CERVANTES TO PERTH

The Abbey Church at New Norcia

The Monastery at New Norcia

Lighting a candle in the Abbey Church

St. Marcellin Champagnat - the Marists cared for the college for quite some time

DAY 83 – CERVANTES TO PERTH                         Friday, 23^rd September

Lazy morning this morning.  Minister for Tourism (Daddy) forgot there was a tour at New Norcia at 11am so we were travelling along like the Grey Nomads.  Beautiful country heading inland from Cervantes.  Very green and treed – wind farms, cattle and sheep grazing, and wildflowers. 

Bridgie lost ANOTHER tooth in the car this morning – ably pulled out by her eldest sister.  Honestly, I don’t know how people survive with the number of teeth she has left!!  The tooth fairy will go broke and I will have to start pureeing her food!

New Norcia is a small town with a beautiful Benedictine Abbey which is now on the National  Heritage list.  The buildings are absolutely beautiful, rising out of the countryside – enormous buildings using colourful stonework.  Quite a feat for the monks in the 19^th century.  Whilst about 8-9 monks still live there, the buildings are primarily used for retreats, school camps and youth groups.  We wandered around the buildings and the cemetery there with its many graves of the monks who lived and worked there since 1848.  The Abbey Church has beautiful frescos of the Stations of the Cross and the kids loved walking around the church and asking about the paintings and which Station they could be.

We drove then through the Swan Valley with its HUGE houses and vineyards and stopped in at Houghtons Winery for some wine tasting while the kids ran all over the beautiful grounds.  It felt a bit strange doing a purely “adult” thing after all the “family friendly” activities we having been doing!

Off finally to Perth to purchase some chocks (left at Karijini National Park!) and then to Mazenod College where our good friend Hokey (Michael) McMahon was waiting for us.  David taught here for 6 months in 1996.  Hokey was the priest who helped us with our marriage preparation and who was present (although unable to officiate!) at our wedding.  The kids were all excited to meet him as Daddy had informed them that Hokey was the person who told him to marry Mummy.  So they decided, without Hokey, they would not exist!  Anyway, he was an absolute favourite very quickly, providing them with pizza and Coca Cola!!  (“We are NEVER allowed to have this at home!)  We all slept in the van parked in the Mazenod carpark that night so we managed to put the kids to bed and have a lovely evening with Hokey, having dinner, drinking wine and catching up on people and stories. 

We caught up with Fr. Moroney and Fr. Hughes (who was a hero, providing the kids with Magnum ice creams!) whilst watching the Hawks go down to the Magpies in the Preliminary Final (what a tragedy!)