Happy Xmas

Halle and Louie, South Beach, Port Denison, Western Australia

Not a creature is stirring at Monkey Mia, except...

Green sea turtle

Baby dolphin being playful

Puck shows off to her audience

Yours truly feeding Puck

A starfish doesn't escape notice

Pelican magic

A monitor comes to see what the fuss is about

It's the day before Christmas at Monkey Mia and all the creatures have come out to play. I hope you all have a wonderful festive season wherever you are and, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, enjoy the holidays with your loved ones.
Merry Christmas/happy holidays,
Renee, Halle and Louie xxx

The season to be jolly

Outback humour

Just when tennis balls thought it was safe to go back to the beach...

Sally and Ruby from Ballarat demonstrate the best doggie playpen ever.

Ellendale Pool near Geraldton stole my heart

Pink reflection at Port Gregory's pink lake

Kalbarri has been one of my favourite destinations so far

I think Louie is an old hand at caravan life now

Halle wants to rescue the buoy at Kalbarri

11 emu chicks drinking at Denham (there were 15 chicks in total!)

Our halfway point in time and distance: Monkey Mia

When blogger sucks

I've been trying so hard to upload photos and posts to blogger this past week and it won't let me!
Completely frustrating and thumbs down to you Blogger. Get your act together!
We are in gorgeous Kalbarri at the moment, but I can't show you just how lovely it is, boo.
It was with huge relief that we arrived here after enduring 5 days of 40+ degree Celcius temperatures with no adequate shade and only low growing shrub. Now we are on a site with huge tropical trees that create a cave of shade for my little van and car and most importantly, the pooches.
We are across the road from the Murchison River which is lovely and calm and warm to swim in.
We are nearing our halfway point in time and distance which feels a bit surreal but also like a huge achievement. I've towed Elsa 9,000km peeps! Not bad for a first timer .
Hopefully (are you listening Blogger?) I'll be able to post to you over Christmas at our halfway destination.

Bad blogger

Oh, I've been such a bad blogger lately.
I haven't taken any photos in over a week. It's hard to juggle two exuberant doggies on their leads, a handbag and a camera all at once, and that's the problem, we've mostly been at places where the dogs have to remain on leads ALL THE TIME.
Coming up to Christmas things are about to get trickier as those few caravan parks that do accept dogs close that window of opportunity until the end of January. We'll be doing a fair bit of 'bush camping' and side of the road camping I think.
Today we're in Port Denison in a luxurious (by my standards) Big4 caravan park. We're right next to Granny's beach, where I found a dead shark yesterday evening, and black crabs eating it's stomach. It was a small one with a camouflage pattern on its tail, I don't know what sort yet. There was also a tiger shark sighting at South Beach, where I walk the dogs in the morning.
Today is a bit cooler than yesterday. The temperature has increased dramatically since we drove north of Perth. The dogs are coping better than me with the heat but today we're all happy.
We've booked into our special destination for Christmas, so at least we won't be spending that on the side of the road!
I hope you're all happy and excited and organised in the lead up to Christmas.
I'll try and take more pictures, promise. xxx

I found my mojo at Lake Navarino

Halle auditions for Survivor by trying to start a fire

Too adorable for words

What do you mean there are no mattresses and doonas on Survivor?

Elsa in her element

We did some bush camping at Lake Navarino and I could have stayed there indefinitely. It was private, shaded and lovely to swim in. A nice contrast to the coast. 

Ducks would wander up from the lake and forage about the campsite. Australian 'Twenty-eight' Ringneck parrots dropped gumnuts on top of Elsa and Rusty (my ute) with loud accuracy. The camp caretaker was a loveable Kiwi who I chatted to for hours. 

I got inspired. I wrote. It was a turning point in our trip.

Close encounter

Eye to eye with a wild dolphin

Synchronised swimming

I had the most incredible encounter with wild dolphins this week. No, we're not in Monkey Mia, we were in Bunbury south of Perth at the Dolphin Discovery Centre. The difference is, these wild dolphins come to interact with people by choice. They're not enticed by food (as with Monkey Mia). These dolphins are incredibly curious and love to interact with people.
It really took my breath away. Four wild bottlenose dolphins swam up and down a line of about 15 spectators, and seemed to respond more to people with cameras as if to say, "Did you get my good side? How about if I do this?"
I was spellbound for more than an hour in water up to my hips just watching them. I can't recommend this experience enough and it really is affordable. You pay $10 for three visits and can use any remaining visits a month, two months, three years down the track.
This is as close as you'll ever get to wild dolphins and the experience will stay with you forever.

This moment

{inspired by Soulemama} "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Dog travelling tips #1

Eight weeks into our trip, I thought I’d jot down some discoveries that I’ve made while travelling with dogs. A bit of a do and don’t list that anybody can refer to, and that I can refer back to.

I’m very lucky in the fact that Halle and Louie are good car travellers. I know many dogs get motion sickness and are just miserable in a car. When this happens, not only are they down in the dumps but usually the whole family feel it too, especially if you have to clean up any doggy vomit, or worse! In that scenario, I would probably recommend a trusted pet sitter while you go on holidays.

Things to note when travelling with dogs:

• If you don’t look after yourself, then you can’t look after them. Keep yourself healthy, hydrated and don’t push yourself too hard. It’s easy to get overtired on the road.
•  Have regular rest stops. Travelling through South Australia and Western Australia I’ve found the rest stops very well signed. The signs will tell you if there are toilets, picnic tables, and even if you’re allowed to camp there overnight. In saying that, I’ve become a little particular about the type of rest stops I pull over in. They need to have trees for shade and, of course, for Louie to cock his leg on! They need to be set well back from the road with a decent vegetation buffer so that there’s less risk of the dogs running on the road. Toilets are a bonus. Even if you don’t desperately need to go, it’s a good idea to use them while the opportunity presents itself, because you don’t know when you’ll have another chance. If there’s a tap to wash your hands and fill a bowl for the dogs, that is also a good thing. And lastly, if the stop is beside a picturesque river, lake, or shoreline, then PULL OVER! Louie and Halle’s favourite rest spot was in a lovely little recreation reserve in a small town in South Australia where a fellow traveller fed them leftover lamb roast for morning tea;)
• Water, water, water. Take it with you, fill a bowl and make sure they have an opportunity to drink whenever you stop, even if they don’t drink it. They can’t tell you when they’re thirsty and they can get dehydrated very easily. Early on in our journey I was remiss in not offering them water at every stop, until one day when we returned from a beach I saw them both go straight to their water bowl and drank deeply from it at the same time. I felt so guilty I immediately took them out for a swim to cool down.
•  Think about where you park. If you need to go to the shops, or to the bathroom, then think about where you’re parking the car and van for the dogs’ sakes. I have driven round in circles many times (with a van on the back!) until I found a suitably shady parking spot that’s quiet and safe. Crack both the windows, leave a bowl of water on the floor for them, and make sure they’re comfortable. If they need to be walked first to do their business, then do that first before shopping. If there’s more than one of you, then tag team so that one of you remains with the dogs.
•  Try not to leave them for very long alone. I have become something of a speed shopper, knowing the dogs are in the car waiting. It’s easy for 10 minutes to turn into 30 minutes, and we all know how hot cars can get, even in the shade.
• Keep the dogs on lead! This is a no brainer, but it’s easy to get complacent. I was given a wake-up call when I went through the quarantine checkpoint on the South Australia/Western Australia border. A lovely inspector there told me that the state governments had laid strychnine baits everywhere to try to eradicate a population explosion in dingos and wild dogs. She said even though they were laid well away from the roads, these baits were often ingested by birds, which could then eliminate them as tiny pellets along the roadside. Having my mum lose a beloved dog to fox bait, I know it’s a terrible, painful way for them to die.
• Quarantine restrictions. Another helpful hint I learned from the lady at the quarantine checkpoint is that long-haired dogs will be checked for grass seeds and prickles. Make sure your dog has been brushed thoroughly before passing through this checkpoint, particularly if they don’t like strangers handling them.

Stayed tuned for the next instalment!

Time out for me

40 metres high

Fonty's Pool

These are the looks they give me when I tell them to act happy!

King and Queen of the sheep paddock

The glorious Fonty's Pool is a springwater fed pool.

This tree is called Grandma Tingle in the Valley of the Giants

I've been so busy looking after the dogs and making sure they're happy and comfortable, it was nice to take some time out for me along the south coast. I went for a walk in the Valley of the Giants among the giant Red Tingle and Karri trees. It was breathtaking.
Then at the end of the day I went swimming in a spring fed lake at beautiful Fonty's Pool. Halle was so jealous I went swimming without her;)

Where two oceans collide

Halle is outraged we are leaving the southern coast

Spot the dog

Why is Augusta cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter? The Indian and Southern Oceans mediate the land temperature and Cape Leeuwin is where the two oceans meet.
Now we head north along the west coast and I'm looking forward to seeing the spectacular sunsets over the ocean that I remember from my time in Perth 18 years ago.

The south west tip

A bad photo of a beautiful 1976 Viscount called 'Wattle'

Another surfing sculpture that caught my eye

The lovely John, Tracey and Gloria outside the 1977 11ft Modern

Here we are in beautiful Augusta, the south west tip of Australia. I've been AWOL for a couple of weeks 'bush camping' along the beautiful southern coast.
Can I just say, Denmark is an absolute treasure of the south west. It had it all. Beautiful beaches (tick), op shops and craft shops (tick), award winning bakery with scotch oven (tick), peaceful river (tick), friendly people (tick), a close community feel (tick).
We mostly camped at Parry Beach, and it was here folks that I finally, finally, saw some other old caravans being put to the use they were intended. I felt right at home amongst the friendly folk at the beach talking and touring old caravans.

Postcards

She blinked, doh!

Halle and Louie like to play a game called 'keepings off the waves'

Pure white sand makes perfect backdrop

Waiting for me to resume play

Louie isn't so subtle!

This is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, and we had it all to ourselves!
We're on the southern coast of Western Australia and following the beaches.
This place reminded me so much of beautiful Baja California (without the cacti) and I strung up my hammock for quite a few days to relax and unwind.
Halle and Louie were happy to see the water again and go for a run.