Adios Perth

One of the often quoted statistics about Australia is that most of its population live in cities. It is said that this creates such problems as young Australians not appreciating the wonderful environment that surrounds them, and the concentration of nutrients and energy in cities strip the land around them and create problems of waste disposal. But I don't think that many of these Australians in a city actually live a city lifestyle. They inhabit a suburban world which neither the city or the country plays a part in.
We had a very suburban New Year. We had a few drinks and unsuccessfully tried to start a barbie at our house in the suburb of Morley, then we got two trains across to the suburb of Thornlie where our friend from work Dan was having a party. Curiously, when I asked where the toilet was, I was told round the corner of the house. When I got there, it was pitch black and there was no sign of a toilet. Now, rather than get sniffy about peeing against a tree, which all guys do all the time, I just found an object and let loose. I'm fairly sure that this is what they wanted, but I haven't been able to check with Dan yet.




















New Year's Eve with the Aussies

When we got back, various housemates and their friends were either sprawled on the sofas or still up drinking. They would continue their NY orgy for the next two days, while we, unfortunately, had to stay sober for work. But, with all due respect, they didn't keep us awake when we needed to go to bed at 9.30pm on New Years Day. The house seemed to have the alcohol stocks of a small liquor store, which was hardly surprising seeing as Ben the Kiwi works at one.





New Years Day was predicted to be hot, 38 degrees C, so I wanted to be near some water. We weren't too keen on the sea, as there had been shark sightings all the time since before Xmas Day when the guy disappeared, including some aerial film of a hammerhead. Although Jo maintains that it is ok to swim in the sea as long as you don't go further out then waist deep. I'm sure those of you reading this in the British Isles will find this very useful information. So, we decided to drive out to one of our favourite spots around Perth, the river at Dwellingup, about 70km south. Half way there, we saw a sign for Serpentine Falls and were delighted to find you could swim in the pool under the falls. The water was nice and cold, according to one guy it might be an underground river. At this time of year, it's not unusual to find falls like this completely dried up, like when we went to the John Forrest National Park a few days later, but there was still a stream of water cascading down the rock here. Daredevil kids climbed up the sides, not sure how because they were slippery, and jumped into the water, and there was a big 25ft drop that turned into a spectator event. As one of the girls that had jumped off the big drop walked past me, she complained that her feet were hurting, I must be getting old as I thought it served her right. It was a popular spot, being not too far from Perth, and it would have been nicer without all the people, but I'm splitting hairs. As we cooked some food on the communal barbies, the resident kangaroos hopped around the clearing trying to find food.






































Jo and her new marsupial friend

Serpentine Falls National Park









On our last weekend in Perth, we went out to John Forrest National Park, the first National Park in Western Australia, and the first one I've found in Australia with a pub within its grounds! You can imagine my delight after a good walk around the park, the temperature reading on my new watch saying 37 degrees C, with the falls all dried up so you could walk all over the many coloured rocks, to walk up to where we thought it was a kiosk with soft drinks and find the Wildflower Tavern with a fantastic selection of nice beers and the cricket and tennis on! And a resident Cockatoo who hissed at me when I got too close.
























This week is our last at work. I'm glad, because Jo whacked her head on a tailgate last night so the sooner we get her out of here the less harm done. We took the car for a service, and found out that the front brakes, front tyres, shock absorbers and possibly the timing belt all need changing to the tune of a couple of thousand dollars, so basically we'll be driving a time-bomb to Sydney! The garage, and most people around here, think we'll be fine. See you on the other side.