Wednesday 28^th March, 2012

Already early in the morning we swept the camper to remove as much of the remaining sand as possible. Then we started out to explore the Swan Valley. I was here three and a half weeks ago and told Sandra about it. Now she wants to experience it by herself. So we started in Midland and went first to the Nougat House. I missed that one last time. An Italian family prepares nougat with different ingredients like nuts, blue berries, cranberries, chocolate, etc. We bought a bit of nougat and granted ourselves a real hot chocolate. Then we went to the honey shop, but there was not much offered. I did not want to buy honey as I did not have space in the backpack. But we observed the highland cattle. Along the road there are many cafes, wineries and some art shops. Next stop was the Lavender House. They make and sell oils, jam, body lotion, cakes and teas with lavender. I tried the lavender tea and it was not bad. Sandra refused as she does not like the smell of lavender. After this refreshment we went to the Chocolate House. Here they sell self-made chocolate. A few pralines won gold at a exhibition in Perth. We tried the chocolate and have to say that it is not bad. Then we continued on the road and stopped at a small park to visit it. A few flowers looked strange, but we are a bit early for the wild flowers. As the sun was strong, we stopped at the Honey House. We visited the shop and took a break. We enjoyed ice cream and honey ginger water. It is just very delicious what they produce here with honey. After a small detour to the to the Swan River we went to the car wash. Here I cleaned the camper at the outside and Sandra organised with the kind help of an employee the required water and strawberry soap. As I was a bit slow the kind man helped me a bit and then the camper was very shiny. With the clean car we drove to the petrol station, but we first did not find the diesel and thus produced a bit of traffic jam. But there was one already before. Also here there were nice Australians explaining us where to find the diesel. To thank we let them drive first. Now, as this was completed, we drove to the hostel to leave our luggage there. Dominik (my brother) stand already behind me when we arrived at the reception. He was quite lucky today and found also a free bed here. Similar as 4 weeks before Perth is nearly booked up. We drove the camper to the rental company to bring it back. We soon realized that the lady was from Germany so we could have our chat in German. She explained that we already got one and a half day of rent back as we had trouble with the first car. This was not enough for us as they promised on the phone that they will pay the taxi, the accommodation and the clamping set. Then we expected that more days get refunded as we stood still for three nights. The lady advocated at the headquarter. Now we got 4 days of the rent, three nights of accommodation, the taxi, the new tire and the clamping set refunded. With this offer we were happy. Back in Perth we met Dominik and planned the next two days when we want to visit Fremantle and Rottnest Island.

Sunday 4^th March, 2012

Konrad hat to be at the airport at 9am as he had to go back to Sydney. The next time when we will see us is when I go to Sydney. With the car I drove to the Swan Valley. My first stop was in Guildford and I informed myself in the information office about what to visit in this area. I already knew that there are many wineries in the Swan Valley. First I walked around in Guildford, then I drove to the Sandalfort Winery, as it can be visited without tasting wine. After I went to Bells Rapid. There I had a great view over the valley and you could also see the skyscrapers of Perth. The next stop was the Honey House. Here they explain how honey is produced and I could tasted many different kinds of honey. With a lovely honey ice and a honey lemon water in the stomach I continued. Passing many vines I went to the Maali Park and walked along Swan River. I had lunch at the Houghton Winery. First I went walking in the big park, after I visited the museum and the gallery. In the gallery they sell glassware and pictures. In a chat with the artists I learned that that Margarete, the photographer, is from Germany. But she understands Swiss dialect very good as she worked for more than 30 years in Basel. She told me that there are not many Swiss in this region. As it was only early afternoon, I was thinking what to visit next. I just continued driving and reached a road sign pointing to the John Forrest National Park. Over a scenic drive it went through the park, but for a long time I did not see a hiking path. At one spot there was a barrier and I had to buy a day pass to enter the park. Also here I went walking. As it was 35° allowed myself something to drink in the bush restaurant. In the garden veranda there were two green parrots walking on the tables. Looking right I saw a few kangaroos which got feed here. There were also some young ones, one I could observe while suckling. As I got slowly tired from the heat, I went back to Perth. Here I will stay the next few days.