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Prevelly is where the Margaret River meets the ocean. This little church, St John the Theologian, sits alone on the hillside. In 1941 when Geoff Edwards, a West Australian soldier, was evacuated from Crete, he vowed he would honour the Cretans and the Monks of the Holy Monastery of Preveli for saving him and so many other Allied Troops.

He owned this beautiful area on the coastline, which he subdivided. He built the chapel in 1978 as a token of gratitude, helped financially by other returned servicemen and the West Australian Greek Community.

Stark and beautiful, the chapel remembers the Greeks who sheltered, hid and helped the servicemen escape to freedom.

Rugged and pristine coastline with good surf. Lovely swimming beaches and limestone cliffs. This is where Margaret River meets the coast.

Home and cooking with fresh lemons. We have lemons on fish, in dressings, in slices and biscuits. No scurvy here!

Good crop of chilies, too.

Today is Canada Day. Better put some maple syrup on something! I’m thinking waffles.

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This parrot enjoyed relaxing on the balcony of our apartment in Yallingup, too, and regularly came to visit.

Gorgeous small garden below our apartment.

Yallingup is known for great surf. There are also lots of very good restaurants at the many vineyards, breweries and galleries and a fabulous coastline. The hillside overlooking the beach features some innovative architecture tucked into the natural environment.

Known for its surf, this area has developed a world class, vibrant wine industry since the 1970s. There’s several breweries, too.

Lots of opportunities to buy local produce including baked goods, nougat, chocolate, locally roasted coffee and venison. We ate well!

We bought some venison at the deer farm and our son made this cottage pie. Looking forward to enjoying the other venison we bought and froze. Venison is not common in Western Australia but we really enjoyed it in Norway last year and were keen to try the locally grown meat. Ate some for dinner in Margaret River, too, and it was very, very good. It was char grilled, served on Brussels sprouts and cranberry salad with a pumpkin mousse. Venison is low in cholesterol and high in vitamins and minerals.

Interestingly, deer roaming towns in the UK have become a problem. According to the Daily Mail 26th June, the rising deer population is due to the absence of natural predators and a reduction in hunting and shooting. They are highly fertile and have benefited from changes in agricultural practices resulting in more winter crops and more woodland for cover.

Tomorrow is Meteor Watch Day. Meteors, also known as shooting stars, are the visible streak of light from the heated and glowing meteor falling through the Earth’s atmosphere. If you see one, make a wish!

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Lunch in Busselton on our way down south. This is the Busselton Jetty, the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. It was built in 1864 and is 1.841 kilometres (1.1 miles) long. Once popular with American whalers, it was also used to export grain and timber. It is only used for tourism and recreation now.

To Dunsborough on Geographe Bay late in the afternoon. This is a beautiful stretch of coastline popular for  swimming and boating.

Dinner at a cafe with a range of beers. Ordered a share plate which included venison shepherd pies, mandarin and beet salad, spring rolls and a great pizza. We couldn’t eat it all! Really tasty, well prepared food, but the venison pies were wonderful. Spelling on the menu not so wonderful!

Really like to relax with a decorator magazine or two. We had a balcony over looking treetops with lots of birds and the sounds of the ocean. It was lovely!

Today is Take Your Dog To Work day. Wish I could, hope you can!

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Self portrait, Kathleen O’Connor, part of the On Heads exhibition at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery.
Kathleen O’Connor (1876 – 1968), daughter of the famous West Australian engineer C.Y.O’Connor, was born in New Zealand but came to WA in 1891, later going to Europe to study Art. She was influenced by the Impressionists but developed her own style. This self portrait is different from so many of her paintings which are vividly coloured and large and bold. My favourite is Afternoon Tea, Paris. Her works hang in national, state and regional galleries.

Another of my favourite Australian artist, Margaret Preston, again on a food theme! This is Thea Proctor’s Tea Party, 1924.

The Bunbury Regional Art Gallery is in the former St Patrick’s Convent. We went to Bunbury especially to see the exhibition.

From the gallery to a cafe on the Back Beach for lunch. Spectacular view. I grew up in this region and this was a favourite swimming beach.

After a long hot summer it is suddenly cool enough to change sandals for espadrilles and even cool enough for a scarf! Love cooler weather clothes.

The 8th of June was World Oceans Day. Please consider using less plastic bags.

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Innovative and really attractive restaurant interiors, a variety of interesting and well balanced menus, lovely flowers and some gorgeous  crockery add to the pleasure of eating in Bali. Restaurants to meet all price points and always charming service. Love eating in Bali!

Cool breezes and views stretching for miles from the roof terrace at our villa. I like to spot the kites.

My favourite thing to do several times a day is to swim. So relaxing.

Some very tempting shopping. I bought these great tassels and a couple of shirts which are well made and fit well.

Bali is the perfect break! Eat, sleep, swim and explore this lush island.

Tomorrow is Paper Plane Day. Start folding that paper!

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