Hillarys

I'd only been back from the zoo for half an hour when the others asked if I'd like to go to Hillarys Harbour with them for the afternoon. At about 35km away, it's the furthest I've travelled from home so far, and it was great to see some of the landscape a little further afield. Rather than taking the freeway, John drove up the coast road so that Catrina (also used to seeing the sea, being from Scotland) and I could get our beach fix. It turned out to be a sunny but very blustery day, so the waves were massive; a load of surfers were getting absolutely pummelled in the white water, which reminded me of winter walks on Trebarwith (boohoo). We passed City Beach, a really wealthy area full of crazy huge houses. A girl can dream I guess! Twenty minutes north surrounded by plenty of interesting sights to look at and we arrived at the harbour.

What a gorgeous place! The harbour is flanked by a modern promenade encasing a whole shopping centre; there's even a little beach right in the middle of the harbour, which was a little bizarre, but Vic was saying it's always really busy because it's the only place people can bring their kids without the risk of shark attacks. I say let 'em get eaten, but each to their own I guess. We took a stroll along all the rows of boats that people keep moored up there, and it's safe to say there must be some pretty rich people in WA! A couple were for sale for $2m or more, so I ordered one in every colour. Not. John bolted as soon as we came within snooping distance of the shops, so the three of us were left to wander around to our hearts content when he cycled home. It was a mix of surf, jewellery and gift shops; all very tempting, but so far I've resisted splashing the cash as the more I buy, the more of my old stuff I can't bring home. However, there is so much nice stuff here that I'm probably going to have to check-in an extra case just for souvenirs for everyone!

All that browsing was tiring us out, so we stopped by the gelato for a compulsory sweet treat. I had a Baileys ice cream, which was pretty incredible and much more boozy than I expected, which was a bonus. My trip so far seems to revolve entirely around food! We drove home and I spent the afternoon in Sunday bliss, sprawled on the sofa in an ice cream coma immersed in my current read, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles.

You're never too far from a reminder that home is pretty far away...