Mandurah, Western Australia, 27 & 28 March 2011

Did I already mention how perfect the weather was in Mandurah? Perhaps this will give you an indication, if I have not already made it clear...

 - This is where we spent the vast majority of the holiday-

 - Trying to take photos out of the car window is not advised-

 - Aforementioned hirecar, I wouldn't buy one of these-

 - A beautiful boardwalk out over the edge of a lake-

 

-The edge of the lake, looking pretty-

 

- The Thrombolites! Apparently they are alive and are millions of years old-

 

- The lake, looking like the sea-

 

- These Thrombolites get 2 thumbs up for oddity-

 

- After our Thrombolite adventures I was in need of some retail therapy, so we headed off to Fremantle, this photo is in Mandurah on our way to breakfast, my dress is conveniently hiding an enormously fat person-

 

- It was extremely hot in Fremantle and there wasn't any shade, but it was very beautiful. This is the shoreline where a lot of smuggling happened-

 

- We saw this cannon get fired!-

 

- Me with evidence of retail therapy, in a whale hauling tunnel-

 

- Dim being annoyed about yet more photos-

 

- Awesome graffiti in Perth city near where we ate dinner. (Delicious Indian food)-

Mandurah, Western Australia, 25 & 26 March 2011

 - Poached eggs on toast with avocado, my favourite breakfast-

It seems that while in Mandurah I mostly took photos of food, so here are some food pictures for you to enjoy, along with the photos of the other things I remembered to photograph.

 

- In our awesome kitchen we made falafel -

 

- In the supermarket carpark we found this Jarrah tree which is 445 years old according to the sign-

 

-Me without makeup *gasp* out for dinner at Dolphin Quay after going to the beach-

 

Even though it was extreemly hot on the 26th we decided it would be a good idea to visit the local attraction- a miniature railway and village! We nearly died in the heat but the tiny houses were so lovely and the garden was beautiful, so of course I took a thousand pictures. Here is the highly edited 'best of' selection.

 

- All of the models are built by hand, to scale, and are exact replicas of real, famous buildings from England-

 

-Dim hiding from the heat in the hedge maze-

 

-The maze from above-

Mandurah, Western Australia, 23 & 24 March 2011

After just 24 hours back in Melbourne, I set off on another adventure to Mandurah, Western Australia.
This time I was not alone, dragging Dim along with me, we arrived in Perth very late at night a stayed at a very crummy 'hostel' for the night. In the morning we escaped as quickly as possible in our hire-car, ate delicious breakfast, then began the long drive south to Mandurah.

- Western Australia, the land of names that confuse the GPS -

We stayed in a lovely HUGE apartment at Seashells Resort, with a beautiful view of the ocean. Throughout this trip my photography was a bit haphazard, so there are many walks on the beach and trips to the pool and afternoons reading books which are not documented, but I think you can join the dots.

 

- The enormous kitchen, which we used a lot-

 

-The amazing view of the ocean from our balcony-

 

-After settling into the apartment we went for a walk at sunset to find a restaurant- 

 

-There were some very 'interesting' sculptures around-

 

-We ended up sitting on an outdoor deck watching the sun set behind the boats in the marina-

 

- Dim enjoying dinner at 'Catch 22', those pizza twist sticks were amazing-

 

- In a huge contrast to the weather I had been experiencing in Japan just 3 days earlier, I was actually able to wear less than 30 layers of clothing-

 

- Lemon/Lime tart for dessert, YUM-

21 & 22 March Hiroshima, Osaka, Australia

Originally I was supposed to be heading to Tokyo now, to meet up with Dim, and head back to Australia on the 3rd of April. Because it was not exactly safe or guaranteed that I would be able to get back to Tokyo I chose to head home early. It was not a decision made lightly and I wish I had been able to stay longer. However the promise of a trip to Perth softened the disappointment a little.

This was the very last photo on my camera that was taken in Japan, it seems fitting.

This is sunrise over the mountains surrounding Cairns airport, a gloomy, silent end to my wonderful adventure in Japan, which I will never forget.

20 March Miyajima & Hiroshima

Another delicious Japanese breakfast, this time with a picture....

We set off early and took the train from Hiroshima to the port closest to Miyajima, then took a ferry. By now I have been on enough trains and boats in Japan that I no longer take photos of them, which means there are quite a few gaps in the photographic record of the day. however I took enough photos on Miyajima to make up for that! Without ceremony here they are, picture of one of the places I have been hoping to visit for many years:

My first glimpse through the misty rain.

The very very famous Torii Gate!

My favourite photo of the whole day, looks just like a postcard. Thank you Ms. Shika for posing!

Seriously bad hair day for me, but a good day for Deer to pose in out photos!

Amid all the chaos of hundreds of tourists sheltering from the rain I spotted this little scene.

The bridge that no one can walk across due to its slope.

Miyajima Special Oysters

Special lunch/bento box from a famous take-away shop near the ferry stop.

Inside was delicious grilled something (not eel, but like eel, I was told)

This temple had the most beautiful garden!

Delicious Mayple leaf azuki bean cakes.

After exploring Miyajima in the rain we headed back to Hiroshima on the ferry and then the train again. Though it was pouring with rain we decided to have a look at the Atomic bomb museum and peace park in what was originally the centre of Hiroshima. 

It truly was one of the saddest places I have ever been. For me the saddest part was a wall covered in letters. They were letters sent by the various Mayors of Hiroshima to the head of any nation known to have carried out testing of nuclear weapons, each time a test was carried out. It was absolutely heartbreaking to read their words, and to know that they fall on deaf ears.

After seeing this sobering sight we went shopping to cheer ourselves up a bit. Then we began the search for dinner, we ended up in a tiny little bar which sold... Okonomiyaki of course! 

Seafood, noodles, spring onion, cabbage, sauce and seaweed! Delicious!

On the way back to the hotel we had to pass through Hiroshima Station again and found a delicious looking cake shop. We bought a few delights and ate them back at the hotel!