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I went to Western Australia, with my friends Bill and Marcia, that I met in Bali. I had a great time touring around with them. There is too much to write here, so visit my page on my mum's website to read more. Thanks again Bill and Marcia! When we arrived and checked in at our resort, the lady gave us a package that had been waiting for our arrival. Of course, it was Marly, the teddy bear that would be accompanying us on our Western Australian adventure. There was much to-do getting Marly out of his confinement from the five day trip across Australia from Melbourne to Perth! And a thirsty little devil he was! A whole bottle of Coca-Cola right off the bat!! Our first day trip was to drive south to Margaret River. It seemed to be the general consensus with the Australians we talked to that we had to visit Margaret River for its many well-known wineries. Lunches are packed and Marly is ready to go! On the way to Margaret River, we stopped in Busselton, the home of the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. Our guidebooks said the jetty was closed in early 2009 for repairs but would be open again soon. The jetty was begun in 1853 and continually added to for a total length of nearly two kilometers until it was closed to shipping in 1972. A small train was used to haul goods, particularly lumber, in and out from the ships to the shore. A cyclone in the late 1970s destroyed a small branch of the pier which ran from about midpoint into shore and did tremendous damage to the main pier. They have since tried to rebuild it as a tourist attraction boasting an underwater observatory in addition to a train ride. Our next day was to Pinjarra and Dwellingup, inland from Mandurah. We found the Pinjarra Visitor Center and wandered around inside for a bit. We went to the "historical park." It turned out to be a lovely large park that the Murray River ran through. And over the Murray River was a long pedestrian suspension bridge. The river was home to more ducks and other water fowl. From here we traveled up in elevation to Dwellingup which is known for its Jarrah forests. Jarrah is of the eucalyptus family of trees and is highly prized for its hardness and termite resistance. When Jarrah is seasoned, Jarrah wood is so hard that conventional wood-working tools cannot be used. Jarrah was exported to England where it was cut into blocks and used as foundation under asphalt roadbeds. We visited the Forest Heritage Center where they have a renowned working school of fine wood training. The building complex is shaped in the form of a big leaf. The two little leaves are the visitor center, the main school the large leaf. They had many lovely items from jewelry boxes to furniture made from jarrah wood on display. We had a lot more adventures. Too many to put here.