FAMILY ADVENTURES - A Land of Giants and Lost in the Wind

Day 3..

A drive South through towering forests led us to the gorgeous town of Walpole.  We purchased tickets for the Valley of the Giants - Tree Top Walk and made our way towards Nornalup.

I know there are a handful of these tree top walks scattered throughout the country, but I had never been to one.  The views were amazing and the feeling of being so high up in the canopy of the forest was exhilarating!

As much as I loved this experience, I think I felt more at peace and in harmony with nature down below on the Ancient Empire walk.

Being an absolute tree hugger, I savoured every moment of this walk.  The breath of life, the wisdom, the heart expansion...  In my mind, I had transformed into a tiny wood nymph and there were many little secret hollows calling me to take up residence :)

I could have wandered on blissfully all day...

Me and The Petals of My Heart

From here we traveled East along the coast to Albany.  A spirited city with a rich seafaring history.

We checked into our motel as the sun was setting.  There was still one place, however, that I was keen to see before retiring for the night. 

Albany Wind Farm

The Albany Wind Farm sits 80m above sea level along the Torndirrup Peninsula, just 12km's out of the city centre.  The paths throughout the turbines offer some of the best views of the Southern Ocean in the area. 

It was an incredible feeling to walk amongst these eco-friendly giants.  They are 60m in height.  The sound of the wind powering the 35m long blades to turn is reminiscent of something you would find in an extra terrestrial movie.  Quite eerie actually.

You would expect a wind farm to be.. well.. windy, but seriously this place was windy.  The top speed of these awesome towers of metal is 22 RPM.  Which works out to be about one revolution per three seconds.  Not all that fast yet still impressive considering their size. The twelve turbines lower Western Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 77 000 tonnes per year.  Fantastic!! 

Lulu doing her airplane thing

I found the sheer size and design of the turbines fascinating.  So much so, I spent a great deal of time looking up through the lens and not a great deal anywhere else. (I had already been mesmerised by the beauty of the ocean and the surrounding hills) Before I knew it the sun was down and I was separated from the rest of the family.  Lucy was still with me as she was content to skip around the paths following me as I snapped away. 

I didn't panic initially as I was pretty confident I would find my way back to the car park.  Unfortunately, all of the paths looked identical, especially in the dark.  There were no street lights out here :)  

I began to fret when I couldn't hear the whir of the turbines anymore...  I had walked for ages!!!  It wasn't until I realised I was heading towards Albany on the main road out of the park that I scooped Lucy up, switched directions and began sprinting frantically back in the opposite direction.  At this point I didn't know which way was up :)  I felt completely lost... and I'm usually good with directions, especially when I turn the map upside down and back to front hehe :D

Somehow, I managed to find everyone ?? We were safe and sound.. Phew!  It did get me thinking though how having my head securely glued to the back of my camera had caused me to lose all sense of direction. 

And now I'm wondering...  Is getting lost like this a keen (amateur) photographer thing or is it genetic??  

1.  Because I love my SLR and was obviously caught up in the moment and 

2.  Because my mother got lost in the Nevada desert somewhere blissfully taking photos until she too did not know where she had come from..

Whatever it is, I will be a lot more observant of my bearings next time.  That was a little bit too "Woman vs Wild" for my liking.  ;)

FAMILY ADVENTURES - Chocolate, Caves, Oceans and Trams

Chocolate

Day 2 of our road trip found us at The Margaret River Chocolate Co.  There was a huge selection and I left with a small box of Chocolate Covered Ginger.  A relatively new favourite of mine.

Seraphina was in Heaven and Lucy, well I don't think she knew what to think.

Everywhere she looked there was chocolate!!

As soon as we arrived she was greeted with an Easter egg and was sporting a chocolatey grin quicker than  I could say "Lucy where did you get tha...".  

A brief stop for morning tea and then off we sojourned to the delightful town of Margaret River.

Feeling rather peckish now for some real food, I hunted down a little cafe whose name eludes me at this moment...  don't you hate that!  I remember what I ate though :)  It was a delectable rice and veg curry ball with the most appetising satay sauce.  Yum!  I was happy and satisfied.

We didn't spend too long here, although we could easily have done so.  The street was alive with people and the vibe was contagious.

  

Next stop.. Jewel Cave.  Stalagmite and Stalactite bliss.  This cave is expansive and simply stunning.  I loved the glistening flecks of crystal in the walls, the coolness and humidity in the depths of darkness, the faces and animal spirits in the rock formations and the sacredness of an absolute marvel in nature.

 

There were about 40 people on the tour with us and yet the atmosphere was so still and serenely peaceful.  It wasn't hard to imagine what cave dwelling might be like...

Crystal Baby

From Jewel Cave we traveled through Augusta to the southern most, south western tip of Australia, at Cape Leeuwin.  Here lies the point at which the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet and the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia stands.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Our little Lulu had had just about as much sightseeing for one day as she could possibly handle and wasn't at  all impressed that she was not able to join the tour to traverse the 200 odd steps up the lighthouse to the top.  (You needed to be over 4 to enter the lighthouse).  So to settle and defragment we decided to hang out in the gift shop.  

There was a collection of stuffed animals for sale and Lucy's favourite way to refresh her spirits is to role play with anything and everything.  She is a huge animal lover and so whenever she sees stuffed animals or other toy animals she immediately enters her happy place and recreates a fantastical world of joyful characters amidst an ever changing plot of happiness.  I love watching her play like this and we sat on the floor of the gift shop for over half an hour!!

The rest of the family survived the forcible winds atop the lighthouse and enjoyed the scenic views out across the oceans.  

Our final destination for the day was Manjimup, a good 1 1/2 - 2 hrs drive away from Augusta.  Having already had a big, eventful day, we decided to get moving before the sun began to set upon us.

We had one last stop before arriving in Manjimup.  A cozy little village in the forest called Pemberton.

Here we played amongst the old steam trains and trams.  It always amazes me to see these incredible machines.  A work of art in their construction and design.

So that was day 2 of our holiday.  Another restful sleep before our adventure continues...

Goodnight x

FAMILY ADVENTURES - Busso, Bread and Dunsborough

What day is it?  Oh yeah, it's Thursday.  I love it when you travel and you lose track of the days.  

Steve took some time off work over the Easter break so we decided to take a road trip down south to visit the places we missed on our journey over to the West Coast.

Our first port of call was the buzzing town of Busselton.  We had booked and paid for a tour to experience its refurbished Jetty and Underwater Observatory, which included a novel train ride along the jetty and back.  Unfortunaely, we miscalculated our departure from home and arrived 10 minutes too late.  The train was tooting its horn and just leaving...

Not to worry, we could still collect our tickets and make the journey by foot out to the Observatory and catch up with the rest of the tour upon arrival.  The only thing... we were traveling with two small children and the jetty is 1.8 km long!!!  The staff informed us that a quick paced walk out to the Jetty was around 20 mins.  We figured we'd add an extra 10 mins per little one :)  Despite feeling rushed, it was still a very, pretty walk.

The Observatory was great.  Lots of fish to see.  I loved the feeling of descending under water, with each level showing a different perspective.

The train ride back to the mainland was a highlight.  The views out across Geographe Bay were sublime.

From Busso we headed southish to the funky little town of Dunsborough.  I was keen to relish in the delights of Samudra (a biodynamic cafe), however the rest of the gang voted for a quick bite at the bakery.  An apperitif to the "main meal" which was to be found at the well known and loved Simmo's Icecreamery and Fun Park.

Here we were spoilt for choice and flavour.  I chose a single flavour cone of Mascapone and Fig which was delicious.  The "Apple Pie" and "Pecan Crunch" flavours were also calling me, however I can never finish one flavour let alone a double or triple cone!!  I would have preferred a teaspoon and access to all the flavours so I could just have a little taste of each.  That's not too much to ask is it?

The Fun Park consisted of an open playground with spots to sit and watch the kids play.  There was a resident ice-cream eating emu.. ??? and a variety of outdoor games to play, including put put golf.

Our trip home included a short detour to the Yalingup Woodfired Bakery..  Stoneground, Organic and hand crafted.  I love these breads.  If you do find this place, don't expect a tourist attraction.  The bread is all laid out on a table with a bowl that you put your money in.  I could hear the bakers talking amongst themselves as they worked their magic but there was no one to be seen.  Bread selected, money in the bowl.. couldn't be simpler.  Reminded me of how much I love to bake bread for my family.

That was officially the first day of our road trip.  However, being peak season and being so close to home, we opted to spend the night in our own beds.  A good nights sleep in preparation for a jam packed day to come.

To be continued...