29/11
Took a leisurely drive down the old coast road to Margaret River. Arrived at Bussell's Bushland Cottages at about 5 pm, surprised not to see our name on the blackboard outside reception showing incoming occupants. Went into reception to find that we weren't expected until tomorrow! Hmmm, at this point I have to confess to 'operator error'. I had originally requested our booking to start from Saturday but they were full so we had to change to start Sunday. Forgot this resulting in A serious senior moment. So we had to go around the area looking for a bed for the night. After a while finding many places fully booked we were told to try 'Surfpoint' (no it wasn't a backpackers hostel) on the coast. They were very accomodating and we had a comfortable night's sleep! The young couple running the place were helpful and enthusiastic. We were, by far, the oldest people staying there but everyone was friendly and polite. Spent this morning walking along the beach, watching the surfers and dodging Aussie flies. I had temporarily forgotten how persistent the little b*****s can be, but have now repractised the 'Aussie salute' of waving my hand in front of my face every 2 seconds in a futile attempt to keep them from out of my eyes, ears and mouth! We returned to the bush cottages this afternoon and were rewarded by seeing 3 kangaroos and two ring necked parrots within an hour of moving in. There are 8 self contained, 2 bed cottages set 500 metres back from the nearest road and about 100 metres from each other. With no external lighting and sited in a wooded area you do feel a little isolated. All mod cons inside (satellite TV and Internet access etc.) and nature outside. We are here for next 5 days.