Catching up with friends from home at Busselton

Busselton, WA

Sunday 18th- Friday 23rd December

The highlight of our time in Busselton was definitely catching up with our friends from Yarrawonga, Kelly, Simon, Logan and Lucas. I have known Kelly since we moved up to Bundalong, as Logan and Emilia were in kindergarten, then Prep together. The low-light was Emilia came down sick with Covid!

We still managed to have a great time, even though Emilia was confined to the van for a day and a half as she was too sick to do much else.

Whilst in Busselton:

- We caught up with Kelly, Simon and the boys at the foreshore on the day we arrived. While Kelly and I had a well overdue catch up (we chatted whilst standing in the calm bay keeping ourselves cool), the boys and the kids enjoyed jumping off the swimming pontoon, using the paddleboards and splashing around in the water. Later that afternoon/evening the adults enjoyed a few refreshing pale ales at a brewery overlooking the jetty, whilst the kids made the most of the awesome pirate themed playground on the foreshore.

- We went to Smith's Beach near Yallingup and tried to boogie board. The waves were dumping us though (I got dumped so badly a man on the beach was about to run in and rescue me!) so we just jumped waves and enjoyed the water instead. A big pod of dolphins swam by and put on a show for us.

- Then we popped into Canal Rocks, where we planned to have lunch and a look around, however Emilia started shivering and saying she felt unwell, so we hightailed it back to the caravan to RAT test her (which showed what we had suspected...she had Covid).

- The boys tried their luck night fishing off the Busselton Jetty but only caught a small squid which they used for bait to try to get the hundreds of herring they could see - but the herring didn't want the bait!

- While Emilia rested, Daniel, Jackson and I took turns spending time at the Busselton foreshore- snorkelling, jumping off the jetty and paddleboarding.

- We had a picnic dinner on the foreshore and enjoyed the sunset (this was Emilia's first time out of the caravan in about 30 hours, we kept her away from other people and the fresh air helped her).

- We went back to Kilcarnup beach hoping to get some more crayfish for Christmas. Unfortunately the conditions were not good. Jackson and Daniel still went out to try, but the swell was high and the visibility was terrible. Jackson tried his hardest to navigate the kayak (and himself) safely back to shore through the crashing waves, but one crashed right on the back of the kayak. It tipped the kayak over, sent Jackson flying and distributed Daniel's snare and catch bag on the sandy ocean floor. Daniel was trying to swim to Jackson and I ran in from shore but thankfully he was able to grab the kayak and guide it back in. He was very brave as it was a bit of scary situation. We spent the next 20 minutes walking along the ocean floor trying to find the snare, then Daniel went in with his mask and managed to find it! All of this excitement and no crayfish to show for it- luckily we'd kept some in the freezer for Xmas!

- I went walking with Kelly two mornings in a row. It was lovely walking along the foreshore chatting, then we treated ourselves to coffees with a view of the ocean and jetty. 

- Daniel and I battled the Christmas crowds to get all of our food for the Christmas feasts we had planned.

- We caught up with Kelly, Simon and the boys again on Thursday (when Emilia was feeling better and symptom free) and the kids and dads had a blast on the inflatables in the bay, while Kelly and I swam and talked. We finished off with dinner at the brewery.

We can certainly see why Busselton is such a popular holiday destination- and we were so lucky with the weather- 5 days of sunshine and minimal wind. But what really made my time (but also made me a bit homesick) was seeing Kelly.

Enjoying the foreshore beach with their mates from school.

It was so lovely to see Kelly.

The kids having a short break from the playground - they played for hours and didn't want to go home (even though it was nearly 8pm by the time we left).

Warming up after enjoying the waves at Smith's Beach.

Jackson and his sand mermaid...we got him a new hat on the way home!!

White sand, crystal clear water, rolling waves and dolphins - Smith's Beach was awesome!!

Emilia's last hour of feeling good before she went downhill fast......

...when we got home a few hours later she tested positive to Covid.

That afternoon, when Daniel and I had popped out for some Xmas shopping and the kids were relaxing in the caravan, a huge storm passed over. The hail was huge. The kids closed all the windows and hatch but couldn't lower the awning. Daniel and I got home just in time...the water and hail was pooling and the awning was about to break. The storm got us, but missed our friends who were staying only 2km down the road.

We watched the sun setting over the jetty after having a simple dinner on the foreshore.

She got her smile back after a day and half of feeling crappy and resting in the caravan.

The swimming area at Busselton - we all had fun jumping off.

On a mission to get some more crayfish for dinner...unfortunately the swell was too big (lucky we had some crayfish in the freezer).

Ready for a few hours of fun on the inflatables

Daniel had as much fun as the kids.

Afterwards we had dinner at the brewery while the kids enjoyed their last play together on the awesome foreshore playground.

Getting dumped by ferocious waves along the South West coast

Gracetown Caravan Park (Margaret River region), WA

Wednesday 14th - Sunday 17th December

On our way to the coast we stopped for a night at Chapman Pool campground on the Blackwood River. We spent Christmas here last trip so wanted to see if it was as nice as we remembered. It was still a lovely place, however the resident wildlife were a bit crankier this time. As soon as we pulled up I jumped out of the car to run to the toilet when I felt a gush of air zip past my head, when I looked up I saw a magpie had tried to swoop me. I ran to the toilet with my hands in the air, then walked the long way around to get back to the others. Unfortunately the bird didn't like me walking that way either and went in for the kill again! The magpie really didn't like females as it also had went Emilia quite a few times, even when she was just sitting at camp. It was super aggressive and we couldn't walk anywhere without a hat on (and our arms in the air shooing it away!). We still had a nice afternoon/evening there though - kayaking, swimming, relaxing in the hammock and then singing karaoke by the fire.

Carving it up on the log podium, by the last campfire we will be allowed to have for a while.

Jackson even got his air guitar out!

Gracetown

We stayed 3 nights at a lovely park just near Gracetown Beach, on the southwest coast (between Dunsborough and Augusta). The park had lots to do, so when we weren't at the beach we did mini golf, played tennis and enjoyed an outdoor movie. Unfortunately Jackson came down quite sick with Covid, so his time here wasn't as fun as it could have been. Thankfully he was only really sick for about 24 hours, so he still got some beach time.

The first afternoon we checked out Gracetown beach then headed to Margaret River surf beach hoping to catch some waves. The waves were huge and they were breaking quite close to shore. The beach also sloped down very steeply so you were in deep water quite quickly. We still decided to have a go and managed to catch a few waves in between being absolutely churned around in the water then dumped on the sand. It was fun, but a bit easier without our boards so we could swim under the waves! We finished up with a swim in the warm, fresh (ish) water in Margaret River (which flows to just before the ocean). 

The next day Jackson was sick so Daniel and I took turns taking Emilia out. Daniel took her into Margaret River for some shopping and a treat before a kayak in the bay at Gracetown Beach where they picked up a crayfish (that is now in the freezer for Xmas). In the afternoon I took her beach hopping- we went to Gas Bay (a beautiful, remote beach with big waves. We swam then walked along the beach), Gnarabap Beah (a calm, sheltered bay where we swam out the pontoon) then back to Margaret River Mouth for a float in the calm water.

Jackson was feeling a bit better by the next morning so we decided to check out a 4WD access only beach- Kilcarnup (or Joey's Nose as the locals call it). It was an absolutely beautiful spot. We swam and boogie boarded (and got dumped by a few huge waves again). Daniel went out to look for crayfish (with Jackson in the kayak ready to collect his catch). After only about half an hour he came back with 4 huge crays! We had 2 for dinner and gave the others to friends. We had a really great time at the stunning Kilcarnup Beach and hope to come back here again.

Smiling faces after opening presents Logan and Jenna had posted over.

We made the most of the mini-golf course at the caravan park.

We still had a few RAT tests so we were able to confirm that Jackson did have COVID. The test came up positive within a few seconds.

Crayfish No.1 (from Gracetown Beach with Emilia assisting)

Enjoying our mother-daughter afternoon at the beach- this is Gas Bay.

Our second beach - Gnarabup

The third beach on our beach hopping afternoon - Margaret River mouth.

What better way to warm up than a hot rock!

Jackson was heaps better the next day so we were all able to go the beach together

He even managed to go for a short boogie board.

Emilia and I made the most of the waves whilst the boys went looking for crayfish.

The conditions were great and they managed to get 4 big ones!

Kilcarnup Beach was so lovely....

White sand, rocky range behind the dunes...

Then crystal clear sparkling water (and being able to drive onto the beach is always a bonus)..

They were deservedly very proud of their haul.

Dinner was marinated crayfish with salad - amazing!

That night the kids and I enjoyed an outdoor movie under the stars at the caravan park, while Daniel went fishing (no luck though).

Nerves of Steel - The Crazy Katz Climb the Bicentennial Tree!

Pemberton Region

Sunday 11th- Wednesday 14th December

On our way through Pemberton we stopped at the Gloucester Tree, one of the 3 trees in the area that were used as fire lookouts and have since become popular trees to climb for those who want an adrenaline rush and a great view. However the Gloucester Tree and Diamond Tree are both closed for climbing at the moment, pending engineering and safety reports (we have heard that there is a high chance they won't be opened for climbing again). It was still an impressive tree to look at, and we all enjoyed the short walk through the surrounding forest which is full of incredible trees. 

We arrived at our destination, the RAC Karri Valley Resort, in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day enjoying the resort facilities - the pump track, playground and taking a walk to the nearby Beedelup Lake. After discussing it with the kids, we all decided we'd like to go back to the Bicentennial Tree (currently the tallest tree you can climb in the world) to see if we did have the courage to climb up it. We all got there raring to go, then after another quick family meeting at the first platform (20m high) we decided we all felt good and we wanted to climb the whole way. Playing on all of our minds was the high possibility that the tree would be closed for climbing by the time we made it back this way again.

Well we certainly didn't need to worry about the kids, they climbed up with ease and before we knew it we were all at the top platform - 65m above the forest floor. We had climbed up the 182 pieces of reo steel hammered into the tree in a spiral manner to form a rudimentary ladder. All without a safety harness!

It was an incredible view and we savoured it, whilst congratulating each other on our brag worthy feat. The climb down went just as well and we all made it back to the safety of hard ground unharmed. It was such an experience and I am so pleased that we were all able to do it together. I am so proud of our family- we certainly take up every available opportunity.

We spent the next day and half enjoying Lake Beedelup and the great facilities at the resort - paddle-boarding, kayaking, visiting the nearby waterfall, playing pool and table tennis and the kids carved it up on the pump track. Our stay at the Karri Valley resort was made even better by all the kangaroos that enjoyed the green grass around the caravan sites- at dusk they were everywhere. We had a great few days surrounded by the amazing trees of this area and we all left very satisfied that we'd risen to the challenge of the Bicentennial Tree climb.

The Gloucester Tree - the 53m high fire lookout tree near Pemberton.

The stump of this fallen down tree shows just how huge some of these trees are.

Emilia like this unusual tree that was growing sideways into a rotted tree stump.

The view from inside one of the huge trees

Just a few action shots for fun :)

CLIMBING THE BICENTENNIAL TREE

We were back at the campground the night after climbing the tree, cooking our dinner in the camp kitchen, when a fellow camper approached me to say she loved watching us climb the tree and that she had filmed us (as we'd made her day). We were so grateful to get this video.

The final ladder to the top platform (the easy bit, even though you were 60+m high, it was a normal ladder and you were in an enclosed space).

Me catching my breath- I think I held it most of the way up!!

We made it to the top!!

You could see so far - it was incredible.

One more selfie before we began our descent.

Jackson on the way down (he is just above the first platform)

Continuing our climb down (I was a bit slower!!).

This pic clearly shows the pegs that make up the ladder. There is mesh on the sides but nothing underneath you.

We passed a local avocado farm on the way back to camp. Avocados are apparently in abundance here at the moment, so this box was only $10. We have been living off guacamole!!

This joey was camera shy, when I went up to take a photo it stuck its head into the pouch!

It finally built up the courage to look at us.

Enjoying Lake Beedelup (warming up after a swim).

Emilia and I went for a walk to the Beedelup Falls on our last morning there, we did the extra side walk to this awesome tree that you could walk through.

The very tall, walk-through tree.

Crossing the suspension bridge over Beedelup Falls.

It was pretty hard to take a selfie from the wobbly suspension bridge.

Looking over Lake Beedelup after our 7km walk around it (via the walk-through tree and Beedelup Falls). Jackson and Daniel also did the track - Daniel ran and Jackson rode.