Lebanese feast

On our way back from Margaret River we stopped in Gracetown, a lovely little bay, as well as in Cowaranup, a cute tiny little town where we got yummy fudge.
For dinner, back on the balcony in Fremantle, we had a feast of Lebanese food - it was extraordinary!

At the most South-Western point of Australia

What a fantastic day we had, exactly one month ago.
We drove down to the lovely town of Augusta, at the most South-Western point in Australia and climbed the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. The wind up there was incredibly strong and the view just fantastic! We saw the exact spot where the Southern and the Indian oceans meet.
Ben took us to see dolphins - it was incredibly beautiful to see the three of them swimming together to the surface, and coming to see the people who were canoeing nearby.
And afterwards we went to the most fantastic beach ever, in Hamelin Bay. The water was very cold but so clear and beautiful!

Australia Day

What I liked on Australia Day 2010: (in no particular order)

- the beautiful countryside along the straight straight roads we drove on
- the huge tree Ben and I climbed (all the way to the top, at 62 meters from the ground!)
Can you see the little blue thing in the middle of the left of picture 4? That's me climbing the tree!
- the wonderful tiling in the shower at Peppermint Brook Cottage
- the yummy meat pies we had for dinner
- the smell of the peppermint trees
- the kangaroo who crossed the road right in front of our car
- the bright blue and green feather I found in the forest
- the huge spearmint frappe I had in Pemberton

Down to Margaret River

(1) On the 2-kilometer-long pier in Busselton

(2 - 5) the wonderful vegetation along the shore, close to Margaret River

(6) fantastic beaches all along - also when the weather is a bit overcast and the water not very warm

(7) great wind makes for impressive jumps and beautiful waves

(8) kangaroos having their late afternoon-tea when the temperature goes down

(9) the peppermint tree our cottage was named after.

Ben's b-day

A month ago exactly it was Ben's birthday... We swam in the pool, had drinks at Little Creatures, enjoyed yet another fantastic sunset and had mussels and shrimps on the balcony... A beautiful relaxing summer day.

More family

Mart's mum (Lesley), dad (Gavin) and brother (Ben) live in Fremantle. His sisters (Kate and Mad) live in Sydney.
Mad took the 5-hour long flight to Perth to come and spend a week with us in Western Australia.

We went to pick her up at the airport - it's so great to be able to hug someone straight off the plane! We never get to do this in Europe; we always have to go through customs and security first.



To celebrate Ben's birthday, Gavin took us all to a fantastic French restaurant. Mmmmh... my mouth still waters when I think of the creme brulee we had for desert..

At the beach

Cottesloe beach.
Wonderful swim in the waves, lovely late-afternoon sun and yummy ice creams.

(1 & 2) lifesavers in their rowing boat, training.
These photos make me think of the book by this artist that we bought in Sydney a few weeks later.

(3) there's nothing healthy about a tan.

(4) groceries to make yummy things (anzac biscuits for Australia day and cheesecake for Ben's birthday).

Beautiful Fremantle

I could never keep my camera in my bag for very long when we were walking through Fremantle. The city center is full of very well preserved 19th-century buildings, interesting new architecture and delightful little details that I couldn't bear to miss.

Photo (5) was taken by Mart.

Perth botanical gardens

Kings Park, Perth. Botanical gardens.
Wonderful views of the city.
Fantastic plants.
Sunny happy day.

And on the way back to Fremantle. The flour mill.