Breakfast at Hillarys Harbour

This morning we met Fudge and Rose at Hillarys Harbour. We had breakfast at Hippo Creek, a South African-owned restaurant. Very up-market! Gourmet meals! The harbour is a lovely complex of shops,stalls, boardwalk, restaurants, coffee shops and ice cream parlours. There is a beach and picnic area within the harbour, popular with families as the swimming is safe and calm. There is also a funfair and supertubes. It was a very pleasant way to spend a saturday morning. The Browns are always good company, besides the fact that Al instantly regresses to age 15 in Fudge's presence!

We will definitely be doing this when Mom comes over!

The Skatepark.Check it out, Robbie!

We have a skatepark round the corner and Josh takes himself off, all to often, to try out the ramps on his bike. The skatepark is part of a communal facility with sports fields and clubhouse adjoining a small shopping complex. Last weekend they had a bmx and skateboarding event at the park which was well attended.

Chris' 18th Birthday

On the 12th February Chris celebrated his 1st adult birthday and his 1st birthday in Australia! We can't believe our little Borgachov is grown up! He was very spoilt and, as it seems to be a tradition now in the Bushney family, received a car from Dad and Mom. The whole Bushney bunch went out to dinner at a quaint restaurant on the coast at Trigg Beach.We were joined by Cass, a very lively friend of Kirsty and Laura. Chris had a lovely surprise when he received a GPS from Gus, Patsy and cousins! Just the perfect gift for a newcomer in Perth! Thanks for all the wellwishes and presents from abroad too!

After a lovely meal, we headed off for ice creams at Hillarys Harbour.

Koalas and Kangaroos.

Life has been pretty hectic since we arrived. Settling in takes up a lot of time, so it was great to take some time out last weekend when we visited Caversham Wildlife Park, situated in a reserve called Whitemen Park, about 20 min drive away. Bruce joined us for the day and we had some good laughs and great fun meeting the local wildlife.

After the animals we walked around the park, took in a car show and then caught a tram around the park. That was about as much sightseeing as Chris, Mike and Bruce could take and they headed off to the beach.

It is a great place for a picnic or barbeque, will definitely be heading back there!

Australia Day

On Monday the 26th January, it was Australia Day and our first experience of such a phenomenon! A few days before, we noticed people flying Ozzie flags from their cars and then more and more flags appeared even from balconies, gardens, shops and everywhere. It is a day of great celebration and most of Perth makes their way, either tothe city or some other designated spot on the coast, to picnic or barbeque and generally marinate themselves while awaiting the fireworks show.

We avoided the masses in the city and went to Quinns Beach, north of the city, had a picnic and the kids swam.We took a short walk to Mindarie Keys, a marina with hotel, pubs and restaurants. A lovely day all in all!