16 bottles of wine for Easter!

You might remember from last year that Easter is a 4 day weekend in Australia. With 4 days off we were excited to set off on an adventure. Being a Murray, I never plan too far ahead. Being a first born, I at least plan a little bit ahead. We tried (again) for Ayers Rock. We were too late (again). So we decided on Perth and Southwestern Australia. Although Sean and I had a deal - no more Jetstar flights - I booked a Jetstar flight. It was just so much cheaper. I couldn't help myself. We paid for that choice - with time and sleep.

Day 1 - we took a ferry to Rottnest Island. Rottnest Island is an island getaway about 30 minutes from Perth. In it's earliest days it served as a gaol for Aboriginals and then an internment camp in WWII. In 1903 it was turned into a tourist attraction for swimming, sailing, golfing, hiking. Rottnest is all about enjoying natural beauty. There are not any cars on the island. Just bikes. The island was named for the small native marsupials - quokkas. When the island was first discovered they were mistaken for giant rats and it was referred to as rat nest island. We hired bikes and set off on the 26km ride around the island. I said let's go with the single gear bike (because it was cheaper) instead of inquiring why one might need a multi gear bike. If I had asked that someone might have said - because it is really mountainous terrain! The ride was challenging, exhilarating and the scenery was spectacular. The beaches are some of the best in the world! We wasted no time jumping into the Indian Ocean. Wow is it blue and clear. 4 oceans down - one to go! On Rottnest you are so remote. Nothing between you and India in one direction and nothing between you and Africa in another.

If you are looking for a beach vacation that is all about the simple pleasures, this is place. No five star resorts or restaurants here. Just understated shacks with unobstructed views of the ocean (and the quokkas).

Our first winery stop was Swings & Roundabouts. We chose that one because of the wood fire pizza and the pretty cool label. The wine was good too. After doing some tasting we couldn't decide on just one so we bought a case. Needless to say that was our hotel accommodation for the night so I guess we'd be sleeping in the Prius. No seriously, we never made a reservation and in the Murray tradition Easter is for camping. We drove up to the place where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet - or should I say collide - and camped out for the night. We watched the sun set over the Indian Ocean and started Easter with it rising over the Southern Ocean!
As we were packing up our gear - ie folding up the beach towels and putting the seats back up - we caught site of another couple doing the same. Hmmm....they look familiar. Wait. They are the German couple we were swimming in Geographe Bay with two days and 100km ago in search of dolphins.
Thanks to the catholictraveler.com we've been to churches through most of the world. This one had some very unique features: panoramic views of the ocean, holy water in a seashell, and a hymn board that read OH for everything. As we were preparing for the opening hymn we couldn't figure out what OH meant and then the word appeared before us on the wall. Ah yes, OH must stand for over head (projector). Why didn't I think of that?!