Detours, Dams and a Dairy!

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Happy 2023!! 

We usually see in the New Year with the fireworks in Mandurah, but this year we decided to try something new!

We headed down to Busselton instead, only to find out the article I read about their NYE fireworks was a few years old, and unfortunately no 2022/23 fireworks for NYE this year.

 We didn’t let that stop our fun though, we had glow-stick suits, sparklers and a whole lotta fun!


No sky show? No worries!! We will just make our own!



We ended the night with a glow stick fight, a clean-up race, a dance party, and a baby that wanted to stay up and party into the early hours! 


We packed up to head home around lunch time and decided to take the scenic route back and ended up on a spontaneous adventure! First stop was Wellington Dam! 



We ventured down the lookout and took in the sights. The children loved seeing how the dam drains to the river.


It was so peaceful and serene, everyone we saw was so respectful of the space. The colours and the views of the water were absolutely breathtaking!


Everyone appreciated the fresh air and the leg stretch!!




The mural is named ‘Reflections’ and it was painted by artist Guido Van Helten. It took a massive 4 months to complete and covers 8000 square meters. Absolutely incredible!!


The water is a stunning blue surrounded by untouched natural beauty.

 
We headed back to the car and continued on our adventure home. We checked out Honeymoon Pool which I thought was a swimming hole, but turned out to be a pretty amazing camping spot! 
While driving through Harvey we spotted a sign for free cheese tasting and the worlds sexiest ice cream! So we quite obviously stopped at Harvey “Ha Ve” Cheese! 


We tried the vintage cheese and the feta and if we were a bit more prepared with a cool bag/ice bricks we definitely would have taken some home! We still supported the dairy though and bought some ice cream. Flavours of the day were Mint Choc Chip, Licorice and Mango Sorbet.
Mint Choc Chip was the biggest hit!  


We sat in a little side area where you can see the cheese being made, it was empty on our visit though as it was New Years Day, but the children still thought seeing the wheels of cheese curing and the environment and equipment where it is made was pretty cool! We finished off with a snap next to the vintage car, which caught Master Js eye almost immediately! 

Back on the road we went, thinking it was time to finally head home, until we saw a sign saying “The Big Orange” which prompted our next detour! 


Miss L spotted it first, and we found out the The Big Orange is actually a look-out over the orchard, and is usually open daily for a gold coin donation. Unfortunately for us, being New Years Day it was closed, so photos were the best I could manage.


We will definitely be back when more places are open and make a day of it!!!! 

Over and out,
Roxy xo





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