Wed Oct 22
12:22 San Francisco Airport
It’s kinda funny how every time I come home, the first flight to the US is early. The hop to Vancouver is so short that it’s almost a given that it won’t be early. More time in the airport, I guess. Too bad the 2pm flight’s full. It’d be nice to cut the connection time by 2 hours.
Anyways, I am so annoyed by the guy at the SYD security gate. I had a half a bottle of water that I’d forgotten about, and he made me throw the bottle when I was emptying out the bottle! FIRST of all, that’s very environmentally unfriendly, and second of all, it’s not like I was trying to get the liquid into the friggin secured area. If that had been a more expensive bottle, would he have made me chuck it out too? What difference does it make that it’s just a generic powerade bottle? I need water too, ya know. And it’s not like there was anyone waiting behind me. Geez.
The US is so paranoid. I passed through the metal detector just fine at all the other airports, but had to take off my money belt at the United gate. Yea. Only flights to the States had an extra security check point and gated area right at the gate. I really didn’t like the guy rifling through my stuff. I’ve had my bag checked before, but I didn’t like this guy. It could be that at the other airports, they just ran a sensor over and in my bag, rather than actually take out my stuff. I think the point where I was really annoyed was when he took out my journal. If it had been dangerous, and the first security checkpoint hadn’t caught it, then really, what’s the point of it in the first place? I think also that on all my other flights this trip, the person described exactly what they were going to do, whereas this guy just dove in. Lack of courtesy, ya know? I’m not a criminal; don’t treat me like one.
Anyways. The flight was fantastic. I had the entire centre row to myself. The person who had been sitting at the other end must’ve changed their seat online shortly before checking in. I think I slept 9 of the 12 hours! I was so tired (having been up the day before, then taking the red-eye from Perth and finally boarding at 3:40pm the next day) that I missed take off. I mean, one minute, the plane was stationary, and the next thing I’m aware of, we’re already in the clouds. I think Will’s rubbing off on me =P
Oh my lack of direction really sucks. So we get to Sydney from Perth at 7am, and I’m supposed to pick up my stuff from Monica at 9:30. Desperately needed a shower, and the Lonely Planet said there were some at the Traveller’s Aid on Platform one of Central Station. I ask information, and he directed me to a public pool near Hyde Park, which is a bit of a trek, so I go to YHA Railway Square to see if I could buy a shower. The guy says showers are only for guests. Fine. All my customer training was appalled at how he didn’t even suggest alternatives, like gyms or community centres or whatever. Way to go, buddy. But since I’m not really a customer, I guess I’m not worth his time or breath.
Oh, and the kicker. When I asked if there were a pool somewhere, he tells me there’s one about 15 minutes away. I ask in which direction, and he’s like “Away from the city.” WTF? Thanks. And then he’s like, “You’ll be wet from the rain walking there and back anyway.” Uh. Hello? A shower and wet from the rain are two COMPLETELY different things. I have 20 hours before I get home, and the last time I took a shower was 30 hours ago. What a moron!
So I head to the post office to pick up mail. I have a Tax File Number now. Fat lotta good that’s gonna do me, eh? =P
Off to Darling Harbour to meet Monica. Easier said than done. I had to turn back 3 separate times. WTF! I’ve BEEN there several times this trip! You’d think I’d be able to get there 3 weeks later! Oi.
Oh, I must say. The rain was most welcome after the blistering heat of the past week. Even if Sydneysiders hated it. Monica tells me that the weather was really nice over the weekend; further proof that Vancouverites really do bring our weather with us =P. I have to admit that I was missing the rain.
Thank goodness there were complimentary showers at SYD. And the lady at Information was so nice about it. She was so grandmotherly, telling me that she hoped it were still there, for my sake. I guess I seemed really desperate =P
I’m glad I had set aside clean clothes for the flight. Everything else is in dire need of washing. Not that any of you need to know. Heh.
Oh. The Coles bag that I used to pack the excess clothes broke. It’s not that I actually had a lot of stuff; total weight of my check-in luggage was less than 20kg. I just didn’t pack efficiently. When I got to the counter, I asked the guy if I needed to repack it all into my one bag, and he told me to just put the broken bag into the plastic luggage bag. Easy.
This trip has been great, but I am totally ready to go home. I have no doubt I’m going back to Australia for a visit; there’s so much still to see. Next time, though, I’m going to go in cooler weather =P
If you’ve made it all the way to the end, thanks for reading!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Rottnest Island
Tues Oct 21
21:13 Perth Domestic Airport
Perth is so not for me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful place, but there’s nothing to do, and everything closes early. I’m also not a fan of the climate, or the proliferation of flies. They’re a bloody nuisance.
Onto better topics. Went to Rottnest Island today. Quokkas are so cute! Not as cool as wombats, but cute. They just wander around the island. Oh, another reason why young kids should not travel: They’re bloody savages to animals. This one kid, couldn’t’ve been more than 4, was running around, trying to kick, poke, and stomp on the quokka, even after his mother told him not to. I wanted to throttle the brat. Yea. This trip is not endearing me to young children. Thank goodness I teach high school.
Right, better topics. The ferry ride to Rottnest was nice. Perth has regulations as to how fast large boats can travel in certain sections of the Swan River, so as to minimize the damage to shorelines caused by the wakes. As soon as the guide said it, the Fast Cat Fiasco came to mind.
Didn’t rent a bike, knowing that my leg is still a little screwy from the hike in Kalbarri. One of my roomies said that the island is a bit hilly, and I had the train and gun tour anyway, so I just walked around. The tour was interesting. I can’t really remember much of the information, only that the shell was 9in in diameter, and the initial velocity is about twice the speed of sound. I have a feeling the guys in my life would have hung onto more of the guide’s commentary than I did. =P
Had a HUGE dinner at Sassella’s Tavern in the city: 350g ribeye steak with fries, salad and veggies. When I saw the platter, I was wondering if I could finish it. I did, but it was a near thing. Oh, something else that I’m going to miss is how common blackcurrant juice is. So yummy!
I have basically 3 hours to kill before my flight. Why am I here so early, you wonder? The last shuttle to the airport got me here at 8, 4 hours before my departure. See what I mean about how Perth is not for me? Melbourne’s got the 24-hour Skybus to get you to and from the airport. I have a feeling, though, that I can actually take public transit here. Just no one around here knows about it, or there’s a conspiracy to get as much money from us as possible by only advertising the shuttle and taxi.
Gonna geek out and play solitaire. Can’t wait to get to hop on that flight home tomorrow! This is gonna surprise everyone! ^^
21:13 Perth Domestic Airport
Perth is so not for me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful place, but there’s nothing to do, and everything closes early. I’m also not a fan of the climate, or the proliferation of flies. They’re a bloody nuisance.
Onto better topics. Went to Rottnest Island today. Quokkas are so cute! Not as cool as wombats, but cute. They just wander around the island. Oh, another reason why young kids should not travel: They’re bloody savages to animals. This one kid, couldn’t’ve been more than 4, was running around, trying to kick, poke, and stomp on the quokka, even after his mother told him not to. I wanted to throttle the brat. Yea. This trip is not endearing me to young children. Thank goodness I teach high school.
Right, better topics. The ferry ride to Rottnest was nice. Perth has regulations as to how fast large boats can travel in certain sections of the Swan River, so as to minimize the damage to shorelines caused by the wakes. As soon as the guide said it, the Fast Cat Fiasco came to mind.
Didn’t rent a bike, knowing that my leg is still a little screwy from the hike in Kalbarri. One of my roomies said that the island is a bit hilly, and I had the train and gun tour anyway, so I just walked around. The tour was interesting. I can’t really remember much of the information, only that the shell was 9in in diameter, and the initial velocity is about twice the speed of sound. I have a feeling the guys in my life would have hung onto more of the guide’s commentary than I did. =P
Had a HUGE dinner at Sassella’s Tavern in the city: 350g ribeye steak with fries, salad and veggies. When I saw the platter, I was wondering if I could finish it. I did, but it was a near thing. Oh, something else that I’m going to miss is how common blackcurrant juice is. So yummy!
I have basically 3 hours to kill before my flight. Why am I here so early, you wonder? The last shuttle to the airport got me here at 8, 4 hours before my departure. See what I mean about how Perth is not for me? Melbourne’s got the 24-hour Skybus to get you to and from the airport. I have a feeling, though, that I can actually take public transit here. Just no one around here knows about it, or there’s a conspiracy to get as much money from us as possible by only advertising the shuttle and taxi.
Gonna geek out and play solitaire. Can’t wait to get to hop on that flight home tomorrow! This is gonna surprise everyone! ^^
Western Exposure Day 4
Mon Oct 20
22:04, Perth
Back at Perth City YHA. Can’t exactly say I’m glad to be back, because this window also faces the train. But at least the hostel is cleaner than that of Grand Central. AND, I am no longer in the Outback. Nothing really wrong with rural/remote areas, just that it was really freaking hot and there were way too many insects buzzing around.
So last night was one of the, if not THE worst night I have had so far in Oz. Worse than that really hot night in Glebe. It was marginally cooler than Glebe, but the insects made it way way worse. I spent a good portion of the night swatting at them in the dark. I couldn’t even get up to do anything or go somewhere with fewer bugs, because the farm’s got all sorts of critters, snakes among them.
Had bread and honey for brekky. When I got to the mess, I realised that I couldn’t have cereal, cuz I didn’t have lactaid with me. As I headed towards the toaster with the bread, I also realised that there were probably bugs in the toaster, and really, I don’t need that source of protein.
That bottle of ice came in really handy today. The ice completely melted sometime on the stretch drive back to Perth, so it was good.
First stop of the day was Hutt River Province. HRH Prince Leonard was not in. He’s sick, which is a shame, cuz he’s apparently charming and tells good stories, which is more than what I can say about Duke (Arthur?) of Nain.
Hutt River seceded from Australia in the 70s because the guy who owned the land didn’t want to pay tax on his wheat crop. He found this loophole and managed to create his own sovereign province. Really, it’s a hole. Population of half a dozen permanent residents, and a few extra hands when needed. I wonder if they’re gonna keep it a separate entity from Australia when the prince dies, or if Crown Prince Ian will continue with it. I mean, they can’t possibly have all the benefits that Australian citizens have.
Anyways, I got a set of notes and a coin for Will. I didn’t think anyone else would want anything from the province.
Up next was a wildlife park. Can’t remember the name of it. Fed a bunch of animals. The kangaroos can get pretty aggressive about it. They apparently have a hierarchy, and being humans, we’re more drawn to the cute little guys, so the big males get uppity about it. They hissed and made a growling kinda noise. Poor Jessica got bitten by one. No blood drawn, just scratch marks.
The donkey spat at the Swiss girls.
The goats were hilarious! They propped themselves up on their hind legs and craned their necks as far as possible over the fence, then stuck out their tongues, trying to get us to give them food. Talk about eager! If I had my camera, that definitely would’ve been a video capture.
The Swiss girls were horrified with the turkey. One was like, “What’s wrong with it?” with respect to the red bits hanging off the beak. Sophie was nonchalant, telling her that it’s a turkey; Americans eat them at Thanksgiving.
Ostriches are so much prettier than emus. Emus have this evil eye look about them. Ostriches are like ladies playing with their feather fans.
The grand finale at the wildlife park was the snake show. A pair of pythons, Adam and Eve, was brought out, and we were allowed to handle them. Smallish things, about a metre or so long, and about as thick as the handle of a tennis racket. Sophie had one around her neck and Miriam held one. I didn’t want to, especially with the flies buzzing around, because I knew I would probably reflexively swat at the flies and probably startle it, or drop it.
The flies are EVERYWHERE! Have I mentioned that? And they always seem to dive at my eyes every so often. ABSOLUTELY HATE that! UGH!!! Just thinking about it pisses me off.
Anyways, then they brought out an orphaned joey, Jiba, meaning “moon”. What a cutie! For a $2 donation, we could hold her. I didn’t, because I JUST have enough to take the shuttle to the airport tomorrow. Jiba’s really soft, and she’s got those doey, liquid eyes framed by black lashes.
We stopped for lunch at Point Denison. Would be a lovely place, but the omnipresent flies ruined it. I was pretty disgusted with how they were all over the food. Thank goodness it was the last meal of the tour.
I almost left my waterproof jacket behind. Luckily, there was so much traffic that by the time I realised it, I was even with the bus, and Sophie quickly handed it to me at a light. Hopefully, I haven’t forgotten anything important.
Time for bed. I’m hoping that the pint of Guinness I had with dinner will help me fall asleep tonight.
22:04, Perth
Back at Perth City YHA. Can’t exactly say I’m glad to be back, because this window also faces the train. But at least the hostel is cleaner than that of Grand Central. AND, I am no longer in the Outback. Nothing really wrong with rural/remote areas, just that it was really freaking hot and there were way too many insects buzzing around.
So last night was one of the, if not THE worst night I have had so far in Oz. Worse than that really hot night in Glebe. It was marginally cooler than Glebe, but the insects made it way way worse. I spent a good portion of the night swatting at them in the dark. I couldn’t even get up to do anything or go somewhere with fewer bugs, because the farm’s got all sorts of critters, snakes among them.
Had bread and honey for brekky. When I got to the mess, I realised that I couldn’t have cereal, cuz I didn’t have lactaid with me. As I headed towards the toaster with the bread, I also realised that there were probably bugs in the toaster, and really, I don’t need that source of protein.
That bottle of ice came in really handy today. The ice completely melted sometime on the stretch drive back to Perth, so it was good.
First stop of the day was Hutt River Province. HRH Prince Leonard was not in. He’s sick, which is a shame, cuz he’s apparently charming and tells good stories, which is more than what I can say about Duke (Arthur?) of Nain.
Hutt River seceded from Australia in the 70s because the guy who owned the land didn’t want to pay tax on his wheat crop. He found this loophole and managed to create his own sovereign province. Really, it’s a hole. Population of half a dozen permanent residents, and a few extra hands when needed. I wonder if they’re gonna keep it a separate entity from Australia when the prince dies, or if Crown Prince Ian will continue with it. I mean, they can’t possibly have all the benefits that Australian citizens have.
Anyways, I got a set of notes and a coin for Will. I didn’t think anyone else would want anything from the province.
Up next was a wildlife park. Can’t remember the name of it. Fed a bunch of animals. The kangaroos can get pretty aggressive about it. They apparently have a hierarchy, and being humans, we’re more drawn to the cute little guys, so the big males get uppity about it. They hissed and made a growling kinda noise. Poor Jessica got bitten by one. No blood drawn, just scratch marks.
The donkey spat at the Swiss girls.
The goats were hilarious! They propped themselves up on their hind legs and craned their necks as far as possible over the fence, then stuck out their tongues, trying to get us to give them food. Talk about eager! If I had my camera, that definitely would’ve been a video capture.
The Swiss girls were horrified with the turkey. One was like, “What’s wrong with it?” with respect to the red bits hanging off the beak. Sophie was nonchalant, telling her that it’s a turkey; Americans eat them at Thanksgiving.
Ostriches are so much prettier than emus. Emus have this evil eye look about them. Ostriches are like ladies playing with their feather fans.
The grand finale at the wildlife park was the snake show. A pair of pythons, Adam and Eve, was brought out, and we were allowed to handle them. Smallish things, about a metre or so long, and about as thick as the handle of a tennis racket. Sophie had one around her neck and Miriam held one. I didn’t want to, especially with the flies buzzing around, because I knew I would probably reflexively swat at the flies and probably startle it, or drop it.
The flies are EVERYWHERE! Have I mentioned that? And they always seem to dive at my eyes every so often. ABSOLUTELY HATE that! UGH!!! Just thinking about it pisses me off.
Anyways, then they brought out an orphaned joey, Jiba, meaning “moon”. What a cutie! For a $2 donation, we could hold her. I didn’t, because I JUST have enough to take the shuttle to the airport tomorrow. Jiba’s really soft, and she’s got those doey, liquid eyes framed by black lashes.
We stopped for lunch at Point Denison. Would be a lovely place, but the omnipresent flies ruined it. I was pretty disgusted with how they were all over the food. Thank goodness it was the last meal of the tour.
I almost left my waterproof jacket behind. Luckily, there was so much traffic that by the time I realised it, I was even with the bus, and Sophie quickly handed it to me at a light. Hopefully, I haven’t forgotten anything important.
Time for bed. I’m hoping that the pint of Guinness I had with dinner will help me fall asleep tonight.
Western Exposure Day 3
Sun Oct 19
8:45, Monkey Mia
I GOT PICKED TO FEED A DOLPHIN! Quite cool in that I totally had not expected it, since a little boy near me got picked first. You hold the fish by the tail and put it underwater, and the dolphin comes up to you and takes it.
That was the idea, anyway. Spark (or was it Sharp?) kinda nibbled on it, and so I let go, and it fell to the bottom, and she didn’t bother with it. Apparently, only 5 specific females get fed about a fifth of their daily requirement each day, so they won’t rely on humans for food, and will teach their calves to hunt.
This regular feeding (it happens 3 times a day between 7:30 and noon) has been going on for 40 years.
These are the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, a subspecies. Their undersides get speckled as they age. And man, it sucks to be a female. The boys are rough with them (a few had rake marks). They continue to pop out babies until they die, and they raise the calves on their own. Sure, the females group together to form families, but they’re either breeding, pregnant, or nursing. The boys? They stay with mum, then move off, have sex, and frolic in the open seas with their buddies.
It was quite amazing how the dolphins came right up into the shallows. We were standing less than calf-deep water.
Apparently, the females are so used to coming for their food that they will often bring their calves with them the day after they’re born. If a female misses a day, then chances are, she’s giving birth.
Oh, if you want to up your chances of having a close encounter with a dolphin, either be pregnant, or bring a pregnant woman along. Dolphins are fascinated by the fetus. There’s a dolphin interaction zone, and while you’re not allowed to touch them, they are free to touch you. So there you go.
21:12, Riverside (Ajava?) Sanctuary Farm
Currently at a farmstay. My GOD the bugs are everywhere. I will be SO glad to be going home, where it is winter = NO BUGS!
I don’t care how unfashionable a fly net is, it does its job, and that is more than what I can ask for, because obviously, asking that all the flies be wiped off the face of the earth would be too much. Even the vast majority would be too much to ask for.
I didn’t do anything at Monkey Mia, after the dolphin feeding and getting a couple postcards. It was HOT. Apparently the sand was boiling. I wouldn’t know, cuz I wore flip flops the entire time. Met a couple of older Perthites, Sue and Maggie, and their rescue dog, Iggy. Some sort of Border collie mix, I think. Really docile, though that could be due to the heat. Sue gave me her number, saying that I should call her if I’m ever in Perth again. They were raving about Esperance.
Left Monkey Mia at 12:30. Got to the Overlander Roadhouse, and had to wait an hour for Greg to pick the four of us up to head back to Perth. The others were going north, beyond the Tropic of Capricorn to Exmouth. Just Sophie, Jessica and Miriam (Swede, Swiss French and Swiss German) and yours truly here.
Went on a little walk. Jock the dog is a cutie. Golden brown dog of some sort.
Dinner was a simple affair of shepherd’s pie, garlic bread, and fruit with custard. I have a 1.5L bottle of water in the freezer. Should be fantastic for tomorrow. Shoulda done it for the last couple days. Brain OBVIOUSLY not functioning properly.
May sleep with a fly net on tonight. Would LOVE to have the bed nets that they have in Asia.
8:45, Monkey Mia
I GOT PICKED TO FEED A DOLPHIN! Quite cool in that I totally had not expected it, since a little boy near me got picked first. You hold the fish by the tail and put it underwater, and the dolphin comes up to you and takes it.
That was the idea, anyway. Spark (or was it Sharp?) kinda nibbled on it, and so I let go, and it fell to the bottom, and she didn’t bother with it. Apparently, only 5 specific females get fed about a fifth of their daily requirement each day, so they won’t rely on humans for food, and will teach their calves to hunt.
This regular feeding (it happens 3 times a day between 7:30 and noon) has been going on for 40 years.
These are the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, a subspecies. Their undersides get speckled as they age. And man, it sucks to be a female. The boys are rough with them (a few had rake marks). They continue to pop out babies until they die, and they raise the calves on their own. Sure, the females group together to form families, but they’re either breeding, pregnant, or nursing. The boys? They stay with mum, then move off, have sex, and frolic in the open seas with their buddies.
It was quite amazing how the dolphins came right up into the shallows. We were standing less than calf-deep water.
Apparently, the females are so used to coming for their food that they will often bring their calves with them the day after they’re born. If a female misses a day, then chances are, she’s giving birth.
Oh, if you want to up your chances of having a close encounter with a dolphin, either be pregnant, or bring a pregnant woman along. Dolphins are fascinated by the fetus. There’s a dolphin interaction zone, and while you’re not allowed to touch them, they are free to touch you. So there you go.
21:12, Riverside (Ajava?) Sanctuary Farm
Currently at a farmstay. My GOD the bugs are everywhere. I will be SO glad to be going home, where it is winter = NO BUGS!
I don’t care how unfashionable a fly net is, it does its job, and that is more than what I can ask for, because obviously, asking that all the flies be wiped off the face of the earth would be too much. Even the vast majority would be too much to ask for.
I didn’t do anything at Monkey Mia, after the dolphin feeding and getting a couple postcards. It was HOT. Apparently the sand was boiling. I wouldn’t know, cuz I wore flip flops the entire time. Met a couple of older Perthites, Sue and Maggie, and their rescue dog, Iggy. Some sort of Border collie mix, I think. Really docile, though that could be due to the heat. Sue gave me her number, saying that I should call her if I’m ever in Perth again. They were raving about Esperance.
Left Monkey Mia at 12:30. Got to the Overlander Roadhouse, and had to wait an hour for Greg to pick the four of us up to head back to Perth. The others were going north, beyond the Tropic of Capricorn to Exmouth. Just Sophie, Jessica and Miriam (Swede, Swiss French and Swiss German) and yours truly here.
Went on a little walk. Jock the dog is a cutie. Golden brown dog of some sort.
Dinner was a simple affair of shepherd’s pie, garlic bread, and fruit with custard. I have a 1.5L bottle of water in the freezer. Should be fantastic for tomorrow. Shoulda done it for the last couple days. Brain OBVIOUSLY not functioning properly.
May sleep with a fly net on tonight. Would LOVE to have the bed nets that they have in Asia.
Western Exposure Day 2
22:40, Monkey Mia
It feels so good to finally get here. The Bayside YHA is basically a resort here. There’s a boardwalk right out onto the beach. I took a brief walk out there after dinner. You could see quite a few stars, not quite as many as when I was at Merzey River, cuz the lights from the resort are bright. Gotta say that it’s very odd not to see Orion.
Today was a PACKED day.
Left at 7:30 to Kalbarri National Park.
The Z-Bend lookout had quite a view of the gorges. The sandstone in the area is about 280?million years old. About 170mya, the ice age started to carve out the gorges. There were fossilized tracks of an ancient arthropod. The sandstone was variegated, yellow, beige and red. The hike itself is not bad…2 hours or so roundtrip. You go down to the bottom of the gorge to the river. A few sections were steep, and a bit scary, but mostly doable. I’ll see how my legs feel tomorrow.
When we got to the bottom, I made my way to the shady side and just sat, enjoying the view and the breeze. Sophie nearly got stranded in the middle of the river. She was rock hopping and realised that from her little rock, there were no others close by. She made it back, and went a different route to cross. Self-proclaimed tour guide’s worst nightmare, because she likes to do extreme things.
Course, then Tim, and American here on his honeymoon, tried to do her route in reverse. Quite possible that he was into track and field. Did standing long jumps for several of the stones, and made it. I was getting nervous just watching them.
Saw some cool (golden orb?) spiders. They can get quite big, and their webs have a golden glow to them in the light. The neatest thing is that their anchor lines are uber strong, and not sticky. When you pluck on it, like a violin string, it flexes, and doesn’t break.
A short drive to the other side of the park to see Nature’s Window, a freak erosion that caused the centre of a formation to wear away. If you look through it, there’s a nice view of the valley. The winds coming up were just divine.
Hamburgers for lunch, and it was off we went to the stromatolites. Oh, before I forget, it’s very convenient how there are barbecues at most larger parks.
The 2.5 hour drive to the Billabong Roadhouse was frickin HOT. Highs were probably mid-30s today. The aircon was pumped to the max, and it was pissy weak in the heat. Someone in the bus was emitting quite the B.O.
Had a Tim Tam Cornetto and a Blackcurrant Powerade. I dunno if it’s because it actually tastes good, or because I was dehydrated, but the Powerade was really good. Tim Tam cone was ok. Gimme caramel anyday. I also don’t entirely get why Tim Tams are sooooooooooo good. Everyone raves about them, and I’m kinda ambivalent about em.
Another hour’s drive got us to the stromatolites. Pretty cool when you think about the fact that they’ve been here for 3.5 billion years, and that here and the Bahamas are the only places you’ll get to see them still alive. But I didn’t find them overly impressive. Perhaps one of the issues is that I’m a hands-on kinda person. Touching is a big part of an experience for me, and we couldn’t (protected area and all that).
Yet another hour after that was Shell Beach. Cool and a bit odd at the same time, to be at a beach that’s all cockle shells. The water was also quite shallow. Went out about 500m and the water only came up to my knees. Tim and Woody went further out, and it was still quite shallow. Interesting geography, in that the Peron Peninsula protects the bay, so there’s no wave action, and the water doesn’t flow much. Evaporation leaves the water about 3 times saltier than that out in the ocean.
Sophie spotted a jelly! I was the only one to touch it out of the 4 of us. They all thought I was nuts, but I know better. It’s a fleshier one, with a blue hue to it. The tentacles were stubby and their widths were about pinky-sized. The bell definitely had substance and was about the size of an adult human head. Felt like the stalks of larger anemones.
The sunset was gorgeous. That brilliant orange glow and striated sky never gets old.
Stopped into Denham to get some booze. I still had the JD, so I didn’t bother. Denham was a whaling town up until the 30s, when, due to the stench of the town, could not be gazetted. They stopped then, and is now just a fishing town with a population of about 470. It’s also a jumping off point for people to Monkey Mia, as it has more of a night scene.
Dinner was a simple affair of steak, sausages, and salad. Because there were no carbs, I can feel my stomach growling already, and we just ate less than 3 hours ago.
I’m gonna see how I feel tomorrow morning. If I’m awake, I’m going to go to the first feeding of the dolphins at 7:30. If I sleep in, then I’m gonna sleep in. Been sleeping so badly of late. With the red-eye on Tuesday, and the ensuing flight home on Wednesday afternoon, it’s probably a good idea to sleep when I can.
It feels so good to finally get here. The Bayside YHA is basically a resort here. There’s a boardwalk right out onto the beach. I took a brief walk out there after dinner. You could see quite a few stars, not quite as many as when I was at Merzey River, cuz the lights from the resort are bright. Gotta say that it’s very odd not to see Orion.
Today was a PACKED day.
Left at 7:30 to Kalbarri National Park.
The Z-Bend lookout had quite a view of the gorges. The sandstone in the area is about 280?million years old. About 170mya, the ice age started to carve out the gorges. There were fossilized tracks of an ancient arthropod. The sandstone was variegated, yellow, beige and red. The hike itself is not bad…2 hours or so roundtrip. You go down to the bottom of the gorge to the river. A few sections were steep, and a bit scary, but mostly doable. I’ll see how my legs feel tomorrow.
When we got to the bottom, I made my way to the shady side and just sat, enjoying the view and the breeze. Sophie nearly got stranded in the middle of the river. She was rock hopping and realised that from her little rock, there were no others close by. She made it back, and went a different route to cross. Self-proclaimed tour guide’s worst nightmare, because she likes to do extreme things.
Course, then Tim, and American here on his honeymoon, tried to do her route in reverse. Quite possible that he was into track and field. Did standing long jumps for several of the stones, and made it. I was getting nervous just watching them.
Saw some cool (golden orb?) spiders. They can get quite big, and their webs have a golden glow to them in the light. The neatest thing is that their anchor lines are uber strong, and not sticky. When you pluck on it, like a violin string, it flexes, and doesn’t break.
A short drive to the other side of the park to see Nature’s Window, a freak erosion that caused the centre of a formation to wear away. If you look through it, there’s a nice view of the valley. The winds coming up were just divine.
Hamburgers for lunch, and it was off we went to the stromatolites. Oh, before I forget, it’s very convenient how there are barbecues at most larger parks.
The 2.5 hour drive to the Billabong Roadhouse was frickin HOT. Highs were probably mid-30s today. The aircon was pumped to the max, and it was pissy weak in the heat. Someone in the bus was emitting quite the B.O.
Had a Tim Tam Cornetto and a Blackcurrant Powerade. I dunno if it’s because it actually tastes good, or because I was dehydrated, but the Powerade was really good. Tim Tam cone was ok. Gimme caramel anyday. I also don’t entirely get why Tim Tams are sooooooooooo good. Everyone raves about them, and I’m kinda ambivalent about em.
Another hour’s drive got us to the stromatolites. Pretty cool when you think about the fact that they’ve been here for 3.5 billion years, and that here and the Bahamas are the only places you’ll get to see them still alive. But I didn’t find them overly impressive. Perhaps one of the issues is that I’m a hands-on kinda person. Touching is a big part of an experience for me, and we couldn’t (protected area and all that).
Yet another hour after that was Shell Beach. Cool and a bit odd at the same time, to be at a beach that’s all cockle shells. The water was also quite shallow. Went out about 500m and the water only came up to my knees. Tim and Woody went further out, and it was still quite shallow. Interesting geography, in that the Peron Peninsula protects the bay, so there’s no wave action, and the water doesn’t flow much. Evaporation leaves the water about 3 times saltier than that out in the ocean.
Sophie spotted a jelly! I was the only one to touch it out of the 4 of us. They all thought I was nuts, but I know better. It’s a fleshier one, with a blue hue to it. The tentacles were stubby and their widths were about pinky-sized. The bell definitely had substance and was about the size of an adult human head. Felt like the stalks of larger anemones.
The sunset was gorgeous. That brilliant orange glow and striated sky never gets old.
Stopped into Denham to get some booze. I still had the JD, so I didn’t bother. Denham was a whaling town up until the 30s, when, due to the stench of the town, could not be gazetted. They stopped then, and is now just a fishing town with a population of about 470. It’s also a jumping off point for people to Monkey Mia, as it has more of a night scene.
Dinner was a simple affair of steak, sausages, and salad. Because there were no carbs, I can feel my stomach growling already, and we just ate less than 3 hours ago.
I’m gonna see how I feel tomorrow morning. If I’m awake, I’m going to go to the first feeding of the dolphins at 7:30. If I sleep in, then I’m gonna sleep in. Been sleeping so badly of late. With the red-eye on Tuesday, and the ensuing flight home on Wednesday afternoon, it’s probably a good idea to sleep when I can.
Western Exposure Day 1
Fri Oct 17
7:32, Perth
On the bus, headed to Monkey Mia on a tour with Western Exposure/Planet Perth. There’s a trainee, Woody, and the guide, Zolton, is telling him that some guys get this job, thinking that the tours are going to be full of supermodels. LOL! There’s at least 4 ppl over 50 on this tour of 14.
Sat Oct 18
6:43, Kalbarri
Am waiting for breakfast to be ready, and thought that it would be a good idea to blog while most of yesterday was still fresh in my mind. I woulda done it last night, except there’s no outlet in the room, and the lounge was fully of partiers. And I was tired. Still am not able to get a full night’s sleep. Could be that my body’s getting ready to go back to Vancouver time, who knows, eh?
So we get picked up yesterday from the Wellington Tourist Stand, which seriously is just a bay for buses. When I saw the boot space available, I was getting worried about how my luggage was going to fit. They had specified in fine print in the brochure that luggage should be in a soft bag, under 15kg. I only have my suitcase (what used to pass as a carryon), and I’m sure it’s closer to 20kg. It fit, so all is good =P
The bus is your average ‘adventure tour’ bus. It’s rows of pairs and single seats. The bus to Broome, a 10 day tour, had nice reclining seats. Makes ya think that there may be some overnight stretches.
From Perth, it was a 2-hour drive to our first destination, petrol. I don’t even remember where that station was. Then it was a relatively short hop (half an hour? one hour?) to Nambung Park, where the Pinnacles are. The word “Nambung” means “snaking river” and is the name given to the river that runs through the park. On the way there, we passed by the Emu Downs Wind Farm, which supplies all the power to the 5000 or so residents in the area. WA is quite sparsely populated. The state takes up a third of the land in Australia, but only has 2 million people, 1.8 of which are in Perth and suburbs.
The Pinnacles are in the desert area of the park. Again, I wish I had my camera, but I’m sure I can pilfer some off the web as my own momentos. The formation of the Pinnacles has been about 20,000 years in the making. As the trees sent their roots down into the limestone to search for water, the limestone started to wear away in v formations. Acidic leaching further eroded the stone in patterns. A calcrete layer formed over the remaining pillar structures, and that has helped to prevent erosion as the forest gave way to the desert.
The Pinnacles are not very big; I think the tallest being about 7 or 8 feet, maybe 10. What is neat about them is how they look against the blue blue sky (and it is an intense blue, the air is so clean and dry) and in comparison to the white sand dunes in the distance. There’s a lookout where you can survey the entire area, all the way to the sea.
We stopped for lunch at Jurien Bay Beach, probably better known as Hangover Bay, as the signage calls it that. Simple affair of sandwiches. There were a couple of Blue Tongues, reptiles of some sort. The Germans in our group fed them bits of lettuce and red pepper. The beach was so nice (seems to be a recurring theme in WA, eh?). The water was probably about 18-20 degrees, and the sand was powdery soft. I think a large part of its appeal was that there were no people and crowds around.
Next was Geraldton for SANDBOARDING! Much simpler and more forgiving than snowboarding, as you can’t carve into the sand. You just go down with the curve of the dune. The first time I went sitting down on the board, I started off a bit sideways, and the board spit me out pretty quickly. Then I did it right and went to the bottom. Not so fun was the climb back up =P. The sand is so soft that you end up sinking into it a bit.
Then I went standing up, and got all the way to the bottom! Much better than my first attempt at snowboarding =PPP. The Swedish girl in our group, Sophie (she has some resemblance to Markus Naslund, no lie. Was about to ask if she were from Ornchlovik (sp?)) was so determined. She wiped out so many times, and just kept coming back for more. She eventually went down the highest and steepest slope, and did well until the bottom, where she got a mouthful of sand.
Didn’t matter whether or not you went boarding, the wind blew sand everywhere: in your ears, eyes, nose, clothes, hair. And because the sand is so fine, it CLINGS. Showering never felt so divine, though I STILL have sand in my ears.
The scenery from the top of the dune was stunning because you could see it contrasting against the shimmering ocean. You just don’t get that back home, ya know?
Just FYI, should anyone ever decide to make this trek themselves, the dunes are in Geraldton, on McDermott near Oceanside. Oh, and I don’t particularly recommend driving here, as the distances are VAST, and petrol is 161.9, while diesel is 174.9. Oh, and most of the highways are just straight stretches.
We stopped into North Hampton for booze. And you just can’t miss the tavern, even from the air. Its red roof’s got TAVERN in huge white lettering. Strongbow’s available in sweet here! $3 per bottle; what a bargain! I also got a bottle of Jack Daniels mixed with cola.
Zolton told us that by law, we are not allowed to drink in the bus, but hey, when we leave town, if we wanted to crack open a few, then what the cops don’t see won’t hurt them. Of course, if he told us to, then we would have to hide the bottles out of sight.
We stayed at the Pelican Cove YHA. Had chicken stirfried on the barbie, so it was like teriyaki, on thickish noodles. I was sooooooooo hungry that everything tasted good. I’m sure it was decent, but lunch had been a good 7 hours prior.
Called it a night pretty early, but Sandy, another tour guide from Western Exposure had her group there, and they were partying it up for a bit. I think I actually managed to get in a good 5 hours of sleep. Woke up before my alarm. I think my body’s still on Melbourne time.
7:32, Perth
On the bus, headed to Monkey Mia on a tour with Western Exposure/Planet Perth. There’s a trainee, Woody, and the guide, Zolton, is telling him that some guys get this job, thinking that the tours are going to be full of supermodels. LOL! There’s at least 4 ppl over 50 on this tour of 14.
Sat Oct 18
6:43, Kalbarri
Am waiting for breakfast to be ready, and thought that it would be a good idea to blog while most of yesterday was still fresh in my mind. I woulda done it last night, except there’s no outlet in the room, and the lounge was fully of partiers. And I was tired. Still am not able to get a full night’s sleep. Could be that my body’s getting ready to go back to Vancouver time, who knows, eh?
So we get picked up yesterday from the Wellington Tourist Stand, which seriously is just a bay for buses. When I saw the boot space available, I was getting worried about how my luggage was going to fit. They had specified in fine print in the brochure that luggage should be in a soft bag, under 15kg. I only have my suitcase (what used to pass as a carryon), and I’m sure it’s closer to 20kg. It fit, so all is good =P
The bus is your average ‘adventure tour’ bus. It’s rows of pairs and single seats. The bus to Broome, a 10 day tour, had nice reclining seats. Makes ya think that there may be some overnight stretches.
From Perth, it was a 2-hour drive to our first destination, petrol. I don’t even remember where that station was. Then it was a relatively short hop (half an hour? one hour?) to Nambung Park, where the Pinnacles are. The word “Nambung” means “snaking river” and is the name given to the river that runs through the park. On the way there, we passed by the Emu Downs Wind Farm, which supplies all the power to the 5000 or so residents in the area. WA is quite sparsely populated. The state takes up a third of the land in Australia, but only has 2 million people, 1.8 of which are in Perth and suburbs.
The Pinnacles are in the desert area of the park. Again, I wish I had my camera, but I’m sure I can pilfer some off the web as my own momentos. The formation of the Pinnacles has been about 20,000 years in the making. As the trees sent their roots down into the limestone to search for water, the limestone started to wear away in v formations. Acidic leaching further eroded the stone in patterns. A calcrete layer formed over the remaining pillar structures, and that has helped to prevent erosion as the forest gave way to the desert.
The Pinnacles are not very big; I think the tallest being about 7 or 8 feet, maybe 10. What is neat about them is how they look against the blue blue sky (and it is an intense blue, the air is so clean and dry) and in comparison to the white sand dunes in the distance. There’s a lookout where you can survey the entire area, all the way to the sea.
We stopped for lunch at Jurien Bay Beach, probably better known as Hangover Bay, as the signage calls it that. Simple affair of sandwiches. There were a couple of Blue Tongues, reptiles of some sort. The Germans in our group fed them bits of lettuce and red pepper. The beach was so nice (seems to be a recurring theme in WA, eh?). The water was probably about 18-20 degrees, and the sand was powdery soft. I think a large part of its appeal was that there were no people and crowds around.
Next was Geraldton for SANDBOARDING! Much simpler and more forgiving than snowboarding, as you can’t carve into the sand. You just go down with the curve of the dune. The first time I went sitting down on the board, I started off a bit sideways, and the board spit me out pretty quickly. Then I did it right and went to the bottom. Not so fun was the climb back up =P. The sand is so soft that you end up sinking into it a bit.
Then I went standing up, and got all the way to the bottom! Much better than my first attempt at snowboarding =PPP. The Swedish girl in our group, Sophie (she has some resemblance to Markus Naslund, no lie. Was about to ask if she were from Ornchlovik (sp?)) was so determined. She wiped out so many times, and just kept coming back for more. She eventually went down the highest and steepest slope, and did well until the bottom, where she got a mouthful of sand.
Didn’t matter whether or not you went boarding, the wind blew sand everywhere: in your ears, eyes, nose, clothes, hair. And because the sand is so fine, it CLINGS. Showering never felt so divine, though I STILL have sand in my ears.
The scenery from the top of the dune was stunning because you could see it contrasting against the shimmering ocean. You just don’t get that back home, ya know?
Just FYI, should anyone ever decide to make this trek themselves, the dunes are in Geraldton, on McDermott near Oceanside. Oh, and I don’t particularly recommend driving here, as the distances are VAST, and petrol is 161.9, while diesel is 174.9. Oh, and most of the highways are just straight stretches.
We stopped into North Hampton for booze. And you just can’t miss the tavern, even from the air. Its red roof’s got TAVERN in huge white lettering. Strongbow’s available in sweet here! $3 per bottle; what a bargain! I also got a bottle of Jack Daniels mixed with cola.
Zolton told us that by law, we are not allowed to drink in the bus, but hey, when we leave town, if we wanted to crack open a few, then what the cops don’t see won’t hurt them. Of course, if he told us to, then we would have to hide the bottles out of sight.
We stayed at the Pelican Cove YHA. Had chicken stirfried on the barbie, so it was like teriyaki, on thickish noodles. I was sooooooooo hungry that everything tasted good. I’m sure it was decent, but lunch had been a good 7 hours prior.
Called it a night pretty early, but Sandy, another tour guide from Western Exposure had her group there, and they were partying it up for a bit. I think I actually managed to get in a good 5 hours of sleep. Woke up before my alarm. I think my body’s still on Melbourne time.
Perth
Thu Oct 16
7:30 Perth
Kinda bored right now, waiting to check out. Glad I only stayed 2 nights here at Perth City YHA. The room that I’m in is right by the train tracks, so every time a train goes by every 5 minutes or so it seems, the alarms go off, warning pedestrians of the oncoming train, followed by the squeak of the train wheels on the tracks. Totally uncool.
I’ve got something of a case of insomnia right now anyway, so it’s not a huge deal. Logic is totally not functioning at the moment. I dunno why, but I booked a Monkey Mia tour for Friday, rather than today. And since the YHA is booked up for tonight, I’m gonna hafta make my way to another hostel. I called one last night, but he told me I would have to walk in when reception was open.
The guy at the YHA was singularly unhelpful. When he told me that it was full, I asked if there were other YHAs in the city. He says no. Liar. All the others are connected by train. There’s like 3 or 4 of them in the surrounding area, maybe 20 minutes by train.
Anyways, here’s to hoping that I don’t need to check myself into a hotel for the night.
Yesterday was spent in the surrounding suburbs of Perth. Got a really helpful tourist information lady, and went to Hillary’s Marina, which is where the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is. Cool place. Their tunnel has a conveyer belt, and seeing sharks and rays swim above and around me is always cool. I still think the glass floor at the Sydney Aquarium is the bomb.
There was a little video clip of stonefish. Their skin is camouflaged to look like stone. In under 1/20 of a second, they grab unsuspecting prey. If anyone finds a youtube video of it, lemme know. I think it’d be something neat to show the kids.
Wandered around the Marina, then headed over to Fremantle. I had a day pass, so I figured I’d go to the suburbs. Fremantle’s got that old feel to it. The architecture and the streets are more European. Had fish and chips at Kailis, voted best in town, and wow, talk about flaky and light! Also had an iced coffee, on the recommendation of Chaturi. It’s made with ice cream here. Really yummy, especially on the warm day that it was yesterday: sunny, high of 27, with a nice ocean breeze. Haha, some senior commended me on throwing away my trash when I finished my meal. I actually wasn’t going to, but the seagulls made me worry that the dishes were going to break. Oh, also had a glass of Pipsqueak(?) at Little Creatures Brewery. Apple cider, not as dry as Strongbow.
The day was capped off at Cottesloe Beach. It’s nice how they have the walk to the beach from the station so nicely marked. Every half a block or so, there was a painting of a wave on the sidewalk.
Perth has really nice beaches. Even a non-beach person like me can appreciate it. The water was cool, and a beautiful blue. I am sorely missing my camera at this point, because the wave action, and the sunset were something else. It’s funny, because I always think of sunsets as tranquil events. But at Cottesloe, the rock peninsula and the crashing surf contrasted with the slow sinking of the sun.
7:30 Perth
Kinda bored right now, waiting to check out. Glad I only stayed 2 nights here at Perth City YHA. The room that I’m in is right by the train tracks, so every time a train goes by every 5 minutes or so it seems, the alarms go off, warning pedestrians of the oncoming train, followed by the squeak of the train wheels on the tracks. Totally uncool.
I’ve got something of a case of insomnia right now anyway, so it’s not a huge deal. Logic is totally not functioning at the moment. I dunno why, but I booked a Monkey Mia tour for Friday, rather than today. And since the YHA is booked up for tonight, I’m gonna hafta make my way to another hostel. I called one last night, but he told me I would have to walk in when reception was open.
The guy at the YHA was singularly unhelpful. When he told me that it was full, I asked if there were other YHAs in the city. He says no. Liar. All the others are connected by train. There’s like 3 or 4 of them in the surrounding area, maybe 20 minutes by train.
Anyways, here’s to hoping that I don’t need to check myself into a hotel for the night.
Yesterday was spent in the surrounding suburbs of Perth. Got a really helpful tourist information lady, and went to Hillary’s Marina, which is where the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is. Cool place. Their tunnel has a conveyer belt, and seeing sharks and rays swim above and around me is always cool. I still think the glass floor at the Sydney Aquarium is the bomb.
There was a little video clip of stonefish. Their skin is camouflaged to look like stone. In under 1/20 of a second, they grab unsuspecting prey. If anyone finds a youtube video of it, lemme know. I think it’d be something neat to show the kids.
Wandered around the Marina, then headed over to Fremantle. I had a day pass, so I figured I’d go to the suburbs. Fremantle’s got that old feel to it. The architecture and the streets are more European. Had fish and chips at Kailis, voted best in town, and wow, talk about flaky and light! Also had an iced coffee, on the recommendation of Chaturi. It’s made with ice cream here. Really yummy, especially on the warm day that it was yesterday: sunny, high of 27, with a nice ocean breeze. Haha, some senior commended me on throwing away my trash when I finished my meal. I actually wasn’t going to, but the seagulls made me worry that the dishes were going to break. Oh, also had a glass of Pipsqueak(?) at Little Creatures Brewery. Apple cider, not as dry as Strongbow.
The day was capped off at Cottesloe Beach. It’s nice how they have the walk to the beach from the station so nicely marked. Every half a block or so, there was a painting of a wave on the sidewalk.
Perth has really nice beaches. Even a non-beach person like me can appreciate it. The water was cool, and a beautiful blue. I am sorely missing my camera at this point, because the wave action, and the sunset were something else. It’s funny, because I always think of sunsets as tranquil events. But at Cottesloe, the rock peninsula and the crashing surf contrasted with the slow sinking of the sun.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)