Oz - The West coast journey

Perth
We flew into Perth and were looking forward to some Australian sunshine. Instead we were greeted with the type of climate you would expect to find in Manchester - cold, wet and windy. The following day, however, the sun shined and it hasn't stopped since. Perth is a lovely city and the most isolated one in the world. As in keeping with our holiday we started off pretty actively but have now slipped into the local, laid back approach to life. We (of course) went on a tour of the local vineyards and sampled plenty of fine wines. During one of the tasting sessions the guy pouring the wine announced to the group that I had the perfect nose for sampling the wine - I have no idea what on earth he could possibly have meant! We started off with good intentions of remembering the best wines but they all blended into one for me. Tree was far more discerning and now likes 'wooded Chardonnay'. She can taste subtle hints of melon, cigar and chocolate. All I can taste is woodpecker cider - and I kept getting my nose stuck in the glass!
It was good to meet up with my relatives so far away from home. Joe, Robin, Richard and Meg took us on a tour of Perth showing us the sites and taking us for a lovely meal. Joe and Richard also took us to see the local football team, Perth Glory, play in the A league. What a treat! Bottom of the league and without a win all season. They were playing the next to the bottom team. What a thriller. Imagine Everton v. Bolton and you're nearly there. We were hoping for a high scoring classic but the Glory lost one-nil and the manager was promptly sacked the next day. Still we had a good time and it was good to get my fix of footy.
Our last few days in Perth were spent in the beautiful King's Park, biking around the lovely Rottnest Island and drinking coffee in the relaxed Freemantle. On the last day we were due to get a coach up the coast but the laid back taxi service cut that short. We ended up sprinting through the city in 'rush' hour with our fully loaded backpacks in the searing heat. Obviously we missed the coach, our connection and our three days overlooking the Ocean in Kalbarri. Stranded in Perth our relatives once again came to the rescue. They kindly provided a fantastic bed and breakfast facility, a jacuzzi, a taxi service, hot meals, wine and more expert advice. On our last night they took us to one of Perth's fine beaches for the traditional Aussie BBQ on the beach. It was great to watch the glorious sunset whilst having a cold beer and eating good food. However, it reminded us of the biggest single problem with Australia. Not the crocs, sharks, redbacks, jellyfish and snakes - but the Aussie FLY. These are the most persistent b******s you could possibly imagine. You can swot a fly away ten times and it will still come back and starting eating you face. Imagine 50 of them doing the same. It's worse spending an hour on a Saturday afternoon in Primark or Ikea.

Coral Bay
We set off from the fine city of Perth for a mere 19 hours coach journey to Coral Bay. Coral Bay is a very small town that is perfectly located next to the coral, which you can swim to from the beach. It's a beautiful place with miles of long, white sandy beaches. We went on a Quad bike tour, which involved biking over sand dunes and along beaches. We had a bike each. At first, Tree was adopting a safety first approach - at one point being overtaken by an elderly turtle. However, when the guide pointed out a long poisonous snake alongside us, she shot off like a bat out of hell. We spent the last few days relaxing on the beaches and swimming in the sea and pool.

Broome
After five days of chilling out we set off on another short 18 hour coach journey. Now it started to get really hot. Stepping off the coach at a roadhouse it was the same feeling as when you open the over door to check on how the dinner is doing. It was a wave of heat that I've never experienced before. Although Broome was also very hot (39) the breeze made it a bit more bearable. Broome is a small, laid-back place and (like everywhere on the West coast) it's hundreds of miles away from anywhere else. Broome's Cable beach is really beautiful and one of the best in Australia. Unfortunately, we were unable to swim in the sea this time of year because of the resident box jellyfish. Apparently, they can kill if you happen to swim into their tentacles and if you are stung the pain is the worst imaginable - we decided to stick to the pool. We're about to fly onto Darwin. We're both very well, tanned , just about within budget, not missing work and having a great time.