Our final domestic flight and we landed safely in Perth. Through in no time and we got a shuttle bus to our hostel. The hostel was quite nice just unfortunate that it was right next to the railway line (it was just like being back at Hannah Grange!). We dropped off our bags and had a wander around the city, a quick beer and then stopped a the supermarket to stock up. Spag Bol and Red Wine for tea and an early night - that 1.5 hour time difference is a killer!

The first full day in Perth started out very sunny so we had a walk through town down to the wharf and decided to get the ferry to Fremantle. As we boarded the ferry the clouds and rain rolled in but we still had a great afternoon - fish and chips for lunch at 'the best fish and chip shop in Australia' and a visit to the Little Creatures Brewery and a wander around Freo in the rain and then it was time to get the ferry back - Stir Fry for tea and a bit of television before bed (no chance of going out - the rain in the afternoon had turned into a big storm - thunder & lightning - very scary).

Friday was no different with the weather, very heavy rain and amazing thunder and lighting again so we decided to have a rainy day and stayed in the hostel, updated the previous month on the blog and got a take away curry from David Jones Food Hall - yum! Very chilled day.

The next morning we were up early and picked up our hire car for the final Oz road trip. We finally found our way out of the city and made our way down to Albany. We stopped on the way in Wagin to see the Giant Ram - another one to add the list of giant things in Australia! We also stopped in the Stirling Ranges before arriving in Albany. The tourist information suggested a good value place to stay but we think their idea of budget and ours was a little different (it was a portacabin that smelt of wee - nice!) so we found another apartment near by and got a great walk-in rate - a really lovely modern place - so we headed to Dan Murphy's to stock up of booze for the trip (Mum H - we found Radlers!!!!) and stocked up on food too before heading back to have dinner and watch the Tour de France.

After Breakfast we checked out and made our way, via a few lookouts, to the Gap and Natural Bridge. The sea was quite wild so the waves coming into the Gap were amazing. We ventured on from there to Cable Beach, then onto Stony Hill. On the way to Pemberton we stopped at Williams Bay for lunch and then did the Valley of the Giants Tree Top walk with was fab (but a bit scary, the bridges really wobble!). When we arrived in Pemberton we'd hoped to make it Margaret River that night but it was still a couple of hours away so we got a room at The Old Picture Theatre which was originally constructed as a picture theatre in 1929, and is now converted self-contained accommodation run by a guy from Manchester! There are even the old wooden seats in the hallway!

The following day we set off early (well earlier than usual - 9.30am!) and went straight to Beedelup Falls. They were great, as they've had so much rain recently there is more water flowing down them than the locals have seen for years. From there we drove to Augusta and had a pootle round and then drove down to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and saw the old waterwheel. We decided to stop here and have our lunch sat on the rocks in the sunshine. It was at this point we both realised how day to day it had become to be sat in a beautiful place, having a picnic and a beer and wondering what to do that afternoon - it's going to be tough when we get home! After lunch we made our way up to Margaret River. Once we'd sorted out our accommodation (in a mud hut) we dropped off our bags and went to Voyager and Watershed vineyards and picked up a few bottles for the rest of the journey. The evening was spent in front of the log burner and watching the Tour de France (again!).

We managed to get up and out by 9.30am again the next day so we went down to Prevelly Beach and had a walk along the front before making our way out of Margaret River via Vasse Felix vineyard and the Bootleg Brewery. We picked up a few more bottles (including one special one for Mark's Birthday) and set out for Mandurah. We got another walk-in bargain and it was one of the best places we stayed, ultra modern and right by the sea and double brucey bonus it had it's own washing machine and dryer! So another evening in, doing the washing and watching the Tour de France (again!!).

Wednesday was a mammoth driving day and we drove from Mandurah to Kalbarri which took about 8 hours but we shared the driving (between the four of us) and we arrived at our 'seafront villa' at dusk - word to the wise - avoid booking things without recommendation or actually looking at the website - it was a cell block, stuck in the 60's and it was no where near having a sea view! Never mind! We managed to find a nice restaurant with sea glimpses and had a nice meal and then back to Cell Block Kalbarri to watch the Tour de France!

The next day we had quite a long drive again but we were headed for Monkey Mia and Shark Bay where we'd be staying for Mark's Birthday. First stop was Hamlin Pool and the Stromatolites. What a cool place, you park up in a caravan site and then follow the sign to the Stromatolites. You walk down to the sea via the 'quarry' where they use to mine the compacted shells by cutting them into blocks and using them as bricks. You then walk along the beach and out onto the viewing platforms to see the stromatolites. There are hundreds and we, by luck more than judgement, got there at low tide. A real pre-birthday treat for Mark. Afterwards we made the final part of the journey for the day to Denham. It's a little bit smaller than we thought it was going to be (it's one road on the the seafront with a few houses behind!) but we checked in and pick up some food and settled in for the evening, with some lovely wine, fajitas and watched a couple of films and then .... the Tour de France

Birthday Alert, Birthday alert!! The day started with tea in bed and a cooked breakfast for the Birthday boy and we then had a drive round the local area, stopping at Little Lagoon (where the sunset photo on the cover of this blog was taken the next day) and out to Eagle Bluff to watch for sharks, rays etc and then we headed down to Ocean Park where they run a conservation programme for local sea life. Our guide was only young (early 20's!) but his knowledge and enthusiasm were fantastic so it made for a great afternoon. After the tour we had tea and cake (now Mark's 35 he can't take his beer anymore!) looking out over the bay before returning to Denham. Dinner was a BBQ (outdoor grill really!) and some lovely red wine from Margaret River and a special birthday viewing of the Tour de France.

We had a lie in on the Saturday and then went down to Monkey Mia for lunch before heading out on the Shotover Catamaran. We spent 4 hours on the water and had a brief sighting of the Dugongs but saw lots of Dolphins and Turtles. We docked back at Monkey Mia, picked up some cold beers from the Cafe and headed back out on the Shotover to watch the Sunset - bliss. Afterwards we headed back to Denham for another outdoor grill and a bit more cycling!

Our road trip was coming to an end as we made our way back to Perth. The drive was too much for one day so we left Denham and made it to Geraldton for the night. We stayed in another 'seafront villa' except this was more of a retirement bungalow that smelt of wee and old people - lovely - but we were so tired and it had a washing machine (woo hoo) so we decided to stay and had Spag Bol for tea, some more Margaret River wine and watched the final day of the Tour de France - Yippee! Such a shame Cadel Evans didn't win though, never mind there's always next year!!

We left Geraldton as early as we could to escape the smell of wee and made the final journey back to Perth. We stopped at GinGin on the way (see Mum H - we told you it was a real place!) and checked into an apartment on the other side of town from the hostel (no where near the train line), pasta for tea and an early night for the weary travellers.

We had to take the car back on Tuesday afternoon so we made the most of having transport and went across Perth to the Belmont Shopping centre (huge!) and posted another parcel home (which we'll definitely beat back) and picked up the last bits and pieces we needed before leaving Oz. We took to car back and chilled for the evening with a monster Stir-Fry before another early night.

So it was our last full day in Perth and the weather wasn't too good so decided not to head to Rottnest island but had another relaxed day (Pedicure and general girly stuff for Alicia and the papers for Mark). Things were moved around the apartment until we packed and then had dinner and sulked for most of the evening!

The time had come and the following morning we caught the shuttle back to the airport to board our flight to Singapore. We really have 'done' Australia this time, it's been amazing to catch up with family and friends and to see all the things we've longed to see every time we've been to Oz but haven't had time. Will we be back? - of course - but probably just to see people rather than places - Oz is really huge and very beautiful but there is a whole world to see so onwards we go - next stop Singapore!