- The Nullarbor
- Esperance
- The Great Southern
- Lovely Freo
- Rottnest Island and the Quokkas
- Holidays down under
- Perthday and Housesitting in Mandurah
- Mandurah to Yanchep National Park
- Lancelin & The Pinnacles
- Pink Lake & Kalbarri National Park
- Shark Bay
- Francois Peron National Park
- Quobba Blow Holes
- Coral Bay
- Exmouth & Cape Range National Park
- Working in Hyden
- Whale Sharks
- Karijini National Park
- Dampier Peninsula
- El Questro
- A Sun-Soaked Adventure: Unveiling the Best Beaches in Exmouth, Australia
We spent the second day of the new year at our beloved campsite. It was time for both of us to decide on our trip. We were undecided again. What would it be? Bali, Sri Lanka, or Vietnam? Ultimately, the weather became a decisive factor. Sri Lanka had consistently good weather, while Bali and Vietnam were affected by unpredictable weather and the rainy season. We booked our tickets. A little getaway wouldn’t hurt 😀
Inez had waited long enough. January 3rd, her Thirtieth birthday! For her, it was special enough to celebrate it on the other side of the world. We decided to go out and explore. After some research, it was clear that Perth had more to offer. We visited the botanical gardens and Kings Park. The fantastic view over Perth city center was definitely worth it. Being so close to a city center yet enjoying all that greenery was very pleasant. We continued walking to Elizabeth Quay along the docks and enjoyed some food and drinks there. After shopping at H&M and the shopping street, we returned to the campsite to make a delicious curry. It had been a full and enjoyable day.
Two days later, we met up with Sheila & Steve in the evening. First, we visited the town of Pinjarra and looked at the Serpentine Dam. There was a huge lake and a forest near the dam. It was refreshing to drive through nature. A visit to the Serpentine Waterfall was out of the question. The national park was overcrowded and therefore closed. We didn’t quite understand why, but we accepted it. Bar Therapy in Mandurah seemed like a great place to freshen up with a beer and a cocktail. We drove to Sheila & Steve’s place and had dinner at Dolphin Quay in Mandurah Center. We were glad that we could sleep in a real bed that night. And we slept well. Very well! 😀
Sheila and Steve promised they would take us to the Crown Casino in Perth. We had to wake up early to catch the bus. Special buses are provided to transport people from the small towns to the casino in the city. It quickly became clear that we were the only ones under the age of 60 on the bus. A bus full of retirees gave us a faint idea of what the atmosphere in the casino would be like.
For 10 dollars entrance fee, we got access to the casino, a buffet, 1 Keno ticket, and 3 dollars of playing money. In the casino itself, we didn’t immediately find our way. It was filled with digital machines that we didn’t really connect with. We had hoped to play on the famous slot machines from the movies, where you insert money and pull the lever, but unfortunately, those are illegal. I quickly lost 10 dollars on one of the digital machines. Inez told me that she preferred playing at the actual tables. We played poker, roulette, and casino wars (higher/lower). I only had one go and quickly exchanged 100 dollars for some chips. With an introduction to roulette, we won here and there but also lost enough. I won back all my money plus a 50-dollar profit with poker and casino wars. It was time to stop before we lost everything. We also tried our luck on the birthday bonus machines. Here we won some extra playing money, which we exchanged for dollars. It was an enjoyable but tiring day. We went to Mary & Michael’s in the evening to play card games and bingo. We enjoyed delicious snacks and ended the day perfectly. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos in the casino.
Sheila & Steve left for a week-long vacation heading south. They asked us to housesit. We stayed in their house for that week and enjoyed peace, tranquility, and more peace. We didn’t do much except occasionally go to Aldi for groceries, which was a pleasant 5-minute walk from their house. The hidden gem was their cinema room. Here, we could relax and lean back while watching the series Vikings. For five days, we watched more than 40 episodes.
On Saturday, we decided to venture outside and drive to Fairbridge. It was a village known for preserving the atmosphere of the 1800s. We drove around for about 5 minutes, and that was it. Then, we went to the town center, had a delicious lunch, visited the shopping center, and I got my hair cut. When Sheila & Steve returned the next day, we all went to the Chinese restaurant around the corner in the evening. Steve taught us the first steps of playing the ukulele.
The next day we had to wake up earlier than the previous days. We were heading to Sri Lanka. We said goodbye for a month, and Steve drove us to the airport. We were both excited. It was time to travel with our backpacks again and enjoy a new culture, food, and places. Here we come!
x Ely & Inez
Winner team ????????
Toffe blog weeral. Prachtige foto’s. Die verjaardagstaart wacht in den 108.Ondertussen al ergens anders! Veel reisplezier!???????????? Moekie
Oceans eleven is er niks tegen. Leuke foto’s maar toch ni te moe?????
Chellie
Hey Inez en Ely,
Grappig die fietstocht met dat vliegennetje voor jullie gezicht…
Hier oooo zo grijs, jullie hebben het daar heel wat beter.
Benieuwd naar jullie avonturen in Sri Lanka. Ik wou dat ik er ook even kon zijn, in een vingerknip.
Ik neem mee…leon e Alice :-).
Goed dat jullie twijfelaars 😉 deze beslissing genomen hebben. Een heel andere cultuur tegemoet…
Tof.
Hmmhmmm, jullie plukken het daar stevig. Het zal een boek vol mooie herinneringen worden als ik het zo lees op jullie blog.
Dat de beschermengeltjes jullie mogen blijven volgen.
Veel liefssss, Astrid.