Diary date: Tuesday 12th October
A very tired Lolli is writing this. The whale watching today was absolutely FAB! We caught train to our pick up point and found it easily enough. Even had time for a coffee before the transport arrived, then it was north along the coast to Hillary's for the boat. We had glorious views over the Indian ocean most of the way and finally arrived at Hillary's, where there was just a few million quid's worth of rather nice boats moored up in the marina. We had about half an hour to spare before our boat arrived, so we went for a drink in one of the cafés around the jetties. It was a Chocolateria and there were simply LOADS of different chocolate drinks available. I just went for an iced chocolate and Peter had a latte, as we are not very adventurous. There were also lots of delicious looking chocolates (think Thornton's Plus!) and chocolate desserts to eat, but with stoical restraint, as we are both watching our waistlines, (GROWING!!!) we managed not to succumb to temptation!
When the boat arrived there were very few passengers, which meant we could all get out onto the whale watching deck. We had been going about 20 minutes before the first one was sighted. It was not, however a very active whale and we mainly just saw its back a few times. Meanwhile, in the distance on the starboard side one of the other passengers had spotted a couple of much more active whales breaching and doing all sorts of acrobatics, so the crew took the boat over in that direction. It was much better and we saw several whales 'breach' (leap up out of the water and land on their backs). We stayed for ages trying to get photos. Unfortunately, I have forgotten how to do video on my camera and went to get my phone but that didn't seem to taking video either and I got loads of sky pictures, but very few whale ones!. Luckily Pete managed much better and he has got some fabulous footage of a whale breaching. There were 3 whales in the final pod we saw and Pete said it was much better than when he first went whale watching. It was wonderful to see such giants 'playing'
After a while we had to head back and it was a very reluctant party that did so. Back on shore, several of us has tickets to AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia), so we headed over there. It was fantastic. An underwater tunnel with several varieties of sharks, rays and fish swimming above us and Loggerhead Turtles. We went round twice to capture the full experience, then went round the rest of the museum. They had divided it into various sections according to the latitude of the coastline and we found it very easy to navigate. There was also a section on which sea creatures to avoid. I must say, Australia does seem to have more than its fair share of deadly snakes, spiders and fish/marine life, but they are quite welcome to keep them all. There were also large exhibitions of native corals.
It was fascinating to discover so much about the secret life of the sea, and the experience was made much more interesting by one of the young guides who was so enthusiastic about it all and took pains to show Pete and I things we would otherwise have missed (like the tiny sting ray hiding under the sand) We spent about 2½ hours there all together, which didn't give us time to visit the cafe, but did give us enough time to view everything.
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Australian Adventure 2010 (continued)
Diary date: Monday 11th October 2010
Today I met Pete about 9.45 and we went to the 'Cafe on High', where Nena and I lunched the other day. After a delicious latte each we decided to visit the maritime museum. Pete had only had a quick look round last time he was here and I wanted to do the submarine tour, so we duly made our way there. We started off in the museum looking at the history of Fremantle harbour, then went on our sub tour. This was most interesting, even if the space was a little confined. HMS Ovens, the sub we looked around, was commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 1997 The chap in charge gave a very detailed commentary of everything we saw and we now know why the lights are always dim around the periscope area. It's so the sailors there don't lose night sight, as they use the periscope at night as well as during the day.
All bed space was miniscule to say the least, but the captain's cabin was almost worse. He had a to have a 'box' poked through into the control area to make his bunk long enough for him! There were also only 4 toilets for 70 souls!! And one shower. Each person (including officers and captain) was allowed to have one shower a week, lasting 90 seconds. The cook and the steward were allowed a shower every day for food hygiene reasons. This, of course, was luxury compared to early days of submarining and each sailor had his own bunk. Hot bunking which had happened in the early days was now a thing of the past. Apparently in the English navy when offered the luxury of a shower they opted for two buckets of water a week so they could have a good stand up wash!
After the sub tour we went for some lunch on the quayside and booked a lunch cruise for later in our holiday. We then went back to the museum and saw the rest of the exhibits, including the Australian Yacht that won the Americas cup a few years ago and the gold medal that one of the Oz team won in the Sydney olympics. It's the closest I shall ever get to Olympic Gold! All in all it was a good day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Tomorrow we are going whale watching and Weds we are having lunch with Aunty. Thursday at present is free so I may get some sunbathing in. Friday we are going over to Rottnest Island for Swimming and cycling. At the w/e there are two family BBQs.
I had a lovely surprise tonight when I got back. One of the girls has left our dorm so there was a bottom bunk free and I promptly snaffled it, so i no longer have to do mountaineering to get into bed!
Today I met Pete about 9.45 and we went to the 'Cafe on High', where Nena and I lunched the other day. After a delicious latte each we decided to visit the maritime museum. Pete had only had a quick look round last time he was here and I wanted to do the submarine tour, so we duly made our way there. We started off in the museum looking at the history of Fremantle harbour, then went on our sub tour. This was most interesting, even if the space was a little confined. HMS Ovens, the sub we looked around, was commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 1997 The chap in charge gave a very detailed commentary of everything we saw and we now know why the lights are always dim around the periscope area. It's so the sailors there don't lose night sight, as they use the periscope at night as well as during the day.
All bed space was miniscule to say the least, but the captain's cabin was almost worse. He had a to have a 'box' poked through into the control area to make his bunk long enough for him! There were also only 4 toilets for 70 souls!! And one shower. Each person (including officers and captain) was allowed to have one shower a week, lasting 90 seconds. The cook and the steward were allowed a shower every day for food hygiene reasons. This, of course, was luxury compared to early days of submarining and each sailor had his own bunk. Hot bunking which had happened in the early days was now a thing of the past. Apparently in the English navy when offered the luxury of a shower they opted for two buckets of water a week so they could have a good stand up wash!
After the sub tour we went for some lunch on the quayside and booked a lunch cruise for later in our holiday. We then went back to the museum and saw the rest of the exhibits, including the Australian Yacht that won the Americas cup a few years ago and the gold medal that one of the Oz team won in the Sydney olympics. It's the closest I shall ever get to Olympic Gold! All in all it was a good day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Tomorrow we are going whale watching and Weds we are having lunch with Aunty. Thursday at present is free so I may get some sunbathing in. Friday we are going over to Rottnest Island for Swimming and cycling. At the w/e there are two family BBQs.
I had a lovely surprise tonight when I got back. One of the girls has left our dorm so there was a bottom bunk free and I promptly snaffled it, so i no longer have to do mountaineering to get into bed!
Australian Adventure 2010 (continued)
Diary date: Sunday October 10th 2010
In all these posts I have hardly mentioned the weather. That's because it has been reliably sunny and warm every day, with temperatures on a par with those in Southern france. Absolutely delightful - I could stay here for ever!
Well, today, Sunday, I got up fairly early and walked up the road to the Tram stop - another adventure I had planned. It was so early I caught the first tram of the day! It takes one around some of the important sites of the town, including the fishing boat harbour, the old harbour where the £10 immigrants landed in Fremantle during the 50s and 60s, the Railway Station, the Markets, the Town Hall, Monument Hill and the Prison. I went round one and a half times, providing translation services for a French couple on the trip, then got off to visit the Fremantle Prison, one of the most visited sites in WA. It was built by the convicts that were brought over to provide labour to help build the foundling town of Fremantle. Apparently the message saying they were coming was on a slower boat than the one with the convicts on, so there was no accommodation for them when they arrived!
There are several tours available so i decided to go for the lot. Of course I couldn't fit them all in today, so did the 'Doing Time' tour and the 'Tunnels' tour. I have booked to do the torchlight one on Weds and hopefully I will be able to also do the 'Great Escapes' tour the same day. The doing time tour took us around the Prison as if we were prisoners being admitted. First we went to the reception area, where one was searched, valuables were handed in and 'prison greens' were given out to real prisoners. Following that we were shown various bits of the prison, including the exercise yards, (very small), the Prison Chapel, (Compulsory to attend 2 services on a Sunday!), the Kitchens, the Boiler house, where two prisoners spent all their time tending the boiler, sleeping in a room beside it - a rather larger bedroom than most prisoners had, and not so much guarded. We walked one of the wings and saw how it was divided into divisions to try and segregate the prisoners a little, very necessary when the prisoners rioted in 1988! we also saw the solitary confinement cells and observation cells for those on suicide watch and the segregation cels for paedos, judges, lawyers, cops etc! Finally we were shown the condemned cell and a few cells kitted out as they were at different times during the prisons' history. All of them, however, had the 'prisoner's ensuite' - a lidded pail for slops! I had a photo taken of me sitting in the condemned cell before I was told what it was. Apparently it took between 50 and 60 seconds from leaving that cell to the end of one's life. we were taken around to the 'gallows' and it was pretty horrid to walk in and see the rope hanging there, also the trap doors and the mechanism for opening them. That concluded that tour and I then went to the tunnels tour.
To ensure fresh drinking water for the prison a system of tunnels was excavated by the convicts/prisoners underneath the prison where there was an aquifer in the porous limestone. A large reservoir was also created under the prison garden, capable of holding something like 12,000,000 gallons of water. All this was done by the prisoners with hand tools only, by the light of kerosene lamps. It also counted as hard labour, but sometimes a prisoner would be sentenced to hard labour and weights, which meant they had to wear a weighted waist belt of 14 or 28 lbs. The weight was set by the sentencing judge. A misdemeanour could also entail the prisoner being shackled and /or obliged to wear ankle weights. Obviously working under such conditions was very debilitating, especially as it could get very hot down in the tunnels. The first part of the tunnels was a 'dry' excavation , when the general route of the tunnels was mapped out and this was followed by the 'wet' excavation when the tunnels were dug deeper, below the level of the water table, so the prisoners were working in water for all their shift. How long the shifts were isn't known, but what is known is that they were locked up for 14½ hours overnight, so one assumes that they were in the tunnels for the rest of the time.
They had to take their slop pails down with them to use if needed, then carry them up again at the end of the shift. When we went down, we were given coveralls, hard hat, climbing harness with safety lock system, and wellies. The prisoners went down in whatever they normally wore and several cases of trench foot were recorded. The tunnels however were a great success, and the prison was able to supply water to the town, as well as meeting its own needs, until water supply was taken over by a state body. Apparently there were no escapes from the tunnels, although there is anecdotal evidence that a lady was pegging out the washing in the garden of her house in Hampton road, which is over the tunnels area when a bedraggled man climbed out of her well and shuffled off down the side of the house. Normally on tis tour one is not allowed to take cameras, but as there were only two of us our guide bent the rules a little and allowed us ours. The tunnels are only just standing height for someone of my height (5'3") in their highest places and at times even I was almost bent double, so working on them must have been awful. There was no ventilation, as there is now, so the dust and odour must have been diabolical. After walking through the dry tunnels we went on a tour of the wet ones. for this we each had a plastic boat which we had to paddle. It was great fun for us down there and very interesting, but sobering to remember the conditions under which they had been built
In all these posts I have hardly mentioned the weather. That's because it has been reliably sunny and warm every day, with temperatures on a par with those in Southern france. Absolutely delightful - I could stay here for ever!
Well, today, Sunday, I got up fairly early and walked up the road to the Tram stop - another adventure I had planned. It was so early I caught the first tram of the day! It takes one around some of the important sites of the town, including the fishing boat harbour, the old harbour where the £10 immigrants landed in Fremantle during the 50s and 60s, the Railway Station, the Markets, the Town Hall, Monument Hill and the Prison. I went round one and a half times, providing translation services for a French couple on the trip, then got off to visit the Fremantle Prison, one of the most visited sites in WA. It was built by the convicts that were brought over to provide labour to help build the foundling town of Fremantle. Apparently the message saying they were coming was on a slower boat than the one with the convicts on, so there was no accommodation for them when they arrived!
There are several tours available so i decided to go for the lot. Of course I couldn't fit them all in today, so did the 'Doing Time' tour and the 'Tunnels' tour. I have booked to do the torchlight one on Weds and hopefully I will be able to also do the 'Great Escapes' tour the same day. The doing time tour took us around the Prison as if we were prisoners being admitted. First we went to the reception area, where one was searched, valuables were handed in and 'prison greens' were given out to real prisoners. Following that we were shown various bits of the prison, including the exercise yards, (very small), the Prison Chapel, (Compulsory to attend 2 services on a Sunday!), the Kitchens, the Boiler house, where two prisoners spent all their time tending the boiler, sleeping in a room beside it - a rather larger bedroom than most prisoners had, and not so much guarded. We walked one of the wings and saw how it was divided into divisions to try and segregate the prisoners a little, very necessary when the prisoners rioted in 1988! we also saw the solitary confinement cells and observation cells for those on suicide watch and the segregation cels for paedos, judges, lawyers, cops etc! Finally we were shown the condemned cell and a few cells kitted out as they were at different times during the prisons' history. All of them, however, had the 'prisoner's ensuite' - a lidded pail for slops! I had a photo taken of me sitting in the condemned cell before I was told what it was. Apparently it took between 50 and 60 seconds from leaving that cell to the end of one's life. we were taken around to the 'gallows' and it was pretty horrid to walk in and see the rope hanging there, also the trap doors and the mechanism for opening them. That concluded that tour and I then went to the tunnels tour.
To ensure fresh drinking water for the prison a system of tunnels was excavated by the convicts/prisoners underneath the prison where there was an aquifer in the porous limestone. A large reservoir was also created under the prison garden, capable of holding something like 12,000,000 gallons of water. All this was done by the prisoners with hand tools only, by the light of kerosene lamps. It also counted as hard labour, but sometimes a prisoner would be sentenced to hard labour and weights, which meant they had to wear a weighted waist belt of 14 or 28 lbs. The weight was set by the sentencing judge. A misdemeanour could also entail the prisoner being shackled and /or obliged to wear ankle weights. Obviously working under such conditions was very debilitating, especially as it could get very hot down in the tunnels. The first part of the tunnels was a 'dry' excavation , when the general route of the tunnels was mapped out and this was followed by the 'wet' excavation when the tunnels were dug deeper, below the level of the water table, so the prisoners were working in water for all their shift. How long the shifts were isn't known, but what is known is that they were locked up for 14½ hours overnight, so one assumes that they were in the tunnels for the rest of the time.
They had to take their slop pails down with them to use if needed, then carry them up again at the end of the shift. When we went down, we were given coveralls, hard hat, climbing harness with safety lock system, and wellies. The prisoners went down in whatever they normally wore and several cases of trench foot were recorded. The tunnels however were a great success, and the prison was able to supply water to the town, as well as meeting its own needs, until water supply was taken over by a state body. Apparently there were no escapes from the tunnels, although there is anecdotal evidence that a lady was pegging out the washing in the garden of her house in Hampton road, which is over the tunnels area when a bedraggled man climbed out of her well and shuffled off down the side of the house. Normally on tis tour one is not allowed to take cameras, but as there were only two of us our guide bent the rules a little and allowed us ours. The tunnels are only just standing height for someone of my height (5'3") in their highest places and at times even I was almost bent double, so working on them must have been awful. There was no ventilation, as there is now, so the dust and odour must have been diabolical. After walking through the dry tunnels we went on a tour of the wet ones. for this we each had a plastic boat which we had to paddle. It was great fun for us down there and very interesting, but sobering to remember the conditions under which they had been built
Australian Adventure 2010 (continued)
Diary date Saturday 9th October 2010
When I got back last night I had sand everywhere, so had a shower to get rid of some of it. In one pocket I had half the Great Autralian desert! It was also in my ears, up my nose and other places too delicate to mention. I thought I had got rid of it all before I went to bed, but when I woke up in the middle of the night for a pee, I found i was mistaken in that thought. I also had a slight accident getting off the top bunk. I missed the bed below and fell hard onto the floor, waking the other people in the room, except fot the one who has spoken to me about my snoring! Luckily there was not much damage - a very bruised elbow and a carpet burn to my arm. I also discovered a bruise from where I had fallen off the sand board. I forgot to mention that after falling off the sand board I decided to do it the way I sledge, on my tum, and managed MUCH better. Later I tried to do it like skateboarding, on a shallower slope, but the board tried running away with me, so I quickly gave that up.
After I'd been to the loo and emptied more of the great Oz desert onto the floor I went back to bed, waking at 7, the again at 9. Both times I decided I was too tired to get up, although at 9 I decided I could do a little reading , so having finished my book of Oz slang, I started reading the history of Freo. It was fascinating, but I was still tired, so I went back to sleep till 1pm, when I decided I really should get up and phoned Pete to see what he was doing. We arranged to meet and spent the afternoon drinking coffee and eating cakes, in between buying Pete some new T shirts and wandering around the inside of the Freo markets.In many ways they are like any other market around the world - you expect to get real bargains, but you never do. However, we found some fairly nice souvenirs for Pete's mum and a work colleague. What we did find fascinating was the number and range of stalls. There are over 150 of them inside and out and you can buy almost anything, from homewares to an apple, or a delicious takeaway meal and an authentic Australian musical instrument! It was almost like a small town in itself and the buildings were absolutely fantastic on the inside. They were built back in the colonial days, (1897) when instead of designing buildings that could go up as quickly as possible, they were designed to show the skill of the workers erecting them. Certainly well worth a look if you ever visit Freo yourself. We also made some plans for next week, so as I have internet access and he doesn't I need to go and book some trips. More tomorrow!
When I got back last night I had sand everywhere, so had a shower to get rid of some of it. In one pocket I had half the Great Autralian desert! It was also in my ears, up my nose and other places too delicate to mention. I thought I had got rid of it all before I went to bed, but when I woke up in the middle of the night for a pee, I found i was mistaken in that thought. I also had a slight accident getting off the top bunk. I missed the bed below and fell hard onto the floor, waking the other people in the room, except fot the one who has spoken to me about my snoring! Luckily there was not much damage - a very bruised elbow and a carpet burn to my arm. I also discovered a bruise from where I had fallen off the sand board. I forgot to mention that after falling off the sand board I decided to do it the way I sledge, on my tum, and managed MUCH better. Later I tried to do it like skateboarding, on a shallower slope, but the board tried running away with me, so I quickly gave that up.
After I'd been to the loo and emptied more of the great Oz desert onto the floor I went back to bed, waking at 7, the again at 9. Both times I decided I was too tired to get up, although at 9 I decided I could do a little reading , so having finished my book of Oz slang, I started reading the history of Freo. It was fascinating, but I was still tired, so I went back to sleep till 1pm, when I decided I really should get up and phoned Pete to see what he was doing. We arranged to meet and spent the afternoon drinking coffee and eating cakes, in between buying Pete some new T shirts and wandering around the inside of the Freo markets.In many ways they are like any other market around the world - you expect to get real bargains, but you never do. However, we found some fairly nice souvenirs for Pete's mum and a work colleague. What we did find fascinating was the number and range of stalls. There are over 150 of them inside and out and you can buy almost anything, from homewares to an apple, or a delicious takeaway meal and an authentic Australian musical instrument! It was almost like a small town in itself and the buildings were absolutely fantastic on the inside. They were built back in the colonial days, (1897) when instead of designing buildings that could go up as quickly as possible, they were designed to show the skill of the workers erecting them. Certainly well worth a look if you ever visit Freo yourself. We also made some plans for next week, so as I have internet access and he doesn't I need to go and book some trips. More tomorrow!
Friday 28 January 2011
Australian adventure. October 2010 (continued)
Diary Date Friday Oct 8th
A VERY early start today, as we had a long journey up the cost with various sights to see on the way. Had to be up at 6am latest to be at the bus stop for the 6.38 bus into Perth. I duly set the alarm on my mobile for 5.45 and woke up at 5.40. Just lie here a bit longer I thought, and decided to get up at 6.am, which I did, wondering if I had cancelled the alarm when I woke at 5.40. NOPE - then it dawned on me - I had set the alarm on my HOME mobile, not my Oz mobile and of course the home one is seven hours slower! Good job someone up there loves me! Anyway I had time for a shower, a short walk to the station and a short wait for the bus. Pete caught the bus from a couple of stops further on and we confessed to feeling a bit tired, but looking forward to the day. Pete also told me that although we had carefully planned our joint trips to avoid weekends, so the family could take Peter out if they wanted to, his aunt had planned a 'Meet the family' barbie for next Tues and we are on a whale watching trip in the arvo! Picking up the lingo, you see
The bus ride into Perth was very pleasant, and considering the time of morning very busy. Just goes to show, if you provide a decent service at a reasonable price, people will use it! It was lovely to ride alongside the Swan river and look over the water in the stillness of the morning. Arriving in Perth we found we had about 100 yards to walk to get to the meeting point and it was early enough for us to grab some breakfast. There was a 'Cheerful Croissant' shop on the corner so we went in for coffee and croissants. I had an almond one and Pete a plain one and we both agreed we hadn't tasted any so nice since we had last been in France. The coffee was very good too (lattes for both of us!).
Buses were appearing at the designated point, so we went over to claim our places, only to find that our bus hadn't yet arrived. It finally did, 5 minutes after our appointed departure time and 50 minutes after Pete and I arrived. I am very rarely early for anything and the one time I was the bus was late! The excuse was that an owl had flown into the windscreen of the original bus so we had to have a substitute and it took time to organise. However as the owl incident had taken place the previous night apparently, it didn't sound quite 'kosher' (l)
We began with a ride out to the Swan Valley and a wildlife park, to meet Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas. It was a whistle stop tour around there and we had barely any time to see the animals properly, but I did manage to feed a roo, who held my hand. Unfortunately Peter cut my head off in the photo! I could hardly tell the difference between the Roos and wallabies, but the wombat was different, and I recognised the koalas. They are so cute and there was a family there with mum holding tight to the little one.
After that we all visited the loo (and I must say I am VERY impressed with Oz loos - every one I have been in has been clean and litter free, as are the streets. No chewing gum on the pavement!) then regained our seats for a long drive to Cataby roadhouse, for a coffee stop. During the drive the coach driver gave a commentary about the land we were passing through, but the early start had taken its toll on most of us and many heads were nodding. Reaching the roadhouse, all on its own, miles from anywhere, like the petrol stations you see in american movies, (you wonder where the staff live/come from) we all piled out very happily to stretch our legs and buy ice creams as it was getting very hot. We were also given the opportunity to walk into the bush a little to look for wildflowers. However, this being the driest spring WA has had since about 1977 there were very few flowers to be seen and those that were visible were not next to the path. Most of us were very wary about going off the path because of the snake danger, and it turned out we were right to be wary, as when we regrouped we saw a notice saying look out for snakes!
We were all far more interested in the road train that pulled on to the forecourt than the non-existent wildflowers and many of us took the opportunity to be photographed by it. It was a real stunner. Coffee break over we re-entered the bus and continued north to our lunch time stop. On this part of the journey the driver decided to give us a lecture about fossil fuels and balancing out the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. I'm afraid he went on too long, especially about bio-char and we were thoroughly glad when the lunch stop came into view. It was an incredibly long journey to those of us used to British distances on a day out and we were flagging somewhat. Before lunch however we were taken to the beach for the chance to see/paddle in the Indian Ocean. I took the opportunity to paddle and found the water colder than I expected, especially when a rogue wave broke behind me and soaked my trousers. However it was NOT as cold as the English Channel. We were then taken to what looked like another roadhouse for lunch. Expecting a normal British packed lunch of a couple of manky sandwiches, a packet of crisps and a piece of bruised fruit, we were were delighted to be led inside to some picnic tables and presented with a veritable feast: Fresh buns,pasta salad, rice salad, mixed salad, lobster pieces, chicken drumsticks, beef slices, salami slices, cheese slices, hardboiled eggs, marinated olives, melon slices and a fruit basket full of pears, apples and bananas and not a bruise in sight! It was absolutely delicious and we tucked in with gusto.
After lunch we continued to the Pinnacles desert. This is a really weird place, but fascinating to see. All these sort of stalagmites (except they aren't ) of rock standing up above the sandy desert floor. We had 3/4 hour to wander around and it was long enough, as it was very hot walking out in the desert. Fortunately we had water with us and a waymarked path, so we couldn't get lost. What we didn't have to start with was effective fly screening, but after seeing some people wearing nets over their heads and learning they had bought them from the souvenir shop we backtracked rapidly and bought a couple. Best $8 I ever spent. I could cope with flies buzzing around, but not crawling up my nose and in my mouth! Having spent our time here we turned back towards home, down the new part of the Indian Ocean Highway to Lancelin. There are some beautiful white sand dunes there and it was there that we would have the 4wd experience and the opportunity for sandboarding.
It was somewhat disappointing to be taken over the sand dunes in a 4wd coach instead of the landrover/utility type vehicle we were expecting, as it meant we couldn't motor up very steep slopes. However the trip was still exhilarating, especially for me, as I sat beside the driver for this part of the trip. All our party enjoyed themselves and we then went off to have our turn at sandboarding. The walk up to the top of the dune was exhausting for me, but I was looking forward to my turn. Those of the party who were fitter than me had already had a couple of goes each and done very well by the time my turn came round. I seated myself on the board as instructed, held my fingertips in teh sand behind me to stop the board slewing side ways and pushed off. Five feet later I fell off and managed a world record beating roll down the slope (a heavy object rolls really fast). I saw the funny side immediately and as I naturally adopt a position to minimise injury when something like that happens to me I was enjoying myself until I realised my trousers and knickers were coming down! Fortunately a brave member of our party stood in front of me to stop me, just before I revealed all to the world! She was brave, too, as she was very slight and I wouldn't like to stand in front of an object weighing 16 1/2 stone, moving at speed!!!! The only downside of the event was that no-one had captured my splendid fall from grace on film. That's twice this year I have made a total idiot of myself and not been caught on camera (the first time was sitting on a deckchair and falling though it!)
After this it was time to return home. The sun was setting as we headed south for our 194km return to Perth. However, we managed to see both Emus and Kangaroos in the wild as dusk fell, so that made a fitting end to what had been a very pleasant, if tiring, day.
A VERY early start today, as we had a long journey up the cost with various sights to see on the way. Had to be up at 6am latest to be at the bus stop for the 6.38 bus into Perth. I duly set the alarm on my mobile for 5.45 and woke up at 5.40. Just lie here a bit longer I thought, and decided to get up at 6.am, which I did, wondering if I had cancelled the alarm when I woke at 5.40. NOPE - then it dawned on me - I had set the alarm on my HOME mobile, not my Oz mobile and of course the home one is seven hours slower! Good job someone up there loves me! Anyway I had time for a shower, a short walk to the station and a short wait for the bus. Pete caught the bus from a couple of stops further on and we confessed to feeling a bit tired, but looking forward to the day. Pete also told me that although we had carefully planned our joint trips to avoid weekends, so the family could take Peter out if they wanted to, his aunt had planned a 'Meet the family' barbie for next Tues and we are on a whale watching trip in the arvo! Picking up the lingo, you see
The bus ride into Perth was very pleasant, and considering the time of morning very busy. Just goes to show, if you provide a decent service at a reasonable price, people will use it! It was lovely to ride alongside the Swan river and look over the water in the stillness of the morning. Arriving in Perth we found we had about 100 yards to walk to get to the meeting point and it was early enough for us to grab some breakfast. There was a 'Cheerful Croissant' shop on the corner so we went in for coffee and croissants. I had an almond one and Pete a plain one and we both agreed we hadn't tasted any so nice since we had last been in France. The coffee was very good too (lattes for both of us!).
Buses were appearing at the designated point, so we went over to claim our places, only to find that our bus hadn't yet arrived. It finally did, 5 minutes after our appointed departure time and 50 minutes after Pete and I arrived. I am very rarely early for anything and the one time I was the bus was late! The excuse was that an owl had flown into the windscreen of the original bus so we had to have a substitute and it took time to organise. However as the owl incident had taken place the previous night apparently, it didn't sound quite 'kosher' (l)
We began with a ride out to the Swan Valley and a wildlife park, to meet Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas. It was a whistle stop tour around there and we had barely any time to see the animals properly, but I did manage to feed a roo, who held my hand. Unfortunately Peter cut my head off in the photo! I could hardly tell the difference between the Roos and wallabies, but the wombat was different, and I recognised the koalas. They are so cute and there was a family there with mum holding tight to the little one.
After that we all visited the loo (and I must say I am VERY impressed with Oz loos - every one I have been in has been clean and litter free, as are the streets. No chewing gum on the pavement!) then regained our seats for a long drive to Cataby roadhouse, for a coffee stop. During the drive the coach driver gave a commentary about the land we were passing through, but the early start had taken its toll on most of us and many heads were nodding. Reaching the roadhouse, all on its own, miles from anywhere, like the petrol stations you see in american movies, (you wonder where the staff live/come from) we all piled out very happily to stretch our legs and buy ice creams as it was getting very hot. We were also given the opportunity to walk into the bush a little to look for wildflowers. However, this being the driest spring WA has had since about 1977 there were very few flowers to be seen and those that were visible were not next to the path. Most of us were very wary about going off the path because of the snake danger, and it turned out we were right to be wary, as when we regrouped we saw a notice saying look out for snakes!
We were all far more interested in the road train that pulled on to the forecourt than the non-existent wildflowers and many of us took the opportunity to be photographed by it. It was a real stunner. Coffee break over we re-entered the bus and continued north to our lunch time stop. On this part of the journey the driver decided to give us a lecture about fossil fuels and balancing out the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. I'm afraid he went on too long, especially about bio-char and we were thoroughly glad when the lunch stop came into view. It was an incredibly long journey to those of us used to British distances on a day out and we were flagging somewhat. Before lunch however we were taken to the beach for the chance to see/paddle in the Indian Ocean. I took the opportunity to paddle and found the water colder than I expected, especially when a rogue wave broke behind me and soaked my trousers. However it was NOT as cold as the English Channel. We were then taken to what looked like another roadhouse for lunch. Expecting a normal British packed lunch of a couple of manky sandwiches, a packet of crisps and a piece of bruised fruit, we were were delighted to be led inside to some picnic tables and presented with a veritable feast: Fresh buns,pasta salad, rice salad, mixed salad, lobster pieces, chicken drumsticks, beef slices, salami slices, cheese slices, hardboiled eggs, marinated olives, melon slices and a fruit basket full of pears, apples and bananas and not a bruise in sight! It was absolutely delicious and we tucked in with gusto.
After lunch we continued to the Pinnacles desert. This is a really weird place, but fascinating to see. All these sort of stalagmites (except they aren't ) of rock standing up above the sandy desert floor. We had 3/4 hour to wander around and it was long enough, as it was very hot walking out in the desert. Fortunately we had water with us and a waymarked path, so we couldn't get lost. What we didn't have to start with was effective fly screening, but after seeing some people wearing nets over their heads and learning they had bought them from the souvenir shop we backtracked rapidly and bought a couple. Best $8 I ever spent. I could cope with flies buzzing around, but not crawling up my nose and in my mouth! Having spent our time here we turned back towards home, down the new part of the Indian Ocean Highway to Lancelin. There are some beautiful white sand dunes there and it was there that we would have the 4wd experience and the opportunity for sandboarding.
It was somewhat disappointing to be taken over the sand dunes in a 4wd coach instead of the landrover/utility type vehicle we were expecting, as it meant we couldn't motor up very steep slopes. However the trip was still exhilarating, especially for me, as I sat beside the driver for this part of the trip. All our party enjoyed themselves and we then went off to have our turn at sandboarding. The walk up to the top of the dune was exhausting for me, but I was looking forward to my turn. Those of the party who were fitter than me had already had a couple of goes each and done very well by the time my turn came round. I seated myself on the board as instructed, held my fingertips in teh sand behind me to stop the board slewing side ways and pushed off. Five feet later I fell off and managed a world record beating roll down the slope (a heavy object rolls really fast). I saw the funny side immediately and as I naturally adopt a position to minimise injury when something like that happens to me I was enjoying myself until I realised my trousers and knickers were coming down! Fortunately a brave member of our party stood in front of me to stop me, just before I revealed all to the world! She was brave, too, as she was very slight and I wouldn't like to stand in front of an object weighing 16 1/2 stone, moving at speed!!!! The only downside of the event was that no-one had captured my splendid fall from grace on film. That's twice this year I have made a total idiot of myself and not been caught on camera (the first time was sitting on a deckchair and falling though it!)
After this it was time to return home. The sun was setting as we headed south for our 194km return to Perth. However, we managed to see both Emus and Kangaroos in the wild as dusk fell, so that made a fitting end to what had been a very pleasant, if tiring, day.
Australian adventure. October 2010 (continued)
Diary date Thursday Oct 7th
Nena and I met at the appointed spot, dead on time, which was a miracle for me, as my timekeeping isn't the best! After I rather surprised Nena with a hug we decided to go for a cup of coffee and quickly established that our sense of humour was very much along the same lines! Heading for 'the strip' or the 'cappuccino strip', THE place to see and be seen in Freo, we looked at all the coffee bars and decided that those with no prices displayed were probably more than either of us wanted to pay. We ended up going to the first one we had passed, in a shady passageway, which was pleasant as the weather was getting rather warm. We went in and ordered, a latte for me and an espresso for Nena. Now, it is some time since Nena has spent a day in a 'big' town, and coffee shops do many more varieties than she is used to, poor love. We sat at a table and waited for our drinks to be served. The very pleasant gent in charge brought our coffees out and Nena's face was a picture! I had a nice tall glass of milky coffee and she had an egg cup full of black coffee. We fell about laughing as we realised she had thought it would be a 'normal' coffee. We have now established that a normal coffee is a 'flat white', which sounds somewhat unappetising, but which was much enjoyed by Nena later in the day. Coffee took some time as we exchanged info about ourselves, in particular odd things that had happened to us or our families. It started to get really spooky, when we realised that we had several; things in common - husbands named Peter, sons named Michael, allergies to Tetanus jabs - both of us discovering this after treading on rusty nails as children! We have a certain facial similarity (colour of hair and eyes), have both been teachers and both worked in libraries (Nena still does). However, Nena has done something I have never done - she has worked on an archaeological dig in Fremantle! We made plans to go to the spot and take a photo of her there, but time ran away with us. We also talked about our writing and I told Nena how my Nano entry last year ended up almost pornographic (and has got worse since I tried to edit it!) My MC was supposed to be a BIT of a 'jack the lad', but he is insatiable!!!!!
After our coffee we decided to go for a walk around Fremantle markets, which are housed in a beautiful old building. First disappointment of the day - they are not open on Thursday, but nothing daunted we decide we could still go around the markets, on the outside, so we did just that, ending up where we had met, by the information office. Spying the free leaflets on various themed walks around Freo, I started picking hem up and suggested to Nena that we do one of them. We looked through and found one that we simply HAD to do, as it was a 'Writers Walk'. It was also the shortest and we had decided to have lunch when we had finished it. It was down the High Street and the first 'totem' was almost outside my lodgings. I had walked past it 3 times and not noticed it before! They are not particularly easy to spot but with the walk leaflet in our hands we found them all, and persuaded various passing strangers to take photos of us two either side of these somewhat 'phallic looking' symbols! Some were even pinky in colour, then we walked past the sex shop, which was tastefully displaying its wares in the window, Including a rather large dildo/vibrator! Amidst much laughter and some admiration of the writing of the authors included on the walk (a short piece of text from one of their works was shown on their 'totem') we managed to get to the end of the road and decided to go into the cafe I had used for brekkie yesterday. We placed our orders, had a discussion about who should pay, took our seats and waited. Our drinks, (OJ) did not arrive and the fact was mentioned, but they still didn't arrive. My meal came out, but not Nena's. We queried this and found that the girl had missed it off the order. The owner/manager came over and apologised profusely and said Nena could have her meal free. Off she trotted with Nena's order and I started my meal, only to find that the lasagne had a strip underneath that was baked hard and inedible. The owner was just coming back to apologise to Nena that they had no hamburger patties left, when she saw me stand up with my plate and her face nearly hit the floor! Nena had already said she looked stressed and we both thought she'd have a breakdown there and then. Luckily, I had had brekkie there the day before and it had been lovely, scrambled eggs on toast and really creamy, not at all rubbery, so I was able to convince the lady (and Nena) that I thought it was a nice cafe. By this time Nena and I had seen the funny side of the situation, but we did feel sorry for the poor lady. She told us that she was having a really bad day: she'd blown up the deep fat fryer; something else had blown up and now two customers (us) were getting really bad service. We sympathised and said that tomorrow would be better and off she trotted. No sooner had she got into the kitchen than someone, either the customer standing by the counter or the young girl behind it, knocked over the straws container. It made a really loud clatter and was almost too much for Nena and me. With a rush our poor, beleaguered hostess came back into the shop and surveyed the damage. Fortunately it was easily solved, the customer helping to clear up the mess. Shortly after this our meals arrived, with no further mishap and we thoroughly enjoyed them. Nena's of course, had the extra spice of being free! We were also told we could have any muffin we liked as a pudding. FREE! Neither of us fancied a muffin when the time came, but we did fancy some of the fruit dishes on offer - mixed wild berries for me and fruit salad for Nena. We asked if we could have them instead of muffins and said we were willing to pay, but we got a resounding 'NO!' and were asked if we'd like some yoghourt with the fruit. We both said yes, enormous portions were served to us and it was absolutely delicious. Just as we were finishing our meals and deciding which, if any other themed walk to do, Pete rang me, so I told him where we were and decamped to the rather lovely settees in the back of the cafe to wait for him. When he arrived, he bought a drink for us and we filled him in on our day. By the time we'd finished it was time for Nena to leave, so we all walked back into town and said our goodbyes, promising to wave to Nena if we went over her farm when we did our balloon trip. It really was a fabulous day and I thoroughly enjoyed it - and I have a lovely souvenir gift from Nena - a Kangaroo pen and a koala card, Of course, being a total dingbat, I never thought to buy anything for Nena, from England!
Nena and I met at the appointed spot, dead on time, which was a miracle for me, as my timekeeping isn't the best! After I rather surprised Nena with a hug we decided to go for a cup of coffee and quickly established that our sense of humour was very much along the same lines! Heading for 'the strip' or the 'cappuccino strip', THE place to see and be seen in Freo, we looked at all the coffee bars and decided that those with no prices displayed were probably more than either of us wanted to pay. We ended up going to the first one we had passed, in a shady passageway, which was pleasant as the weather was getting rather warm. We went in and ordered, a latte for me and an espresso for Nena. Now, it is some time since Nena has spent a day in a 'big' town, and coffee shops do many more varieties than she is used to, poor love. We sat at a table and waited for our drinks to be served. The very pleasant gent in charge brought our coffees out and Nena's face was a picture! I had a nice tall glass of milky coffee and she had an egg cup full of black coffee. We fell about laughing as we realised she had thought it would be a 'normal' coffee. We have now established that a normal coffee is a 'flat white', which sounds somewhat unappetising, but which was much enjoyed by Nena later in the day. Coffee took some time as we exchanged info about ourselves, in particular odd things that had happened to us or our families. It started to get really spooky, when we realised that we had several; things in common - husbands named Peter, sons named Michael, allergies to Tetanus jabs - both of us discovering this after treading on rusty nails as children! We have a certain facial similarity (colour of hair and eyes), have both been teachers and both worked in libraries (Nena still does). However, Nena has done something I have never done - she has worked on an archaeological dig in Fremantle! We made plans to go to the spot and take a photo of her there, but time ran away with us. We also talked about our writing and I told Nena how my Nano entry last year ended up almost pornographic (and has got worse since I tried to edit it!) My MC was supposed to be a BIT of a 'jack the lad', but he is insatiable!!!!!
After our coffee we decided to go for a walk around Fremantle markets, which are housed in a beautiful old building. First disappointment of the day - they are not open on Thursday, but nothing daunted we decide we could still go around the markets, on the outside, so we did just that, ending up where we had met, by the information office. Spying the free leaflets on various themed walks around Freo, I started picking hem up and suggested to Nena that we do one of them. We looked through and found one that we simply HAD to do, as it was a 'Writers Walk'. It was also the shortest and we had decided to have lunch when we had finished it. It was down the High Street and the first 'totem' was almost outside my lodgings. I had walked past it 3 times and not noticed it before! They are not particularly easy to spot but with the walk leaflet in our hands we found them all, and persuaded various passing strangers to take photos of us two either side of these somewhat 'phallic looking' symbols! Some were even pinky in colour, then we walked past the sex shop, which was tastefully displaying its wares in the window, Including a rather large dildo/vibrator! Amidst much laughter and some admiration of the writing of the authors included on the walk (a short piece of text from one of their works was shown on their 'totem') we managed to get to the end of the road and decided to go into the cafe I had used for brekkie yesterday. We placed our orders, had a discussion about who should pay, took our seats and waited. Our drinks, (OJ) did not arrive and the fact was mentioned, but they still didn't arrive. My meal came out, but not Nena's. We queried this and found that the girl had missed it off the order. The owner/manager came over and apologised profusely and said Nena could have her meal free. Off she trotted with Nena's order and I started my meal, only to find that the lasagne had a strip underneath that was baked hard and inedible. The owner was just coming back to apologise to Nena that they had no hamburger patties left, when she saw me stand up with my plate and her face nearly hit the floor! Nena had already said she looked stressed and we both thought she'd have a breakdown there and then. Luckily, I had had brekkie there the day before and it had been lovely, scrambled eggs on toast and really creamy, not at all rubbery, so I was able to convince the lady (and Nena) that I thought it was a nice cafe. By this time Nena and I had seen the funny side of the situation, but we did feel sorry for the poor lady. She told us that she was having a really bad day: she'd blown up the deep fat fryer; something else had blown up and now two customers (us) were getting really bad service. We sympathised and said that tomorrow would be better and off she trotted. No sooner had she got into the kitchen than someone, either the customer standing by the counter or the young girl behind it, knocked over the straws container. It made a really loud clatter and was almost too much for Nena and me. With a rush our poor, beleaguered hostess came back into the shop and surveyed the damage. Fortunately it was easily solved, the customer helping to clear up the mess. Shortly after this our meals arrived, with no further mishap and we thoroughly enjoyed them. Nena's of course, had the extra spice of being free! We were also told we could have any muffin we liked as a pudding. FREE! Neither of us fancied a muffin when the time came, but we did fancy some of the fruit dishes on offer - mixed wild berries for me and fruit salad for Nena. We asked if we could have them instead of muffins and said we were willing to pay, but we got a resounding 'NO!' and were asked if we'd like some yoghourt with the fruit. We both said yes, enormous portions were served to us and it was absolutely delicious. Just as we were finishing our meals and deciding which, if any other themed walk to do, Pete rang me, so I told him where we were and decamped to the rather lovely settees in the back of the cafe to wait for him. When he arrived, he bought a drink for us and we filled him in on our day. By the time we'd finished it was time for Nena to leave, so we all walked back into town and said our goodbyes, promising to wave to Nena if we went over her farm when we did our balloon trip. It really was a fabulous day and I thoroughly enjoyed it - and I have a lovely souvenir gift from Nena - a Kangaroo pen and a koala card, Of course, being a total dingbat, I never thought to buy anything for Nena, from England!
Thursday 27 January 2011
Australian adventure. October 2010
Diary date 3rd October 2010
Well, this time tomorrow I shall be on the plane halfway to Dubai, for a short stopover before catching the 10.05 plane from Dubai to Perth, arriving at 0055, weds am. Help! I'm losing time from my life!! I am really looking forward to it and may just be a *tad* excited. Weds I shall not do much except acclimatise myself. Thurs I am meeting Nena, at 11.30 pm and we shall be 'Ladies wot lunch' There will be photographs of this historic occasion - the first cross pacific TB meet up in the antipodes!
Friday is scheduled to be a 4WD safari. We journey to Yanchep wildlife park and meet Kangas and koalas, then out to the Pinnacles and walk through part of the area. After that we journey to the sand dunes in Lancelin and have a hair raising 4WD up and down them. The fianl experience of the day is trying our hands at sandboarding. Again, photos will be available. Sometime during that day we get lunch and afternoon tea (and possibly coffee in the morning). Anyway, the case is almost packed, just a few last minute items to go in tomorrow am, and I'll be ready to fly!
Day 1 Oct 6th 2010
Hello, folks. Thanks to you all on talkback for the good wishes. I'm looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, Nena. I have checked out King's Square and found Myers. If pie and sauce is true Oz tucker then, yes I'm up for that. You will have to educate me.
Well, Here I am in OZ, staying at Sundancer Backpackers, in Fremantle. It was formerly a hotel and is very old and quaint. The swimming pool is a bit smaller than I was expecting, but it's there!
Left home at 4.30pm Monday and got to Manchester airport about 6.30pm. It seemed hardly anytime before we were boarding our flight. Emirates is a good airline and I would recommend them. There were the usual sort of flight inconveniences (being herded like cattle to get on, then waiting for 10 years while someone in front had to get their seat absolutely correct, before they could get their fat a*se out of the aisle, etc) The flight left an hour late but the pilot made up time and we were only 15/20 mins late at Dubai. Managed to get a free breakfast at the airport and by the time we had finished it was time to board the next flight, to Perth. This was a very long, boring flight, not helped by the fact that someone in the row behind kept moaning that she was in the wrong seat. It was obvious they weren't going to change it, but she kept moaning. Slept for short periods and there was nothing to see anyway, except sea underneath us. Finally landed at Perth late, at 01.30. By the time we had done customs and quarantine, then met up with Peter's aunty, who met us at the airport it was 0200, then we had to wait for her friend to come back round 'the circuit'. (she kept driving round the airport rather than pay parking fees). They dropped me off just before 2.45 and after checking in I got to bed about 3.30 am (8.30pm English). Woke up at 06.30 (11.30pm) and knew I wouldn't get back to sleep, so sorted out my stuff then got showered and went out for Brekky and a walk around Fremantle. Walking straight down the High street towards the beach I came across a lovely café just below the Round House, the oldest prison in Fremantle (or Freo, as the locals call it) I had a delicious plate of scrambled eggs on toast, the best I have ever had when eating out, and a delicious cup of coffee, before venturing out to explore further. I managed to orient myself fairly well and walked around some beautifully preserved settlers cottages that now are open to the public as arts and craft shops. They had originally been the houses of the Customs Officers and the Round House had been the Customs House for a while. I followed a meandering route back across the green by the Round House, where I watched an aerobics class and a family trying to get a good picture of the eight or so grandkids for Nan's birthday. Unfortunately one child just would not smile! From there I walked along a road which brought me out near the Esplanade and a grand Hotel, one of Freo's oldest and the most prominent in the town. It has recently been refurbished and extended and looks very elegant. One day when I've got pots of money perhaps I'll stay there! As I walked along I kept seeing a wiggly brick path and further research when I got back to the hostel showed that it marks the original shoreline of Fremantle. The whole of the harbour complex, the main road through the harbour area, and the Maritime museum are built on what used to be sea. well ocean if you want to be really exact! From there I made my way back to the hostel via a wonderful shop selling maps.They had some fantastic ones there and I promised my self I would go back and buy an 'upside down' Aussie map. Sadly, I never got round to it. However I did part with a little more of my cash and bought a guide book to Australian flowers, so I could identify some of the lovely plants I saw growing around the area. Meanwhile I am feeling weary, so am going to make some zzzzzs and ensure that i will be wide awake to meet Nena tomorrow. Bye for now.
Well, this time tomorrow I shall be on the plane halfway to Dubai, for a short stopover before catching the 10.05 plane from Dubai to Perth, arriving at 0055, weds am. Help! I'm losing time from my life!! I am really looking forward to it and may just be a *tad* excited. Weds I shall not do much except acclimatise myself. Thurs I am meeting Nena, at 11.30 pm and we shall be 'Ladies wot lunch' There will be photographs of this historic occasion - the first cross pacific TB meet up in the antipodes!
Friday is scheduled to be a 4WD safari. We journey to Yanchep wildlife park and meet Kangas and koalas, then out to the Pinnacles and walk through part of the area. After that we journey to the sand dunes in Lancelin and have a hair raising 4WD up and down them. The fianl experience of the day is trying our hands at sandboarding. Again, photos will be available. Sometime during that day we get lunch and afternoon tea (and possibly coffee in the morning). Anyway, the case is almost packed, just a few last minute items to go in tomorrow am, and I'll be ready to fly!
Day 1 Oct 6th 2010
Hello, folks. Thanks to you all on talkback for the good wishes. I'm looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, Nena. I have checked out King's Square and found Myers. If pie and sauce is true Oz tucker then, yes I'm up for that. You will have to educate me.
Well, Here I am in OZ, staying at Sundancer Backpackers, in Fremantle. It was formerly a hotel and is very old and quaint. The swimming pool is a bit smaller than I was expecting, but it's there!
Left home at 4.30pm Monday and got to Manchester airport about 6.30pm. It seemed hardly anytime before we were boarding our flight. Emirates is a good airline and I would recommend them. There were the usual sort of flight inconveniences (being herded like cattle to get on, then waiting for 10 years while someone in front had to get their seat absolutely correct, before they could get their fat a*se out of the aisle, etc) The flight left an hour late but the pilot made up time and we were only 15/20 mins late at Dubai. Managed to get a free breakfast at the airport and by the time we had finished it was time to board the next flight, to Perth. This was a very long, boring flight, not helped by the fact that someone in the row behind kept moaning that she was in the wrong seat. It was obvious they weren't going to change it, but she kept moaning. Slept for short periods and there was nothing to see anyway, except sea underneath us. Finally landed at Perth late, at 01.30. By the time we had done customs and quarantine, then met up with Peter's aunty, who met us at the airport it was 0200, then we had to wait for her friend to come back round 'the circuit'. (she kept driving round the airport rather than pay parking fees). They dropped me off just before 2.45 and after checking in I got to bed about 3.30 am (8.30pm English). Woke up at 06.30 (11.30pm) and knew I wouldn't get back to sleep, so sorted out my stuff then got showered and went out for Brekky and a walk around Fremantle. Walking straight down the High street towards the beach I came across a lovely café just below the Round House, the oldest prison in Fremantle (or Freo, as the locals call it) I had a delicious plate of scrambled eggs on toast, the best I have ever had when eating out, and a delicious cup of coffee, before venturing out to explore further. I managed to orient myself fairly well and walked around some beautifully preserved settlers cottages that now are open to the public as arts and craft shops. They had originally been the houses of the Customs Officers and the Round House had been the Customs House for a while. I followed a meandering route back across the green by the Round House, where I watched an aerobics class and a family trying to get a good picture of the eight or so grandkids for Nan's birthday. Unfortunately one child just would not smile! From there I walked along a road which brought me out near the Esplanade and a grand Hotel, one of Freo's oldest and the most prominent in the town. It has recently been refurbished and extended and looks very elegant. One day when I've got pots of money perhaps I'll stay there! As I walked along I kept seeing a wiggly brick path and further research when I got back to the hostel showed that it marks the original shoreline of Fremantle. The whole of the harbour complex, the main road through the harbour area, and the Maritime museum are built on what used to be sea. well ocean if you want to be really exact! From there I made my way back to the hostel via a wonderful shop selling maps.They had some fantastic ones there and I promised my self I would go back and buy an 'upside down' Aussie map. Sadly, I never got round to it. However I did part with a little more of my cash and bought a guide book to Australian flowers, so I could identify some of the lovely plants I saw growing around the area. Meanwhile I am feeling weary, so am going to make some zzzzzs and ensure that i will be wide awake to meet Nena tomorrow. Bye for now.
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