Freo, Perth and Gingin

24 June

To Fremantle

Easy drive up to Freo and after dropping the van off went for a look around town and the water front. Beautiful old buildings. Got some information from the visitor centre and back to the van to plan tomorrow for Lincoln's birthday.

Bon Scott

The boys thought this lady in a bikini was very funny!!! Snigger snigger.

 

Lincoln woke to balloons and presents.

 

 

Then we drove to the Old Fremantle Prison for a really enjoyable tour where we were taken around the prison and given a really thorough and entertaining spiel about the place. The guide had the kids attention for the entire 90 minutes which is not an easy task. The prison was a punishment and detainment and not a rehabilitation and education facility. They had no running water in the cells and were using buckets as toilets right up to its closure in 1991.

 Artwork by one of the inmates.

Then we drove down to an all day parking area and got the free bus into Freo as parking is very hard to find as well as expensive.
 

We went to 'Cappuccino Strip" for morning tea, took the free bus tour around town to see the sights, walked  up to the roundhouse to watch the cannon being fired.

Then had lunch at a restaurant that is part of the uni of Notre Dame where the apprentices get to practice their trade. Huge feed, great taste and good price.

Then it was up to the Didgeridoo shop where the kids all got a lesson and a chance to play.

Hilarious!

 

 Last stop was a neat cafe we had passed earlier called Ootong and Lincoln.

 

Then back home for a rest before heading into town for a light Thai meal. The closer on the day was a yummy birthday cake back at the van. Lincoln had a fantastic day that we all got to share with him.

26 June

To Perth

Easy drive the next morning to Maida Vale on the other side of Perth where we thought we could base ourselves while we had a look around the city. We stayed at a Seventh Day Adventist park that was used as a school camp ground as well as a caravan park. Fairly basic but had a nice big kitchen and even an oven which is exciting for us.

Dropped the van off before driving into the city and parked at Kings park to have lunch before jumping on the free bus and going into the CBD and tourist centre. We stumbled across London Court which was fantastic. Had a nice coffee and took some pics. Picked up our mail which had been sent from home which was really exciting particularly for Lincoln as he got his birthday cards and presents. Patch is really keen to do his school work while the others do theirs so we bought him some work books.

 

Early start today as the car was being serviced in town. Parking here is even worse than Sydney so decided that we could leave it with the Toyota dealer for the day while we did the tourist thing. What a beautiful city Perth is. they are doing major works down by the Swan river as they bring the "City and the Swan together" which simply means they are doing a development of the park area down by the Swan that they will flood and turn into river frontage.

We walked through the city and along the Swan to the Belltower where we went in for a tour and got to chime the bells. What an amazing view from the top of the tower.

 

 

 

We rode all three free city buses which gave us a good look around the town. Shopped at Harbour town where we got some new clothes for the kids as they have all grown so much on the trip. Lincoln also bought some Lego with his birthday money. Then we picked up the car and went home. Tomorrow we head up north about 45 minutes to Willowbrook Farm in Gingin.

Life is great and this trip is amazing.

28 June

 

To Willowbrook

We only had 60kms to travel from the SDA caravan park to our next stop in Gingin but went via New Norcia which is a town built around a St Benedictine monks monastery. Some amazing history here and we were lucky enough to join the monks for their lunch time prayers which was a great experience for all of us.

Then off we went for the trip back down to Willowbrook our next station stay.

We basically set up and headed out to the shops for some groceries but the park appeared nice.

Then we BBQ'd and sat around the fire for a while and the kids cooked marshmallows.

Saturday was a day of sitting around, drying out and enjoying the beautiful weather. We also got to hand feed the 30 sheep, 3 steers and 2 alpacas in the afternoon. The kids helped out on the farm and got a ride on the trailer to go and collect firewood for that night. Another BBQ and campfire with marshmallows.

 

This place is really beautiful. The managers Bill and Lil are fantastic and really good with the kids. Bill told the kids that night that because they had helped so much he had another job for them the next day. He told us that according to the kids Kangaroo Island had been their highlight to this point and he was hoping to beat it.

 

 

So we had to drag the kids off to the Gravity Centre the next day which was good fun with lots of interactive experiments and hands on gear for the kids to touch. Then we all climbed the 222 steps to the top of the "Leaning tower of Gingin" to put the concept of gravity to the test by dropping water balloons 13 storeys to the ground below. Lincoln was the only one who managed to explode one of his filled balloons on the way up.

 

 

Back to the farm and a quick lunch before the kids were back on the quad bike to help round up the sheep. We all joined in herding them into the pen, then we had to give them all their medicine.  I helped wrestle a few to the ground. Milly was in charge of the pump that held the medicine and Linc had to paint a line on the rear end  of each sheep as they were treated. Then it was time to put a rope around the two alpacas and get them onto the ground for a toe nail clip. Finally TJ, Milly and Patch fed them all and we headed back in. We all had a ball. 



 I am holding the sheep OK!!!!

The boys even had another ride on the quad bike back to the shed.

 

This is what we have been hoping for all the way around and just we wanted for the kids. They are sure to remember all of the fun things we have done here. They even got paid an iceblock for dessert for all their hard work. It was lovely to see them interacting with other adults and how well they can behave. They worked really hard and we received some really positive comments on their behaviour and work ethic from Bill and Lil as well as some of the other oldies in the park.

Very proud parents.

Now it is off north.

The sun is shining and Life is fantastic!!!!!!