Our next stop was the Swan Valley where we were to be
looking after the Rippon kids while Brett and Vanessa caught up with their
family for a wedding. On our way there
we stopped in to the camper trailer place to show the damage to the zipper on the
trailer. They told us that it might be a
few day to repair so we would be without a home. We organised to drop the trailer off on the
following Tuesday and decided to book a cabin back at Mandurah so we could
spend a few more days with the WA Elphicks.
The van park at Caversham had a fantastic table tennis
and games room and was surrounded by the vineyards of the Swan Valley. John and Gail also came to stay at the park
and booked a cabin for one night. They
looked after the kids on the Friday night and Craig and I went to the Boab Tavern
to watch Cousin Ben’s band play. We
went to the restaurant for dinner and were served up a feast. Neither Craig nor
I could finish our meal. We had a great
night and were stoked that we could make it out to see the band.
On Saturday we spent the day around the van park swimming
and making use of the great facilities.
Brett and Vanessa headed off to their wedding in the late morning and
Gail and John were due to fly back to Canberra that day so they set off just
after lunch. However, a few hours later
Craig got a call from Gail – they had missed their plane so Craig went to pick
them up from the airport. The upside was
that the kids got another night with Nanna and Poppy. During the afternoon John amused the kids
with some songs on the guitar.
The next day we met my friend Clare and her lovely family
for lunch at the Rose and Crown Hotel in Guildford. After a relaxing lunch and some great
conversation/reminiscing we decided to call in at the Iron Bark Brewery which
was conveniently located right next door to the van park. We sat in the beer garden and sampled some of
the local brews including a mango beer and lime based beer as we listened to an
acoustic guitarist. We even got to chat
to the owner and got the history of the place, as well as a story about each of
the beers.
On Monday it was my birthday. I got a new reclining camping chair and a
bracelet that Craig had secretly bought in the gift shop at the Valley of the
Giants tree top walk. In the morning we
drove into Guildford for coffee and milkshakes before returning to the van
park. We picked up some supplies for
afternoon nibbles and drinks and had a very relaxing afternoon. I bought a custard tart to use as a pseudo birthday cake.
My dad used to have a permanant van at Mandurah. we'd go out fishing and crabbing and then he'd make me eat it.... eerggghhh!!! (I don't eat seafood of any kind). Fun place though! Happy Birthday!! Hope you enjoyed your custard tart. xxx
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