The Last Days ... Perth

The Sunsets in Perth are spectacular ... every night we had a view like this. 

From the very beginning Australia was going to be our last stop before home. lucy was living in Melbourne and we have very good friends in Perth that we really wanted to see. Our original plan was to drive from Perth to Melbourne, spend some time with lucy and then fly home. lucy's plans changed and consequently so did ours. Perth has been our last stop and we are so glad we stopped off here to spend time with friends. They have been so generous and hospitable. We have been really spoilt! We have loved catching up with friends that we have not seen in years and friends who moved over to Perth in the last couple of years. We have felt rich here ... rich in relationships. I have been humbled by their generosity and very grateful to have such good people in our lives who love and value us.

We can't believe that we are heading home. We are very excited to see our family and also nervous about picking up our lives again. We are definitely not looking forward to cold weather. We have decisions to make, employment to think about, a car to buy and we will need to earn money again for our next trip. I am not sure how we will adjust back to everyday life, but I have learnt over my life time that transition periods can be uncomfortable for a while. We have had such an amazing experience, both of us are sad to see it come to an end and do not regret our decision to travel. We have met wonderful people, seen and done some amazing things and enjoyed spending time with each other.

Thank you so much to our friends for making our last stop so memorable, rejuvenating and inspiring. 

The birds here are magnificent and colourful. Colin and Madeline have a bird bath and feeder on their decking and everyday birds feed and bathe here. I loved the sound of them early in the morning and watching them feed, they look completely at home on Madeline and Colin's decking. We enjoyed their company early in the morning and in the evening as the sun went down. 

I loved seeing Pete and Colin chatting away together ... every day.  I loved seeing Pete enjoy the company of male companions. He looked like he was having so much fun. I have not seen Pete hang out with male friends in a long time. Pete really enjoyed Colin's company and wisdom.  

Madeline and I went for an early morning swim in their pool every day we stayed with them. Madeline loves to swim, so I joined her. I met Madeline when I was on placement at Home and Family during my training. We became friends very quickly. I love having her wisdom in my life, her friendship means a lot to me.  I think every woman needs older women friends as guides and mentors and Madeline has been that for me. I am inspired by her energy and love of life and seeing her jump into her pool early in the morning inspired me to do the same in all areas of my life. Be brave, jump boldly, do not look back, do not second guess yourself and do not be afraid.  

I feel like we have known Richard and Pauline forever. I flatted with Richard in Christchurch in my YSA days. We were at their wedding, Pete as a missionary and me as a guest. Richard gave me away when Pete and I married. They supported us when we were very poor students living in Auckland. We used to drive over to the North Shore often and they would feed us. Their place felt like home, a place to go to when life was hard. We loved catching up with them again and it felt like no time had passed. Richard and Pauline are the salt of the earth, on many occasions they have been there to rescue us, I will always be grateful for them. I wish we had had longer with them. A really nice way to end a lovely evening with two people who we love very much ...we had such yummy hot chocolates at this restaurant ... to die for.

These two are like peas in a pod. Greg and Pete are so much alike, they even look alike. We had a wonderful time staying with Greg and Chris. We shared ourselves between Madeline and Colin and Greg and Chris. If I had been more organised we would have stayed with Richard and Pauline as well. 

We spent Saturday in Freemantle with Greg and Chris and enjoyed wandering round the markets and through the shops. Chris got the funkiest pair of shoes there. There was lots of good energy, music, dancing and food.

Greg and Chris and fish and chips. I cannot remember the last time we had fish and chips and these were particularly good, not fatty at all. No I have not started eating meat again ... just fish. Greg and Chris have been very good friends for a long time. I remember meeting Chris when she was flatting with Penny McLeod and looking into the church. I have always looked up to Chris ... she is the queen of class. I met Greg through Pete when I returned home from my mission. We are so fortunate to have such good friends in our lives, people who inspire us. People we can laugh, cry and play with.  

We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary with Greg and Chris. I love this photo of Pete, it is such a Pete grin.

I love this mural ... 

At last we got to experience Ikea. We have heard so much about Ikea and it certainly lived up to it's reputation. If only we had one in NZ.

Greg and Chris introduced us to their friends, Barb and Neil ... they are lovely people. We went and had morning tea with them ... it was more like a high tea. I have never had muffins that tasted so good. The chocolate brownie was delicious. Neil and Barb have not long been back from their mission in Samoa, which they loved. Neil has a few Holdens in his back yard and cars are always a talking point for Pete!

We really enjoyed spending time with Ineke and Asher, Greg and Chris' children. They were a lot of fun. They are both gorgeous and great young people. Asher did a lot of dishes while we stayed with them.

Aslan ... the more I got to know him the more I began to think that maybe I could do a pet dog. He is the most gorgeous dog and really well behaved. He posed for this photo.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have had such a wonderful time with great friends.