Sometimes Things Are Not What They Are Made Out To Be

Time to go and meet Grandma Alison, so far we are on schedule, camper packed and on the road as planned and heading towards Mandurah, when things turn sour. I had booked Dawsville Caravan Park as a place for us to stay and Grandma to have her own unit. Upon arrival we were sadly disappointed as the majority of the sites were permanent vans which made the place look like a shanty town, only about 5 powered sites and a very dirty and unsafe feel about the park. We decided very quickly not to stay here, and even though we had fully paid we did not get any refund. Their website offers a 25% cancelation fee which we agreed to pay but the owner refused to give anything back. I later saw on tripadvisor very bad reports ...... Hindsight is always a wonderful thing, if only I had checked that out before I booked. We were luckily able to get into Mandurah Holiday Park and the staff there were so helpful and lovely and the caravan park beautifully clean and well kept it was a welcome relief.

Driving into the train station we kept an eager watch as to who could spot Grandma first. Found her!!!!! Out we jumped to greet her.

After dropping off all our gear at the caravan park we headed into town for "the best fish & chips in town" - well it was certainly the most expensive fish and chips we've ever had, but it was nice to splurge and have a meal out.

Alcoa a nearby bauxite mine offers free tours, an since we bypassed Kalgoorlie, we thought it was a good chance to see a working mine. Although it was mainly a propaganda tour trying to advertise how "Eco friendly" they had become, it was interesting to see the stages of how Aluminium is made and the awesome size of the trucks carrying the bauxite.

After the tour we enjoyed a drive out to Dwellingup and Lane Poole - a beautiful camping area by a river, pity Grandma wouldn't like to camp as this was a picture perfect spot.

A day drive was recommended to us, so with a picnic packed we set off. Along the way we drove along the estuaries nearby, which reminded us of areas around the Gippsland Lakes, a local winery, and the Thrombolites. Thrombolites are living rocks, which start as a single cell of bacteria and have been growing for millions of years. They are only found in a few areas around the world, one of them being on the edge of Lake Clifton. Thrombolites are a close cousin to the Stromatolites found near Monkey Mia so it will be interesting to see how the differ. The kids were less impressed and were more keen to find somewhere to eat lunch.

That evening my Aunty Margaret came over for a bbq tea, we had a lovely time together and the kids enjoyed meeting their "great Aunty" who spoilt them with early Easter eggs.

Although we arrived in Mandurah with a bitter taste, we left having had an enjoyable and pleasant stay.