Christmas in Australia - 2006

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>Click on photos to enlarge!
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We spent two wonderful weeks of our Christmas vacation in Western Australia. We arrived in Perth on Dec. 16. to temperatures in the high 30's, but the dry heat made it feel amazingly comfortable after the humidity of Singapore.





We only had one day in Perth, so we went out to the Fremantle Market for the day.









In the evening, we discovered that Perth was celebrating their Carols by Candlelight in the Park. We quickly picked up a picnic dinner (the only place we could find open was KFC) and a bottle of wine, and we headed to the local park.







Everyone was given candles, a choir led the singing of Christmas carols, and the evening ended with fireworks.



This was our most meaningful celebration of Christmas 2006!








The next day we picked up our rental car and headed out to Margaret River where we spent 3 days at Bussels Bushland Cottages.








On our first evening there, we saw our first kangaroos.












And by morning, we found them right outside our cottage.


We knew we were in Australia!




While in the Margaret River area we visited many wineries. We tasted, we purchased, and we enjoyed.































































We toured the Margaret River Cheese Factory,








a chocolate factory,


























did tastings of...













olive oil,










coffee,











enjoyed the lavender,

















and the brews from Bootleg Brewery.





We saw scenery so reminiscent of Provence, France.
































Time to move on to the south coast.




















Travis takes his turn at driving on the left-hand side of the road from the right-hand side of the car. Luckily, he was the second member of our family to pass a breathalizer test. Will Wayne be next?







After several hours of driving through the karri forests,

















our place in Walpole felt just like home.













We visited the Giant Tingle Tree,

















stopped at Circular Pool,














and did the Tree Top Walk.
















Those trees are huge!















And they're fun to play in, too!



















We went on a boat tour, and hiked to this secluded beach.












We couldn't believe there was no one here!












Our last meal in this area was the local specialty, fresh marron (a type of crayfish).

















It was time to head back up to Yallingup.









And here's where we would spend Christmas day!


Of course, we visited more wineries,












Simmo's Ice Creamery,












and Bush Shack Brewery.




The chili beer with its finishing bite was a favourite!










Travis was hoping they'd hire him as a bar tender!








Christmas Day!
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Wayne makes omelettes for breakfast.











We even had a live Christmas tree!
And our one gift of Christmas -- our flight tickets to Australia!














This was the view from our balcony at Chandlers on Smiths Beach.










We pretty much had the beach to ourselves on Christmas day, and Trav thoroughly enjoyed playing in the water.
























Christmas dinner was barbequed steak and prawns accompanied by a well matched Aussie wine, and followed by pavlova for dessert.




















It was soon time to say goodbye to our little piece of paradise and return to Perth, where we again stayed at the City Waters Hotel.












A couple days of shopping revealed Travis to be the big spender.
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It was time to get him out of here.

















We had enjoyed a fantastic two weeks together, and our final evening in Perth was the perfect ending to a memorable vacation. We must return!

























But for now, we packed our bags, and moved on to our next adventure.







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