More catching up!

Hello happy readers! I hope you are still with us. If not or you have just joined, this is the Hampson-Ghani family blog of our holiday in Malaysia and Australia. Today it is Friday 24th August and we've been away for 29 days! I guess in the UK you are all getting ready for another Bank Holiday weekend. Is the weather still awful? In fact it's no so great here in New South Wales, but at least it is their winter!

Anyway, it's catch up time again . Lola's last post was from Canberra, but we hadn't filled you in on Perth, and now we are in NSW visiting Sydney! Or as Lola would say, more of the boring stuff...

Back to Sabah.....

Thursday 9th August: went on an island hopping trip to Gaya, Sapi, and Mandukan off KK. Did and very interesting jungle walk on Mandukan and saw bats, lizards, hornbills and even some monkeys! And go a close up of a mangrove swamp. Apparently these are the only Tsunami-resistant coastal defences... On Mandukan we went snorkelling around the coral just off the fabulous beaches. I got sunburnt as I forgot to cream up my back!




Friday 10th - Off to Perth

Left at the crack of dawn - in fact before dawn, so we missed the huge hotel buffet breakfast! - to fly back to KL and then pick up a B777 flight to Perth. Arrived there just after 4.00pm and a total of 8hrs flying. The weather was so bad we couldn't see the ground until we actually touched down! This is their winter! Met Dave Phillips (friend from Heysham days, and chauffeur at our wedding) at the airport as he had just flown in himself from Mumbai. Haven't seen him for over 15 years! His family (Christine and kids Iona 16, Douglas 17 and Callum 19) live in a huge house in a swanky suburb of Perth. Spend the evening catching up on friends, events, jobs etc!


.....Next update: meet Lawrence!