Day 19 - Australia Day

Sleep in!!!  I can't believe we can now go back to sleep until 7:30 without feeling the need to get up.  Going home is going to be a shock to the system.  We wake up to the sound of the waves hitting the shore.  How appropriate on Australia Day.  We cook up bacon and eggs and pancakes for the kids then head to the water for a snorkel.  The kids swim and play on the rocks while we soak up the sun and before long we are treated to a pod of approximately 20 dolphins on  a feeding frenzy swimming up and down the bay, chasing salmon we guess.  What a treat.  Never have we seen so many dolphins at once and they fly out of the water, changing direction, coming in close then heading out again.  We watch them for about an hour and can't believe how lucky we are to have witnessed this.

We decide to go for a drive to Cheyne Beach.  This is a lovely spot also, everyone in their Aussie gear and beers all round at 11 am.  We have a bit of a swim then head back to Betty's beach and enjoy our little piece of paradise.  Glen and I snorkel some more and the kids have developed a whole community among the rocks.  Their imagination is amazing and they just love it here.  I do some token fishing, but my heart isn't really in it after snorkeling with the fish.

We very quickly become accustomed to the black skinks that bask in the sun on the rocks and we have also adapted quickly to the "dune toilet" and a bath in the ocean, although we are treated to a quick hose off with a fresh water rinse at the van tonight.  I am always amazed that before we leave for holidays I have to have everything ironed and we can't live without 2 showers a day, in a caravan park we cope with 1 shower a day and clothes cleaned regularly but only folded and never ironed, but when we are free camping, we wash in whatever we are swimming in at the time, only use the caravan toilet at night and we cope quite happily with salty, sandy clothes and hair!!!

That night we go down to the beach and light sparklers with the kids from the caravan next door.  It never ceases to amaze me how the kids make friends so quickly everywhere we go.  What a great Australia Day.