Mother Nature was very kind to us this past weekend with glorious spring-like weather. After a lot of rain and storms, it was a welcome distraction, so Seb and I took advantage with a little winter mini-break. We headed north about 1.5 hours to the tiny seaside town of Lancelin. There's not much there but a pub and a pretty beach. Works for us. We stopped along the way at the northern Perth suburb of Mindarie. I hadn't been up there, but saw on the map that there was a marina, so we decided to check it out. Turned out to be a beautiful spot on the coast with a small marina, nice pub and several huge mansions with marina and ocean views. We basked in the sunshine with pints and chips (fries), and stared enviously at the mansions, each with their own tiny docks for their own not-so-tiny yachts.
We made it to Lancelin in time to set up our tent and hit the beach to watch the sunset. This was a budget getaway, so even though it is the middle of winter, we camped. It was freezing. I filled the entire back seat of the car with blankets in anticipation of a very chilly night. Luckily, I did not die of hypothermia and have lived to tell this tale.
The next day consisted of surfing and a beautiful drive into the Swan Valley, where we enjoyed the gorgeous, hilly scenery filled with farms and vineyards, stopped for a couple of wine tastings, and played a round of Supa Golf. What is Supa Golf, you ask? It is sort of a combo of mini golf and regular golf. You use oversized clubs and oversized, rubber-like balls. It's like regular golf in that there are no crazy features like there are in Putt Putt. But the course is much smaller than regular golf. We also had a bit of a history lesson along the Swan River. The Swan River in Perth is huge. Wide, that is. Like a lake. And it ends at the Indian Ocean. But it starts up in the hills, where it is very narrow. Back in the 1800s, Captain Stirling sailed up the Swan River from the ocean as far as he could. He got to the Swan Valley, where the oldest church in the Perth metro area still stands. Next to that is a very old graveyard and a gate with a plaque that celebrates his voyage.
Pics in the "weekends" gallery.
