Surfing, Footy, and More

Mar. 29

This is the last weekend that our friends from Chatham are with us, so we wanted to make the most of it.  They hadn't attempted surfing yet, so we strapped the Donnelly's boards to the roof of the car, and headed to the beach at Secret Harbour, the closest surfing spot to our place in WA. They were predicting rain and a possible thunderstorm for later in the day, so it made for some good waves.  The kids managed to ride some waves in on their stomachs, but didn't try to stand up yet.  I was able to stand up several times for a short ride until the wave lost its momentum, and Suzie the same.

Suzie catching a wave.

Wayne paddling hard to get in front of the wave.

Jeff showing Wayne what not to do.

Wayne not listening.

Noah riding in on a wave.

Ellise, the surfer model, posing for the camera.

I didn't get up for long, but I did get up.

The other thing that the Denomy's really wanted to do before they left Australia was to go see an Aussie Rules Football Game. Tickets are very hard to come by here because there are only 2 teams in Western Australia, the Fremantle Dockers, and the West Coast Eagles.  Most of the tickets are taken up by the members of the respective football clubs, but there are 3000 that are saved for the general public. Luck was on our side and we managed to get our hands on eight tickets in the alcohol-free family zone. What wasn't on our side was the weather.  The rain held off all day, but just before the game started, the skies opened up.  Perth hadn't seen rain in almost 4 months, and on the first home game of the footy season, it decides to rain.  We spent the first half huddling under the overhang because the rain was coming down in sheets.  It was quite comical watching the game because the ball and players were slipping and sliding all over the place.  We got to return to our seats for the second half, and the game got better, and the home team triumphed by a score of 87 - 39.  Yeah Dockers!!!

The Fetter's decked out in purple Dockers gear.  

Footy game in action.

Margaret River Exchange Weekend

March 21-23

Here we go again.  This weekend's trip took us to the Margaret River Region which is about 2 1/2 hrs south of us in WA.  It is renowned for its wine and surfing.  For all of you wine connoisseurs, this is Graceland, because you can't drive more than a kilometre without passing a winery.  It is really quite astonishing how many wineries there are here. This was also our first exchange weekend with all of the exchange teachers and families from Canada. There are about 40 of us in total.  We had a small hostel on the outskirts of town all to ourselves.  It was very basic accommodation, but affordable ($88.00/night for a family room) and the kids had heaps of room to muck around, and chase kangaroos.  There was also a big dining hall with two big beer/wine fridges for the adults, and kitchen where we could make our own meals.  Friday night was basically a meet and greet, and get caught up on what each other had been doing for the last month.  

Glenbrook

The main dining hall.

Ellise and Noah with Clarke and Abby Denomy, our friends from Chatham,
who came to visit us for 3 weeks in WA.

Saturday morning was our big Cape to Cape hike.  The Cape to Cape Track stretches 135km between the lighthouses at Cape Naturaliste in the north and at Cape Leeuwin in the south.   The Track is a beautiful long distance walk through coastal wilderness, along elevated limestone ridges, across deserted beaches and rocky coves and under the large karri trees of the hardwood forests.  We hiked a 10 km section of the Track, most of it along the coastline ending at another beautiful WA beach.  I'm sure you are all getting sick of seeing all the beach photos, but that is a big part of the Western Australian culture, and they really are stunning!  And I reckon you can use some sunshine after your long cold winter. 

Grass trees and coastal scrub brush along the hike.

Our hiking companions.

Coming out to the ocean.

Our finishing point, Redgate Beach.  It felt so good to put our feet in the water to cool off!

Pristine Redgate Beach.

Half the group went in one direction and the other half went in the opposite direction, so after the hike, we had to drive each others vehicles to a central meeting point.  I got to drive this Ute because I was one of the only ones who could drive a manual.
I felt like a true Aussie bloke.

After the hike and a lunch break, we split up to do our own thing.  Most people without kids headed to some galleries and wineries.  We knew our kids would be bored, so we tagged along with another family who was heading a bit further south to Hamelin Bay to see the stingrays. Here is what we saw.

These guys swim along the shore hoping people will feed them.  They are obviously very tame and swim right up to you.  We saw about 6 different rays ranging from .75 m - 2 m wide.
It was pretty awesome!!

Noah petting the ray as it swam by.  They are very slimy and slippery.

After the rays, we headed back to the hostel for a potluck BBQ with the rest of the group, and a good night's sleep for another busy day on Sunday.

Sunday morning was more hiking, this time into the Giant's Cave.  It wasn't as stunning as the Cango Caves back in South Africa, but it was fun because there were no lights, so you had to navigate your way through using flashlights, or torches as they are called here.

86 m underground.  Gotta love the fashionable blue helmets,
but they came in handy a couple of times in some tight spaces.

After the caving, it was time to start venturing towards home, but not without some stops along the way. The first stop was the town of Margaret River itself.  We walked along the quaint main street, and browsed in some of the surfing and souvenir shops along the way.  The kids discovered Toy World and the Lolly (Candy) shop, so they were happy too.  

Then it was off to the Margaret River Cheese Factory which we almost drove by because it was a little shack at the side of the road.  I was expecting a big dairy farm with huge sheds, and hundreds of cows mulling around, but no such luck.  We got to sample a few different cheeses, which were yummy, but we still liked the Australian Tasty cheese the best so we didn't buy anything here.

The highlight was our next stop at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory.  When you walked in, you were greeted by the mount-watering aroma of rich chocolate.  There were large bowls of milk, dark, and white chocolate chips for sampling.  Needles to say, we each went through the line a couple of times because the chocolate was so fresh and delicious.  But instead of buying chocolate, we decided to try the cheesecakes and baked goods.  They were decadent too. We were now buzzing with a sugar high.

So what better way to burn it off, then drinking beer at the Cheeky Monkey Brewery.  We chose this stop because it had a playground for the kids while the adults could taste some beer, and sit and enjoy the scenery.  The beer was very strong, so we opted for a pear cider which was light and refreshing.

The last stop on the way home was the town of Busselton.  This is where I am doing my Ironman Triathlon in December.  The swim is around this 1.9 km Jetty.  It sounds daunting, and I'm sure it will be on the day, but I'm happy to say that it didn't look as far as I thought it would.  Mentally, that is a good thing.

This is just the first portion of the Jetty.  It bends off to the right, which you can't see in this picture.

The Jetty at sunset.  The close to another great day in WA.

The Burning Bush

March 20th

Suzie:
What a fluke! I just noticed a sign on my drive home today that said "Butt Out.. Smoking Starts Fires" And then 20 minutes later I passed a road side fire! There is a public transit train (like a Toronto Go Train) that runs along the freeway here, literally 30 feet from the road. And between the tracks and the road are some small scrubby bushes. One was on fire today, right beside me!

It had to have been started by a cigarette butt. There is no one allowed in that area. I honestly don't know how some people can be so careless. When I got home and told Wayne he said he sees Aussie's toss butts from cars all the time when he's cycling. Well no wonder there are countless bush fires around here!!

With a heading like "The Burning Bush", I bet you thought I had a religious story for you? Didn't you?

King's Park - Perth

Mar. 16

Today we visited King's Park with the Denomy's. It is a big, beautiful park just west of downtown Perth along the Swan River.  King's Park would be comparable to Central Park in NYC. It has a botanical garden, a bushland section, a war memorial, and several playgrounds for the kids. It's enormous. Here are some of the photos:

Perth CBD and the Swan River seen from a lookout at King's Park.

War Memorial commemorating the soldiers who fought for Australia.

The kids under a large Boab tree. 

The DNA Tower.

Abby and Ellise on the bridge to the island park playground.

A couple of monkeys swinging on the bars.

Noah and Clarke on the life-like dinosaur.

Crabbing in Mandurah

March 19th

Suzie:
Wayne and Noah just got home from a Wednesday night lesson in crabbing from Sean Rennie and his sons. They were very successful. I think it's going to be crab cakes for dinner!

Waikiki

March 8th to 15th

Suzie:
Last week we had dinner at friends. What a luxury to have friends to hang out with . Thanks Nick and Belinda. Check out their gorgeous home! And one block from a beautiful beach.

Then Noah and Ellise had their Swim Carnival; both did great. Noah got two seconds, a third and a fourth. Almost one of each! And Ellise got first place, three times! Maybe swimming is there thing???

Ellise and her best Aussie friends Amy and Imogen.

Noah showing off his ribbons.

Ellise with her three 1st place ribbons.

News flash: we actually got rain! It was on Thursday, March 13th on my way into work. It was only a sprinkling, but I did need my windshield wipers. Had to find them actually. I'm glad they worked. That tiny rain fall broke their record of over 100 days without a drop of rain in the Perth area! I can hardly believe they still have trees and plants that are alive. Shocking!

The Denomy's arrived  last weekend! They are friends of ours from our first exchange in Melbourne. We toured all of New Zealand with them and most of Australia, nearly 15 years ago. Since then we've kept in touch and gotten together with our kids to swim or play cards. They live in Chatham, Ontario. So great to have them here for three weeks in WA!

On their first day here, we swam at Waikiki Beach, then headed down to The Crab Fest in Mandurah with The Rennie's. Lots of fun!

Swimming at Waikiki Beach, WA.

Ellise with her good friend Imogen. She lives across the street from us, also shares a passion for gymnastics and trampolining, and is also in Year 5 at Charthouse! 

Clark enjoys a ride!

Noah with a school of Blow Fish

Jeff Denomy

When in Aus, do as the Aussies do.  An impromptu game of Cricket at the beach.

The Fetter's and Denomy's at Waikiki Beach.

 Next weekend, Margaret River.  Stay Tuned.