down, around and back
Looking through tourist brochures when I first arrived the phrase “rug up warm” kept appearing before some suggestion of going outside and doing something exciting. Not only is this a fantastic turn of phrase (who doesn’t want to get ”rugged up”?) but it’s sound, sound advice. The weather during the day has for the most part been glorious but the nights are cold, particularly for the odd couple of nights I’ve been in hostels. I’m back at my cousin’s in Perth now though, and he’s cooking a roast! life is good.
One of the things that took me a while to get used to in Australia after being in Asia for a few weeks is that I’m no longer completely foreign, and can blend in with the man in the street with such ease that I get approached by charity muggers. Last Saturday I even started the day by going surfing and finished it with a barbeque! Admittedly any standing up that I did on the board was only a brief prelude to falling off, and standing by the barbie was like a cold bonfire night back home but it was all great none the less. As for the rest of my time in Perth I’ve been to the zoo, been shopping, eaten kangaroo and baramundi (not seen any emu on the menu anywhere yet), visited Fremantle and seen the first australian ship wreck, that kind of thing.
I spent the last couple of days doing a tour of south west australia, down to Albany and back round via Augusta and Margaret River. I think my favourite place was Elephant Cove, simply for the rather dubious resemblance of some giant rocks to elephants. The Valley of the Giants was good too, a canopy walk among the huge Karri trees. Actually, wine tasting at the wineries was a hightlight, though it would save time if they’d just put all the little samples in one glass! There was a pretty good crowd on the tour considering it’s winter and we had fun, although the tour guide did have a tendency to play Dire Straits on the long journeys.
Not too sure what I’m up to next, though I’m hoping to find a way to get out to Lake Ballard near Kalgoorlie to see the Anthony Gormley statues in the desert (he’s famous for the Angel of the North). I hear you can go on a guided tour of a brothel in Kalgoorlie too, so I’ll have to see what their gift shop is like. After that I guess it’s Melbourne and Sydney - I’m running out of time to go anywhere else!
July 29th, 2006 at 4:32 am
I had thought “rug up” was a common expression, even outside of Australia. I guess it’s not, then? Does Elephant Cove have that beach, Elephant Pools or whatever it’s called? I’ve swum there! Did you see Dog Rock while you were in Albany? It’s enormous and looks rather like a Dog’s head. But just to drive the point home, the locals have painted a collar around its neck.
(psst! it’s “Fremantle”, not “Freemantle”).
July 30th, 2006 at 2:36 am
I spelt Kalgoorlie right though, I should get credit for that!
(cheers)
The beach is called Green Pools I think, and it looked very inviting - if I’d had a wetsuit on anyways. The guide kept trying to convince people to go for a swim, but it was only as we were driving away that he told us about the family of sea snakes that live there. They’re meant to be very friendly though. Deadly, obviously. but friendly.
The Dog Rock was awesome.