Ahh... The CITY!

Perth would have to be Australia’s most liveable capital city.  Small, clean and majestic with all the state capital trade marks - a cluster of iconic tower blocks, historic buildings, state museums, art galleries, and botanical gardens.   We had a chance to drive through the city at night and see the romance of the lights (not something you often get to do with three little twinkle stars in tow).  Definitely a place I will look forward to coming back to one day.   

We had sent John’s CD ahead to the radio station about a month earlier, and they happened to start playing it on air the very day we arrived!  Surely a sign that we are on the right path.  While in town John went to the station to prerecord an interview which will air in the next week or so.  He had a great time talking about the album and about being a song writer – living his dream.   

With the rain greeting us in Perth we spent the first few days in the library, museums, Scitech, and art gallery and DFO.  (Not sure that DFO actually fits the cultural category but still fun).   The highlight was the Perth Contemporary Art Centre where we all became part of an art work, dressing up in zebra pattern costumes of different colours, inside a giant blown up jumping cave, also decked out in zebra.   

The Perth Zoo was great value, and a fabulous experience for our little family – Elephants, crazy Orangatans, Tigers, Lions, Zebra’s, Rhino’s, Reptiles and all the Aussie favourites too. The rain managed to hold out for most of the day.

Finally with sunshine we hit the botanical gardens, with large parks for the kids to play and run.  Our brave Joshua injured his foot while attempting to go down a very tall firemans pole.  Poor little guy didn’t walk for three days, and limped for the rest of the week.  Amy was not happy to be sharing her stroller.

The highlight of our time in Perth was two days spent in Fremantle.   Tall ships lined the port, and yachts moored on the river.  The town was buzzing with art, music, markets and historic buildings.  It had a feel that reminded me of many European cities merged with Aussie coastal beauty.  John made some cash playing at the market bar there, so we enjoyed lived it up for a few days - a coffee on Cappuccino strip, Malaysian for lunch at the Shanghai Inn, where Sam learn to use chop sticks, fish and chips for dinner at Cicerello’s on the wharf.   I enjoyed a cooking class at the markets – some Kid free time. 

John visitied the Maritime Museum to see the plaque that Dirk Hartog left on Hartog island in 1616, along with shipwrecks from the Batavia and other amazing historic stories.  Tales of heroic survival beside  stories of great human suffering.  In the 1600’s Dutch explorers would come and chart the area looking for ships that had been lost in search of the spices found in South East Asia.   It is amazing actually that the west coast don’t speak Dutch, but the reports the early captains brought back were unfavourable – they always landed out of season and never really encountered WA’s resources or beauty. 

Eventually we had to leave the urban thrill of city life (or we would go broke!)   So we head inland and the take scenic wheatbelt drive on the way to Esperance.  It took us past Wave Rock, which looks like a giant wave about to crash into the surrounding bush.  The shape of the rock was carved out by water thousands of years ago.  It stands 15 meters high and stretches 100 meters wide.

Esperence is named after the French who were shipwrecked there in 1972.  The coastline is stunning.   We camped out of town at Cape Le Grand National Park and enjoyed a view of wild coastal scenery, rugged rocky peaks and crystal blue water.   The sand on the beach was so fine and white it was like salt when it was dry.  It also held it’s shape well.  The kids thought it was like snow, and we shaped it into balls and had sand ball fights and made a sand snowman. 

A side note for fellow travellers when the camp site sign says solar showers, don’t expect them to be even remotely warm in the middle of winter.

Time to leave Western Australia (goodbye 'DOME' coffee).  We are now at last heading east and our lap of the map is coming full circle.  Next stop, the Nullabor and South Australia.   

From bare feet to gumboots

Our chase of the infinite summer has come to an end, with the cold weather setting in, but we managed to catch a few last sunshine adventures….

Having missed the Great Barrier Reef because it was a bit costly to put us all on a boat to sail out to the reef islands, and we didn’t think the kids were up for it, we were excited to find ‘Ningaloo Reef’ on the opposite side of the country in WA.   This time the coral and marine life start just metres off the mainland.   It cost us only a few dollars for access to the national park to enjoy a day of snorkelling in safe tropical waters.  Once I became confident with the goggle and snorkel, it felt like I was floating across the reef.  The coral looked like giant cauliflower, or strange under water flower bouquets.  The fish were electric with colour and mesmerising to watch scurry around the reef.  

Heading further south to Coral Bay we took the boys Kayaking over the reef.   Late in the afternoon you could also hand feed fish in knee deep water.   They seemed enormous with shimmering blue scales.  One of them bit my hand while I was feeding him, later I found out they are called 'snapper' - and i totally understand why - his teeth left puncture marks and drew blood.   

I expected the WA coastline to be magnificent, and it is.  With the weather a little inclement it really creates a dramatic atmosphere.   The most amazing blow holes I have ever seen are just north of Carnarvon at Quobba.  This part of the coast has king waves and is famous to surfers around the world.   Too rough for us to enjoy a swim, although Josh went in – fully clothed, and was quickly dumped by a wave.  We camped here on the beach a few nights with a lighthouse on the headland and enjoyed a roaring campfire.  Seeing the lighthouse on at night left a big impression on Amy, who now talks about lighthouses often in her daily chatter. 

Shark Bay is world heritage listed and home to the famous dolphin bay of Monkey Mia.   We camped on the beach again, and went to Monkey Mia during the day to watch the dolphins play.  It was fabulous for the kids to see the dolphins in their own environment and get up so close.  John and Sam had the chance to hand feed them.  The feeding program is carefully controlled, only feeding the female dolphins – they are continually breastfeeding or pregnant so I can totally understand why they can do with the extra food.  They give them just a small portion of their daily nutrition requirement, so they continue to hunt for themselves, and teach their calves to hunt.   They breastfeed every 20 minutes!  Exhausting thought for anyone who has had a baby.

John has had his heart set on seeing ‘Natures Window’ in Kalbarri.   He had seen a picture in a magazine of a small family there, who were travelling OZ.  This photo had inspired the idea that it was time for us to go on the same adventure.  So of course we had our photo taken there too.

Geraldton signalled a return to civilisation –Bunnings and a real Target (not the country target kind).   We also enjoyed a catch up with a long time friend Alicia Conner and met her new husband. They are shortly moving to the remote town of Derby at the tip of WA.  We wish them the best on the next league of their life adventure. 

The Pinnacles are a massive collection of limestone rocks peeking though desert sand, it was like another world.  You are free to walk amongst them, and we decided with the three little kids the best way to enjoy the moment was a game of hide and seek.  A great memory.

It has been such a diverse two weeks - we have seen shipwrecks, wild emus, a skink, a thorny devil, shell crabs, star fish, coral reefs, blowholes, dolphins and amazing wildflowers.  Now sweaty days have turned cold and wet, arid ranges have turned into green rolling hills, bare feet have been replaced by gumboots, and picnics in the sun have been replaced with hot lunches in the caravan. 

Finally arrived in Perth now.  So ready to hit a city again!  They are already playing Johns music here on the radio, he has a radio interview scheduled for Friday, and is playing later that night.  Good things ahead.