Ancient Lands

The weather has turned cold and miserable, it has been raining for a few days and looks like it's sticking around for a while. It has prompted me to look back on our trip to Kalbarri a few weeks ago....Mmmmm sunshine & warmth.

I haven't been to Kalbarri since I was little so for me it was really my first time there. Land like this really humbles me and makes me remember how ancient this land is we live on. I am not sure I can put it into worlds but it fills me with awe and great respect. It reminds me a lot of the Kimberley's, the red earth that stretches as far as the eye can see, the smell in the air is clean and filled with the scent of native plants and flowers and the sky is so clear and huge! 

This is probably the most gorgeous place I have been with Mario for climbing, I think it's due to the landscape and just how different is to what I am used to. This is the beauty of Western Australia, we have coast, forest and rugged landscape! It is just so diverse, unfortunately that diversity is also great distances apart. 

Mario's birthday in Pemberton

The extreme chocolate mouse cake I made for Mario's birthday. Delicious! Nothing like chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate to make a Belgian happy.

My gift to Mario was a weekend away to lush, green & mossy Pemberton, staying in a gorgeous little place called Foragers. Pemberton is around 400km's south of Perth, surrounded by national parks and surviving on the wood milling industry.

Foragers is close to one of the national parks so that was our morning walk, down through the huge karri forest to look at the little waterfalls and photograph the many mushrooms! The prefect way to work up an appetite for a pile of waffles & a freshly made coffee. Mmmm. 

Saturday we had the most gorgeous weather so we spent the day visiting wineries and looking at a few more of the national park areas. The lady that owns Foragers is also a chef, so most Saturday nights she cooks a long table dinner for guests and locals. Her food is very homestyle modern Australia (she learnt from one of Australia's most loved cooks) sourcing her produce from local suppliers and foraging when possible. Needless to say we had dinner there and loved every minute of it! 

Sunday the weather turned bad and we weren't quite so inspired to leave our little room with the fire blazing. Home we went, driving the long way back to stop at another pretty spot in the forrest and to get some sheep cheese from a local producer.

& how old is Mario again???