Bunbury/Boyanup visit

Feb. 22-23

This weekend we headed down to Bunbury and Boyanup which are a couple of small towns about an hour and a half south of us in Western Australia.  Our first stop was the tourist information centre in Bunbury, which was located inside the old train station in the heart of the city.   After talking to a very friendly guide, we had a better idea of what we wanted to do with the rest of our day.   We decided to start with some retail therapy for Suzie, and it didn't take long for her to sniff out a deal.  She hit the jackpot with one of her favourite past-times, shoe shopping.   It did however take a while to decide on which shoes to buy, because there were so many to choose from.  Fortunately they were mostly $10 each, so the rest of us let her have her fun, seeing as she is supporting us this year.  After what seemed like an eternity (maybe 30 min.), and 4 pairs of shoes later, we moved on to some other shops on the quaint main street.  For anyone with kids, you know shopping can only last so long without a lot of complaining, so fortunately we found Toy World to keep the kids satisfied for a while, so we could browse a bit longer before stopping at the Rose Hotel for a drink.  By the way, I don't know if I have mentioned how expensive drinks are over here.  A small glass of domestic draught is $6 and a pint is $8-10.  Regular bottle of beer is around $8, imported about $10.  Cider drinks or coolers are $10, and hard liquor starts at $10 and goes up from there.  A guy could get really thirsty in WA, which is quite ironic because it is so dry that you are always thirsty!

It was getting hot, only 37 C today, so we headed to the Koombana Bay beach for a picnic and a swim.  This area is renowned for bottle-nosed dolphins that come right up to the shore and swim with the people, but unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins, because it was too late in the day.  We planted ourselves on our towels in the shade of a tree, and had a relaxing afternoon.  We read our books, swam and napped as the gentle ocean breeze kept us cool.  Life is good!

And if you are lucky you can catch an Australian wedding.  
Who needs a church, when you have a beach!

From here, we were going to have tea and spend the night with our adopted Aunt Judy;  an aunt of our exchange partners.   She lives out in the country in Boyanup, so it was a good thing we had the GPS or we probably never would have found it.  We were warned how hot it is once you get away from the ocean, so we were hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.  We were happy to find that it wasn't as hot as we expected it to be, especially because she doesn't have air con.  Her house is surrounded by big gum trees and bushland which help shade it from the sun.  It reminded me a lot of my parents farm back home. We had a lovely evening sipping wine, telling stories, meeting neighbours and of course, eating.

Just as we were getting settled into bed, Judy came and got us because there was a kangaroo in her backyard.  Apparently a regular occurrence here.  This was very exciting for the kids because this was the first wild kangaroo that they have seen since we have been in Australia. It was dark, so we could just make out the outline of the kangaroo, as it kept to the edges of the yard.  Little did I know that this cute little kanga and her friends were going to keep us up most of the night.  We were awoken many, many times by the thumping of their feet and tails into the ground, and the constant tearing of grass and chewing right outside our window!  I felt like we were living in a National Geographic special.  There were even two male kangaroos fighting, boxing, and grunting at one point.  
So much for quiet, peaceful country life!

Fresh veggies from Aunt Judy's garden.

The bush behind Aunt Judy's house, where the kangaroos romp and play!

Sunday morning found us at the Boyanup Country Market, which would have been lovely if it wasn't 40+C with no breeze, and not much shade.  We did manage to find some fresh produce, bread and honey to bring back to the city with us though.  Then we headed back into Bunbury to visit the Wildlife Park to see the birds and feed the kangaroos.  Seeing the kangaroos was one thing, feeding them and petting them was another.  The kids loved it! Here are some of the photos:

Aunt Judy on the right, behind Ellise and our new friend!

After the Wildlife park, it was time to head to the beach to cool off before heading home.  This time we went to the Bunbury Back Beach where the surf was bigger and the waves crashed into the shore.  It took a bit to get accustomed to and we all ate a bit of sand, especially Ellise! But it was heaps of fun!

And true to Australian custom, we had to dodge another wildfire on the drive back to Waikiki.  Driving towards a wall of smoke is not my idea of fun, but fortunately the highway went around the main region of the blaze.