At last the time has come for us to move on and I couldn't be more excited. We left the park just after 8.30am and I followed Kimbo in the car while he drove the bus (with no brakes and no brake lights) to the repairer. Then we left the city behind us and headed south to the Collie
River. A beaut day for travelling and it was quite hot when we left. We stopped for morning tea near Harvey alongside the Harvey River. Next stop was the Wildwater Slalom Course which starts at the base of the Stirling Dam. ] The dam itself is huge and we were praying that the wall didn’t break - it didn't! The course was really long and the water crystal clear – really beautiful but there was no water flow so the conditions were placid.

Time to push on and find a camping spot before it got too late. We headed to Collie looking for the river and saw a sign to Wellington Dam which sounded good and eventually came upon the camping grounds. We picked our spot at "Honeymoon Pool" a gorgeous camp ground set along the banks of the Collie River and shaded by graceful peppermint trees and a canopy of yarri, jarrah and marri eucalypts. Flushing toilets and a fireplace with wood provided was a bonus. The birdlife is prolific, especially kookas. We fed two with sausages and one
even sang for his supper! Once the sun started to set the chill set in and the fire was most welcome. We had a walk after our BBQ dinner and Kimbo thinks he’ll go for a swim tomorrow………don’t expect I will. We were in bed early as often happens when camping but I couldn’t believe how much noise the frogs made, their “serenade” continued unabated all night.

As the canopy of the trees is so thick and the sun couldn’t penetrate it was a little chilly when we emerged from the warmth of the tent. Set about immediately to light the fire so that Kimbo could cook brekkie of eggs, bacon and French toast – just perfect. Apart from the lovely friendly kookas we'd been feeding last night thought that it was their right to help themselves to our breakfast and before we knew it one of the kookas flew down to the hotplate, picked up a piece of bacon and was gone! Kimbo was furious and I was concerned for all birdlife in the area! Thankfully there was no more stealing of food and I hope he's learned a lesson. Time then to head off and explore. Crossed the river at the base of the Wellington Dam and that felt a little strange.

 Drove through the forests to Collie which was beautiful but the sight of the Muja open cut mine certainly wasn’t. The views from the lookout were astonishing. We had a swim in the beautiful pool in town and then Kimbo rang the mechanic to find out about the bus. To say he was stunned was an understatement. He was told the repairs could cost up to $3,000 and won’t be ready any time soon – OMG that was a shock, clearly not just a case of the brake fluid leaking. Still nothing we can do. We continued on our merry way marvelling at the beauty in this part of the world.

When we got back to camp although the day had been pretty warm it was a priority to get the fire going for another BBQ. Kimbo set out some apples to entice any nocturnal critters that might be around. He wasn't about to share any of our BBQ with renegade kookas! Sad to say his efforts were in vain, we did hear some scurrying around the rubbish bin and something shake itself near the tent but that was all. He’d even slept with his head at the door of the tent so that he could take a photo quickly – oh dear the things we do!