23-27 Dec, 2024 Bob & Margaret’s place, Dawesville, WA

Mon, 23^rd

Only got down to 24 this morning - our few Summer days. Another hot one today and then tomorrow the wind will pick up and the temperature will drop. Forecast for only a max of 21 on Christmas Day!!

Dug out our Christmas shirts etc. Steve did my hair then I put the washing on to make the most of the hot day.

Rang Grace & Fred - doing well. Fred will turn 90 in Feb. Having most of the family with them for Christmas then everyone for New Year’s Day which is lovely. Will try and catch up with them when we get home in March.

Rang Dawn - looking forward to seeing Kaylene and Rick on Boxing Day though they mightn’t be too happy as the forecast is for 40 degrees that day!! At the moment they are having very cold wind in Melbourne.

Margaret and I went around to Coles for our last minute Christmas food.

1pm 36 degrees in the camper but there is a gusty coolish wind blowing. Steve fiddling with another thing on the truck.

Margaret and I finished our jigsaw.

I found a great FNQ Christmas version of the 12 Days of Christmas on Facebook.

12 curlews screaming, 11 mangoes falling, 10 barra biting, 9 crocs in rivers, 8 creeks are flooding, 7 bats are flying, 6 sweaty singlets, 5 Bar-b-ques, 4 cyclones warnings, 3 mozzie bites, 2 matching thongs and a cane toad on the driveway.

So true at the moment as it is hot, humid and been raining already. Nice photos of the Barron Gorge flowing well etc.

Posted our Merry Christmas message to all our family and friends on Facebook and received lots of lovely messages back.

The wind has picked up as predicted and there are some big white clouds building in the east.

 

 

Tues, 24^th

Cooler this morning, 19 degrees min. Clear sky and strong wind.

Another lovely walk to the Cut with the wind pushing us along then blowing the flies off our faces as we walked back! Pesky little things!

Relaxing day. Very windy and cool. Top of 28 in the camper.

BBQ dinner to start our Christmas festivities with Champagne Passionfruit Jelly and ice cream for dessert. We have so many passionfruit to eat!

 

 

Wed, 25^th

Christmas Day started with a cool 14 degrees. The wind stopped in the night. Forecast is for 21 max today but it is already up to 20 at 7am so might be a warmer day which is good.

Dug out our shirts and took a photo for Facebook. Lots of lovely messages back and forth.

Lovely video chat with Jon, Annalise and Beau in his new ‘car’. Remote-controlled at the moment till he is old enough to drive it himself. Lynda sent through this photo of the three of them ready for Christmas lunch.

Dan and Fran are having all Fran’s family over for Christmas lunch so we just had a short chat. Sophia was asleep and hasn’t been too well - teething.

The Geck Clan are having a ball in Woodgate. Sam had to work and Ellie is still in the UK. Bryon has been busy wiring up the shed with the help of his offsiders. They will get the trestles off Suzanne and finish off the painting up high.

Upstairs to make up our salads etc. Cuppa with Xmas chocolates from Kev and Linda. We exchanged our gifts.

Cliff and Lorraine from next door are joining us too which is lovely. They brought over a lovely mango salad and some crayfish which lit up Bob’s face. Lorraine also brought some hats and glasses so got a few photos.

We had a lovely lunch with lots of chatter then started on the desserts and fruit! The temperature was perfect too for sitting outside on the verandah.

I had forgotten to take a photo with Kev and Linda the other day but I found this lovely one with their granddaughter Ruby.

Went for a short walk in the afternoon to make room for dinner. Very windy now.

Margaret got the pianola going working her way through lots of old ‘music rolls’ that she has had from years ago. I found some lovely ones that Mum loved (Holy City etc) so had a nice time pedalling the pedals and singing along with the piano. It is amazing how the bellows push the wind through the little holes and the piano keys go up and down in perfect time.

Drinks outside watching some big dark clouds to the east then a beautiful shaft of rainbow colours shone when the sun broke through.

Had a small dinner of left overs and dessert then back to the camper. We closed up the camper as the wind is strong and cold again.

 

 

Thurs, 26^th

Windy cloudy walk to the Cut again.

Had a quick cuppa then headed to Pinjarra with Bob & Margaret to pick up Margaret’s sister-in-law, Marie. Continued on to Dwellingup to Brett & Bec’s place. The sky has cleared and only a light breeze up here.

Had a cuppa and checked out his new 3D printer - amazing.

Drove down to one of Brett’s dams which he has put in lovely grass around. Got out our chairs for a picnic lunch under the shady trees.

Margaret’s other son, Graham and his lady arrived with their van to park up for the night with they adult kids and grandkids. It was good to see them.

Back down the hill to Pinjarra for a cuppa at Marie’s place. She gave us some more jigsaws to do. She got a very interesting one for Christmas - a old time scene on the box but the jigsaw is a future view of the same thing - old TV now a Plasma etc. Will be very interesting to see how she goes with it.

Headed home for drinks. Still windy here and clear sky.

David sent through photos of Bryon’s hard work - the shed has lights etc.

Cooler evening again so kept the camper closed.

 

 

Fri, 27^th

Cool start, 14 degrees but it warmed up quickly as we headed south for our walk. No wind today - the sea is calm but there is lots of weed on the edge so no good for fishing.

Did my baking and quiet afternoon reading.

Louis rang for a chat which was lovely.

Fish & chips with Bob & Margaret then headed up to Perth Airport to wait for Malcolm to arrive. Went early so we could do a drive-by as the domestic flights from moved across to the international section now. All good, found a servo nearby with a coffee shop so we could sit and wait for Malcolm’s call when he was ready to be picked up.

Great to see him again and we chatted the hour and half drive back home.

 

18-22 Dec, 2024 Bob & Margaret’s place, Dawesville, WA

Wed, 18^th

20 degree min, clear sky but very smoky. Wind from south so there must be more fires south of us.

Went for another long walk - south this time.

The smoke cleared by morning tea - change in the wind direction. Found out the fire was burning off around Walpole in the south.

Margaret and I started a new jigsaw puzzle - a VW Combi.

Got to a max of 30 degrees but the breeze is still quite cool when you are in the shade.

After dinner the wind picked up and got very strong with some gusts rocking the camper and it was cool again so closed up the camper.

 

 

Thurs, 19^th

16 degree min, cloudy with a light breeze.

Did another walk - great they have these foreshore paths. The wind has picked up and was pushing us along but then we had to walk back against it! The clouds have been blown away too.

I went shopping in town with Margaret.

Lunch then back to our jigsaw puzzle.

Steve rang Terry to see how he is going with his new phone. He answered so that’s a good start.

Fran sent a photo of Sophia standing in her bath - cheeky girl.

 

 

Fri, 20^th

16.4 degree min this morning with a clear sky.

Another long walk heading southward. There is a good east wind so the sea was calm and there were lots of boats out and even more buoys for the cray pots. A few surfers were rolling in on the waves.

Finished off our jigsaw.

Steve and I headed into Halls Head to do some shopping and find some Christmas presents.

Found another jigsaw at an Op Shop.

Friday night is fish & chip night so we joined Bob & Margaret for dinner.

 

 

Sat, 21^st

Warmer morning, only got down to 21.

Margaret and I walked down to the fishing spot on the beach but there was too much seaweed hanging about so we walked back home and then drove down to the Cut to give that a try. Went to the inlet end first and we both lost tackle on something attached to the bottom! Margaret got a little fish that the ‘shag’ enjoyed. Walked further along the groin and tried again. Lots of nibbles but no hook-ups. Spotted a couple of dolphins and found the burnt out house boat that was on the news.

Drove back to the ocean side of the cut and tried there for a while but just donated the bait to the hungry little fish. Steve found us as this is the end of one of our walks. He walked back and we drove back.

Had a cuppa then started on our new jigsaw of Sydney Harbour.

Margaret’s son, Brett, called in with two of his daughters this time. He was dropping off a exercise bike for Bob to use with his knee surgery recovery. He also had a jetski which he had just bought so they were going down to the inlet for a buzz on it. The girls had a play on the pianola - The Gambler. Can’t remember if I said that Margaret has had it from when she was young and had just had it restored.

Warmer day - got to 37 in the camper but there is still a cool breeze.

 

 

Sun, 22^nd

Clear sky and light breeze, 20 degree min.

Into Bob & Margaret’s car to head down to see Kev & Linda. Steve drove so he could see what the car does with all the electronic line alerts etc as we will take it to pick up Malcolm next week from the airport.

Linda had set the table ready for a lovely Christmas lunch - who cares what date it is - we can celebrate with friends anytime. We started with cuppa and lots of yummies for morning tea and chatted till we were ready for lunch. Dessert was yummy NZ icecream in waffle cones. It was so lovely to spend the time with them. We were inside with the air conditioner on and when we walked out we realised it was a very hot day. Steve got the car started to cool it down and the temp said it was 40 degrees! Good day for sitting and eating inside!

Annalise sent a photo of Beau’s photo with Santa - he wasn’t impressed so he sat on her knee instead. I think someone should create an Australian scene with a Holden ute, palm tree etc instead of all these winter scenes.

Stephanie posted a photo of Terry (Great Grandad) with his 3^rd great grandchild, Arthur now they had arrived at Woodgate for Christmas.

Headed home then back to our jigsaw while we had drinks on the verandah as the cool breeze blew.

 

 

 

14-17 Dec, 2024 Bob & Margaret’s place, Dawesville, WA

Sat, 14^th

Blue sky and a few clouds this morning. Lots of birds starting their morning chorus far too early! BOM says we are only getting to 23 today. It only got down to 21 last night and at 7.30am it was already 26 in the camper so something went wrong with their prediction.

Jakob’s birthday - sent him a message to enjoy his day.

Put my washing on then helped Margaret put up her Christmas tree and fairy lights along the verandah. We had a cuppa with her then she headed in to see Bob in hospital.

Steve dropped the oil out of the automatic again as it was still a bit dirty. He also added another oil cooler to help keep the temp down while we don’t have the lock-up clutch working on the torque convertor.

Quiet afternoon reading and uploading my blog. Washing all dried and put away.

Clouded over in the late afternoon - didn’t get much hotter than 26. Bob doing well though hanging out to get home again.

 

 

Sun, 15^th

Overcast morning with a short misty shower of rain.

We went for a walk to the Cut and back - windy but at least there were no flies today.

When we got back home Margaret had gone - Bob had rung to come and get him out of hospital. They said he was good to go home - amazing. He has two crutches and a neat straight bandage down the front of his knee and no pain.

I updated my Big Map as I could spread out on the patio table upstairs. 10 years of travelling as well as the trips we did previously so lots of roads marked off.

Had a lovely chat with Kaylene today. She is glad to be on holidays.

The sky cleared and there is a cool breeze. Another 26 degree day.

 

 

Mon, 16^th

18 degrees min but warming up quickly even though it is cloudy.

Steve found a broken bracket on the exhaust so another maintenance job to do. At least he has Bob’s workshop to get things fixed up. Always maintenance whether you have a home in one place or one on wheels.

I went for a walk to Coles for a couple of things I missed. Lots of blow up Christmas decorations about.

Margaret and I started the 500 piece jigsaw Linda had given me. Margaret likes doing jigsaws too and has a few that she kept together by gluing them. It didn’t take us too long.

After lunch Uncle John rang - ESP, I was going to ring him tomorrow. Had a lovely chat - he sounds well and will have the family there for Christmas so I will ring to say to everyone then.

Photos came through of the Christmas stockings I made for my darlings - hanging on their trees. Next year Sophia and Beau can put them on themselves.

Cool afternoon and evening - closed up the camper again.

 

 

Tues, 17^th

Blustery wind from the east this morning and clear sky.

We headed towards Perth on the Kwianna Freeway and stopped at the auto transmission place to chat with the chap there about making a new lock-up to fix our problem. Steve can drop it out and probably the whole transmission before we fly home in Feb so he has 5 weeks to look at it and make a new one and we won’t be without the truck then. If we had to send it back to Vic it was at least an 11 week turn around plus freighting. The chaps were very helpful and had worked with Wholesale Auto transmissions before which is also good.

We drove along the road for a bit and found a coffee shop in Applecross - ritzy suburb - lots of flash homes about. Popular cafe but we only gave them a 5 out of 10 as they brought out our toasted banana bread (which was delicious) but we didn’t get our coffees for another 15 minutes!

Walked down the road to the water and found a lovely set of angel wings.

Scanned around to get the full view.

Back to the truck and back onto the Canning Highway then over the Narrows and onto the Mitchell Highway to visit Gordon and Sheila - we met them on the Plenty Highway when Steve was welding up the chassis!

We were early so found a park nearby and rang Rick to catch up on his news.

Around to their house and chatted the afternoon away over a lovely lunch. It was great to see them both and hear about their trips etc. Will catch up again in the new year too.

Much hotter day - always hotter in Perth apparently. Got to 36 today.

Back on the highway - I let Google Map’s girl chose the way (our Hema sometimes gets confused as she doesn’t know about some of the freeways around Perth!) and she said this is the best even though there is a congestion area of 19 minutes when we hit the city. Lucky we aren’t in any rush and it is interesting to watch what others do - darting in and out of the lanes but not getting any further ahead. Eventually we got through that and across the Narrows and onto the Kwianna Freeway again. Lots of smoke ahead so I checked the app and there is a big fire near Rockingham.

Got home at 6.30pm so got dinner ready - missed drinkies! Much warmer night so left the camper open.

 

Fri, 13th Dec, 2024 Kev & Linda’s place, Bunbury to Bob & Margaret’s place, Dawesville, WA

Blue sky with a few clouds. Said bye and headed north on the Forrest Highway then onto the Old Coast Road. Stopped for a cuppa at a boat ramp on the Peel Inlet.

Lots of clouds coming over as we head around to Bob & Margaret’s place again.

Margaret was at the hospital with Bob - doing well so far. We dropped the camper off again. The baby galahs are screeching for attention in the pine trees in the park - noisy darlings!

Had lunch then relaxed and read. Got to 32 degrees though the BOM said it was to be 25!

Into Mandurah for a cuppa with Shane and Doreen before they head off tomorrow. It has been great to see them both again and we look forward to checking out their new home in Bowen.

Back home for late drinks. Margaret just got back too. She said it was still fish & chips night even if Bob wasn’t home so we joined her. Chatted and watched the news then had yummy dinner followed by ice cream in a cone which Margaret and I dunked in Milo too.

Much cooler when we got back to the camper so closed the windows.

 

Thurs, 12th Dec, 2024 Cattle Trails Memorial rest area at turn off to Northcliffe to Kev & Linda’s place, Bunbury, WA

Overcast, 19 degrees min even with the windows open for a change - nice.

Continued on to Manjimup through lovely tall trees then farms.

Stopped for a cuppa in a park at Manjimup and sent off an email with photos to Wholesale Auto. Sent Bob a message wishing him all the best for his knee op today.

We had checked out Manjimup and area previously but not sure if we saw this sign near the shopping centre which was the old Butter Factory. These palms are nearly 100 years old.

Continued on to Nannup. Sky clearing now.

Checked out some old logs at the Lions Park - Jarrah, Blackbutt & Red Gum.

Clear blue sky overhead now so decided to go to Busselton before heading up to Bunbury.

Down hill and onto the flat country at last, 20km from Busselton - the rest has been up and down hills but Steve has been able to keep the auto transmission temperature under control without the lock-up thing.

Through town to the long jetty. Parked up and had lunch. Got out our new Cancer Council hats and went for a wander along the foreshore to the jetty. Haven’t got time to walk the jetty today - we did it back in January 2017. Lovely pines - one has been decorated for Christmas.

Found a new ‘window’ that we hadn’t seen before. I looked back at my photos and there was just a metal plaque about the cyclone damage to the jetty.

Walked along for a while - looking further around the foreshore.

Then headed back. I got my feet wet!

Back to the camper (got to 36 degrees). Steve decided to check if there were any businesses around Perth at do torque convertors and I found one. The chap was very helpful and sounded knowledgeable so we will call in and see him next week. Might be easier for him to do it while we are away for the month next year rather than trying to send it back to Melbourne etc.

Back through town and onto the highway to Bunbury and around to Kev & Linda’s place for the night.

Nice afternoon chatting. Margaret messaged that Bob was out of surgery and all is good.

 

Wed, 11th Dec, 2024 Cosy Corner East campground, west of Albany to Cattle Trails Memorial Rest Area at turn off to Northcliffe, WA (Beau 9mths)

Our babies are growing up too quickly! Beau is 9 months old today.

Dreary overcast morning. Rang Wholesale Auto again and chatted with the Tech guy again. He asked for photos when Steve said he was going to change the oil. He will get the boss to ring us later to discuss replacing the torque convertor.

Packed up and headed back to Albany through misty rain.

Got the oil etc for the automatic and headed back along the Lower Denmark Road and found a gravel area by the rail line so Steve could change the oil. He is very neat and not a drop got on the ground. Took photos of the grit and the very dark oil (should be a nice see-through red) and sent them to Tech guys.

The clouds are breaking up now (morning tea) and it is warming up.

Continued on the Lower Denmark Road and along to Denmark. Over the river and pulled into the park by the river for lunch. Found a history plaque too.

It has warmed up a lot and the sky is all clear and blue now. It is lovely to sit by the river to have our lunch and watch the pelican work his way along getting his lunch too.

Trevor rang from Wholesale Auto and we need to send an email of what we require etc and he will give us a quote. Obviously no warranty as it is year and half old!! It could be 12 weeks as the company that makes the torque convertors for him will be having 3 weeks holidays over Christmas. Luckily we have time on our side.

Continued along the road through Demark and on to Nornalup where we crossed the wide water of Frankland River that we had camped beside further upstream. Missed getting a photo!

Through Walpole - we explored all this area in 2017. Lots of National Parks so you need a pass to see a lot of things. Beautiful area with lots of big trees.

Continued on through a section still smouldering from an official burn off - signs by the road.

Arrived at the turn off to Northcliffe and stopped in the big rest area for a cuppa. It is a overnight rest stop so we decided to park up now and look for photos etc for the email to Wholesale Auto. No phone reception here but we got it started at least and found some photos of the torque convertor etc.

There is a cut out of a stockman and information about when they would bring the cattle down through this country to get better feed etc.

Certainly has warmed up today, got to 32 in the camper with the windows open and in the shade at 4pm. The wind has picked up again.

Traffic isn’t too bad and there are lots of birds and of course crickets to listen too.