We're now back in good old Fremantle after spending a very hectic but enjoyable three days touring the south west of WA. We saw gorgeous bays, fantastic rock formations, and sampled some lovely wines. But first, last week we hopped on the ferry to visit Rottnest Island, which can be found about 20kms out to sea from Perth.The island is tiny, only about eight miles across, so the best way of seeing it by bike. Now considering I haven't ridden since I was about ten, and Matt used to cycle 14 miles a day between Coventry and Kenilworth, you can imagine who had the upper hand. Lets just say he seemed to free wheel his way around while I was panting like a hippo. But it was fun. The island used to be a penal colony, but it is now the premier tourist attraction for Perth families. But because we're here in winter, it was practically deserted. No cars are allowed on the island so we pretty much had it all to ourselves, apart from passing the odd cyclist here and there going in the opposite direction. We did a circular route of the island, stopping off at lots of gorgeous bays with soft white sand and clear blue water. Hmm, this is the life! We were shattered by the end of it and I was a little saddle sore but it had been great. Especially because we'd also seen some Quokkas - tiny wallabies only 30cm high that populate the island. Very cute! On Saturday morning we had an early start for the beginning of our tour. And there were actually only four of us on it - me and Matt, Jack and Agathe - with our driver Todd showing us the sights. It was cool. Because there were so few of us, Todd practically chucked the itinerary out the window and just did what he fancied. This included driving up to Kings Park to watch the sunrise over the Perth skyscrapers, and a quick dash to City Beach for an early morning dip in the sea. Now being as it was 7.15am on a winter morning, me and Agathe declined. But the three boys changed into their swimmers and went rushing in. It was hilarious. The rest of the tour continued in the same vein. We visited museums, gorgeous white beaches where the sand crunched like fresh snow, and climbed up gorges for fantastic views for miles around. On Sunday, after getting up early to see another sunrise over the sea, we went to the Valley of the Giants. This is a unique forest of ancient trees which date from prehistoric times and can only be found in this corner of the world. We walked along the elevated tree top walk which rises to 40 metres high for brilliant views over the tree canopies. We were also going to go whale watching but the weather was awful so the trip was cancelled. In fact, the paper yesterday said a tornado with winds up to 250kph destroyed a town not far from where we were! Instead we visited Jewel Cave, which was a huge underground cavern full of strange rock formations. Not a bad alternative then. The trip had been great, but very tiring with so much sight seeing. So instead of going on another organised trip up north, we're getting there under our own steam. We've hired a car for five days and are going to hit the road to Monkey Mia - where wild dolphins come and nuzzle your feet as you paddle in the water. Glorious! And because we're going north, let's hope the sun will shine! Lots of love, Nikki xxx