U3AHA?

Down in the deep south of WA we've stayed in a couple of youth"hostels". The truth is, though, that while these are still hostels, they no longer serving the younger voters. Although the hostels are perfectly adequate and comfortable, the buildings are old, and often have cold, distant ablutions rather than the en suite or close proximity suites that the modern young traveller craves. By staying in some of these places, our little group has succeeded in reducing the average age of the hostellers by a significant amount. Nevertheless, they're good value (the hostels), and we're continuing our travels and adventures.

The weather down here (we're in Walpole, near Albany on the south coast of WA) is decidedly raw, and we've been put off snorkelling by that and the many "blue bottles" in the water. Undaunted, we've taken to the forests, and spent much of this morning 40 m above the ground among the tingle-tree canopy. Here we saw black cockatoos and parrakeets while the walkway swayed alarmingly in the breeze. Sea-sickness isn't confined to sailors!

Evenings are spent playing pool (George and Maryam are surprisingly good) or trying to find restaurants that are still open for business later than 7:30 p.m. , and yesterday George surprised us all by eating a wobbegong - or at least part of one - in a local restaurant.

There are only a few days left before we fly home, and so we plan to make our way back up to Perth tomorrow and the day after, possibly taking in Busselton en route.