Down South Cappuccino (7/7), Monday

FINALLY, 8 and half weeks after returning home I (Peter) processed and uploaded the last photos. Next holiday we'll really have to try and choose a lot less photos to publish ;-). So, here's the report of the final day Down South:

If you want to see the bigger version of any photo, simply click on it

Today it was time for one of the definitely TO DO destinations: The Busselton jetty. Length: 2 km! Here is a photo report:










Ready for the "do or dare" jump:






(Note: These 3 photos are panorama shots, can take a bit longer to load)






Life guard who is getting bored:


After the jetty, we drove to Bunbury. We had already decided not to stay any other nights from home, so it had to be a short visit. After a nice lunch (yes eating again ;-) we went to the (best?) viewpoint in Bunbury. We have to say we really like the atmosphere in Bunbury, and will definitely go back for a longer visit there.


(Note: These 2 photos are panorama shots, can take a bit longer to load)




On the way back we took a side turn to Preston Beach. Just before entering the town you pass Lake Preston. The dry winter of this year has had as result that the lake is more like a sand-lake:
(Note: This photos is a panorama shot, can take a bit longer to load)


Then last stop on the way home, for an ice cream and some views at Rockingham (at the beach at Cape Peron). And no, we did not make those skid marks …














Oh, we almost forgot: this was a good cappuccino day, because we were home at 9pm ;-)

NEPG April competition

At our club's (Northern Exposure Photographers Group: www.nepg.com.au) last competition in April two (out of my three) entries won a 'Merit' (like a recommendation, just missing the top-3) in the Print, Open, Color.
These were the two photos:

Life Cycle


Between the capes

That's the spirit

As usual in WA/Perth a holiday weekend (Easter ;-) is a so called 'double demerit points' weekend. From the day before the weekend to the day after (!) you get double demerit points if you do anything in traffic you should not (speeding, red light, ...).
This weekend there is even an extra big fine for not having your seat belt on. Research had shown that a quarter of the fatalities in traffic this year were not wearing a seat belt. So to try and improve that, they have made the fine for not wearing your seat belt extra big: AUD 500,= and 8 demerit points !!

We have to say that we do like this type of 'no nonsense' en forcement. We think this is a typical example of (good!) Ozzie mentality....

Down South Cappuccino (6/7), Sunday

If you want to see the bigger version of any photo, simply click on it

On to the next destination, Augusta and Cape Leeuwin:





(Note: These 2 photos are panorama shots, can take a bit longer to load)





Some birds:







What was this ??



And who is living here??



Then back in the car and on our way to Margaret River. Driving in (the main street of) Margaret we found that it is a very busy town, loads and loads of tourists:



We parked and got out of the car, and saw someone had lost his or her keys. The finder was friendly enough to put them in a visible spot:



We had lunch (BLT sandwich, burger and fries) which were below average. Also no cappuccino available. It did not spoil our holiday pleasure, but no recommendation for the restaurant.

We wanted to spend the night somewhere around (or in) Dunsborough. In the RAC book accommodation guide we had with us we had a choice between either one of the 3-star motels or a 5 star resort. Since we were on holiday we thought it was ok to spoil us for one night and we decided to book at the resort.
But first we drove to Cape Naturaliste, so we can (in a way) say we have done the cape-to-cape ;-).




And again the same bird:



Looking down we saw one of these again (remember the first one?). We looked it up, and it appears to be the so called spider-wasp. Although the sound it makes when flying by your head is a bit scary, it seems to be pretty harmless for people (far more than the normal wasp). It feeds on spiders, and is constantly digging in the sand to try and find spiders. When caught it will (after poisoning it) drag the spider to its nest to act as food:



By the end of the afternoon we arrived in our resort-hotel. Well, it was indeed a bit more expensive, but it was worth it..




I forgot to take photos of the studio itself, but it was a very nice room. Very comfy beds, a shower and a 2-person spa. Unfortunately the restaurant was not open (closed on Sundays) so we drove to Dunsborough where we had a nice (outside) dinner at an Italian café. Back in the resort we thought it might be worth while to test the cappuccino in the bar downstairs. They did have a cappuccino machine, but the guy operating it was not able to create a decent one for us :-(. So, some points were lost here (final result for the resort still far above average ;-).