We have just got home from a lovely week down south in a place called Denmark (no relation to the Scandinavian country). Denmark is about 4.5 hours from Perth, and that part of Western Australia has a much more temperate climate with lots of trees and a rocky granite coastline.
We stayed in a place called the Ark of Denmark, in a wooden octagonal cabin called the Yurt, set high amongst tall karri trees on the hillside overlooking a coastal inlet. The cabin and the surrounding area were absolutely beautiful. The yurt had a log burning stove that we lit every morning and evening, and we spent our time exploring the coast, sitting in coffee shops and relaxing (as much as is possible with a nearly 10 month old baby!)
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| Inside the yurt |
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| Inside the yurt |
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| Nick tends to the fire |
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| The yurt |
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| Happy Devon! |
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| Nick doing a spot of bird watching |
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| Massive trees! |
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| Climbing granite rocks |
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| Nick's view on top of the boulders |
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| Nick's view from the highest boulder. You can just about see me in the middle of the photo! |
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| The yurt owner's dog, Charlie |
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| Magpies |
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| Devon exploring the balcony one morning |
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| Little climber! |
Nearby in a place called Walpole we visited the Valley of the Giants, an area known for its huge trees. They have built a treetop walk up through the canopy. Devon loved it up in the trees!
The coast down there is very different to that around Perth and further north in WA, powder fine sand beaches between huge granite cliffs and rock formations.
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| Devon all wrapped up |
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| 'The Gap' |
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| 'The Natural Bridge' |
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| Our little pixie |
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| The water looked lovely but it was a bit cold for a paddle |
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| Devon loves the beach |
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| 'Elephant Rocks' |
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| Albany |
Albany is a town about an hour from Denmark. It used to be the main port for Western Australia, as it had the only natural deepwater harbour. Fremantle is now the main port though after the Swan River mouth was artificiality deepened.
Albany marks the southern end of the Bibbulman track, a 1000km long distance footpath which starts in Kalamunda, near where we live.
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| Devon all bundled up! |
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| The yurt owners house |
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| Little wood sprite! |
Devon was much better in the car this time, I wouldn't say he was 100% happy but we survived both the journey there and back without any major meltdowns! I sat in the back with him, which I think helped.
Although we had a lovely time, holidays with babies are really hard work! Devon is still so little and doesn't understand what's going on and why things have changed. He didn't sleep well at all, during the night or day which made us all tired and grumpy. He's also starting to become very independent and hates having things done for him, making getting dressed/undressed and nappy changes quite difficult and meal times very messy! And he just wants to be off exploring all the time with very little patience for sitting still. At home we have babyproofed quite well, so we just let Devon cruise around wherever he wants, but in the yurt there were so many dangers about (log burning stove, free-standing vases/heaters/fans, open stairs, etc, etc) one of us had to be supervising him at all times and constantly reigning him back!
I know he loved having his Dad there full time though, and one of the best things about going away is how much you appreciate things back home.
