Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Well we found out the hard way that Western Australia has speed cameras, and it doesn't take much to trigger them. Bill got a ticket for going only 4 mph over the speed limit, and it was $150. Soooo, we're both going to be much more careful in the future, since you never know where the cameras are being used. We have noticed that people rarely speed, even on the freeways, and I guess now we know why.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Well we're back home and this morning we rode our bikes along our local beach bike path, here's a picture of Trigg Beach.
This is another shot of the beach further north.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Today is another holiday, ANZAC Day, the Aussie version of our Memorial Day. However, over here it is a much bigger holiday, with many marches, services, and lots of pre-holiday advertisements reminding people of the ultimate sacrifice made by the deceased veterans. Kings Park has numerous war memorials, and hundreds of trees have markers commemorating individual soldiers. On Monday volunteers tied a small flag and a rose onto every marker, and all the memorials had lots of floral displays.
Well we're back home and this morning we rode our bikes along our local beach bike path, here's a picture of Trigg Beach.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Today is another holiday, ANZAC Day, the Aussie version of our Memorial Day. However, over here it is a much bigger holiday, with many marches, services, and lots of pre-holiday advertisements reminding people of the ultimate sacrifice made by the deceased veterans. Kings Park has numerous war memorials, and hundreds of trees have markers commemorating individual soldiers. On Monday volunteers tied a small flag and a rose onto every marker, and all the memorials had lots of floral displays.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 21, 2010
On Thursday we drove into Margaret River for some hiking in the forest, not far from town. Saw some parrots we'd never seen before and once again the weather was gorgeous. Stopped on the way back at a winery to get some bottles for Bill's coworkers, and we learned quite a lot about wine making from the owner/wine maker. Super friendly guy and anxious to chat.
Went for another long bike ride on Friday but had to pass on tennis, since Bill's knee started bothering him again. Here's a pic of the bike path next to the beach.
On Saturday Bill did a couple of dives on the Swan wreck, and since then his knee has been much worse. So it's back to the doctor for an MRI. Here's a couple of pics from his dives.
On Thursday we drove into Margaret River for some hiking in the forest, not far from town. Saw some parrots we'd never seen before and once again the weather was gorgeous. Stopped on the way back at a winery to get some bottles for Bill's coworkers, and we learned quite a lot about wine making from the owner/wine maker. Super friendly guy and anxious to chat.
Went for another long bike ride on Friday but had to pass on tennis, since Bill's knee started bothering him again. Here's a pic of the bike path next to the beach.
On Saturday Bill did a couple of dives on the Swan wreck, and since then his knee has been much worse. So it's back to the doctor for an MRI. Here's a couple of pics from his dives.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
We tried to drive all the way to Denmark, but it was a lot farther than we thought so we gave up and took some short hikes around Windy Harbor and Salmon Beach, in D'Entrecasteaux N.P. This is a shot of Salmon Beach, gorgeous and completely deserted.
Wednesday - Today was cloudy and a bit rainy, so we went to the Dolphin Discovery Center in Bunbury. The dolphins are wild and they did not make an appearance today, so we didn't stay too long. That night we decided to try again to spot some of the very endangered ring-tailed possums in Tuart N.P. and this time -success! We saw not only several ring-tails, but also lots of brush-tailed possums as well. There were a lot of wallabies hopping around in the dark; they make a bit of noise so it's kind of scary to hear them moving around, until you shine the light on them and realize it's just a wallabie and not a serial killer. The possums were not easy to spot, you have to be very quiet and watch for "eye shine" although if they're looking away from the light it's really hard to see them. Once the light is on them they sit very still, and some even began eating the peppermint tree leaves while we took pictures. This first pic is of a ring-tailed possum.
This next little guy is a brush-tailed possum, and we saw quite a few of them, although they tended to run away from the light, even jumping to the next tree.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Went hiking today on the Cape to Cape track, in the Leeuwin-Naturalist N.P. It was another beautiful day for a hike, and here's a pic of one of the gorgeous views of the ocean from the cliffs.
While walking along, we were surprised to come across this mob standing on some big rocks. A "mob" is a group of kangaroos, and these guys were very curious and just stood and watched us until we passed by.
While walking along, we were surprised to come across this mob standing on some big rocks. A "mob" is a group of kangaroos, and these guys were very curious and just stood and watched us until we passed by.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Writing this from Busselton, in the Southwest corner of Western AU. Arrived on Saturday night, and we have a week at a friend's timeshare (thanks again Nola.) The facilities are very nice, and just a short walk down a cobblestone path to the beach. We brought our bikes along - best purchase we've made since we got here was to buy a bike rack for the car, and the bike path here goes on for miles along the beach. We rode to the jetty today for breakfast, and the weather was perfect, about 75 degrees.
Before leaving Perth we bought a super bright torch (flashlight) to go night spotting for nocturnal animals. We went out tonight on a walk that supposedly has a large number of endangered ring-tailed possums (very different from our possums and very cute) but we didn't see a one. All we saw were several gigantic spiders, with webs stretching all the way across the path, and one sleepy old kangaroo that we woke up with our light. We might try again before we leave here, since the place is only a few minutes away from the timeshare. But first we need to get a back-up torch in case the batteries die in the good one, since the forest is totally black and we'd no doubt run into one of the spider webs if we were stumbling around in the dark. I have to admit, the spiders are pretty spooky.
Writing this from Busselton, in the Southwest corner of Western AU. Arrived on Saturday night, and we have a week at a friend's timeshare (thanks again Nola.) The facilities are very nice, and just a short walk down a cobblestone path to the beach. We brought our bikes along - best purchase we've made since we got here was to buy a bike rack for the car, and the bike path here goes on for miles along the beach. We rode to the jetty today for breakfast, and the weather was perfect, about 75 degrees.
Before leaving Perth we bought a super bright torch (flashlight) to go night spotting for nocturnal animals. We went out tonight on a walk that supposedly has a large number of endangered ring-tailed possums (very different from our possums and very cute) but we didn't see a one. All we saw were several gigantic spiders, with webs stretching all the way across the path, and one sleepy old kangaroo that we woke up with our light. We might try again before we leave here, since the place is only a few minutes away from the timeshare. But first we need to get a back-up torch in case the batteries die in the good one, since the forest is totally black and we'd no doubt run into one of the spider webs if we were stumbling around in the dark. I have to admit, the spiders are pretty spooky.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Yesterday we decided to take a road trip out to Wave Rock, a gigantic rock formation that looks like a cresting wave. We didn't make it however, since a very big rock shattered our windshield and sprayed the front seats, and us, with tiny bits of glass. After cleaning up as much of the glass as we could, we figured we'd better turn around and head back, but we stopped to hike for a while on the Bibbulmun Track. Here's a typical campsite along the track, which extends 1000 kilometers, North to South, through Western Australia.
On the way out to Wave Rock we stopped at York, an historic little town with lots of cool old buildings.
Yesterday we decided to take a road trip out to Wave Rock, a gigantic rock formation that looks like a cresting wave. We didn't make it however, since a very big rock shattered our windshield and sprayed the front seats, and us, with tiny bits of glass. After cleaning up as much of the glass as we could, we figured we'd better turn around and head back, but we stopped to hike for a while on the Bibbulmun Track. Here's a typical campsite along the track, which extends 1000 kilometers, North to South, through Western Australia.
On the way out to Wave Rock we stopped at York, an historic little town with lots of cool old buildings.
Monday, April 13, 2010
Last week I went for my orientation at Kanyana Wildlife Rehab Center, and Wednesday I start my training. It's only a 35 minute drive and I'll be volunteering one day a week. Last year they took in over 2000 animals, 150 different species, and they return as many to the wild as possible. The meeting was at night so we got to see some of the nocturnal animals, including woylies, bilbeys, boodies, echidnas, and tawny frog mouths. Oz has some truly strange animals, and the director said we will be seeing things we've never seen before. To be honest, I have never even heard of most of the ones we saw the first night, so I'm sure it will be something new for me almost every time I go out there.
Last week I went for my orientation at Kanyana Wildlife Rehab Center, and Wednesday I start my training. It's only a 35 minute drive and I'll be volunteering one day a week. Last year they took in over 2000 animals, 150 different species, and they return as many to the wild as possible. The meeting was at night so we got to see some of the nocturnal animals, including woylies, bilbeys, boodies, echidnas, and tawny frog mouths. Oz has some truly strange animals, and the director said we will be seeing things we've never seen before. To be honest, I have never even heard of most of the ones we saw the first night, so I'm sure it will be something new for me almost every time I go out there.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Today we caught the express boat out to Rottnest Island, only a 30 minute ride out of Fremantle Harbor. The island was named by a Dutch explorer for these little critters, called Quokkas. He thought they were giant rats, and named the island Ratsnest, which translated to Rottnest. We saw lots of them and they are very docile and cute.
We took our bikes with us and rode around most of the island, and it's a great place to ride since there are no vehicles allowed. You only have to watch out for an occasional tour bus, and Quokkas crossing the road.
We took a tour of the military site that was built on "Rotto" during the depression, to be the first line of defensive against the Japanese in World War II. The gun was actually never fired "in anger" but was fired for testing purposes. However, since the shells cost $12,500 each, way back in the 1930's, it wasn't fired a whole lot. The guide took us through lots of tunnels that were dug underneath the hill, and the various rooms held all the ammunition and housing for the military personnel stationed there.
We took our bikes with us and rode around most of the island, and it's a great place to ride since there are no vehicles allowed. You only have to watch out for an occasional tour bus, and Quokkas crossing the road.
We took a tour of the military site that was built on "Rotto" during the depression, to be the first line of defensive against the Japanese in World War II. The gun was actually never fired "in anger" but was fired for testing purposes. However, since the shells cost $12,500 each, way back in the 1930's, it wasn't fired a whole lot. The guide took us through lots of tunnels that were dug underneath the hill, and the various rooms held all the ammunition and housing for the military personnel stationed there.
March 31, 2010
Had tea today with a cousin, living right here in Perth, whom I'd never met but apparently she moved here with her family from London 10 years ago. Truly a small world to meet a relative so far from home. She was telling me about the "booze buses" which are typically set up on weekends to catch "drink drivers." We call them "drunk", they call them "drink." Anyway, the police randomly pull drivers over and give them a breathalyzer test, and if they fail they put them in the booze bus for 30 minutes. Then they test them again, and if their blood alcohol level has stayed the same or gone down, they are allowed to go as long as long as they're below 0.5 or if they have someone else in the car to drive. It their limit has gone up, then they're cited and taken in to the station.
Had tea today with a cousin, living right here in Perth, whom I'd never met but apparently she moved here with her family from London 10 years ago. Truly a small world to meet a relative so far from home. She was telling me about the "booze buses" which are typically set up on weekends to catch "drink drivers." We call them "drunk", they call them "drink." Anyway, the police randomly pull drivers over and give them a breathalyzer test, and if they fail they put them in the booze bus for 30 minutes. Then they test them again, and if their blood alcohol level has stayed the same or gone down, they are allowed to go as long as long as they're below 0.5 or if they have someone else in the car to drive. It their limit has gone up, then they're cited and taken in to the station.
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