Perth (final)

Day 211

Carmen is off to work again this morning so we are up at a reasonable time and I pack her off with a sandwich and a nut bar for lunch and settle down to some serious gaming.

I think the neighbours probably wonder what I am up to sitting inside on such a nice day with the curtains shut and headphones on as I do get some funny looks on one of my toilet breaks.

Of course I’m not playing games all day, I also manage to busy myself with a bike ride to the beach. It may not be too far but there are several hills along the way and it is a hot afternoon so by the time I arrive I am dripping in sweat and I haven’t even got my swimmers so there is no chance of a cooling dip before hitting the hills home again.

Chores are done in the afternoon and before I know it Carmen arrives home again in time for dinner.

Day 212

Carmen has booked herself in to have her roots done with the on-site lesbian hairdressers and so off she trots early in the morning. Several hours later and still no sign I have visions of her reappearing in tears with a hair disaster but I am happy to report all is well and she (eventually) comes back, hair intact with a shiny new hairdo.

A moment I have been looking forward to for months in the afternoon as we drive down to the Swan River and hire out a sailing catamaran for an hours sailing up and down the river. It is Carmen’s first time sailing and she looks nervous as we push off the beach and head out into open water.

The Fremantle doctor has arrived and so there is a good breeze and we soon pick up a good bit of speed (far too much apparently) and whilst I am in my element, Carmen is gripping on for dear life thinking we are going to hit every other boat on the river!

The hour is over for too quickly for me although it feels like a lifetime to Carmen and we arrive back at the beach both exhilarated (me) and regretting ever getting on the damn boat (Carmen) and we both agree that next time I should probably go on my own and Carmen can watch from the safety of the bank.

Day 213

A day out to do some Christmas shopping and so we pack up Polly and head to ‘Harbour town’, a shopping ‘village’ in the city. As we approach the car park there is one of those hanging booms with warning signs telling of the maximum height (2.1 M). We approach slowly and as it turns out the fuel can on the roof rack is just above 2.1M and so we whack the boom and it noisily swings announcing our arrival to the onlooking shoppers. What an entrance!

The shopping centre has all of the usual shops but (for 3 days before Christmas) seems amazingly quiet and so we stroll around in the (relative) peace and quiet and both get ourselves some presents (Thanks Dad).

Where are all the Christmas shoppers?

Of course as we are leaving the car park we have to pass under the boom and whack it again announcing that Polly has left the building!

Back at the campsite and it’s a big night as it’s the Karinyup waters Christmas sausage sizzle with live music! Slightly apprehensive we have a couple of drinks before we go over (purely medicinal of course) to calm our nerves and just after 7 we stroll over.

Well looks like the whole campsite has turned out and the sausage sizzle in in full blast! We grab a couple of snags and settle down on the grass to listen to ‘forgetting Julia’ (one of the worst band names ever).

Sausage sizzle

They are actually quite good, an 80’s style pub rock band covering all the big names from Mental as Anything, through Hunters and Collectors to The Travelling Wilburys (!?) and with the aid of a couple more snags (and a couple more beers) we both thoroughly enjoy the evening and knew that both Peter and Rob would have been up dancing.

Day 214

After last night’s frivolity what better than to get up super early (5.30am) for Carmen’s penultimate shift at work! She is packed off on the early bus and I spend the morning doing washing and feeling slightly hung over.

I manage to jump on the bus around lunchtime and head into the city as we have both booked ourselves into the dentist for a check-up, clean and polish. All goes well and Carmen is in after me for more of the same. Once this is finished we both head back and decide to get off the train a stop early in Leederville to visit the (infamous) Leederville hotel. Good little pub too, well I say little but the place is huge with indoor and outdoor bars, mezzanine levels and a live music venue next door. We settle down and enjoy our pints of cider and when we are done we get back on the train for the rest of the journey home.

Day 215

Christmas eve today so we are out in the morning to complete our Christmas food shopping at the shopping centre and buy our Christmas booze. Luckily we have a list and so are pretty much in and out managing to avoid (most of) the last minute shoppers.

Carmen heads off in the afternoon for her final shift at work and I keep myself amused playing the game (again!) and generally preparing for the big day tomorrow.

Carmen arrives back home and we realise that we have both been so caught up in the excitement of Christmas that we haven’t got anything for dinner tonight! We delve deep into the cupboards and out come the emergency tins of soup which are heated and eaten and followed by Christmas chocolates and we retire knowing that we can have a lie in tomorrow.

Day 216

Christmas day!

Finally a bit of a lie in, but not too much as I am eager to get up and see what Santa has brought. I have (mainly) been a good boy this year and am hoping Santa got my letter in time….

We went a bit overboard with the decorations

The presents are arranged under the tree and we haven’t done too bad for people that live in a van.

After the customary shaking and squeezing of all of the gifts to try and guess what they are (we know what they are because we only brought them the other day) the unwrapping begins.

We are both pleased with our haul, I got a game (a custom since the early 80’s, thanks Dad) and some new shorts and socks and Carmen got some new scarves and other assorted clothes as well as a jigsaw for us both and some replacement glasses that we forgot to bring from Sydney when we left (thanks Davey).

Once that excitement is over the eating begins, starting with a champagne breakfast of smoked salmon scrambled eggs and followed quickly by Christmas chocolates and nuts.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a visit from the bunny...

or the ducks...

or the swans!!

All too quickly we start preparing our seafood and cheese platter lunch with a side of ham and crackers and once this has been consumed we take a stroll (roll) up to the pool for a relaxing dip to help it all go down.

The pool is good and we can’ t believe that after being here a month this is the first time we have been here for a swim, it’s hot too and after a bit of sunbathing we return to the van to think about tea. Think about it is all we end up doing as neither of us can face the prospect of turkey and Christmas pudding today so instead we decide to indulge in another Christmas day tradition and plonk ourselves down on front of the tele (laptop) to watch our Christmas day movie.

We decide to watch a film called ‘Snowtown’ thinking that it sounds pretty festive but it turns out to be a film about Australia’ s most notorious serial killer and is pretty graphic as well (which doesn’t help the ham sandwich go down at all!!).

Christmas day draws to a close and we retire to bed having eaten and drank too much and with fresh images of peoples toenails being pulled off with pliers in our heads!

Day 217

Boxing day

We awake late and still full from yesterdays over indulgence and the big clean up begins. After being in one place for over a month now it’ s amazing how our possessions seems to have expanded to fill not only the van and surrounds but our spare room as well and we begin to wonder if it will all fit back in. Polly has a good clean out and Christmas is all packed away (it does all fit, just) and we decide that it is high time we had our Christmas turkey for dinner.

Boxing day ducks

It’s a huge slab of meat and we warm up the BBQ and throw it on along with some potatoes and sit back whilst it cooks. It takes a while but finally it is ready and we gorge ourselves (again) and both think it was worth putting it off until today so that we could do it justice. This is followed by a huge portion of Christmas pudding with custard and cream which goes down very nicely indeed and is a fitting end to our final day at Karinyup waters Caravan Park.

Perth (again)

Day 206

A day of rest in and around the campsite today and a chance to catch up on a few chores.  Both take a stroll up to the book exchange and whilst we are browsing the magazines and books what do we see but a jigsaw. Not just any old jigsaw either it’s a religious scene (two of our favourite things, Religion and Jigsaws!).

Both being highly religious people we jump at the chance and rush back to the van to get started. Soon enough the air is filled with cries of “Piece” and we are well on our way and we carry on into the evening before calling it a night and stashing the (half complete) puzzle in the tent for the night.

Day 207

After a day of rest we are up early and decide to head up into the Perth hills for a walk. Drive up to the town of Kalamunda and park at the visitors centre in the hope of getting a map or some directions to the National park. Approach the door and it must be just past midday and what shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been following this blog is that the bloody thing closes at 12! Back to the van and after some creative map reading (and with the help of Mr Google) head off on a short drive to Lesmurdie National Park.

Arrive in the heat of the day and after a spot of lunch head off into the bush and start descending towards Lesmurdie falls. We are right on the edge of the Darling Range here and this is where (a few years back) Australia broke away from India and floated off through the Indian Ocean to its current position.

The falls themselves are quite nice although there is not much water flowing at this time of year but we also get great views back towards Perth and you can really appreciate just how small the CBD is from here as it literally seems to be made up of a half a dozen large buildings surrounded by miles and miles of (flat) suburbia.

After continuing to the bottom of the falls your only option is to turn around and climb all the way back up to the top again.

We manage to break up the climb by having several stops along the way and looking at some lovely wildflowers growing along the track and make it back to Polly hot and sweaty.

Head home and time for some more jigging but a couple of hours later and still unfinished back it goes into the tent to fight another day.

Day 208

Another lovely day and so we head off in the van to visit Hilary’s boat harbour just up the coast.

Have a good look round all of the shops and walk up along the boat harbour where, amongst the multimillion dollar yachts we see a strange sight, a lighthouse with no house!

Stop for a fish and chip lunch and are served an absolute mountain of chips. I have never seen so many chips and although we do our best (stuff ourselves silly) there is no way we are going to finish them all and so (reluctantly) have to throw about half of them out. Feeling a bit sick we retire to the beach and after a lie on the sand (and a chance for those chips to go down a bit) head in for a swim.

The water is lovely and we both enjoy splashing about and cooling off for a bit and lying in the sun warming up again. As we are lounging about, a plane flies overhead advertising our local shopping centre (Karinyup), letting the whole of Perth know that it is open tomorrow (Sunday trading is a new thing in Perth!).

Back at the campsite and it’s time to put in the final few pieces of the jigsaw together and complete our religious experience, which we do and marvel at our handiwork for a while before packing the whole thing back away in its box and taking it back up to the book exchange for someone else to enjoy.

Day 209 sun

Another lovely day and so we decide to take the bikes out and have a ride along the banks of the Swan River. Stick the bikes on the back of Polly and drive into the city to our starting point in Burswood, right next to the casino.

Cross the Causeway Bridge to the North bank of the river before riding (into the wind) along the bank and right past the city where we stop for some lunch and a much needed rest (hard going into the wind). 

Restbite complete we continue along the river to Kings Park and cross back over at the Narrows Bridge.

From here all the way back to the van the wind is behind us and so we fly along, only stopping briefly when we see some sail boats for hire on the banks.

I am all excited as I have been looking for this since we left Sydney and we vow to return to have a go later in the week. As we are on the home straight the same plane as yesterday flies over telling us that the shopping centre is open today (business must be slow)!

Complete the ride and hitch the bikes back onto Polly before driving back to the campsite for a well-earned beer (we didn’t bother with the shopping centre despite all the advertising) and to start on our Christmas chocolates and sweets.

Day 210

The sun has got his hat on again today and so we plan a day at the beach. As we are sitting around having breakfast I check the news on my phone (as I often do) only to find that most of Perth’s beaches have been closed (including the one we were at the other day!) due to multiple shark sightings, some as little as 10M offshore!!

Its rent day and so we book in for our final week at the campsite, realising we will have been here a month next week (no wonder were getting bored)! Decide to head into the Perth hills for a couple of days after Christmas and do a wine tour, so we book a campsite close to the bus pick up so there will be no driving involved and I will be able to sample some (all) of the 45+ wines and boutique beers on offer :-p Also book ourselves into a campsite in Fremantle for a couple of days over the New Year for our final bit of Perth before getting back on the road again.

Perth (continued)

Day 199

Carmen is working today and so off she goes on the bus into town and I am left to fend for myself for the day. A spot of bicycle maintenance in the morning and after lunch out comes the computer and games are fired up (call of duty – black ops). Before I know it there is a text saying she is on her way home!!

Day 200

Rabbit in a tent

A trip to Freemantle on the train for some belated birthday celebrations today and so after a quick and straightforward bus/train  journey (it is during the day after all) we arrive in ‘Freo’ and stroll down to the waterfront for a slap up fish and chip lunch in a restaurant on the wharf.

The wharf is right next to the sailing village that has been set up for the sailing worlds so as we sat down to eat the place was packed with yachty types milling about in their boat shoes and generally trying (and failing miserably) to look flash. The fish and chips were very nice and we both pretty much wolfed them down and after a quick look at the Bon Scott statue again we decided to head into town to a bar we had seen on our previous visit.

The ‘Monk’ is a pub and microbrewery and we settled in to sample a couple of beers brewed on site and very nice they were too.

Birthday pint

Time to head home whilst the busses are still running (Lest we be out after dark!) and on the final leg of the journey back to the campsite decide to stop at the ‘local’ pub and check it out (I say local only because it’s the closest one to the campsite, in any other meaning of the word it is in no way ‘local’ to us at all). Friday evening so it is relatively busy with after work drinkers but the atmosphere is not really happy-go-lucky and in fact it looks like a few of the blokes are waiting to kick off at the drop of a hat. Despite this we manage a couple of drinks and decide that rather than walk home from here (still 40 mins) we will get one of the last busses back.

We had both been drinking

Day 201

Carmen is working again today and so I bid her a fond farewell in the morning and (after a quick go on the game:-]) jump on my bike and head for the Karinyup shopping centre in search of Christmas (I should explain that Christmas for me never starts until after my birthday).

Arrive back home and it’s time to put up the tree (which we have been lugging around since Sydney!) 5 seconds later and Polly is looking decidedly seasonal and I spend the rest of the afternoon involved in secret Christmas business.

Day 202

Carmen is working (again) in the afternoon (and as its Sunday and there are no busses) so we cycle to the station and head into town early so we have time to look around the Western Australian Museum. We have deliberately been saving a few things like museums and galleries as we knew we were going to be in Perth for a while and didn’t want to do everything in the first week and so we were both looking forward to this.

Situated in the cultural precinct the building itself is pretty nice and we entered with high expectations. Immediately the signage (or lack of) lets us down as we go the wrong way and end up in the children’s area. Back through the foyer and we find ourselves in the museum proper.

Disappointed, let-down and rubbish are just a few of the words I would use to describe what we found in the galleries, the exhibits were your usual affair and even the dinosaur bones (plaster cast replicas of dinosaur bones) seemed boring and uninteresting (perhaps we are just having a bad day). We saved the best till last and hit the shop, thinking a good shop could save a very mediocre museum but alas it was not to be so and we beat a hasty retreat.

Just outside the museum and we find ourselves in front of the ‘Polly’ coffee bar! Well it would be a shame not to wouldn’t it, so in we go and order ourselves a couple of coffees and stroll over to the mall where we come across what must be the worst ride in world!

Its called the ‘Jumping Kangaroo’ and even though it is a kids ride I seriously cannot believe they are charging money for this. It slowly rises to the giddy height of about 3 feet and then slowly comes down again, up and down a few more times and (by now even the kids have puzzled looks on their little faces) that is it. I should imagine getting out of bed in the morning would be more of a rush than this ride but still they queue up……

Day 203

A day out in the van today to investigate some options for moving out of our (middle of nowhere) campsite after Christmas. We hit the highway and arrive in south Freemantle ½ hour later. A short drive along the coast and we check out a couple of parks and decide on one close to town. After checking they have spots available (they did) we head back into ‘Freo’ and pay a visit to the E-shed markets on the dockside. A quick look around and decide to head over and watch a bit of the sailing as we are here. Considering it is the world championships there seems to be hardly anyone there watching and we just about double the attendance!

Head back under a sky of black clouds and as we are setting up for the night thunder and lightning booms and cracks overhead and the skies open. We are glad that we are inside as the rain gets heavier and heavier until, suddenly I am getting wet!

Somehow water is (excuse the French) pissing in through the top of the door and is soaking the bed. It’s all hands to the pumps, towels are out mopping up the water and bowls are held under the waterfall that has appeared. We sit it out and after a while the rain eases slightly and the water stops coming in. Luckily we had acted pretty quickly and not too much is wet but looking out at the rest of the campsite it seems that we have been lucky. People are bailing out tents, wringing out bedding and trying to rescue collapsed awnings. Quite a storm!

Day 204

The morning after the night before and you would never know there had been a storm (apart from waking up in the wet patch!).

A wet rabbit

The sun is out and it looks like a nice day so we are off on the bikes to the local shopping centre. Christmas is in full swing, Santa is there with a queue of kids waiting to sit on his knee and ask for things their parents can’t afford and people seem to be rushing around panic buying like it’s the eve of Armageddon. We get into the spirit and panic browse for an hour or two but ultimately come away exhausted and empty handed and make our way back home.

Day 205

Carmen is working again today and so she heads off early into town and after a morning of chores (and maybe a quick 5 minutes on the game) I follow in the afternoon.

I return to the state library and wait for Carmen to finish work and when she does we head off in search of a pub. We stroll over to Northbridge and walk up and down the main drag and after a complete lap and slightly disappointed at the seeming lack of watering holes we end up back at the three monkey’s pub. A quick pint later and not wanting to miss the last bus home we head back.

Perth

Day 192

After a restful morning, time to head into the city in the afternoon and get on a train to Subiaco, Perth’s ‘West end’. As it happens, tonight is the Subiaco street festival but we arrive a bit early and so have a walk up and down the street browsing in all of the posh shops.

Whilst we are here we take a short walk and look at the site for the competition I was involved in winning in my previous life as an Architect in Sydney. Not much has happened on the site as yet but it was good to see it in reality and in its context within the city.

Still a little early for the festival (they were still setting up) we decide to kill some time and have a drink in one of Subiaco’s landmarks, the ‘Subi’. Quite a nice little boozer (and they serve pints!) and once our drinks are drunk it’s time for the festival.

Have a stroll up and down a few times, listening to the live music and browsing the stalls but it seems more like a market than a street festival and we have soon had enough browsing and call it a night.

After having been quietly impressed with Perth’s public transport system during the day, trains and busses running on time and fast connections in and out of the city. The night is a different story completely. Fair enough the train back into the city and our connection out to Gwelup was painless enough but when we get there the busses seem to have stopped for the night. We have to wait half an hour for a bus that doesn’t really take us anywhere near our home and so after 5 minutes on the bus we are faced with a 40 minute walk home along roads with no footpaths!

Day 193

Up and out early this morning as Polly is booked in for her new windscreen which, thankfully is completely free on our insurance!

Find the place pretty easily (with Tom navigating for us) and whilst it is being fitted have a stroll across the road to Bunnings. We have a good look around but can’t think of anything we need and so (for the first time ever) leave empty handed.

Back across the road and the windscreen is fitted and we are good to go. As we pull away and I change gear the bloody knob comes off in my hand again! Straight back into Bunnings for Allen keys (I knew there would be something) and after a quick tighten we are off and as it is a nice afternoon head down to Scarborough beach for a swim.

The beach is pretty busy and we are straight in but the water is freezing (in a good way) and so (after a quick swim) we are straight back out again and warming up in the sun. This process is repeated a few times and once we have had enough of both cold water and hot sun we head back to the campsite for a little liquid refreshment and an early night.

Day 194

Carmen is excited this morning as her dad arrives for the weekend. We get the spare room ready for his arrival only to find that instead of the luxury annexe he has opted to rough it in a hotel in the city!

Luxury annexe

We head in to meet him and pay a visit to his hotel (I still think he would have been better off in the annexe!) and after Carmen and Richard’s city orientation walk we all jump on the free bus up to Northbridge. After a stroll around and some dinner we decide to go to the cinema and see ‘we need to talk about Kevin’.

Both Carmen and I were in the enviable position of not knowing anything at all about this film (John had read the book) and so found the whole thing enthralling and would suggest that if you (like us) haven’t read the book that you go and see the film.

We all stroll back into the city and after bidding John a good night we are faced with the needlessly long journey home again and spend the whole (considerable) time cursing Perth’s (lack of) night time transport.

Day 195

A day trip to Freemantle (or ‘freo’ as the locals call it) so we meet up in the city again and walk down to the river to jump on a boat and enjoy a leisurely cruise (with commentary) down the Swan river. The driver points out all the flash houses on the foreshore and entertains us with a bit of Perth’s history as we go and we all enjoy the trip.

For some unknown reason the ferry drops us miles away from Freo itself and so after waiting for a bus that only came once we had decided to walk (typical) we arrive having already covered quite a bit of ground. As luck would have it Freo is hosting the 2011 sailing world championships at the moment and so arrive on the foreshore to see an ocean full of boats and windsurfers.

In a previous life I was actually quite a good sailor (if I do say so myself) and so was excited to be here and even thought about approaching the British team in case they were in need of a standby. But with the current World and Olympic champion (Ben Ainsley) on our team I thought I wouldn’t take the wind from his sails (if you’ll pardon the pun (Ray)) by showing him up and so kept quiet.

We enjoyed a Fish and chip lunch at Bathers beach overlooking the sailing and after, rounded a corner to see one of Freo’s main attractions. A life-sized statue of the rocker Bon Scott (from AC/DC)!  Well I say life-sized but maybe it should be pint-sized as he is a shortarse (although he did seem to have a big package).

After we had recovered from the excitement we walked into the town centre and immediately were struck by how many (relatively) old buildings there were. Freemantle was built on gold rush money at the end of the century (19^TH) and fortunately it seems that just about every building has been kept (apart from the odd eyesore) and the whole town retains its original grandiose feeling.

We sit in the main street and enjoy the view and a well-earned rest (we must have walked miles already) and notice that there is no traffic. Then we realise that it is the last day of Freemantle festival today (how many festivals?) and the roads have been shut accordingly.

We have a stroll through the markets which are nice and jump on the free bus to do a lap of the town (good these free busses) before getting on the train back to the city.

A final stroll through the cultural precinct to have a look at the urban orchard and we are all absolutely cream crackered and so call it a night and head home just in time to catch a lovely sunset over lake Karinyup.

Lawbreaker

Day 196

Still tired from yesterday’s marathon (and the prospect of another hot day looming) we all decide to take it a bit easier today and so ride the free bus up to Kings Park for a (short) stroll and a look around at the botanic gardens and the view of the city.

We also walk along the much hyped but ultimately disappointing ‘tree top walk’, which does give you some nice views of the river and city but certainly no better than from the park itself.

Back on the free bus network and decide to sit (in the air con) and do the complete loop. The busses take you right through the city centre and out to such landmarks as the WACA (West Australian cricket Association) in East Perth and to the edge of Subiaco in the West. Far more enjoyable than walking we all agree and once the whole network has been covered we further escape the heat by going to the cinema and watching ‘Anonymous’. The conspiracy theory that Shakespeare wasn’t the real author of any of the plays, sonnets etc and that it was in fact a nobleman. Quite good and worth a look (if you have seen ‘we need to talk about Kevin’ that is).

Time for John to leave and head back to Brisbane (and ultimately the Gold Coast) and so we walk him back to his hotel and pack him off in a taxi for the airport.

Day 197

A red letter day today (another one!) as it’s my Birthday. Unfortunately no one seems to have mentioned it to Perth and soon after getting up the heavens open (accompanied by thunder and lightning) and they stay open all day!

I do get a visit form the Birthday bunny (not Carmen dressed up) in the morning but most of the day is spent sitting in the van watching films, playing my new game (Mario 3D) and staying out of the weather.

It does finally brighten up in the evening but it is too late to go anywhere, especially faced with the prospect of having to walk bloody miles to actually get anywhere (the nearest pub is 40 mins away!) and so we postpone the celebrations until the weekend (when it will really kick off) and take comfort in the Christmas pudding birthday cake in the evening instead.

Day 198

Up well before the crack of dawn this morning as it Carmen’s first day of work and Polly is in for her major service (210,000 KM). I drive Polly to the garage and Carmen heads into the city on the bus. Seems a bit weird saying goodbye as we have not spent this much time apart in months and although I will miss her more than words can say I know she will be safe and I will be seeing her again tonight, once the mechanics have finished with her!!

Rather than hang around at the garage all day I get the train into the city and make a bee line for the State library, where I sit and read my way through the weekend papers and have a browse of an exhibition on the history of news reporting in Australia (rubbish).

Stop in to have a look at the foyer for the state theatre which has an interesting façade of hanging brass tubes and jump on the free bus again to the WACA.

As I am strolling around the ground the phone goes and it is the garage. Surprise surprise they have found loads of things wrong with Polly and it is going to cost double the original estimate to fix them all! What can you do in this situation but bite your lip (swear profusely under your breath) and agree to the work?

Head back into town to meet Carmen after work (it was only a 5 hour shift) and we both get the train back to the garage to pick up Polly. After paying the equivalent of the deposit on a small house we jump in and drive off. She does seem to be running a lot smoother (I should bloody well hope so) and so it seems that it was money well spent after all.