With the sun shining on what was to be another beautiful day in WA, Kylz and I were up early and packed ready for our drive down the coast to Jurien Bay. Even dragging the kids out and getting them ready did not take long and we were all soon on our way. Fuelling up on the way we were both glad that one of the upsides to getting closer to Perth was the price of fuel seemed to be at a more reasonable rate. We have encountered massive variations in fuel prices and to say it is impossible to rationalise or understand the reasons for it would be the biggest understatement ever made!

The smaller coastal town of Dongara was a place we had heard a few good things about and we made it our smoko stop for the morning. Pulling up outside the local bakery I was again ready to put the local curry pie to the test. The girls are always ready for a sausage roll smoko and Kylz was blown away by the largest selection of meringues we had ever seen. Different customs from east to west deem it impossible to get peas added to your pie in the west and while meringues are seen occasionally over our way they seem to be big sellers in WA. With the girls scrambling across to the local park and playground Kylz made a visit to the Op Shop that was in the same street.

The weather was still holding for the most part and we reached Jurien Bay by early afternoon. The rest of the arvo was spent setting up and walking the shorefront. That night saw some heavy rain falling and we woke to find the weather still pretty shaky. Continuing with our plans we loaded up and headed south to Cervantes and just beyond to the Pinnacles National Park. The centre itself is fairly new and gives good information on the Pinnacles and the local history of the area from early exploration to settlement. The Pinnacles themselves are like sandstone termite mounds sticking up out of the sand dunes and are believed to be millions of years old. The view along the coastline is spectacular and as boring as they sound the Pinnacles are pretty cool as well. We walked amongst them and had fun watching lizards scamper across the sand and even a couple of emus strolling by were startled to find us walking in their backyard! A quick tour through Cervantes on our way home was the end to our Pinnacles tour.

More rain that afternoon and night with a constant wind had us bunkered down in the van til a bit later the next morning. Braving the conditions we drove north, into another national park and along some sandy tracks to the Stockyard Gully Caves. Loaded with our headlamps and a couple of torches we set off. Being self guided we strolled along the small river bed in the gully until we reached the entrance of the cave. Having a bit of experience under the ground and in the dark I started to lead the way but was soon overtaken by Charli and her headlamp as she charged forward. Constantly yapping away to herself or anyone who might listen you could see her headlamp flash from side to side as she searched the walls for bugs or lizards and asked endlessly until I gave in and let her have the big torch. Making our way out the other side and back into the muddy track and rain we turned around and trekked back through to the car park. Two large feral bee nests at either end of the cave were the only wildlife we managed to come across.

A few things have happened during this year's trip to make us both think WTF!? Now while packing up our camp in Jurien Bay in sometimes pretty heavy rain the one that was probably on both our minds was how after the amount of distance we have covered could we come to arrive in Perth the same week as the CHOGM conference, Queen's visit and the long weekend. Little did we know that Perth was to have one more little surprise up her sleeve for a couple of unsuspecting Queenslanders! As mentioned the weather was pretty heavy all the way into Perth and did spoil what would be a very nice coastal drive on a bright sunny day. The coast road from Jurien Bay into Perth via Lancelin has only recently been finished and is a top notch piece of bitumen.

Our chosen caravan park was very close to the city centre and was surprisingly easy to find via some pretty open freeways and some superb directions from our little friend Tom. Those nav units really do shine in the bigger cities. Getting set up we were soon back into the thick of the traffic finding our way to the local shops. Considering the size and scale of the CHOGM and Queen visit the chaos seemed to be fairly limited. Making some phone calls to our friends Jim and Deb, who are back in Perth, and also Luke and Megan we had ourselves a couple of "play dates" organised!? Having heard so much about Kings Park and the botanic gardens in Perth we were keen to see it while we were there before it closed for the weekend for the Queens BBQ. Meeting Luke and Megan there with their girls we had a busy time chasing the girls around. The new outdoor playground had only just opened and is a real back to nature style turnout with rock pools and climbing towers as well as ropes courses and areas to build cubby houses. It was a hit with the kids and would give a lot of children a taste of what it's like to muck around in the bush with not a piece of bright coloured plastic or rubber soft fall in sight!

Jim and Deb and their children Maddie and Lachie are a couple we met on the Gold Coast at the start of this year. After completing their own 20 month Oz tour they arrived back to their hometown on Perth only a couple of weeks before we arrived. After meeting up again we fell in behind Jim and Deb for a day out in the Fremantle district. Being a busy public holiday Friday I was glad to have a reliable tour guide for the day. The amount of people in the Fremantle markets made for some hard work herding 4 kids through the place! Breaking out the other side we found ourselves in front of a street performer with a fair crowd around him. Standing well enough back and enjoying his show I soon found myself roped into the show and went from enjoying the laughs to having a few pulled out of me! We managed to make our way to the water front for our lunch. We had plenty of company as well. We met our friends Greg and Kate (first met at Quobba) and were joined for lunch by two friends of Jim and Deb. After a large lunch of some very nice fish and chips, us lads were looking for something to help wash it all down. With that in mind we soon found ourselves lined up at the very popular waterfront brewery called Little Creatures. After enjoying a couple of their special beers we managed to find the girls and kids amongst the crowd and get back to our cars.

After an enjoyable day of nice weather, good food and a couple of beers I was feeling pretty relaxed sitting in the passenger seat being ferried back home. We were both without a clue that we were about to have our good mood for the day ruined. Stopping off at Heathcote Reserve a very popular and upmarket function area and outdoor playground for kids, with awesome 180 degree views of the Swan River and some very swanky real estate, we strolled around in total oblivion to what was happening back in the car park. Arriving back at our car and finding out that it had been broken into and Kylz hand bag was gone really put a dampener on our otherwise brilliant day. Now I could rant and rave and carry on about it til the cows come home but it will do us no good now. As you all know the fact that we lost a few bucks is not the end of the world but being away from home and now having to cancel credit cards and have them reissued and then somehow have them delivered to us somewhere is by far the more frustrating operation. So after spending time searching through bushes and speaking to police and other card related phone calls we returned to our van park with a bit of a bad taste in our mouth from what should have been a very nice day spent in our western states capital.

Our remaining days in Perth were spent servicing the car and stocking up our van. We enjoyed a couple more lazy afternoon BBQ's and drinks with both Jim and Deb and Luke and Megan. The girls were in their element with the weather staying mostly clear and some beautiful warm days were on offer in between the few showers of rain we had. While in Perth we had seen barely a whisker of what is really on offer to all those who visit however we were both impressed with the feel of the place. The impressive Swan River is the real highlight of the Perth city landscape, being so accessible, the relaxing calm that it provides can easily be seen on people's faces as boaties, fishos, birdwatchers and family picnickers all enjoy the parks and paths that line the river banks.

While enjoying a couple of frosties with Luke and Megan one arvo they shared with us the location of their next stop after Perth. As it turns out the Anglican Church group run a camp ground on the beach just east of Busselton. Luke had been told about it by a fellow traveller further up the coast. After looking it up on the net we decided to check it out for ourselves. So with our good-byes said to Jim and Deb and our donations to the poor misunderstood and suffering car thieves of Perth up to date we were ready to get the hell out of the first big city we had been in for the last few months and head towards some more holy ground.