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Published: April 2nd 2008
The Dolphin Cruiser
This is one of the cruise boats that goes out into the waters each hour Most bank holiday weekends equate to spending the majority of time stuck in traffic in unison with the rest of the population, getting nowhere fast, with the kids repeating ‘are we there yet’…
Well it’s a little different here mainly because WA is so vast and has more than its fair share of hot spots and activities to suit every type, from the beach bum to the adrenaline junkie.
On Good Friday we set off early morning on our way to Mandurah, in search of the dolphins that are known to inhabit the quays and are of a friendly and inquisitive in nature. AKA tourist hunters..
Mandurah is approx an hour south of Perth, straight down the freeway. The train line has only recently been introduced down as far as Mandurah, due to the demand to service the ever increasing numbers of housing developments that are popping up on every available square acre of bush land.
In contrast, the nearest train line to where we have bought a house is a 10 minute drive away… no ‘sim city’ housing developments near us..
Once at the marina, there are 3 cruise boats, one leaving every hour to take small groups of ‘tourists’
The Tourist Hunters
The mother and cub swim along happily at the front of the boat around the waterways surrounding the marina, complete with the neighbouring millionaires homes.
Each cruise comes complete with a captain who insists on giving a full narrative for every inch of history this place is steeped with, which is quite amusing when you get a captain that has a sense of humour and takes the mickey out of old folk laws and traditions.
Two dolphins, a mother and her cub, came to check out our boat even before we had boarded and set off. Giving just a small taster of what they wanted to show us if only we would get the boat out and create some motion for them.
They stayed with the boat for about 10 minutes or so, flipping around at the bow, before heading off back to the jetty area as our boat ventured out into open water (jet ski and speedboat territory) and eventually down along the ‘millionaires canals’
Every house along the canal ways had at least 1 boat moored at the bottom of the ‘garden’ some of them around the size of our cruise boat and some of them that could warrant being called ‘Queen Mary’… As we were reliably informed by our captain
Millionaire corner...
As we said.. just one of the houses along the canal banks at Mandurah and guide, a plot of land (small plot) on the canal banks will cost on average between $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 and it is a condition that the house that will be built on the land MUST equal or cost more in value than the land itself. Some of the houses have been built over 2 plots of land, so you can imagine the value. One in particular had a circular theatre room able to seat 20 people and a indoor pool, as well as the obligatory speedboat and jet ski moored in the ‘back yard’.
There is also a small town and tourist centre at Mandurah, with a selection of shops and yes you guessed it, every other one a coffee house..
From the marina we headed off East for approx 15 minutes, towards Pinjarra, on the strength of a flyer we had picked up which advertised ‘Peel Zoo’
The flyer did the zoo more justice than it was worth.. Starting with the statement of;
“Family fun guaranteed & large petting area to hand feed the animals set in lush native flora”
Lets break that down..
‘Family fun guaranteed’ - yes if family fun means engaging in a game
What a life...
Good old Skippy.. One of the Roo's at Peel Zoo of hide and seek. You seeking that is as the animals are clearly hiding..
‘large petting area to hand feed the animals’- yes, there was a large petting area.
Hand feed the animals? Sure if you fancy taking your chances with a rather nasty looking Emu that only has one eye because the other nasty looking Emu wanted the scrap of food that the last seen tourist hand fed to it…. and yes as expected Oggy had to go in and try to pet the rather docile looking deer that was laid in the shade, while the nasty looking Emu kept its one and only eye on him at all times and the other one side stepped towards him, stopping every time Oggy turned around as if he couldn’t see it if it didn’t move…
‘set in lush native flora’ - yes if you class ‘lush’ as the one hour a day that the sprinklers are turned on to moisten the aviaries. And there are more aviaries full of parrots, larakeets and doves than there are any other forms of animal that you would normally expect to see in a zoo. Which is strange (and a con) considering that there
Oggy 'Hull' & Emu
The 'large petting area' where Oggy had to go in and dodge the Emu's just to see if he could!! are an abundance of parrots, larakeets and doves flying wild through the many parks across WA, without the need to cage these birds or charge $15 per person and call it a zoo.
The wombats were apparently asleep inside large logs and the koalas were out on day release…We did manage to find, in-between the caged birds, the Roo enclosure. 2 kangaroos, both of which were rather scruffy looking and were sleeping in the small areas of shade while surrounded by chickens and ducks… of which one chicken put up a rather good fight that would put any fighting cockerel to shame when ‘chicken Oggy’ decided to corner it so he could pick up one of its small chicks …
There was however a very friendly and very vocal cockatoo that insisted on following Oggy around, nestling into his legs each time he crouched down to feed it. Needless to say, we wont be taking the kids to Peel zoo when they come over..
Now Perth Zoo on the other hand is completely the opposite.. It is home to around 1300 animals representing 200 species and its only 5 minutes away from Perth City!! You can wander through open
Sleeping at the Zoo
One of the many Roo's just lazing around in Perth Zoo bush where the Roo’s are free to walk about among the tourists, and they can choose to sleep in any of the shaded or sunny spots.
Perth Zoo is sectioned into areas, set in exhibits that closely represent the animal’s native habitat. a few below as an example:
The Australian Walkabout: Here is where you will find the Roos, Koalas, wombats, dingos and any other ‘aussie’ types of animal.
The African Savana: Rhinos, Zebra, Meer cats, Lions
The Asian Rainforest: Elephants, limas and Orang-utans. The enclosure that has been made to represent the natural habitat of the Orang-utans is a spread of towers, each with platforms where these beautiful animals can create a nest while looking across the tree tops but still have the privacy that the nature of these animal needs. There were a couple of youngsters playing around at the top of the platform, but never straying far from their mum.
Surfing Champ
Living in Oz is all about the Sun, Sand and Surfing. (and BBQ’s of course)
We’ve done a bit of the Sun, well Ang more than most….
Sand is everywhere you go and it gets everywhere.
And the surfing and body-boarding is as good
Brrr... its cold in ere..
The big brave surfer dude..! as it gets anywhere in the world.
So what’s it all about, and how hard can it be?
You’ve just gotta Hang Ten, or Rip a Curl, even look Phat (Thought that would be the easiest bit). All in all, Surfers look and act cool at all times. They are fitter than a butchers dog, bronzed to perfection, mostly have long flowing wind beaten hair, wear the funkiest shorts and above all hang around all day checking out the chicks.
So this weekend we set off via Colins’ house to try it out and hang with the best of them.
Colin has a cool board with something called a stringer down the centre (this gives the board more strength and rigidity) and not having one of our own, it makes sense to “try before you buy”.
After a quick brief, we were despatched to City Beach to catch some waves with the fearless dudes.
It takes no more than 10 mins, to get from Colins to the beach, and the drive is pretty picturesque. So you chill the whole way whilst cruizin down Salvado to then suddenly pop out of the greenery and find yourself faced with
Washed up...
If at first..... miles and miles of golden beaches.
A short walk from the car park, gets you immediately onto the sand, where 20ft waves thunder and crash down onto the shifting sands as if swallow up the horizon.
When I say 20ft waves, I guess I really mean 20ft of waves around 2ft high. “Well you gotta start somewhere”.
So off with the t-shirt, kicking off the flip flops, I make a bee-line for the beckoning, alluring waters like Bambi with angina………..
Body of a butcher’s wife, red and poached to perfection, hair disappearing in the wind ( a long time ago) wearing my best orange funky pants (slightly tighter around the girth than I remember), and making a big splash and entry for my maiden voyage.
10 seconds later, straight back out - faster than a greyhound on speed…..
Cold…..flippin freezing more like!
Looking back up the beach, Ang was settling down, preparing to take in the days rays, in the now 35 degrees of midday sun. Having spent half the morning wrestling with a tube of Veet and choosing from the vast numbers of swimwear to match her beach bag.
Of course this minor set back wasn’t
The one that got away...
20ft wave... not on the day Oggy was boarding though...! going to beat me.
I looked at the other body boarders out at sea already, like seals, waiting for the big one….. the one that would coast them right back into shore like masters of the waves…..
So I took in a large breath of air and made ready……
At this point I suddenly remembered all the national geographic magazines I had read whilst patiently sat in dentist waiting rooms.
These waters host a multitude of horrors.
If the rip tides don’t drag you out to sea to meet Davey Jones, you could get stung by jellyfish, step on a deadly stone fish, get spiked by some sort of deadly cone, speared by a sting ray, or even better- disappear between the jaws of a Great White Shark.
Probably not one of the better moments to remember these images, but throwing caution to the wind, I decided to get out there with the pure thought that there was safety in numbers. After all I had a better chance being amongst the other surfers, and possibly less appetizing that some young surfer dude with less cholesterol than I.
It didn’t take long to get out to where the waves started to
Surfs up
Oggy rides the waves! break, and was soon bobbing in the surf, with the life long pros.
Seconds later, I was but a mere, solemn, seal like pup, suddenly alone whilst the others managed to catch a ride back to dry land.
Determined not to be shark bait, I managed to catch a tail ender and paddled the most part of the way back, with the occasional help from some minor waves. But at least I was amongst the throng.
I decided to watch the surfer dudes for a little while, until I had at least some idea on how to catch something remotely resembling a wave. And with some practice in the shallows I reckoned I would have one last attempt before drying off and having arrest (cardiac)
Barely reaching the throng, I noticed they were paddling just before the waves got near them, then one by one they started to zip along as if being towed by an invisible ski boat.
I turned and paddled frantically as the wave curled over towards me, and suddenly as if by magic, I was being swept along at great speed, totally out of control but nevertheless making a swift return in the right direction.
It
Exercise...!
Ang on her new bike - just down the road at the side of Swan River, minutes from the apartment. all ends as you hit the beach, and you try and catch yer breath, whilst checking out who could have seen this athletic feat..
You don’t realise how much energy you use, in paddling like crazy, trying to get in front of the ride. So I made my weary way back to Ang, and slumped in exhaustion, recounting the thrill in all its split second entirety.
A few more successful runs throughout the afternoon completed the day and we returned back to the apartment, Ang deciding where to go that evening, and me longing for some shut-eye………………..
Since this day, we have purchased our own board with a view to competing in next years body boarding championships - I should be so lucky (lucky, lucky lucky….!)
Over the Easter weekend, in-between Oggy doing his best impression of David Hasslehoff, We went down to Swan River armed with my new pushbike and Oggy following on foot as at this stage, he didn’t have his own bike.
It was not for the want of trying though… We bought my bike from ‘Anaconda’ on the Thursday before Easter and as we were still in the hire car, could not fit
More biking...
Its also compulsary here to wear a helmet when on a pushbike (thank god you dont have to wear knee pads!) 2 bikes into the boot. We went back to ‘Anaconda’ on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday but alas they were closed - it is not like UK at all in that respect, even Ikea does not open on a Sunday here..!
There was an arts festival on Easter Monday at Freemantle, at most times ‘Freeyo’ is a mix of student types, hippies and tourists but with an arts festival.. it was very busy and there was a higher number of ‘extraverts’ than usual..
There were entertainers spread out across the main paved area in the town centre and a craft stall on every corner. The market was open as usual with an extra helping of home bakes and jam stalls..
Carli & Poppie: look at www.bindonboots.com.au there is a shop in Freeyo market that is there at all times with more style of Ugg boots than you can shake a stick at…
The long weekend passed and the inevitable came around… I (Ang) had to start work.. Not too bad though as it is a 4 day week. Its not bad at all, actually its great to be back into work.. My 1st week was spent getting
Freeyo'
Ang climbs on what is probably a historic landmark.... use to the processes and finding my way around the building (yes Oggy, the building with the great views of the river..) as well as trying to get my work laptop and mobile sorted out.. WA really does mean Wait-A-while, nothing is too much trouble and it is not as stressed as UK..
Ollie the Outlaw comes to daddy.
We finally got it……
A fine steed, indeed. Black as night. Shiny as glass. Bold, proud and muscular.
It was parked outside the dealers in pride of place.
We finally took ownership and drove out of the car lot feeling slightly bruised……..
Not that we were not glad to finally get the long awaited vehicle, but the journey in getting it was quite a chore.
If you remember way back in an earlier blog, we mentioned Arthur Daly.
Well we weren’t trying to be cute or smart about car dealers and generalising them, but this was not the best customer service we have ever had.
For example:
Having the funds available in a bank account in UK, you can quite easily purchase a car on your Visa Debit. As a matter of fact it is better than carrying cash,
'Ello Jon got a new motor...
Oggy.. meet Ollie.... full inspection if you please Sir... or paying for a bankers cheque. And most dealers would welcome it without the bat of an eyelid.
But here in Oz, they are not so advanced………
It just doesn’t work that way and you have to pay by bankers cheque or draft or be damned.
We found this out too late, as we tried to pay by visa debit card at the time of paying the balance in full. We had decided to do it this way because you can get a better (Commercial) rate, and we had been watching the exchange rate all week before deciding to pay on that particular date.
Needless to say they wanted the old trusted and tried method, which meant we had to change up the English cash into Aussie dollars and get stung by the personal bank exchange rate to the cost of approx £800 in difference between that and the rate we would have managed by paying by card.
We had to wait a couple of days also, as it takes a while for it to whiz through the ether but eventually we turned up, cheque in hand.
Bizarrely they took the money, banked it and gave us our receipt
And this does what???
A full guided tour of the new arrival before we had even seen the car. Then proceeded to go through the whole handover (including some additional sales pitch) for almost two hours. This ranged from talking through every single leaflet and pamphlet they hand over with the car, explaining the simplest of items, down to turning every knob and pressing every switch to show you how it all works. This might seem as if they were being thorough (and had I been 17 years old and never bought or driven a car before may have been needed) but really served little purpose at this stage.
On turning the key (at the here is how you start the engine lesson), I noticed that there was barely a quarter of a tank of fuel in it.
Bear in mind that fuel is a lot cheaper here, and having spent £25,800 on a top of the range Navara, you may have expected this as a given.
Well, the excuses and crap that followed just made for ill feeling and us never wanting to step foot back in the place again.
Yes we got the car we wanted, and no we didn’t agree a full tank up front, but bear in mind
Like a kid in a sweet shop
Yep... a man's car IS his castle.. once again that it had cost us a further £800 because of there sheer backward technology and non-understanding of the visa-debit system.
The biggest bite in the butt is that once you have signed that contract to order the car - It is Legally binding (there is no cooling off period or back out if you get unhappy with the service).
As per Jerry Springer - The last thought of the day - Just spare a thought for those Rolex, camel coat wearing, crocodile toothed, car salesmen types……They are not your friend, and they only smile at you cos they want your money, and will do and say anything to get you to sign the dotted line. But once you’ve signed up, the money is in the bag and they actually don’t give a flying fleck!!!!!!
Here’s to the coming month, cracking on with projects and getting a definite date for the house move…
Take care all and keep the comments and messages coming xx
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