The weather forecast predicted 34 degrees celsius on the day of our excursion to Albany last week. But since the class was so keen to go we soldiered on with lots of extra water, cool clothes and spray bottles to keep us cool and hydrated. Bill the bus driver was prompt at picking us up from school and we buzzed  across in the neat little bus to the museum of the Great Southern .We were greeted by Captain Edmund Lockyer a famous British ships commander who brought 23 convicts from Sydney to King George Sound in 1826. The children were very interested in hearing all about the harsh, gruesome conditions the convicts had to face on their journey to Frederickstown or originally known by the Noongar name of Kinjarling which means place of water. They were surprised and horrified at the same time especially after learning about the crimes they had committed like horse stealing or robbery. Many of the men were sentenced to a life of hard labour in building a settlement for the government and early settlers. If they behaved well the convicts were freed after 4 or 7 years depending. They were then able to return to England or stay and settle down and work the land which they were allowed to settle on. We were then invited to tour the Brig Amity and were put into chains to walk there just to make it more authentic. We lunched at the beautiful Eyre Park near Middleton beach and the new playground was extremely popular with the class. After lunch we headed to Izzafield Riding School where we were greeted by our horses for the next few hours. Grooming and saddling up was a very good exercise for the children who were keen to get on and ride (well most of them). In the end everyone had a ride on one of the horses, some being lead and some riding alone. They played horseback games and enjoyed learning to trot. Then it was time to farewell our new furry friends and head back to Denmark with Bill. The bus was quiet on the way back and all the children said they had had a wonderful time. Thanks to Bill for keeping up safe on the bus and being there to take us wherever we needed to go and also Ennica , Siennas mum, who was such a great help with everything on our excursion. Also Tegan and Jacqui for assisting with organising. A great day was had by all the class and their teacher too.