Good-bye to W.A.

Our last week in Geraldton was great. Colin & Brad tried to go fishing, but large waves slowed them down. Instead we had a relaxing day around the house and then went on a "Kangaroo Hunt" that night. This was a non-violent hunt however, where only pictures were taken. We went searching for kangaroo near the Australian National Security Site where they have listening devices and radar. The kanagroo apparently like the area, and there is limited access. Of course we also met some very nice security gaurds checking out what we were doing, but they actual helped us find some kangaroos in the end!
Wednesday we went to the Perth museum which explored the animals and history of the area. The most interesting part discussed the famous shipwrecks of the Batavia and Zeewijk. Following the shipwreck of the Batavia a group of men took over and ended up killing 150 of the survivers. The poor people on the Zeewijk spent 10 months on the tiny islands totally exposed to the elements before they got fed up, made themselves a small boat out of the wreckage and sailed back to civilization. Colin cooked all afternoon, putting together a lovely pork rib BBQ dinner including roasted potato salad and coleslaw. Yummy!
Thursday we left Jack and Tess with Claire's parents to go on a tour of the Abrolhos Islands. You fly out there in a tiny little prop plane (7 seats including the pilot). The airstrip is a dirt path on the East Wallabi Island, which is not inhabitted. We walked down to the beach where we went snorkling. Unfortunately the water was quite cold and the visability was limited. We wandered around the island afterwards finding lizards and wallabi in the brush. Beautiful! During the flight home we passed over the Easter group of islands then the Pelsaept Group as well. We saw the sites of the shipwrecks and lots of fishing villages, some of which were just a few houses on a tiny piece of land.
Friday Claire and I headed to the spa for a full body exfoliation and facial. What a wonderful way to relax (especially when the men are at home taking care of things). A nice lunch out and a bit of shopping finished off a great day out.
Saturday we went to the farmers market before heading back to the house to pack up. We flew out of Geraldton to Perth and then took a night flight to Singapore. So now we are in our Singapore hotel, slightly tired due to a lack of sleep.
We are both going to miss Claire, Brad, Jack and Tess. I can't believe it took us so long to visit.