It's already Friday here!

And it's not raining! It's a bit cloudy but the sun is shining and athough there's a bit of a breeze, it's still warm.

We had a morning walk along the coastal path and my human even had a little paddle in the sea - and the water wasn't cold at all. In fact, it was warmer than the sea can be around the British coast!

We're really liking Perth!

Posted 11/07/06 12.15 pm

Hot Tip!

Are you a member of the National Trust? My human is, and as a result, on production of her membership card, we were able to visit the Old Mill for free.

So, if you're a member, don't forget to take your card with you - apparently it can be used in Australia and New Zealand and other countries worldwide, so you can really get your money's worth!

Posted: 11/08/06 12.12 pm

All the nice hats love a sailor .....

Mmmm, we hadn't been in town long before we spotted a few dashing young men in naval uniforms around the place.

Turns out the fleet's in town - or rather the USS Kitty Hawk - an aircraft carrier I believe.

And before you ask Jazz, yes, we do have photographic proof, as the human accosted a small group and insisted I have my photo taken with them.

Thank you boys! Here's your mention!

We were impressed to see that a few of them actually visited some of the cultural places and not just the bars as we spotted a few visiting the museum.


Posted 11/08/06 12.10 pm

A Nice Day Out

And so to our first full day in Perth. It was really nice not to have an early start. After a well-deserved lie-in and a leisurely breakfast, we were dropped off at the station to catch a train to the city. Fortunately we didn't have to wait too long and we soon found ourselves in the centre of Perth.

After visiting the visitor information centre, we made our way to Barrack Street ferry, from where we were catching the ferry over to South Perth (about a 7 minute trip which cost AUS$2.80 for a return ticket - about one pound 25!).

Once on the south side we had a great view of the city - as well as a Pelican that was floating near the jerry.

We then walked round to The Old Mill - built in 1835. It's had a chequered history but is now owned by the National Trust of Australia (W.A.) (See separate posting for a hot tip!)

The weather was glorious! A clear blue sky and the sun shining - it must be have been about 22C - it was hard to believe it was meant to be winter.

We then made our way back to the city and made our way to the Museum of Western Australia and then on to the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Both were very interesting, particularly the art gallery.

We then made our way home. Unfortunately the return trip was not so smooth - in fact it reminded the human of the public transport difficulties one can experience in London's rush hour. Apparently there had been a points failure somewhere and trains were being delayed. After waiting for an hour and not been able to get on 3 trains, we eventually managed to get on a train and make our way home to our current hosts.

Posted: 11/08/06 12.05 pm

Final Destination

We're now at our final destination - Perth. We'll be in the area for just over a week before returning to Blightly.

Posted 09/08/06 1.56 pm

Australian Census Day

The 8th August was Census Day in Australia and although my human has some reservations about the whole Census process, she decided it would be rather 'cool' to be included in the Australian Census.

Posted 09/08/06 1.55 pm

The Red Centre (Tuesday, 8 August)

Another early start, this time with a very late finish. Most of the day was spent on the road travelling to Kata-Tujuta (previously known as The Olgas) and Uluru (previously known as Ayers Rock) - but well worth the trip to experience these two sites.

En route we stopped at Mt Eberbezer for a coffee/comfort break and a quick photo stop at Mount Connor.

The National Park has two World Heritage listings - one for the geographical landscape, rare plants and animals, and exceptional beauty granted in 1987. The second, in 1994, for its cultural landscape - recognising the traditional belief system of the Anangu, the traditional owners, one of the oldest human societies on the earth.

On entering the national park, we made our way first to Kata-Tujuta site (arriving about lunchtime) and walked through part of the gorge. 'Kata-Tujuta' is a Pitjantjaqtjara word meaning 'many heads' and lies about 32km (although about 50km by road) west of Uluru.

This site is sacred under Anangu men's law and according to these laws, details of the stories cannot be revealed and some areas are sacred and cannot be accessed.

Here we walked part of the Walpa (meaning Windy) Gorge Walk to take a closer look at the rocks and plants that grew there.

Returning to our coach we then made our way over to Uluru, having our lunch on the way. We had a short stop at the Cultural Centre before making our way to the base of this mighty monolith.

Two of our small party would be climbing the rock. The climb is not prohibited but it is something that the traditional owners prefer you not to do, as in their culture if you injure yourself while climbing the rock they feel responsible. Over 35 people have died while attempting the climb and at the moment a Japanese tourist has been in a coma since the end of June after falling from the rock.

My human decided not to do 'the climb'.

While the rock was being climbed, the rest of us would be driven round the base of the rock but stopping off to take a closer look at certain sites and hear the traditional stories associated with them. (This seemed a sensible compromise to me!). Some of the areas were sacred sites and photography, and occasionally access, wasn't allowed.

This took a couple of hours and after collecting our climbers, we then made our way to the sunset viewing area. While our drivers/guides (Tic and Barry) prepared our bbq, the group enjoyed some refreshment (champagne in the case of my human) and reflected on the day so far.

Sunset came around 6.20 pm (by which time the viewing area had filled up somewhat) and by 6.25 pm it was all over.

It certainly is something to experience, although with so many people around and the sounds of photos being taken it wasn't quite as spiritual experience as expected.

We then began our long journey home after stopping off at the resort to pick up a gentleman from the RFDS who needed further hospital treatment Alice Springs for a for a hand injury.

We made another brief stop at Mt Ebenezer before finally reaching our hotel at 11.50 pm.

Posted 09/08/06 1.50 pm

A Town Like Alice ....

was originally titled 'The Legacy' - did you know that? (I suspect my human's friend Jonathan C did).

We've been here just over 24 hours and already done a load of stuff. First off, we get up to be ready to be collected at 4.50 am for the ballooning (note to human: I thought this was meant to be a holiday?!). I tell you, it's pretty cold at that time of the morning but it did mean another opportunity to view the wonderful star-filled sky that the Southern Hemisphere enjoys.

It takes quite a bit of time to get set up for the balloon trip - first of all the pilot has to check the wind direction so that the flight path can be decided. Once decided we then have to drive off to the launch site and wait for the balloon to be inflated.

Each basket takes 16 people, four in each internal section - so it was nice and cosy (unlike the temperature). However, once we started to rise into the air, it became warmer (helped by the odd burst of gas into the balloon).

After about 15 mins or so in the air, the sunrise started in earnest. Everything was very still and quiet (except for the gas for the balloon) as the sun started to edge over the horizen. Well worth the (very) early start.

Shortly after we landed and we all had to help pack the balloon and basket up before we could be driven to our bush breakfast of champagne, chicken, quiche, cake, fruit and cheese and biscuits - oh, and a cup of tea.

We were then dropped off back at our hotel. Rather than dashing out again, my human opted for a little more rest before venturing forth again.

This time to take the 'Alice Wanderer' bus tour. The ticket is valid for two days but as we have another early start tomorrow for our visit to Uluru (luxury, we don't have to be ready until 5.55 am tomorrow!) we have to do the whole circuit today.

However, we did make time to make a stop off at the Royal Flying Doctor Service centre and the Olive Pink Botanical Garden (the latter could have justified a longer visit but alas time was against us).

As mentioned above, we have an early start and a late return (midnight!) and then fly off to Perth on Wednesday, so don't expect another blog for a few days.

I shall be sorry to miss the Old Timers Fete this Saturday (*waves* to Anna - it's held every year on the second Saturday in August!), the Australian Red Cross ball on 26 August and especially sorry to miss the 50th anniversary screening of 'A Town Like Alice' on 16th August - dress code: 1950's style.

That's it for this time.

Posted: 07/08/06 5.00 pm