Back on the chain gang....

Hi everyone, again its been a long time between blogs. Thought we would do a quick update of our whereabouts for those of you who dont know (and those of you who dont care as well). So eventually we thought it best to top up the travel fund and that means work, icky sticky. Anyway, Scotty secured a job in Bunbury WA with phone interviews while we were still in SA and he's started as the safety guy for the water corporation which supplies water the whole of the south west. Bunbury has lots of advantages, its a regional city so it has things like sushi (believe me, that gets exciting after a long time in the middle of nowhere), it has beaches, diving, a bay where dolphins swim with you and its close to all the getaway spots. We are an hour from Margaret River and 2 hours from Perth and Fremantle and there is lots of walking and amazing beaches in nearby spots of Donnybrook, Balingup, Yalingup, Dunsborough, Collie, Capel etc. The list goes on, its where everyone comes in WA for holidays if they aren't up in Broome. So we landed here mid Jan and found a flat quite quickly. We are ever so proud that we furnished our 2 bedroom place in a week very cheaply thanks to some wheeling and dealing at garage sales. You can walk to the beach in 5 mins and walk to the main street (Victoria street) in the same amount of time, it has the bars, cafes, pubs, shops, cinema and scottys work. To get to Koombana bay (with the dolphins) and the posh eating and drinking area takes 10 mins! So we are in the thick of things...I'm looking for work still and settling in and walking around lots getting to know the area. My best discovery was a fruit and veg man who sells spray free and local fruit and veg from the surrounding farms, from the beach carpark 4 days a week. So that us in a nutshell at the moment. Will leave you with highlights of travel since we last blogged....

- Happy hour every night at Streaky Bay Hotel (SA), where the free bar food involved prawns in shells, chicken wings, etc. We dont know how they make any money??
- Flinders Ranges (SA) were so spectacular and the walks, though hard, were so worth the pain. The views from some of the peaks were unlike anything we had ever seen.
- A visit to Adelaide and seeing my Mum and Robert who were on a quick holiday there, and going bezerk at the fresh food and asian markets and food halls.
- Crossing the Nullabor and seeing the cliffs of the great Australian Bight (quick lowlight- got into huge argument with border security at SA/WA border and was nearly arrested because i was trying to hide all this fresh food we had just bought and she took away our cactus named Doc! Only state line we have crossed so far that this has happened..)
- Esperance and nearby Cape Le Grand National Park (WA) where we planned on a few nights and stayed for 8 as the water was so blue and the kangaroos were so friendly....
- The green pools in Denmark, best snorkelling so far
- Last weekends concert at Leeuwin Estate Winery in Margaret River where we saw The Waifs and Ani Di Franco - great setting (BYO picnic blanket and food hamper)
- Winning a gourmet food hamper on Australia Day!!!!! (In a karaoke competition...just kidding)
- Scotty going back to work (just kidding again.....)