Visit with Dave and Sara

We went on holidays -flying to Western Australia to spend 3 weeks with David and Sara. They have moved to a new house and now live appr. 25 minutes walk from this beach. Beautiful surf that continues for miles. David had to be a packhorse for a while until we got away from the roaring waves which were a bit scary for Aiden. The water washed over a bank to form a safe swimming area for the children. They had a lovely time. I think it could have been Megan's first play in the sea.
Megan thinks everything has to be tasted -it's the best way to know if it's OK. Hands full of sand were not enough - see if you can copy this!
We went to Rockingham, a city close to Secret Harbour for a day out. The weather was just perfect while we were in the West and we had a really good time with Sara, David, Aiden and Megan.
There is a new trainline from Mandura to Perth ,so we made use of it and visited Perth for a day.We called in at an information office and had a guided tour. It's a beautiful city, lots of parks, arcades and it has a nice lay-back atmosphere.
It's obvious that there is a lot of money in the west due to the mining boom.
This is Perth's bell-tower where at regular intervals bellringers are doing their exercises by swinging on the ropes and supply the city with a nice concert at the same time. Perth is built along the Swan River named by a Dutchman after the black swan which is native to only this area.

Jobien's visit

A few years ago our niece, the eldest daughter of my only brother promised to come and visit us one day. While she is travelling around Oz she made this promise come true and dropped in with friend Kevin and they stayed with us for a few days. Here she is, visiting one of the tourist spots in the Dandenongs. We also fed the cockatoos, rosellas, galahs and other native birds in Sherbrooke forest. Jobien and Kevin are a delightful couple and we really enjoyed their company.

We also visited Philip Island where a colony of Koalas live and we saw hundreds of penguins coming in from the ocean just after dusk with tummies ful of fish to feed their hungry chicks.
Did I get that koala ?
Jobien and Kevin arrived on the Monday and left for the Great Ocean Road on the following Friday. We hope to see them again.