Advertisement
Published: November 21st 2006
Edit Blog Post
Arghhhhhhh
The screaming man pinnacle as we named it! The following day we headed for Denham and stopped on the way to see the Stromatolites. Anyone who has seen them or read Bill Bryson's 'Down Under' will know all about these but for everyone else I will explain! They are huge colonies of bacteria that have been around for millions of years and are thought to be what made life in our oceans possible by producing oxygen. Cool, huh? Until you seem them that is because they just look like dark grey rocks on a beach!
Next stop, Monkey Mia where you can see wild dophins coming into the shore and a particular pod are fed (only a small proportion of their daily requirement though) - was looking forward to this as everyone had been raving about it but was hugely disappointed, it was all v.commercial.One thing which did improve the morning slightly was sitting drinking (rubbish) coffee next to 'Drew' from Neighbours!!
From there it was on to Kalbarri and the NP there. We stopped at some gorges and lookouts before driving into town to book into the hostel. Then it was back on the bus and off to Eagle Bluff to watch sunset (with a detour
Stromatolites
Amazing in theory but boring in reality (to look at anyway)!! to the bottle shop on the way, nothing beats watching sunset in a gorgeous location with a cold beer!!). The views were stunning although we chose a viewing spot with a rather precarious route to it 😊
This was to be the last night that Jo, Thelki, Justin and I would be together until Fremantle...was actually a bit of a weird feeling cos we'd spent so much time together on the trip.
Jo and I were up bright and early the next morning in the knowledge that by the end of the day we'd be in Perth! Most of the day was going to spent driving as we had some serious kms to cover but we did stop at 'The Pinnacles'. These are huge sand pillars which crop up as far as the eye can see and come in all shapes and sizes. We found that if you looked at them for long enough you could find they looked like different things.
We also stopped at 'Hangover Bay' to have lunch and I decided to brave the cooler water and also have a swim in the sea. Everyone else thought i was mad but when you've swum in British
Waiting for sunset at Eagle Bluff
May be smiling but was feeling a tad scared - was a long drop down to the swirling waters below! waters, you can cope with WA!
We arrived into Perth in the evening and made our way to our hostel before meeting up with Corinne for drinks and a catch up. Was seriously weird seeing a familiar face at last. And bless her, she made my day; the first thing she said to me was "Oh my god,you are sooooo brown!".Result. Think thats the first time I've heard those weirds directed at me without an accompanying sarcastic tone of voice!
Spent a few days in Fremantle (or Freo as the locals refer to it) with Jo, Thelki and Justin and explored what it had to offer - the prison, weekend markets, beach, Little Creatures Brewery, several coffee shops. Also spent a fair bit of time just chilling cos we'd been on the move constantly for a while with lots of early starts - travelling can actually be quite tiring!
Was Jo's birthday while we were there so made sure she celebrated all day (Kathy, my birthday banner was reused after carrying it around for about 2months!Us backpackers are so good at recycling.)went to the markets in the morn before grabbing a coffee, went to the Brewery in the
afternoon and sank a few pints in the sunshine before going out for a cheap and cheerful thai dinner and then went on to some bars and pubs - a good day was had by all but it ended quite early cos we'd started drinking at 2pm!
Started work in South Perth and moved in with one of the nurses, Issy, and her housemates, Grant and Marty. Was great to be back nursing - just reconfirmed how much I love my job. Everyone there was great and I seemed to fit in to the team straight away. Also wasn't really any different to home, hardest thing was the different names for all the drugs etc.
Couldn't believe how quickly the 3 weeks flew by - was kept busy at work and then made the most of my days off by visiting things/exploring the surrounding area or going out with my new housemates. Issy insisted on taking me to Perth Zoo cos she loves it there so we arranged that for one of our joint days off. Also had a few communal bbqs and dinners; I cooked a big roast as a thank you just before I left and
The pinnacles
Can you spot us??? it was so good to have a roast dinner again although it was missing Yorkshires!
Spent two days on Rottnest Island with Lauren from my Kakadu trip. Its an island just off the coast from Freo and is a really tranquil place to be(v.reminiscient of the smaller channel islands); there are no cars and everyone gets around on bicycles. We decided to hire one to see as much of the island as we could but by the second afternoon, our bums were really starting to protest! The island is also home to Quokkas, small marsupials which look like a cross between a wallaby and a rodent; we saw a few during the day but they came out in droves after dark (we cycled back from the pub in the evening and there were a few near collisions!).
Was only in Perth for a short while but REALLY loved the place and the people. It was really hard saying goodbye to everyone at work cos they'd made me so welcome in such a short space of time. They told me that I'd always be welcome back there too which is nice to know.
From Perth I flew to Alice
Chess chums reunited
Corinne and I in Perth.(Check out my tan :) !!) Springs (my first domestic flight) in prepartion for my tour to see Ayers Rock but will tell you all about that in my next entry 😊
Advertisement
Tot: 0.088s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.057s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Wardrobe Sitter.
non-member comment
I love your bags!Pos using pink shoes@wkend!
I don't believe you're that brown!Have you been fake tanning?Or is it the great sandy dusty landscape thats made you a dusty brown colour- infact you may even look wind tanned?!!! hee hee!Great pic of you with swirling waters below. Arghhhhhh I leave work in 29 days-can not wait! Seen the pic of you guys on the beach!Very tempted to join you guys! Not long to go for you only 5 months left - make the most of it. keep safe. have fun.S.xx ps: I'm keeping your bags:).x