CaroleinOz

I will post a final blog of signs other than road signs which I enjoyed seeing. I hope you will find them enjoyable or curious also. The flight from Sydney was late so I have used the time to finish up the blog, using the free and fast wi-fi in YVR to upload the photos. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you all soon in Canada. G'day mate!... read more

Susan had to fly to Sydney for a couple of days. On Monday I grappled with the bus system and went downtown, or as they say here, to the CBD. I walked around and admired sculptures, saw the old Court House and various other historic buildings and went to the Western Australian Museum- Perth. There was a very powerful display about the Australian military operations in East Timor during WWII. I rode the blue CAT bus, attended evening prayer at St. George's, and then ate delicious mussels wrapped in bacon at 44 King Street. A trip home on the city bus completed my sightseeing for the day. On Wednesday Susan and I had a day out and a out together. First we went to the theatre- a wonderful matinee performance of Mary Poppins, followed by drinks ... read more

Today we set out to drive back to Perth. We took a break in Northampton, a town on the main highway which has managed to preserve some of its heritage buildings. We bought a pamphlet and took a self guided walk. I always enjoy those. It was good to see the Old Convent recreated as a backpackers. If any of the nuns are ghosts, I am sure they will be rolling in their graves. The hotel was first built in 1876 and has had several renovations, including the second story. I was intrigued by all of the light shades outside over the outside doors and their various liquor advertisements, and the number of doors- public bar, private bar, ladies' bar, lounge. Despte many obvious improvements since the 1870's, the whole place had a 1950's air about ... read more

Thursday the 26 we set out to the nearby Marine Preserve and Department of Conservation (DEC) area called Monkey Mia. this is a beautiful spot where people come to see dolphins. why? Because the dolphins have been being fed here for over 30 years. At some point DEC stepped in and have worked out a way to do this with less harm to the dolphins. No touching / no swimming with the dolphins, they are careful to feed only the same 5 female dolphins, and only about 10% of their daily needs, so that the dolphins still fish and teach their calves to fish... Calf mortality has gone way down.....would everything be better if DEC just quit altogether? An interesting question.... But anyway for the time being they are doing it and we went and watched... ... read more

Saturday afternoon, April 21, we arrived in Coral Bay and checked into our caravan park, and headed to the beach. This is one of those places, as was Turquoise Bay, where against expectations, the water really is the variety of amazing colors of blue and green as depicted in the travel brochures....absolutely gorgeous. We inspected amazing sand castles and watched a group of elderly Japanese tourists learn how to put on snorkel masks. Had a great seafood dinner at the local restaurant. Coral Bay is only nominally a town; it is essentially 3 adjacent resorts, each with a strip mall and various services such as grocery stores, dive shops, a bottle shop, an a couple of cafes. Sunday the 22nd we had booked to go out on a whale shark boat. We had 3 lovely snorkels, ... read more