Down Under

Birds Eye View of the World Sailing Champioships

Here we are back in Australia, we’re on a small farm near Bridgetown in the SW at our latest ‘Helpx’, in fact our first since September and we have been looking forward to it. 

When we first arrived in Oz we did all the things you would expect, swimming in the sea and Mark’s pool, having a few beers and re-acquainting ourselves with the sights and sounds of Fremantle – though after India it all seemed very quiet!  We stayed a house belonging to a friend of Mark’s so many thanks to Joe for his kindness.

At the Party

We have also been out for a couple of walks in small national parks, one of them up along the Serpentine River to some small cascades where we had a picnic and at the bottom cascade, guess what?  Megan had a swim in the pool, there’s a surprise!

Wild Flowers

Feet Dangling

The night life has been great as well, some BBQ seafood with a few beers, a 50^th birthday of a friend of Mark and Raewyn’s at country and western bar, live band, dancing and for some reason English Premier League football, Arsenal vs Everton, what’s that all about?? Also, a magical free concert on the Esplanade in Perth by the West Australia Symphony Orchestra, the party piece - the 1812 overture with the Swan Bells and real artillery guns, it was amazing.

The World Sailing Championships have been taking place in Fremantle, just off Bathers Beach where, guess what, we like to swim, one day our swim was thwarted by a flotilla of sailboards just off the beach milling about waiting for the start of the race.  There were a few people around to watch, so we settled down to see the spectacle.  The signal for the start sounded and all the sailboarders set off in one direction (well most of them anyway) and kept going and going and going till they were just specs in the distance (don’t worry, they did come back!).

Our Home for 4 Weeks

Alpacas

Large Skies

 So back to the small farm, Heidi and Troy have 4 children, Lucas 6, Kaylah 5, Sharlene 14 months and Evelynne 8 weeks, so you can imagine the nice quiet time we had when we arrived.  Troy works away, one week on one week off, and he was away.  So we were picked up from the bus stop by Heidi and the kids then shopping, then to the farm 25 minutes away by car, this is when we learn that they are all going away to Geraldton (north of Perth) to see Troy’s parents for a week and could we house sit, (do bears s**t in the woods) of course we can.  So here we are, house sitting, dog feeding, sheep and alpaca watering and doing our jobs.  

Chicken Run Repairs

Pruning Roses

Meg has been mostly gardening and I have been securing the chicken run to stop them escaping, it’s a good job I found a fly net to go over my head as the little blighters kept getting up my nose and in my ears – the flies that is not the chickens.  It is very peaceful here and the weather has not been too hot yet, in fact we have had some rain almost unheard of in December, yet another indication in a long line of people we have met on this trip that the weather patterns are changing all over the world.  So, on that cheerful note we say goodbye and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you, we will be here with young children at Christmas… ahhh, I remember it well.

The Serpentine River Walk