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Perth, Freemantle and Nemo 23/03/05 - 24/03/05

Went into the city where Jim bought a traditional Ozzy Akubra and then we caught the train in to Freemantle where we went on a tour of the prison and saw where they used to hang people! Nice! It was a boiling hot day and turned out to be 42'c!! Went Didge shopping so Jim could spend some more money! Headed back into the city and found a pub to have a few beers! Hit Northbridge that night, but was quite quiet and even though I hadn't had a lot to drink, when Jim got the Sambucca in it still made me ill! Have decided that I must be allergic to that stuff!

Next day we minced around the city for a few hours and sat by the river having a beer! Rode the free CAT bus round for about an hour (it would have taken 15 mins to walk) to go and fetch the campervan. NEMO - it was a tin on wheels but I loved it already! Took it for a drive around and then went food shopping for our big camping trip! Mark and Lesley were going out tonight so I offered to look after the kids, dropped Jim off to get a tattoo done (got stopped and breathalised on the way) and headed home! When Lesley and Mark got home we had to load the campervan Mark was a little pissed and managed to pull down a shelf in the laundry room while trying to get a load of stuff down for us! Eventually got van all loaded and looked forward (yeah right) to our 5am start!!!

Next stop who knows - we're heading North..........................................................

Jim Arrives - Tuesday March 22nd 2005

Today was the day Jim arrived. Went to pick him up from the airport in Lesley's car - got completely lost coming home - but took a nice tour of the city! Told Jim what the plan was for the next few weeks and then went to the pool for a swim - but it turned into more of a gossip session - catching up on all the goings on!

Monday March 21st 2005

Spent most of the day updating this bloody website as I was seriously behind on it, (anyone sensing a pattern!) Then in true Luisa style I hit the shops - Target again! Tonight was homework night at Casa Del Power so it was spelling and Maths for me!

Casa Del Power Part 2 18/03/05 - 20/03/05

Got up mid-morning as was still recovering from my three day super tour! Managed to catch up on Passions and Oprah! Checked my email and minced around the house all day. When the kids came back from school we went swimming at the pool so it wasn't a completely wasted day!

Saturday, and both Lesley and Mark had to work so I offered to look after the kids, we just messed around the park with the dogs and in the evening went and had a picnic by the Swan River - very relaxing watched the sun set and the kids had a swim.

Up early this Sunday morning as Fay was doing the Weetbix Kids Triathlon - mad! It was a good morning got to sit in the sun and cheer all the kids on - rather them than me! In the afternoon we went out for Mark's Mum's Birthday to a place called Hilary's at Sorrento and got to meet the rest of Mark's family! Had a wander around the shopping centre and saw some of the smallest jellyfish ever! Headed home to watch the home movie of Fay's triathalon!

Southwest Whirlwind Tour 15/03/05 - 17/03/05

Early start as Mark dropped me off at the tourist bus station for me to join my tour of the southwest! Loads of driving in the morning until we reached our first destination of Porongurup, where we stopped at the Jingalla winery to do some tasting and some buying! Hic! Then off to climb up a big mountain! Obvioulsy the most sensible thing to do after a wine tasting! Climbed to the top and visited balancing rock - I still don't know how it stands up! Headed off to Middleton beach - via a strawberry farm - so we could munch of them on the beach! It was cold and windy on the beach but there was still some crazy guy trying to catch some waves! Headed to Albany for our first nights accommodation and our free beer at the local pub!

Up at some ridiculous time the next morning as we had so much to cram in! First stop Frenchman's Bay - apparently where some Frenchman landed! Stopped for a BBQ'd toasted sandwich in Denmark and visited some "blowholes" - quite entertaining as when you sat above them they blew your hair straight on end! Drove to Green Pools - a stunning natural lagoon - went for a swim - bloody freezing! Headed onwards to the Valley of The Giants - a Karri Forrest with it's own "Tree Top Walk" suspended 42m up in the air. Visited a honey winery and bought some honey wine - as you do! Last stop for the day was the bicentennial tree which at 52m high had metal spikes sticking out the side so you could climb up it - which I did all the way to the top! Arrived in Pemberton at a log cabin in the woods for our second nights accommodation! Had a BBQ dinner where I tried kangaroo, and we all played didgerido - I was crap but it was entertaining. Did some star gazing on the way back to the cabin, saw the southern cross, orions belt but even better saw Jupiter and Saturn, the sky at night here is amazing!

Up again in the middle of the night (5am) and drove through the Karri Forrest on the way to Mammoth Cave - where we did a tour of the underground cave! Drove to Margaret River and Cravalee Beach where they were having the Solomon World Surfing Championship - although we couldn't see anything as they had closed it all off to traffic! More wineries today but also a cheese factory where I discovered Pickled Onion cheese! Also a chocolate factory where I discovered onion and thyme marmalade - admittedly not what you would expect to find at a chocolate factory but still bloody lovely! Visited Canal Rocks - just looked like rocks to me and then on to Bunbury and on to a boat go and find some dolphins. Drove back to Perth and caught the bus back to Lesley and Marks; where I collapsed after my whirlwind adventure!!

Casa Del Power Part 1 07/03/05 - 14/03/05

I went to stay with some family who lived just outside Perth city centre. I'll explain now for people who don't already know! Lesley is my Uncle John's sister! Mark is her husband and William and Fay are their kids!

Lesley and the kids came to pick me up from Cottesloe and take me to stay with them. First day there I got to sit in a pool while drinking wine and chat to some real ozzies at a friend of Lesley's birthday! Spent the next day on my arse in front of the T.V trotting to decide what I wanted to see while I was on the West Coast! The day was broken up by a visit to the doctors as a mozzy bite from Bali had now got a serious infection and my foot had swollen to twice it's normal size! $50 and a weeks worth of strong antibiotics later - I was back at home having a divine home cooked meal and messing around with the kids. The next few days were spent planning Williams sixth birthday so shopping played a large part - this is when I discovered "Target" officially the best shop in the world (so far) and really cheap! Managed to do some campervan research for my trip up North and got to go out for a lovely meal with Lesley and two of her friends! Home cooked meals and dinner out I could get used to this!!!

Spent a day away from party central to wander around Perth, posted some stuff home as physically couldn't carry it all! Visited the Perth Mint - which sounds lame but was actually quite cool - when I got to see them melting gold!!

Saturday me, Mark and the kids went to Caversham wildlife park - where I got to see and feed my first kangaroo! Also got to hold what is probably the fattest wombat in the world ever! As the day was a stifling 42 degrees!!! We headed to City Beach where Fay shamed me by body surfing her way back to shore as I mainly tried not to drown in the waves!!! The next day was Williams birthday party - twenty kids running wild around a water park! It was a good day but by the end of it I was totally shattered, got home and fell asleep on the sofa!

Not many people will probably believe this but Monday March 14th 2005 - was the day Luisa went and actually did a hard days graft helping Mark put up some window guards that he had made. The day continued to get weirder as I actually cooked dinner - Beef Stroganoff - and we all survived to tell the tale and it was bloody lovely!!!

Next stop on my whirlwind tour was a three day trip to the South West of Australia, stay tuned............................

West Coast 1st Installment 03/03/05 - 06/03/05

First stop was Cottesloe - a beach for a change! Arrived there after waiting for the shuttlebus for about an hour at the airport! After getting harassed by customs/immigration about my intentions while I'm in Australia! Anyway arrived at the hostel and dumped my bags and went on a wander to make some friends! Ended up on the beach drinking cheap wine and singing random songs - The Baywatch theme - anyone!?! A few more days in Cottesloe consisted of making a sand mermaid while sunning myself on the beach, a drunken game of Twister and a homemade burger BBQ! Sunday March 6th - was a labour day weekend and they had a massive Sunday Session - where all the "bogans" appeared and complete with their cowboy hats and Euts - with "Bundy Bitch Chaser Stickers", and proceeded to get completely wasted - I joined them at about 10.30pm but me sober and them drunk was not a good combination - so I left!