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After the dive adventure we noticed that Mariska was walking in the swimming pool, with her swim trainer on. It was such a step forward that we stayed another day in the caravan park with the nice pool,

Then it was time to look for another dive site. The next was Jurien Bay, so we called the dive school if it was possible. We were lucky; there was a dive club from. Perth which had chartered the dive boat and I could join

The trip to Jurien Bay was a lovely trip, weather was fine and en route we saw lots of interesting things, like a spectacular leaning tree and the amazing landscape north of Jurien Bay. Lots of lime sand and gypsum as well as salt plains. Despite the harsh conditions, it is incredibly rich in flora. More then 900 species are found here, as much as in the rain forest.

The dive school owner was reluctant about the dive next morning, as the wind was rather strong. Still I decided to go and indeed on the first dive the visibility was crap. Still it was interesting as there were caves and rich coloured walls with soft coral, sponges and lots of fish. The second dive was in a even more bright coloured area. Close to the last dive site was an area where sea lions were resident. We got the opportunity to swim with the sea lions and it is wonderful to see how these mammals are playing with swimmers, jumping out of the water and making fast movements. There is a risk however, they are wild animals and their dog teeth are sharp. It is advised not to touch them and never come between a mother and a puppy.

So our holiday is winding to an end and we are planning now the last events and the last steps for packing the luggage, cleaning the campervan and so on. The last day we will spend again at the Neervoorts residence in Perth, then the campervan is not used go live in anymore.

The last trip was to Lancelin, a fisherman’s resort 120 km from Perth, with bright white sand dunes. We enjoyed it quite a lot and then we felt the holiday was over. A nice family gathering with the Neervoorts and then the cleaning of the campervan and packing. A little sad we conclude that the 2 month holiday was too short.

We delivered the campervan without any problems. Indeed, 6000 kms without a scratch and the campervan was even polished, so we delivered it shining, in a much better state than we got it. And a week later we got back out bond from 5000 dollar

The flight to Holland was quick and convenient. We took off in Perth at half past two in the afternoon and landed on Schiphol next morning at 6.30. Mariska was entertaining the passengers by waving, shouting and smiling at them, much to the amusement of them. Further she was sweet, as she often had to be removed from the bassinet when turbulence was encountered. And that hardly without any cry. Flying around the world these days is as simple as driving to another country in Europe.

Those reading our stories of last years, may remember we always returned with loads of opals, sapphires and lots of glittering things. This year we almost broke with this tradition. Almost, as Birgitt discovered a jewellery shop during the stopover in Hong Kong, which had a brilliant collection of diamonds and (of course with Mariska in mind) Birgitt bought an impressive collection. Hopefully the customs would assess these as glass glitter stones. But the custom people did not pick us from the row, they were too busy smiling at Mariska.

This time we hardly suffered from jet lag. Has it to do with the time schedule? Interesting is that after a few hours flying we saw the sunrise lighting up the horizon. But as we further climbed North over Siberia, the sun set again and we arrived in full darkness in Holland. We put on our winter clothes and just caught the train to our home in Almere. Not easy, but we managed to transport, walking, Mariska and 70 kg luggage straight to our home. And continuing our daily morning run was really nice, and a big help to get used to the European time .