Mon 02/06/14 Long weekend here in WA, so lots of people taking a break. We had a lazy day - cruised the Margaret River township, had a delicious seafood lunch at The Settlers Tavern in the main drag - great service too - and Lukas tasted his first "chilli mussel", giving it a thumbs up. Groceries and back to the farm for feeding time then dinner and chatting around the campfire with other campers; met some really nice people.

Tue 03/06/14 Busy day touristing. Drove down to Augusta to see the Cape Leeuwin Light House and the heritage limestone water wheel; unfortunately the lighthouse was closed for repairs, so we couldn't go in to climb it - bummer seeing as I'd promised it after renegging on the kids tree climb. Saw the "elephant rocks" and the confluence of the Southern and Indian Oceans. Drove up the coast to Hamelin Bay to see if we could spot any of the Eagle Rays that vacuum the shoreline; unfortunately the wind made for choppy seas and we only managed to glimpse one wing rippling out through the masses of seaweed being washed to shore - very smelly seaweed at that. Headed north again and took an underground tour of Lake Cave; descended over 300 steps / 60mts down - although not all of this is underground as the front of the cave system collapsed centuries ago, so climb down to a grotto area first then go underground for last bit. Amazing stalagmites and stalactites....guide was great, very interesting .... legs get a bit of a workout coming back up! "Caveworks" infomation centre up the top was also interesting...kids loved the model "cave tunnel" that you try to squish through to see what it's like to be a cave explorer. Brodie had zoomed through it 3 times before Lukas and then finally Lex were convinced to have a try. Mummy then had a go and had to do some fancy twisting to fit through the narrow passage whilst not getting stuck on the protrusions from the floor and roof. Of course, when kids went through no-one else was present to see them tumble out, but somehow the room managed to be filled with tourists when it was Mummy's turn to have to wriggle out. Lukas and Alexis were quite concerned their Mother would get stuck and were all relief when she exited the tunnel....Miss Brodie, however, nearly wet her pants she was laughing that hard. Next we stopped in at the Cowaramup Brewery on our way home and tried a couple of tasting paddles; the Hefferweissen wheat beer getting our vote - and the kids gave the ginger beer a thumbs up too. Very picturesque setting and a playground....perrrfect for a relaxing brew to round off the day.

Wed 04/06/14 Drove north to Yallingup Shearing Shed demonstration, was great fun. We hand fed pellets to some very hungry sheep that almost climbed over the fence to get to the food. Then kids were "put to work" - they had a ball .... Lukas had to hold a sheep up by its forelegs while it sat on its bum as the farmer/shearer was starting his talk. It was hilarious...the sheep just casually looking from side to side, gazing around at all the people with Luey holding its arms up past its ears....then the shearer decided Lukas should put that sheep back and get another one....Luey's face was priceless as the shearer helped him drag his sheep back into the pen and flip over another to bring out. Shearing was quick and precise - all off in one piece - girls then had to "rouse-about" and help throw the fleece onto the classing table and sweep up other bits before next sheep could be done....Lukas then had to be the "presser" and jump into the bail to stomp the fleece down...the shearer punctuated his talk with loud shouts of " "hurry up Lukas / Brodie / Alexis, we'll be here all day at this rate". He later had girls operate the bail pressing machine, which is actually used today instead of stomping, but told them it was more fun to make Lukas stomp. Invited them to come back when they are 17y/o, saying they'd be paid $160/day to press and rouseabout during shearing season and then they could save up for their first ute "like all good country kids should". Farm dogs gave a rounding up demonstration. "The black & white dog" (Border Collie) brings the sheep to the sorting yards - one dog can move 1000 sheep on its own - "the brown dog" (kelpie) walks on the sheep to move them through the sorting pens. Dog commands consisted of whistles and "get back" or "get up", and they seemed to know precisley where to go and what to do. The farmer was quite a character, made it really good fun... gave kids a farm test - because apparently people always ask what types of animals he has on his farm - Q. "a sheep farmer has?" kids "sheep" Q. "a cow farmer has?" kids "cows" Q. "and a pig farmer has?" kids "pigs".......assuring us all that we should be able to commit this to memory. Kids got to bottle feed some lambs and Mikey was asked to "burp" the fattest one - he was left holding it for several minutes - funny as. After the demo, we resisted making any Merino product purchases and headed off to "Swings and Roundabouts" Winery for lunch....kids had locally made apple juice and played bocce outside while we did our share of tasting & buying, then dined on fantastic woodfire oven pizzas & bruschetta - belissimo! Next stop Clairault & Streicker Vinyard - more formal, great building, stronger wines and kids were given their hot chocolates complimentary for returning their cups with lovely manners - very nice. Next stop Cheeky Monkey Brewery & Killerby Winery - great stop for families as they have a huge gated playground out back. Enjoyed some tastings, made our purchases and then had a few beverages in the sunshine...very relaxing with great views of vinyard. Next stop Margaret River Chocolate Company - sooo much chocolate - every type you could imagine everywhere you look. Also a cafe and a viewing window into the chocolate making room....pretty cool. Treated ourselves to a decadent nut filled dark chocolate to go with our Killerby Liqueur Shiraz. Final stop was the Margaret River Dairy Company where we acquired more local produce - Brie, Camembert and Quince Jelly - to complete our purchases for the day.... gonna be so delish! Made it back in time for feeding time, so the billy lids were happy. Chatted around the fire over dinner with a nice couple from Bunbury - the kids 'beautiful manners' this time earning them home made chocolate slice for dessert. AND she decided they might as well take the remainder home for morning tea tomorrow! Very proud of our little cherubs behaviour and conversation chatting with adults around the campfire.