Margaret River, Wave Rock, My Birthday, York......Perth

Ok so to continue..... We headed out of Shark Bay and drove down, through Geraldton, to Dongara where we found accommodation I beleive in the Lazy Lobster!! It was a sweet little 2 bed cabin and v cheap, we even got a complimentary Crayfish which Mum and I tried - yuck no thank you!! I cooked dinner for a change, well we didn't have a bbq so Dad wasn't as excited as normal, but I made a lovely meal!!
We stayed in Dongara a night and then after getting ourselves sorted we were off again around 9 the next morning!
We kept driving down past Perth and onto Bunbury where again we got a 2 bed cabin - a little more expensive this one. Part of the BIG 4 group! We wandered around Bunbury, saw another dolphin - I'm sure they followed us, did some internet stuff and then went to the cinema where I got my way and we watched Hot Fuzz - very funny and we were in fact in Wells when they were filming it which was cool (at the time we thought it had a stupid name!!).
After a good nights sleep in Bunbury we went for a little walk, through some Mangroves. Dad went to get the car while Mum and I walked to the centre, we saw 2 more bloody dolphins!!! We looked round a couple of shops, got some lunch etc and then headed off again - on the road again.
We stopped to eat our lunch at the side of the road in the forest which was beautiful. We arrived at Margaret River around 1.30 so we couldn't get into the house, Settlers Corner, yet so after driving up to have a nose at it we popped to the information centre to check out some wine tours (Dad decided to drive in the end so we could do what we wanted - good lad!)and after a little walk up the high street we ended up in a pub for a drink.
Once we had finished Dad went to get the car while Mum and I walked up to the house, we arrived around the same time. We got the key and got into the house. It was a pretty cool house, really quite large. It had a large lounge, dining, kitchen area upstairs with a nice balcony (Mum has pictures), Mum and Dads bedroom with en suite and the laundry on the middle floor then 2 more double rooms, a bathroom and games room with ping pong along with a patio bbq area on the lower level. We were all quite impressed. Dad and I had a game of ping pong right away, obviously not a proper game!!!
We chilled out a bit in the afternoon, Dad walked down to the shops and then Mum and I played ping pong - I laughed so hard I cried and my stomach hurt!!
We enjoyed a really good bbq dinner and then watched 16 blocks which is pretty good. A very lovely relaxing evening!!
We then had a leisurely morning and left the house around 10. We began to drive towards Augusta but stopped at a winery, Hamelin Bay, on the way to do some tasting - I loved one of teh wines here. The Rampant White, we got a bottle!! It was a really beautiful setting.
We continued down and drove through Augusta onto Cape Leeuwin which is the most South-Westerly point in Australia and also where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean which was pretty cool I thought. There is also the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse which you can pay to get into, we just paid to get into the grounds. We walked down passed the lighthouse and went onto, Dads fav, the rocks. We wandered around all the rocks, watched the crashing waves. We walked right round the point and then headed back up towards the lighthouse. Once we were back at the entrance we decided to walk to the old Water Wheel which wasn't too far. It looked like the wheel had frozen with mud rather than ice, it was quite interesting. So after a few photos etc we went back to the car.

We drove back through Augusta again and went up the Caves Road. We drove for quite a while through the forest area before we reached the Lake Cave and got parked. We got some tickets and then headed down the 300 steps into the Cave, meeting our guide halfway down. Apparently due to the very bad drought here in Oz the Lake Cave is drying up and we witnessed that a little when we went inside as one side doesn't have water in it, its quite sad. We wandered through the cave stopping at certain points to be told different facts. It isn't a very deep cave so we sat at the back for a bit while all the lights changed around us and then went off so we could experience it in the dark, it was odd because there was still a glow from the entrance although faint. Once we had finished the tour it was time to head back up the 300 steps, a bit of a workout. We had a little lunch in the cafe there.
We kept going along the Caves Road and stopped at a few more wineries on the way. The first one called Eagle something didn't have anyone there - just a phone number so we gave it a miss. We also stopped at both the Redgate and Zanadu wineries and tried a few wines, bought a few as well. It was actually a really nice relaxed day.
We drove back to Margaret River, stopping at the supermarket briefly, got back and had some wine obviously! We ate another delicious bbq and then relaxed watching the Joanna Lees programme. I could smell smoke, from burning wood, outside my bedroom window when we had gone to bed - I got Dad up and everything. I think it could've been a bush fire somewhere but didn't hear of any.
The next day we got up, packed, had some breakfast, played some ping pong and then said goodbye to our nice retreat at 9.30. We drove back up to Bunbury and then turned East inland through Mollie. We had a long driving day today....
We stopped for lunch in a tiny town and arrived in Wave Rock at 4ish. We booked into a cabin and unpacked the car.
We went for a walk up to Wave Rock, played on it a bit, and walked round to the right then up on top of the rock. We watched the sunset which was quite nice and wandered around on top for a while. Just as we were heading off of the rock a low dark cloud of dust or smoke or just cloud came over us really quickly so we moved a bit faster. It bought a chill with it as well! we got back to our cabin and had an interesting meal made by Mum, tasted better than we thought it would!! Had some more wine before bed.
Happy Birthday to Me!! I was woken up by Mum being all excited as she gets!! I opened my cards and couple of pressies - just want to thank everyone that managed to get something to me!!! We had some breakfast, packed up the car and checked out. We left the car while we went for a walk. We walked to Wave Rock again but then round to the left this time. We went to Hippos Yawn before crossing the road and following some board walk round the vastness around. It was pretty cool, and cold too!! We saw a couple of wild Kangeroos so that was nice. We walked right round in a circle back to the car.
We left Wave Rock and drove through Narembeem, Bruce Rock and on to York which is the oldest inland town of WA, 1831!! We parked up and had a wander, also grabbing some lunch. We then went off to find accommodation, Dad had one in mind so we left him do his thing!! We got there and he drove round to the self catering cottage, Peppercorn Cottage, and parked up..... I was saying to him that surely we should go and ask first but him with his usual 'I know something' voice said I don't think so! Well then I knew I'd been taken for a fool - why didn't I know!! Anyway, they had booked this cottage from home as a surprise for my birthday, it was just lucky that I had also choosen York to go through. We went inside and I had a few more cards, thank you again!! We settled into the sweet little cottage on the hill.
We went for a walk into town where we walked across the suspension bridge, v proud of Mum!, along the river a little and then back. We then relaxed for the afternoon. We showered and dressed to go out for dinner. We walked down again and went to the Settlers Inn, bear in mind this was 7pm, and it was closed in fact it was a bit of a ghost town - we thought maybe there was a curfew and we'd get into trouble. We had walked past the Castle which had a pub so decided to head back there since nothing else seemed open. We actually had a good meal and yet more wine! It was good. We had some of my Orange and poppyseed cake later, or for me the next day as was very full up! We chilled out later at the cottage. Thank you Mum and Dad for a lovely birthday although it was just nice to be with you guys!!
The next morning we had decided to see if we could stay another night, we could thankfully in the same cottage. We relaxed in the morning and then walked down to York, through a field this time which meant us climbing a fence at the end - when will we learn!!??
We had a look round York Motor Museum and then the old jail and courthouse. I enjoyed both and it was all very laid back. We played a board game in the jail which I won - hahahahahaha!!! We went again to the suspension bridge which we walked over and then back, Mum was getting daring!! We had a bit of a walk along the river, although we lost the river quite early on and I didn't find it again - think it was dry! We walked back down the high street and decided to head back to Settlers Inn for lunch, it was open and much busier. We had a yummy lunch there!!
We had a very lazy evening watching tv and having beans on toast later!! I really wanted to watch 24 but my eyelids fell so early on!!
In the morning we drove towards Perth. We stopped for some breakfast but by this time it was 11.30, well done Dad, so we had brunch!! It was still quite nice though. We went to a national park, need to look up the name, where we went for a walk to the waterfall - with no water. It was a pleasant walk until the ants took over, there were so many and one got on me and just bit me - little shit! So it was a game of keep your feet moving. We ended up walking up a hill, quite a tough one as we always do. It was a nice walk though, just a shame there is no water! We got back to the car, all huffing and puffing, and drove on to Perth. We stopped on the way at a car wash, one of the ones with the powerful water hoses, and what fun I had there cleaning the car - it was awesome and the car was happy to be clean! We headed straight to Cottesloe Beach and I booked into the hostel from the next day. The beach was beautiful and we were able to find a motel type place but with 2 beds so we checked in there. We unpacked and relaxed, dad cleaned the inside of the car.
We went for a walk to the sundial, which was right and I have checked it several times - its always right, and then went to a pub in the Cottesloe Hotel. We had some drinks and played pool, Mum and I won!! Dad should never have let us pick his pocket for the black.... We then grabbed some fish and chips, sausage in my case, and headed back to the motel where we drunk a bit more alcohol!! After having a great laugh at Dad being a bit tipsy (I can slip over the bed with out being seen trick!!) we all crashed, really early!!! Was so tired again!
In the morning, Mum had already been for a walk, Mum and I went for a walk to the beach and along it. We than packed everything up one last time and went out for breakfast which was nice.
It was an odd day I think because we knew it was Mum and Dads last!! We got the bus up to the city and wandered round. Mum and Dad got some pressies for peopl and I printed up some photos for them to have. We got the bus back around 2pm and then I checked into the hostel and dumped all my stuff. We had a wander around and then around 4pm we went for some food, the last supper!! We overlooked the beautiful beach and ocean and ate scrummy pizzas!! We wandered after the food and then at 5.30ish Mum wanted to go as it was just dragging! We had a really quick goodbye and then turned away from eachother!! They went off to the airport and I had to get used to being alone again - i didn't know what to do with myself!! I read!!! Miss you still xxxxxxxxxxx