Cairngorms

Saturday morning! We all slept in, cooked a huge breakfast, did some washing of clothes etc. then set off very late!  We headed further into the Cairngorms to the Ski Resort and caught the vernicular railway to the summit.There is well over a metre of snow on the summit and most of it was covered with skiers making the most of it.  None of us have ever seen snow like it before and we found it amazingly bright.  Unfortunately in some ways, it was still snowing so the visibility was really poor (down to 10 metres or so) although on the way back down the mountain, the cloud base had lifted enough to get some small views.

Tim and Ella in the snow

Jasper crammed up against the window on the vernicular railwayFrom here, it was on to the Highland Wildlife Park, which is associated with the Edinburgh Zoo and is a sort of Alpine version of Werribee in Melbourne.  We loved it.  There was a self-drive safari where we saw lots of Elk, Reindeer and other cool climate creatures, then a walk section where we saw Arctic Foxes, Snowy Owls, Beavers (well Beaver dams) and other small animals. 

Elk spotting… or is it a reindeer!

Wolves resting

More deer related animalsA highlight for Karina and I was that the kids were tired and decided to stay in the van afterwards while Karina and I went to the cafe for a coffee.From here, a short 1 hour drive to Perth where we stopped for the night and all watched the latest episode of Dr Who screen live on the BBC together.