna and Norsman. It is 1215 km from end to end. We drove to the Nullarbor Roadhouse and had lunch there. I was amazed at the amount of trucks and road trains that were there. At least 10 trucks came and left in the half hour that we were there. Thats if you don’t count the two trucks that pulled in at the same time as us.

Just before we left a road train with three trailers pulled out of the truck parking spot. Dad and I counted the gears the as driver was changing, we counted up to 9 before it was even out of the truck parking spot. As it accelarated away we started to count the gears again. This time we got up to eleven before the truck got out of earshot. When we left the Nullarbore Roadhouse we quickly caught up with the road train that had needed nine gears to pull out of the truck parking spot.

Dad overtook him and then, just as we were picking up speed again we got stuck behind a tanker truck with a sign that said oversize. We couldn’t overtake because the tank and trailer were so wide. We couldn’t slow down either because we had two trucks behind us. We were stuck doing 90 km/h until we reached Bunda cliffs. Bunda cliffs is a place on the Great Australian Bight where you can camp for the night for free. We camped there last trip. This time though a short stop to take some photos was all we did.

On the way to Border village we ate all our remaining fruit. When we arrived at the border Dad and I were all set to unhitch the caravan so the officials could take a look through our fridge/freezer. But that didn’t happen this time. Last trip we had to unhitch the caravan so that the officials guy could check our fridge/freezer. All that we had to do was show the officials woman through the caravan. Then we were all set to go. I took a photo of the S.A and W.A sign.

Then we drove the remaining 140 km to Mundrabilla. When we arrived we refueled the car. As we were washing the windscreen Andrea and I didn’t see Dad returning with what he described as ‘the biggest Jam Drops he had ever seen‘. Then we drove the caravan to the back of the roadhouse and set up the caravan. While Mum and Andrea checked out the toilets Dad and I got the caravan ready for the night. Once again I didn’t unhitch the caravan because we are leaving tomorrow morning. Then Mum started to cook dinner. While dinner was being prepared Dad and I had a look at the photos that he and I had taken throughout the day. After that we did some work on my iPod and I added some new audio books to my library. Then Mum told us that we would have to move the laptop so we could have dinner. For dinner we had fried Italian sausages with mashed potato. The mashed potato was a bit lumpy because we had to prepare it before we reached the border or they would have confiscated our potatoes. But it still tasted alright though. After dinner we had the jam drops. They were really big, about as big as the end of a fly swat. After dessert I started wrote my blog and went to bed.

Italian.

Ciao La mia familia andare Western Australia.

Oggi la mia familia crossed the border.

Wudinna

Today we traveled to 611km to Wodinna. The trip took ages. In the morning I got up and I made a hot chocolate for myself. Andrea didn’t want one because she was having cereal for breakfast.

Dad and I hitched up the caravan. Just as I was tightening the last shackle Dad said that we had to unhitch the caravan again because he needed the two jerry cans from the back of the car. So we unhitched the caravan again and took the two jerry cans out and put them on the roof in their holders. Then we hitched the caravan

back up again. We left around 9:00 am and

within the hour reached a ferry.

We had to cross the Murray river sometime but Dad wasn’t that desperate to get on a ferry with the caravan. When we came to another ferry half an hour later Dad decided we had to take a ferry one way or the other. So onto the ferry we drove.

I was worried that there might not be enough room for our car and caravan. I needn’t have worried, there was still space for a small car behind us. On the drive across I hopped out of the car and took photos of the caravan and the car and the ferry. As we drove back off the ferry we heard a scraping and cracking sound. While Dad pulled over to have a look what had happened I took some more photos of the ferry.

Dad has recently bought a new lens for our Canon EOS D.S.L.R. camera. It has a magnificent zoom and I could take close up photos of two trucks boarding the ferry. After the short stop Dad confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the caravan and we drove on to Burra. At Burra Mum went shopping while Dad, Andrea and I went to the toilet. Then I took another photo of the car and caravan. When Mum came back from shopping she brought us each a morning snack.

Andrea and I treated it as our recess seeing as it was 11:13 am. I got a chocolate eclair, Andrea got a chocolate doughnut, Mum got an apricot slice and Dad got a vanilla slice. As we drove and ate I did some school work. After that the drive was pretty uneventful until we reached Port Augusta. There we drove up a road that ran along a channel.

We turned back and drove to the Gull Roadhouse. We have officially hit road train territory. A the Gull Roadhouse there were about 3 road trains parked, the drivers either filling up on diesel or taking a breather and eating lunch. In case you don’t know what a road train is, it is a truck that can have up to four trailers. These ones only had two trailers.We also had lunch at the Gull Roadhouse.

For lunch we had wraps and sandwiches. I ate one wrap and one sandwich. Then while Mum and Andrea went to find the toilet Dad asked me to watch out for any traffic behind while he drove the car to the diesel bowsers. I noticed that the back left wind down leg on the caravan was broken and dangling by a spring. I told Dad, he checked it out and said not to worry. Then Dad an I filled up the two jerry cans and placed them back into their holders on the roof.

Then we drove on until we were within 100 km of Woodina. We pulled over at the side of the road, Mum got some fruit out of the caravan, and then we kept right on driving until we reached the small town of Woodina. We set up the caravan but didn’t unhitch as we are leaving again tomorrow morning. I took out the sway bars and then as I was about to deal with the water hose the sound of a helicopter sounded. Woodina Motel and Caravan park have a person from helistar staying and he flies his helicopter in and lands in the owners backyard. Andrea and I watched it land. That pilot is skilled. He landed the helicopter with half a meter to spare next to a gum tree.

Then I went and took some photos of the birds in the massive cage. The birds can fly around in the cage and they have a feed bowl as well. It got to dark to take photos and I couldn’t get the birds to look like birds anyway. They lust looked like lightbulbs on branches.

Then I took some photos of the car and caravan which turned out a lot better than the bird photos. I retired to the caravan. Just as I was about to sit down on the couch Dad said that we would go and have a shower. so we went and had a shower while Andrea and Mum cooked dinner. After the shower we had dinner. Dinner was pasta alfredo sauce with chicken and a tossed salad. For dessert we had two easter eggs each. Then I wrote the blog and went to my bunk.

Italian part

Ciao mi chiamo Alexander.

Day 2

Today I woke up to the Kookaburra’s singing at 6:00 am. I went to check if the light was on in the house. Ron came back from feeding the calves and he and I went for an early morning drive. We drove up to the irrigation channel and collected a pump. On the way back we raced the dogs and, boy, are they fast. Ron had to go over 40 km/h to keep up with them. The dogs are very well trained. All that Ron has to do was whistle and say “up” and one of the dogs jumped up onto the tray of the ute. The other one was still a pup and couldn’t quite make it. So Ron lifted it up instead. When we got back to the farm Vicki was awake and we had breakfast at 7:00. Then Ron asked me to unhook the other dog from it’s chain.

After that Dad wanted to hitch up the caravan but the car battery was flat. So the rest of us waited until Dad and Ron got back from Rochester. They were back in an hours time and we were on the road by 10:00.

Today was our real first traveling day and we travelled about 600 km. We traveled to a town called Waikerie. We also drove across the South Australian border. The caravan park we are staying in is called Waikerie caravan park. We arrived at 5:30, unhitched the caravan, had dinner and went and had a shower. For dinner we had spaghetti bolognese and noodles. We also had a dessert of 5 wafer slices each. Then I wrote the blog and went to bed.

The Beginning

Today we drove 250 KM to Lockington. We arrived at Ron and Vicki’s at lunchtime and set up the caravan. Ron had to move the tractor and It had a flat tyre.Then we ate lunch and we hung around for a while. After that, Ron took the wheel of the tractor off and I rolled it to the Ute.

Dad and Ron popped into Rochester to buy a new tyre and get me a protractor. I left my protractor at school and needed one for my maths. Then while Ron and Dad were gone I went on the laptop started writing a story. Then Ron and Dad came in for a cuppa. After that Ron, Dad and me went to look at an irrigation channel. Then we went and fed the calves.

After feeding the calves we fed the cows and I had to herd them into another yard where the feed was. For dinner we had Beef casserole, Potato wedges, Satay chicken and bread slices. I had a lemonade to drink. After that we had dessert.

Finally

The night is finally here! We leave tomorrow on our trip. The car is finished and the roof rack is mounted. We have two jerry-can holders, a spare wheel for the caravan and a spare tyre for the car on the roof rack. Our first stop is Lockington which is a little bit south of Echuca. Last trip we traveled with Ron and Vicki. They live in Lockington and are providing our first night’s accommodation. They own a property and are putting us up for the night. Today Dad took me to B.C.F and bought me a pair of polarized sunglasses and my very own wobble hat. Just in case you don’t know what a wobble hat is, it’s a broad brimmed hat with a brim that flops down every time you take a step. I’ve always wanted one but have never found one in a store. Today we found one in B.C.F on sale. Dad wanted to buy one for himself as well, but they only had medium size. We also bought two hiking hats for $15 per hat. One for Dad and one for me. Dad said the sunny’s and wobble hat were early birthday presents. I’m not home for my birthday. I can’t wait till tomorrow. We will be leaving at 9:00 am.