Up and down the Caves Rd

Olly and Chris left us today to drive back to Perth-taking their dongle with them!  So, it's back to Notepad and the internet cafe in town.....C and O  have been great at taking us to places we would not necessarily have gone to and, of course, it's been the ultimate in relaxation to be driven around.  (Not to mention that Chris doesn't drink often so we 3 could do some tasting in the wineries.  There are 100+ cellar-doors here so it's essential to have recommendations otherwise....?)
 We spent the day visiting galleries up the route which serves the coast and, despite the very unfavourable exchange rate, Bob "persuaded" me to buy some unique earrings and a lovely litle watercolour of the local Splendid wren (bright neon blue and glimpsed on our last trip further south where it's cooler.)
Chatting to a guy who has spent the past 2 !/2 yrs travelling round Oz in his motorhome served to re-inforce our impression that the country has not fallen into the current recession and is set to boom further beniftting from ever-increasing trade with China.
We're really enjoying rediscovering just how friendly everyone here is.  We're told all sorts of stuff which adds background to what we're actually looking at or experiencing.  I also like the greeting:" Hi guys..." which often precedes an encounter with a local...makes me feel younger!!

We dropped in on 2 beaches though it was very windy on the coast today.  They were virtually empty- a strange sight for Europeans used to swarms of people on even the stoniest beach.  The water was clear and warm-ish.