The tantrum actually turned out to be the start of a sickness and Maddie was a bit poorly for the frst few days. Not so poorly that she couldn't demand to go to the beach every day!
The weather was beautiful, we'd just had a really hot spell in Melly so it was great to go somewhere with a constant 30 degree temp and a nice cool breeze (they call the breeze the 'Fremantle Doctor'). Accordingly we visited the beach every day and generally made the most of being on holiday. We also went to the Zoo which is pretty much a given for going anywhere with Maddie - she is now very brave with animals and was happy to go up and stroke the Kangaroo!
Another highlight was Rottnest Island, about 45 mins by Ferry from Fremantle. This is a car-free island and we had a lovely time cycling between the beaches for a day - as you can see Maddie enjoyed herself!
Nadine and her partner Ash have just bought a lovely new house with palm trees in the garden.They have a cat called Lucy who was terrified of all of us but especially Maddie! She spent most of the week hiding under the spare bed and Maddie spent a lot of time with her head stuck under the bed trying to coax her out. Poor Lucy!
The garden was the scene of Maddie's Easter egg hunt...
Found one!
There's one up here!
You can keep them safe, Mummy...
Thanks to Nadine very kindly driving, we also found time to do our first winery tour (of the vineyards in the Swan Valley near Perth). Although there is the Yarra Valley only 45 mins from the centre of Melbourne, we've only been to one winery in 15 months! So we came back with 9 or 10 bottles stuffed into the cases including some very nice Port and Muscat.
All for now, much to write about so back soon (well, sooner than our usual infrequent efforts I hope!).
