Australia for a second time

When we left Australia back in 2009 after an 8-month stay, we never dreamed we would have the opportunity to return to this vast and beautiful country. Australia was never on our short list of places to visit but, having met and made friends with some Aussies when travelling in Tuscany, Italy during the summer of 2008 we decided that if we could organise a couple of house and pet sits then perhaps we should head Down Under and see what all the fuss was about!

Well, we were often times overwhelmed with the sheer beauty of the country. We met and made friends with some wonderful people during our stay and, we travelled many, many miles, exploring and enjoying all that the East coast has to offer.

See http://www.mytb.org/happy-housesitters and http://tracyanddella.blogspot.com

We were truly impressed and completely taken by surprise at how this country, it's people, scenery and wildlife had affected us. As a result, leaving was more emotional than we would ever had thought especially as we did not expect to return - it is after all a long way from our home base in the UK!

As often happens though in life, nothing is certain and, towards the end of a very busy year in 2011 we decided we would take a month-long holiday and, after much thought, booked flights to Perth, Western Australia. It was one of our best decisions in terms of holiday destinations. We had simply the best time.

We began our visit in Perth, staying in the suburbs south of the Swan RIver and on the banks of the Cannning RIver.

We were house and pet sitting for our first week, looking after a lovely little dog, a Japanese Spitz and two very sweet cats.

Our month in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria will be summarised in subsequent posts.