Holden's Travels ; On November 2, the Holden Family (Mum Nicola, Dad Paul and Two Children Aged Eight and Ten) Boarded a Plane to Capetown and Will Not Return to Their Edgbaston Home Until April 1, 2004, Travelling, Through South Africa, Onto Australia, Round New Zealand in a Camper Van, to Fiji and Then the States, Eventually Flying Back From New York. Nicola Holden Reports On the Family's Progress...

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It may interest you to know that kookaburras really do sit in old gum trees laughing, and that they do this from approximately 5.30am each day, very loudly. It is hard to mind, though, as you lie in bed knowing that the sun will already be filtering through the peppermint trees onto the wide verandah around our little chalet. We are tucked away in the bush near to the wonderful beaches and rolling countryside of Margaret River, Perth's playground, surfing mecca and wine-lovers paradise. There are neat rows of vines and fields full of fat jersey cattle each side of the gum-tree lined roads and, as you drive, there are glimpses of the sea sparkling seductively beyond. It is all a bit like an empty south of France, apar t from the parrots everywhere and the road signs warning of kangaroos crossing. Actually, signs are a big feature of Australian life, usually containing firm but friendly advice about things you must or must not do. We liked the ones put up by local traffic police: This week, we are targeting seatbelts. Paul and the children had a surfing lesson a few days ago taken by the grizzled surfie veteran Josh Parmeteer, four times Western Australian champion, and still as enthusiastic as the first day he jumped on a board. Josh embodies the laconic macho charm of the Australian sporting hero, and, hilariously for us Poms, really does say things like strewth! and ripper!

We all trooped down to the shore where a boiling cauldron of surf and sea awaited the intrepid pupils. I had fondly imagined there might be some sor t of beach-based technique for learning to surf, but it appears that you simply have to get into the enormous breakers and get on with it, having had a few instructions and a sinew-stiffening chat from Josh about how not to drown. Worried about my babies, I cross questioned the lifeguard (also grizzled, and most decidedly not of the Baywatch variety) who was arranging signs on the beach (No swimming! dangerous rips! Swim between the flags!) and was assured that 'They'll be right, these guys know what they are doing, no worries!' And as Charlotte and Gus were on their feet, really surfing, within a few minutes, I decided he was probably right. Paul had less stunning success, but assured me he did stand up 'when you weren't watching'. We are all, in truth, a bit in love with Australia, and sitting on the gorgeous crescent of white sand that is Meelup beach, staring out at the gin-clear azure ocean, I was driven to wonder why it is that Australians travel so much when they live somewhere so perfect. Happy New Year.

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Holden's Travels ; On November 2, the Holden Family (Mum Nicola, Dad Paul and Two Children Aged Eight and Ten) Boarded a Plane to Capetown and Will Not Return to Their Edgbaston Home Until April 1, 2004, Travelling, Through South Africa, Onto Australia, Round New Zealand in a Camper Van, to Fiji and Then the States, Eventually Flying Back From New York. Nicola Holden Reports On the Family's Progress...

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In Margaret River, we stayed in the Yallingup Forest Resor ...

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