Paddy & Jen Adventures

On Sunday 28th Sept we farewelled our friend Fi Walsh at Busselton Airport and went to the arrivals shed to welcome our youngest son Josh who had arrived on his flight from Melbourne. It was his 25th birthday and both Paddy and I were so happy to see him. We have not seen him since early May and it felt so great to wrap our arms around him. We were both so excited to be spending the next six days with him. We borrowed a swag from a friend in Perth so Josh could camp with us.

Josh coming to join us for a holiday was a surprise for Conor. It was so precious to see Conor so happy to see Josh. We made a quick stop at a brewery in Busselton for lunch then headed back to join Rosie and Bren at Peppermint Grove Caravan Park, which is about 20 mins north of Busselton. We had a fire at the campsite, a beautiful roast dinner and finished off with birthday cake to celebrate Josh. We joked that we were actually celebrating the full development of his prefrontal cortex!!!!

We had a great week with Josh showing him around the Margaret River Region. We checked out some incredible beaches, went to the Ngligi Caves, walked the famous Busselton jetty, moved campsites to a farm stay just out of the town of Margaret River, visited wineries, played golf at a brewery, went to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and played plenty of rounds of Five Crowns (card game). It was a quick visit but as you can read we made sure it was jam-packed. We love our chats with Josh, and we’re both sad to see him head back to Melbourne.

We stayed on at our Margaret River farm stay with the Welsfords for another few days, which was fun. Weather wasn’t great but we did get out to explore the town of Witchcliff, a cute little location with vintage shops. Paddy especially loved that the bakery sold gluten free pies!! We went to Gracetown Beach and did some whale watching, even spotting a few of them breaching, which was magical.

The following day we packed up and headed just north of Perth. A special drive for us with Conor coming in the car with us for the 4 hour trip. What an absolute gem he is!! We met Rose and Bren that afternoon at our next stop, Yanchep National Park. This park is so close to Perth but once you are there it is like you are in the middle of nowhere. Plenty of walks, kangaroos and even a koala boardwalk. We camped at the Henry White Oval for 2 nights, which was so peaceful. Whilst we were there Paddy, Conor, Bren and Rose did the high ropes course. Unfortunately my dizziness had returned a few days earlier so it was out of the question for me. Conor was amazing up there, he even completed the red run, which was the second hardest. We had our farewell dinner at the heritage listed Yanchep Inn, celebrating the awesome few weeks we had all spent together.

As Paddy and I drove off from Yanchep our car decided to play up. Long story, but we tracked down a mechanic just down the road and met two angels – Leon and Donna Butler. They could not have been more helpful and caring and in no time we were on our way again. Nothing major with the car thank goodness!!

We arrived back at Karrinyup Waters Resort (this is our 3rd stay in the last couple of months) and it was time to prepare for my operation. The following morning I went to Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital in Perth and finally got my bloody head fixed!! It was a 3 hour operation with 3 hours in recovery so Paddy was very relieved when he finally got to see me. They did a great job with the head shave (not too much) and a neat job with the cut & 16 staples. I spent 2 nights in hospital and received the very best care. I am now in to day 5 of my recovery and so far so good. Not too much pain and feeling a little better each day. The caravan isn’t an ideal place to recover but I can’t stop thinking about the thousands of people displaced from their homes in Gaza and quickly realise I have absolutely nothing to complain about regarding my own living conditions.

I am spending the next two weeks here in Karrinyup (Perth) recovering. Paddy is off to Hong Kong for work next week and once he is back we plan to hitch up the van and take off again on another adventure, this time in very good health. Bring it on!!!

Click Here to view our photo gallery page