Australian Holiday Adventure

Saturday morning we got up and left early in our rented caravan headed north. We spent most of the day driving with a stop in Geraldton for a lunch break and some sight seeing. That evening we arrived at our first destination in Kalbarri. 

Sunday morning bright and early on the bus for the Kalbarri National Park on the Murchison River. We did our first three absails on the "short wall" (yeah right) and then moved on to the "big wall". The first time over the edge there was no point in looking down. Just watch your feet and try not to panick! and don't forget to breathe. From then on it was not quite so scary. We all three had a great time and the view was great.
Monday morning up early again and on the road to the dunes. We've never been snowboarding because Sherri does not like the snow, but I would imagine it has to be softer than sand! Plus you have a chairlift, which would have been nice when climbing back up the dunes! Beautiful beaches, wonderful weather and lots of fun made up for the bruised bums by the end of the day. We spent the rest of the evening driving to Carnarvon where we spent the night and planned to hit the road early the next day.
On our way out of town Tuesday morning, we stopped at the petrol station to fill up with gas. The attendant came out and said there was gas running out under the van. Sure enough, it was quite the flood. He rinsed the ground with water and we waited for the gas to stop leaking, then drove to the nearest service station. Luckily we were in a town and not at a roadhouse, or we would have been out of luck. Evidently the O-ring for the filter on the gas tank was missing, so they made a new one and fixed us up. 5 1/2 hours later, we were on the road again.
About 50 kilometers before our destination in Exmouth and 4 hours after leaving the service center, the van lost power. Paul pulled to the side of the road and we immediately smelled smoke. Paul opened his door to get out and immediately began to yell "Fire, the things on fire! Get out! Get out!" The people behind us pulled over and called emergency services. They said the van was on fire before we pulled off the road. Thank goodness the engine died and Paul noticed the flames. Paul and Alex were able to throw a few things out before it went up completely, but a lot of our stuff was lost. Due to the fact we were out in no where land it took about 45 minutes to an hour for emergency services to arrive. By that time the fire was almost out. Since it was a fuel fire, it went very fast. The people who stopped were very nice and helped us out tremendously. One of the local hotels put us up for free in their last available room. The caravan company flew us back home Thursday and we will be meeting with them soon to sort everything out.
Friday will be spent regrouping and doing some shopping. Sherri was wearing her prescription sunglasses, which she's still wearing in order to see because her glasses were in her purse and it did not make it out. Included with her purse was house keys, car keys, credit cards, drivers license, lots of cash, plus the kicker, Paul's keys because we were on vacation so he put his in there also. 2 mobile phones, 2 ipods, wet suits, snorkel gear, pretty much Alex's entire wardrobe, poor kid and the list goes on and on. 
It's a fun story to tell, but we are glad we are all safe, or it would not be quite so humorous. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and we will continue to post more of our adventures in Australia. Hopefully they will be a little less eventful in the future.

It's hard to believe we are already coming to the end of March.  The weather is beginning to cool and rain clouds are darkening the sky.  It is now fall in Western Australia, but the nice days still out weigh the bad.  Lot's of festivals are being held around the state and we are trying to attend as many as possible.  The Nectar Festival was held here in Fremantle as part of the celebration of National Women's Day.  There were tents set up with local women artisans, guest speakers on women's issues, and female entertainers through out the evening.  The Crab Festival in Madurrah was a great family event in the area.  We took the train down and spent the day wandering along the river side where all the activities and booths were set up.  This past weekend was the Mussel Festival in Rockingham, where Paul works.  Henry, one of the men he works with was performing in a local band and it was great fun to see them on stage.  At the end of the evening we went to dinner with Henry and his family at a local Mexican Restaurant.  I must say it was the blandest Mexican food we have ever eaten.  I think we will try to avoid Mexican in Australia in the future.

Paul and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this month at The Red Herring Restaurant here in Fremantle.  The food was fabulous as we had hoped.  We both had fish, as that was the predominant choice on the menu.  I believe we both agree though, the fig and almond bread pudding with caramel sauce was the best.

Paul's birthday was also this month, but I think he has reached the age where he no longer cares to celebrate getting older.  We had a picnic with the Australian Submarine Society that day at Kings Park in Perth.  Everyone was very excited to have us join and we will be participating in many activities with them in the coming months.  The highlight of the day was when we had a couple of unexpected guest come and join the party.  Paul has been wanting to see a Kookaburra in the wild since we arrived in Australia.  Two came and sat in the trees for quite some time to make it a special birthday for Paul to remember.

Kookaburra's are a native bird in Eastern Australia, but not Western Australia.  They were original introduced in zoos here, many years ago, and since have become common through out the state.  They are a carnivorous bird and will snatch meat directly off a grill when you are not watching.  They are best known for their unmistakable call, which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter.