A) I honestly beleave it iz better tew know nothing than two know what ain't so.

B) Wisdum don't konsist in knowing more that iz new, but in knowing less that iz false. Josh Billings, 1874.

Sorry about the same photo, the app won't let me change location for photos at the mo.

Sat

Into the CBD to drop off the rental car, a bit of sightseeing on the Red CAT. (Central Area Tpt) - free buses downtown. A train and bus back to Karrinyup Waters was about $4.50ea - even without a senior's discount. Even though it felt a long way out, it could be a quick and cheap commute to inner city. There are also a lot of park&ride facilities and undercover bike storage, and bike lanes. The W.A premier just announced they're re-establishing railway workshops here instead of importing carriages.

The next target is to build submarines here as well as the current base.

Back at the caravan park - There is a flash new café and extensive new playground/sandpit which is accessible to visitors. I remarked to a staff member that there were always big numbers off women with littlies using it. He said "do cheap (barista) coffee and a play area and they will come from miles away." My photos can't do the place justice. You really should google Karrinyup Waters Resort and check it out.

No, really, do it now while you're thinking about it, otherwise you know you'll forget.

Tues

I'd upped the tyre pressures for towing yest, but the front right was down a bit when I put the gauge on this a.m. Yep, same one that was soft at the car-sales. According to google, Balcatta had a choice of 4 tyre places - so it was the 1st time for 30yrs that we'd been to a Bob Jane T Mart. A coffee machine that grinds its own beans, and they txt you when it's ready. That's progress.

While we were waiting for the tyre repair in a carpark in the caravan we tried switching the fridge to gas - no joy. So no un-powered sites until we can get that fixed. We're due back at JB's when they get a part in for the awning, so will hopefully get that done at the same time.

Our first out of town run was smooth, it was good to be out of the city. As we'll be going south with Kelly we're doing a quick run north.

The new caravan tows well, no sway at 100kms. (Caravans and trailers are legal at that here).

Wed. Guilderton. Where would you get a name like that from you ask? Back in 1656 the good ship Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) was on it's way (from the Netherlands?) to Batavia (Jakarta) when it hit a reef 2.5kms offshore. There were 75 survivors, so it must have been a large ship. Seven of them sailed a small boat on to Batavia to get help - but the other 68 were never seen again. Many years later a young european boy digging on the beach found a bag of gold coins - guilders dated between and 1605 and1655. So when a village formed a few years later they called it guilderton.

Although Moore River is a popular spot for Perth people, it's off-season and midweek so we've got a front-row site, overlooking the water.

The bird report: I've had a Willy-wagtail chirping at the door and there are now a couple of ducks. Earlier on the estuary we could see a couple of pelicans drifting regally along and a large group of what looked like little black shags (cormorants) fishing. The sandbar here is currently open with the Moore River flowing out to sea, but it often closes, creating a bigger estuary. Although the Moore starts 200kms away, it's very last tributary inputs plenty of tannin into it.

Some of the campers at Karrinyup with camp-trailers or just a vehicle slept in bivvy-bags. Like a micro-tent with just room for 1 person to sleep, sometimes with a fly, often oilskin-looking. Here at Guilderton/Moore River the young outdoor education instructor for the high-school group said that he was pretty cold last night and that he'll be knocking on our door tonight when the rain starts. Lynnley B had been eyeing the abs showing right through his wetsuit yesterday, and positively simpered in response, that he would be so welcome.

One of the tenets that I've learned at Toastmasters is that you really don't need the rigid facts to interrupt the flow of a story - and everyone breathing enjoys a story.

I don't know whether you've seen the photo about foxes taking your shoes if you've leave them outside. Our outdoor instructor said that the kids had left a football outside, and they'd seen spotted a fox playing with it and then carrying it away. They found it in the scrub next morning! At home, Cameron's bearded collie is a great dribbler, with the ball against his chest as his legs move either side of it, but I don't think he's able to fit it in his mouth to carry away.

One that I think that I missed when we were stopped at a lookout before Ettalong Beach, was a guy with a drone. He was sending it about 3kms (as the drone flies) down the hill over all this thick bush to have a look at the boats moored in the bay. The screen on his controller couldn't have been much bigger than a phone. He reckoned that he could send it up to 8kms and back. That old idea of having to stay in line of sight didn't mean much - it disappeared from view after a few hundred metres.

We may only be an hour or so out of Perth, but in our little valley there isn't any TV reception. Gary, the Campmeister, said that, when he took over 7yrs ago, there used to be 40' high TV aerials that were all corroded in the salt air and actually falling down. He put satellite aerials into the cabins, and since that has done a lot of installations to the holiday houses around the village as well. Their satellite dishes are way bigger than what we're used to, mainly you need a decoder, though there are supposed to be some free to air stations. So caravans that have them are usually portable ones that you mount outside, or on a pole on your bumper bar.

Fri South Fremantle

Back to town today for a dental appointment, so heading to Fremantle, to a caravan park that we recce'd last week.

Sat

We were worried about traffic noise, but the only thing that I heard during the night (other than'erself snoring, obviously) was a bird going cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo absolutely non-stop. I have no idea what sort of bird it was.

…..Boom-tish

Someone has a bird-feeder next door and it was surrounded by galahs this morning. They are really quiet, unlike the cockies and currawongs.

Between us and the beach there is a reclaimed landfill, which is also part of the Cockburn Community Wildlife Corridor, so it'll be interesting to see whether we get any bonus wildlife. One sign painted on the path said to beware of snakes, so I suppose they qualify.

We picked up the birthday gel from that lovely new Perth airport. Must update the satnav in the Ranger - it thinks we're splashing through swamp to get there. We tried to show her a bit of downtown on a quiet Sat arvo. A bit of a fail with the motorway system led to us finally giving up and taking her back to Fremantle. The new 'van doesn't have Kellyspace, so she's in a cabin 100m away. There's more room at her's, so we ate the birthday bbq there.

(I can change our location for the blog but not the photos at present, so I keep squishing more into the Karrinyup one.)