Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Well, yesterday was Australia Day, the aussie version of our Fourth of July, and we walked over to the park to see the fireworks show, called "skyworks" here.  I have to say we were impressed, definitely the best display we've ever seen.  The entire 30 minute show was comparable to a typical  finale in the US, just lots of fireworks going off at the same time.  They were shot off over the Swan River, and to top it off, there were also fireworks going off from the tops of 5 of the downtown buildings, very close to the river, so there was never a break.  The next morning my dentist asked if I'd ever seen the fireworks over the Sydney harbor, and he said they make the Perth show here look like a backyard event. 

We took advantage of the holiday to drive down to the Fremantle Prison, to take the tunnels tour.  We had to wear coveralls, high boots, a hard hat with a light and a safety harness to go up and down the ladders.  Since it was a holiday, we expected it to be crowded, but we almost had a private tour, since there was only one other person there.  The guide seemed to know everything there was to know about the prison, which was still in operation until 1991.  It was built by convicts brought over from England in 1850, so it's old and spooky.  There are lots of tunnels running beneath the prison, with several feet of water in them, and years ago the tunnels supplied all the water for the town of Fremantle.  After hitting my head on the ceiling several times, (thank goodness for the helmet) I wished I was a whole lot shorter, since there were only a few places where you could stand up straight.  After walking around a while we got into boats and paddled through, and at certain times you could hear the traffic up above.  Apparently they filmed a segment of the T.V. show, "The Great Race" down in the tunnels.  Anyway, here we are in all our gear.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The crime rate here in Perth appears to be pretty low, and the first murder we've heard about since we've been here just happened yesterday.  I guess that's why it seemed so unusual, you just don't hear about murders or rapes occurring.  The biggest problem Western Australia seems to have is with young people getting drunk and rowdy, which they tend to do on a pretty regular basis it seems.  And in fact, this murder involved a couple of 20-year olds that had been drinking and got into a fight, and one of them ended up breaking a bottle over the other one's head and then stabbing him with it.  There has been a lot of talk about the problem recently, so apparently it's gotten a lot worse.  Otherwise crime does not seem to be much of an issue.  When we first got here I was nervous taking money out of the ATM's because the machines are right on the sidewalk, and everyone is just walking right behind you.  But we have yet to hear about anyone getting robbed.  And I guess mail fraud is not an issue either because half the time, the mailman doesn't push the mail all the way into the mailbox, leaving it sticking right out for anyone to take if they want to.  Haven't heard about that being a problem either. 

Last weekend we stopped in a small town for lunch and the local paper had an article about two teenagers getting into a fight following some vandalism, and both of them ended up in the hospital.  After interviewing witnesses and determining which one was at fault, they actually held a "hospital bedside hearing" and charges were filed and a court date set right then and there.  A citizen's letter referred to the "swift arm of the law" against these "hooners" and it went on to say that if these teenagers want to "hoon around" they should be punished, so it sounds like a hooner is a hooligan. 

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Well, yesterday I drove by myself for the first time, yea!  Of course I had my trusty GPS with me so I guess I wasn't truly alone.  Seemed like a major milestone though, and it wasn't so bad.  I'm even getting used to the roundabouts, and they really do save time because you usually don't have to stop, like you would at a stop sign.

I drove to a welcome coffee for a group consisting of American women, mostly here for a few years for their husband's work like we are.  Seemed like a really nice group with lots of activities and helpful advice to offer.  One lady told me about a tiny little shop that makes corn tortillas, so if I decide to try making enchiladas again I'll know where to go.  No Ortega diced green chilies though, will have to improvise on that one.  The families get together to celebrate US holidays like Thanksgiving and 4th of July, so that will be nice.

January 18, continued...

Here's a typical house for sale in Subi. These are called "character houses" and they are old and small, usually only 2 bedrooms, 1 bath.  And notice the price.  Even with the exchange rate, which is at an almost even par with the US right now, it would still be a lot of money for a very old, tiny house.

Here is an example of an old home and a new one, side by side.  You see this a lot, there are many new homes or townhouses mixed in with the older homes, although people are encouraged to keep the old homes and refurbish them, instead of replacing them with something modern.

I was surprised to see an ad in Sunday's paper here, advertising houses for sale in Las Vegas.  The ad said the homes started at around $100,000, which compared to prices here, would seem to be a very good deal. 

Something we learned about rentals since moving here, the property manager does an inspection every 3-6 months; and according to a friend, it's a "white glove" check of everything, top to bottom, and they tape record as they walk from room to room.  Not sure what happens afterwards, but I guess we'll find out next month.    

Monday, January 18, 2010

Well, yesterday the temperature hit 109 degrees, and it felt like being inside an oven. Today it's supposed to be only a degree or two cooler, and everyone's complaining about the heat and saying this is unusual. I sure hope so, cause I don't think it can get much hotter. Having said that, up north a week ago the temperature got up around 120, and lots of black cockatoos simply dropped dead from the heat. What's weird is that we went hiking on Saturday, just the day before it hit 109, and it was cold enough to wear sweatshirts for a while in the morning.

Whoa, Bill just walked in, and it's only 2:30 in the afternoon. He said the a/c at work went out and it was over 100 degrees in the office, so everybody went home to work. Our poor old a/c is struggling to keep things cool, but not doing a very good job, it is hot, hot, hot.

Well as of January 1, all the shops and grocery stores in Subi, where we live, have been given the O.K. to now stay open until 9:00pm during the week and to open for a few hours on Sundays as well. This is what everyone has been waiting for, yet there was an article in the local paper, written by the mayor, pointing out that so far, the change has not been well-received. At first I assumed she meant there were not a lot of shoppers out late, taking advantage of the extended trading hours, but instead, she was referring to the fact that most of the shop owners are refusing to stay open late, except for the two grocery chain stores. When she interviewed some of the shop owners, they said that in fact, they would prefer to open later and close earlier. Just seems like such a radical difference from the US, where store owners seem to want to extend their hours as much as possible.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Took the train into the city today, and all the Christmas decorations are still up. They will have to get them down in time for Australia Day, on January 26. Bill's office opens onto the plaza, and there is always something going on there, including concerts, plays, car shows, awards ceremonies, fashion shows, you name it. These pics are of a maze they constructed, and inside were these weird looking, giant sized insects.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Well, we must be settling in because yesterday Bill was mistaken for an Aussie, and that was AFTER the woman heard him talking. When I went back to pick up a prescription at the "chemist" (pharmacy) the clerk asked me if I had my medicare card, and I explained that we only have private insurance, since we're not from here. Bill had been with me the previous night when I dropped off the prescription, and he'd been talking with her about dosages and how the pills were compounded. When I told her we weren't from here she said, "Oh, I thought the man who was with you last night was Australian." Bill,? with an Aussie accent? But then again, a few days earlier we were both asked if we were from here, but that was by a waitress who admitted that she wasn't from here either, she was from France, so I guess everybody probably sounds strange to her.

We were at the food court near Bill's office yesterday and as we were walking around, deciding what to order, we saw a Mexican booth. When we stopped to read the menu we couldn't help laughing, since they had authentic Mexican food like "Mexican Schnitzel" and "Mexican Spud" a baked potato with sour cream and salsa on top. And I have given up trying to find Ortega diced green chilies in the stores, but today I bought some fresh green chilies at the Chinese market. Hopefully they're the same thing but I'll have to experiment using them in making chicken enchiladas.

I'm amazed at the things I didn't bring over here that I thought I'd sent, or at least should have, like my salad spinner, the knife block, my sewing basket, just to name a few. But then, I did send along some really useful things like instruction books for machines we no longer even own like printers, computers, fax machines etc.

At dinner with some friends the other night, we were asked what we missed most about the US, and when put on the spot nothing really came to mind immediately. In thinking about it later however, I would have to say I miss iced tea, it's very hard to find in restaurants, and although you can buy it in bottles from the coolers in the more casual restaurants, it's always full of sugar. And anyone that knows Bill is aware of how much diet Dr. Pepper he drinks, but not here, since it's very hard to find and ridiculously expensive, at $2.29 for a 10 ounce can.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

While walking in King's Park this morning, a large flock of black cockatoos flew over, and some nested in this tree. They are becoming more and more rare, although when they are spotted, they are often in flocks of 100-200.



Here are some more Aussie words with different meanings from ours: A clothespin is called a peg, and a napkin is a serviette. A car's trunk is called a boot and the hood is a bonnet. Some of the car names are different here, like the Toyota Highlander is called the Kluger. When you see "up" at the end of the name of a town, it means "place of." Some cool sounding town names are Joondalup, Mirrabooka, Wanneroo, Koondoola, Marangaroo, Cullacabardee, Woolloomooloo and my all time favorite, Humpty Doo.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Time to get used to writing 2010 on everything, although I'm still trying to get used to writing dates backwards, as here it would be written 4/1/10, instead of 1/4/10.

Well we returned from our vacation on Friday and yesterday we went for our usual Sunday morning walk on the beach. Holy cow what happened to our nice local beach while we were gone, it turned into a nudie beach. We were just walking along and were surprised to see that the old guy in front of us seemed to be a bit naked. Not a particularly pleasant way to start your morning, since he looked to be about 110. We figured maybe he had dementia or something but then just a bit further down, another naked guy, and he was not old, so apparently the beach is clothing optional, and we did not know that. Well, at least they were both wearing a hat.

(Sorry, no photos, luckily I left my camera at home.)

December 31, more...

This is a nativity scene, AU style, just had to take a photo. The little critter at the front, left, is an echidna, and an emu is on the right side. Mary and Joseph are koalas and there is a kangaroo and some type of bird in there too, wearing those little hats with dangling corks to keep away the flies. This was in an antique store window, and notice the price, $180.







We tried to make a "booking" (reservation) for dinner, but since it was New Year's Eve, everything was full, so we bought stuff for a picnic and hiked out to the dunes. The B&B owner suggested we go to see where the dunes are literally "eating up the forest," at the rate of about 4 meters per year, or approximately 10-15 feet per year. The second photo shows where the dunes currently meet the forest road. We passed a large lake on the way to the dunes, and it is estimated to be completely covered by the dunes within 50 years. If you double click on the first photo, you can see the lake on the right side, and it is a long ways from the edge of the dunes. The other photo shows the tops of very tall trees sticking out of the sand, and the dunes extend for miles.

December 31, continued again...

Driving back from the beach we spotted some emus, and they tend to be pretty skittish and move away as soon as you stop the car. When we stopped later to walk around a lake, we heard what we assume was probably an emu or a kangaroo, crashing through the brush when it heard us coming.

This beautiful tree is actually an Australian Christmas Tree, and you see them blooming everywhere along the side of the road this time of year. The flowers are so brightly colored they almost look fake. (double click on the photos for a bigger pic)

December 31, continued...

Afterwards we drove to the extreme end of the continent, and stopped to walk at Conspicuous Cliffs. This is the Southern Ocean, and the Indian Ocean is along the west coast. It was VERY windy and cold, with a little rain thrown in, so we didn't stay long. Looked like it'd be a pretty spot in better weather though.

Thursday, December 31

We headed down to Walpole-Nornalup N.P., for the tree-top walk. It's about 125 feet up, so you are literally walking through the tops of some of the tallest trees in AU. Some people seemed very bothered by the height, or possibly the swaying of the walkways, but we thought it was pretty cool.

Wednesday, December 30

Today we drove into Margaret River, a cute little town that actually seemed somewhat crowded - a first. Did a little shopping and then headed for some wineries. There are something like 65 wineries in the area, most with tasting rooms, called "cellar doors." After the wine tasting we tried a couple of breweries, and some of them are a combination of the two. The cellar doors range from small and cozy to big, elaborate places with rose gardens, lakes, fountains, etc. We've heard people in Perth refer to it at "Markedup River, because things tend to be pretty expensive. Someone was telling us that they bought the exact same bottle of wine in London, that they'd bought in one of the wineries here, and it was actually cheaper in London.

Tuesday, December 29

Today we drove through two national parks, Warren and Gloucester, which were very close to our B&B. Basically the area is surrounded by national parks, and there are over 600 in AU, compared to 40 something in the US. We were amazed to realize that we could simply stop the car, in the middle of the road, take all the pictures we wanted, and never have to worry about other cars coming by. We had been warned by lots of Bill's coworkers that over the Christmas holidays, the Margaret River area would be "crazy" with "tons of people," yet so many places were practically empty.

In Warren N.P. Bill climbed to the top of the Bicentennial Tree, over 200 feet tall. Although I started up it, I only went about 20 or 30 feet before realizing that if your foot slipped off the pegs, you would fall straight through, so I figured climbing it wasn't such a good idea after all. (Anyway, my back still hurt from the cave crawl of the day before, and that was as good a reason as any to back out.)

Bill took the second pic looking down from the lowest platform, not even half way up the tree.

The last photo was taken from the top, and the other is of Bill climbing up.

more canoe trip...

After the cave we headed back to the starting point, and the guide went over the rules for the race. Although one canoe crashed into us not once, but twice, we still managed to win the race and win the bottle of wine from one of the local wineries. Yeah for the old farts!

Canoeing trip, continued...

After lunch we hiked a short distance to a cave, and had the option of doing the "crawl through." The guide noted that it was certainly not for anyone who was claustrophobic, but all the kids and a few adults volunteered to do it. Although I initially declined, when I saw Bill line up I changed my mind and I was the last one to go through. It took only about 10 minutes and that included waiting for the traffic jam of kids that must have been "crawl challenged." We could hear one girl freaking out, but her mother was finally able to cajole her to get moving again. But the wait gave us a chance to look around, shining our "torches" (flashlights) to see stalactites and stalagmites just inches away. You had to crawl on your stomach using your elbows and knees, and we were covered with dirt at the end.

December 27, continued...

This brown walking stick attached itself to the suitcase, and the next day a baby appeared, the little green guy hanging on the right side of the brown stem.
The odd shaped spider is known by several names, including Christmas spider, (appropriate since we first saw him on Christmas day) jewel spider and spiked spider. They're very common this time of year and are harmless.
P.S., if you double click on the photo it will enlarge.

Sunday, December 27

These two little guys have been our daily guests at breakfast. The furry one is a bandicoot and the one that looks like a big lizard is a skink. The owner of the B&B puts bread out for them every morning, that's probably why they're so fat.