PERTH, Western Australia

They say things come in 3's...by the time we reached Perth, we had three broken things to contend with; my tooth, the new ARB fridge and Hailey! Thankfully, despite the shocking pain, my tooth was quickly fixed (well, at least the first of 3 root canal treatments provided much needed relief! I still need two more treatments over the next few months but I'm hoping they will be painless). The ARB fridge was still under warranty so the broken controller was repaired without charge. Poor Hailey needed a day in hospital and after some scans and tests, she was diagnosed with tonsillitis, bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection! We knew she was not 'right' but never suspected she was suffering from so many ailments, especially ones we never knew dogs could contract. After a week of antibiotics and rest she was back to full strength and all was in order again in the Hobbitt camp!

We were graciously hosted for our stay in Perth by some family friends with a small property in the outer northern suburbs. Both the kids and dogs were immediately impressed with the open spaces and freedom to move about unrestricted. The week quickly passed as we sorted our 'broken' things, restocked items for the camper, took in a few of the local sights and caught up on school work.

'The man of the house', Martin, a stonemason from Yorkshire, regaled us with stories from his long history in the building trade. For a while now, I've secretly harboured an ambition to be a stonemason - not one who uses modern lasers to cut and sculpture stone, but one who's craftsmanship and artistry honours the ancient traditions of the trade. It's fair to assume my ambition will remain unfulfilled but nonetheless, Martin kindly agreed to make me his apprentice for an hour. I was entrusted with his sacred tools and given some lessons in basic stone cutting. From my incredibly short foray into the trade, it's clear that you'd need endless patience, a steady hand and years of experience before you could consider yourself a worthy craftsman.

We visited Kings Park and admired the war memorial that Martin had recently been contracted to restore; painstakingly removing each stone, one by one, to repair the decades of water damage then rebuilding it to it's original glory. The work was made even more special by Dot's contribution ('The lady of the house'). She painted all the gold leaf on the lettering, completing the restoration and proudly contributing to honouring our fallen soldiers. It's a beautiful spot up there, befitting the significance of the memorial. Kings Park is an incredible place - 1,000 hectares (4 square km) of open space and native bushland on the edge of Perth. It is one of the largest inner city parks in the world, even dwarfing New York's Central Park, which is a mere 3.41 square kms! We picnicked at the kids playground park with a lake, an island and play equipment. The weather was perfect, allowing the kids to get soaked in the dancing fountains around the lake and the adults to relax in the shade of the majestic old trees.

After many late nights catching up on years of news with Dot, it was time to move on and explore WA's amazing south west.