We spent another week in Perth back in our favorite caravan park. Then it was time to wave goodbye to family and friends as well as Perth for maybe 5 years. Now it all started to become real. We had been talking about taking the big trip around Australia for so long it seems unreal to finally be on our way.

We could have driven strait to Kalgoorlie but instead we took the scenic way and went though small towns, some we had never head off. We drove though Toodyay and Dowerin stopping to look at the towns as we went.

In Toodyay Adrian took the time to visit the Mill, which has been turned, into a museum. I did the lady thing and walked around town looking at the shops.

Toodyay was larger than I was expecting and Dowerin smaller. I should have expected it. Toodyay is a nice hour drive from Perth. Something different for the weekend. Dowerin is not much further (only 2 hours form Perth) but doesn’t get the weekenders. We spoke to the town butcher and he said there weren’t many local farms anymore, only 709 residents in all for Dowerin. He himself applied for the position of butcher through an add the local council placed. They were hoping to get a married man with children but non-applied.

Farms are getting bigger and the equipment is getting bigger and the need for staff is less. Dowerin isn’t the only shire to offer jobs to family with children first as they try to keep people in the towns.