Firstly I hope that Lynda and Andy got your anniversary card – Happy Anniversary anyway. Adam and Bob went to Joondalup Golf Course for a round of golf, it’s the no. 1 golf resort in Australia apparently – Bob says that it was expensive and gave it 3/5 for value and 5/5 for condition. They had a good round, the weather was lovely and they had a couple of spectators that they hadn’t expected but made it a more interesting round !. See picture
In the meantime TJ and I went looking for a spa session but everyone seemed to be booked for the day so we ended up in a shopping mall and then in the library on the internet looking for jobs for the kids and accommodation in Brisbane –
When the boys had finished their round of golf they walked back to the house and we all went to the local swimming pool where we had an hours fun on a mini rapid ride in the pool and where we were given a history lesson from a Bosnian man in the sauna !
Day 9 Wednesday 9th July
Chill day today, so lazy morning and a big brunch before we set off for the library again – still looking for jobs – so far everyone seems to want 3 months contracts not 1 month or less. Adam managed to find 2 jobs and organized an interview for Thursday morning in Freemantle. While we were out and about we came across a fluffy zebra called Nici, we introduced her to Ziggy (Adam and Tjs travelling companion) and they seem to like each other !
Day 10 Thursday 10th July
Adam dropped us off in Perth City and set off for his interview in Freemantle, we took an orientation walking tour of the city with a nice lady called June who had been in Perth for 38 years, amazingly she came from Bedworth !!! We noted a few places of interest and after the tour we sat in the Lucky Shag Bar having a drink, overlooking the Swan River and going through the leaflets we had collected. We decided that after Adam returned from his interview we would go and see the Australian Mint.
The Perth Mint produced the medals for the 2000 Olympics and we watched an ingot of pure gold being made! It was worth around au$ 200,000 – they wouldn’t let us touch it though- can’t think why not ! After the tour we bought a wedding present for Adam and TJ – you will have to wait and see what it is until after the wedding ….
Day 11 Friday 11th July
Friday is apparently the best day to visit Freemantle aas they have a market on from 9am til 9pm. However, nobody said it was the best day so long as it didn’t rain !!! It appeared to be a big market but in reality it is more than half fruit and veg so we spent an hour wandering through as the rain pounded the tin roof. We all bought a clip for our belts to hang our bottles of water onto – very useful – and Bob bought a baseball hat (as if he needs another one !) and TJ bought a really nice Australian bush hat. As the rain stopped we walked to the docks and found another market with a food hall so we sat down for lunch and the rain came again. Once it was finished we walked across to the Maritime Museum but it was 3.30 by now and we had missed the last tour of the day so we wandered around, looking at the boats and information on the history of Freemantle and an art exhibition of mine sites in the north of Perth. We caught the CAT bus which is free back near to the carpark and after looking around for somewhere to eat, realized that they were all fast food shops so we decided to drive towards home, not on the freeway, but along the coast road and eventually we came across a restaurant called Trigg – it was nautical themed inside, the food smelled delicious and we could just about see the sea through the windows overlooking the beach. Tummies full again we drove home, lit the fire and got the cards out for another round of Sevens.
Day 12 Saturday 12th July
For once we got up reasonably early and set off for CavershamWildlife Park about 30 minutes away. The weather was fairly good but the park looked empty so we weren’t sure about it but once inside we had a great time. We looked at all the birds, owls, possums and funny looking ratty things etc. but then we came across the kangaroos who were loose in a field where you could go in and stroke them and feed them – we found a couple of kangaroos that had joeys in their pouch and we got them to pop their heads out. Then we were passing the koala enclosure when the keeper called us to come in, so we stroked them and he told us that they sleep for 20 hours a day because they only eat eucalyptus leaves which only give them 3% of protein so they don’t have any energy. It was now time for the farm show to start so we ambled over to find, a big mummy pig and about 12 baby piggies, a donkey, some ponies and a lama and goats along with rabbits and guinea pigs. Once again they encourage us to stroke and feed them with food pellets. Then the show began, with swinging a billy can full of water (Bob had a go and didn’t spill a drop. Then cracking a whip – TJ had a go at this (especially as she had her new hat on) and impressed everyone by making it crack. Then we watched 2 dogs round up half a dozen sheep and pen them so that the shearer could show us how to shear a sheep. Amazing these were Marino sheep so their wool is the most expensive, the farmer took 10 mins to shear her, (he gets $2.40 per sheep and can shear up to 150 on a good day) and he said the fleece was worth about 25$ to him but after it had been cleaned and ready for use it would make 3 wool suits which would retail at about 1500$ each! Then it was time for the cow to be milked so TJ and I joined the queue to have a go – it was very warm and with instruction fairly easy to do. We were very hungry by now so we set off for the café for a sandwich and a drink and then decided to go and find the chocolate factory. When we arrived the place was packed and after squeezing into the shop we realized it was just that, a shop, so we squeezed out again and went across the road to try out some wine tasting. This was a bit expensive so we tried another one up the road and liked it much more so we bought a dozen bottles – that should keep us happy for the next 3 weeks.
Day 13 Sunday 13th July
Well, we decided to have a lie in this morning, Bob and I read our books, and Adam and TJ updated their blog. Bob said he would make brunch and put a glass plate in the oven thinking it was pyrex – it wasn’t and it cracked. After breakfast/brunch outside in the sunshine we phoned the owner of the house we are renting to say that we had the cash now to pay for the house so she called in for it. Then Bob and I went out looking for golf courses for him and Adam to play on Monday as Adam is hoping that he will have a job by Tuesday. The afternoon was spent, relaxing, and writing up dairies, watching tv then we all dressed up as we were going out for dinner with Rachael (an old friend from Coventry).
Day 14 Monday 14th July
This morning I couldn’t get out of bed so TJ took Bob and Adam to the Carramar Golf Course and returned for me by which time I had managed to shower and have breakfast. Bob and Adam tied up with a guy called Mike who was 75 yrs old and South African and had lived in Perth for 11 years. Mike showed them round the 1st 9 holes then waved bye. The course wasn’t in too bad a condition considering they had only paid $19 (£9.50) for 18 holes. The greens were very wet and soft but very fast with clever undulations so they got a lot of getting used to but Bob managed to birdie the first one, value for money was 4/5 and condition 2.5/5. In the meantime TJ and I went to the internet café to check our emails, which cost us around $5 for half an hour, then into the library as internet is free in there, although we can’t receive or send emails from there. By now we were ready for lunch so we stopped for a sandwich in the sunshine and then made our way to pick up the boys so that we could all go for a swim and sauna. During our time at the library we had gathered lots of info on jobs and accommodation for Brisbane so we wanted to go back to the internet café but we decided to make a drive to one in Scarborough, about 25 miles away, as they had a webcam and there was no restriction on plugging in computers, memory sticks etc. As we powered up Tj shouted there’s a mouse, the owner thought she was asking for a mouse and was coming across the café with a computer mouse! He was shocked when we explained that she had seen a real mouse run into the café. Anyway, after a short chat with Lucy and Daniel and Charlie we logged off and set off for home, starving hungry and ready for dinner.
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