Western Australia aka - WA

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I arrived in Perth on the 15th November 2007..... after having my trainers sprayed with chemicals because they had Asian dirt on them..... hehe. Very strict quarantine laws indeed but why not hey! They are so isolated.... if only the UK were a bit like that then perhaps we would have less problems....my rant is now over, onto more important things..... ;-)
Anyways, the lovely Leanne was there to meet me and took me to her and Jonny's bungalow in an area called Mount Hawthorn. I had my own room and everything! The sun was shining so we promply cracked open a beer and sat out on the porch, chilling out and catching up - lovely jubbly! When Jonny got home, we went for a drive to check out the beach and just caught the sun setting..... they treated me to a lovely dinner and we then went home as both Jonny and Leanne had work the next day.
The plan for the following day (after work as it was a Friday) was to head south to a place called Margeret River... a very famous wine region. Leanne had organised for us to stay with a couple of her good friends which was great! I was very excited at the thought of drinking some wine.... Asia is not really famous for it's quality wine and the conoisseur in me was aching for a good glass of red :-)
During the day, I did my washing (oh how lovely to have a machine to use), got myself ready.... Leanne picked me up and we went for lunch in a huge park close to where she works. It was a gorgeous day so we sat on the grass until it was time for Leanne to head back to the office. I decided to take a look around the park, got some good pics and then sorted out a sim card etc etc - v practical stuff. Leanne had left me her car so I went home (wow, I knew the way already, hehe) and packed the things I would need for a long weekend away and then headed back to her work place to pick her up so we could head off.
Margaret River was a good 4 hour drive from Perth so we stopped on route to get a bite to eat.... our bellies needed fuel for the journey. Plus we would be arriving too late at Glen and Anna's to really have dinner. We arrived in the evening to their lovely house on a new estate.... People usually buy plots here and then build their own place. Many plots were still empty so it was easy to see that it was all new and undergoing changes. Glen and Anna were lovely..... and had a huge dog - Mustafa :-) who barked a lot.
We sat down, chatted a bit, had some wine and called it a night.
Glen and Anna had to work the next day unfortunately so they left us to our own devices. We head out and arranged to meet another friend of Leanne's - Greg (who like Glen, also works in the wine industry - I think I should move here...hehe). We visited winery after winery, sampled whites, reds, rose's..... mmmmm. We then went back to Glen's and made some food, drank a bit more and then hit the town. After a while, we were all a little merry and quite tired so we went our separate ways.....
Luckily, the next day Anna and Glen did not have to work so we all went out, accompanied by Greg to the winery where Glen works. It is truely a beautful place and produces some lovely wines. We did a tasting session which was superb and the very kind Glen and Anna were such sweethearts, they bought me a bottle of my favourite full-bodied red :-). We had some food (the way to my heart... good food and wine!) and then decided to go for a drive.... Glen had to go home to study so the rest of us went for a trip to the infamous Aussie bush....
That evening, we ordered pizza and watched a film... chilling from such a hard weekend tasting wine :-)
I must hand it to Glen and Anna, they were fabulous hosts and how welcoming they were when they didnt even know me. Leanne has some great mates!
The next day, Leanne and I were due to leave so we set off to go and visit a cave in the area.....it was really cool to see and set in the deep dark depths..... lots of stairs to climb :-). On the way back, we stopped for more food and sampled yet some more wine.... god I could get used to this!
The following week was spent chilling out and visiting Freemantle Prison, Cottesloe Beach and wandering around Perth getting to know the city. This place is great and has such a nice vibe about it.
As a thank you, I wanted to do something nice for Jonny and Leanne so on the Friday, I cooked them a Spanish style dinner which I think they liked...... The following day, Saturday we got the boat over to Rottnest Island. A little island about 30 mins away with spectacular beaches and cystal clear water. We had a few hours there before heading back and a big night ahead with the girls (Leanne's pals). We went out for dinner.... had some drinks in a cool bar and then went to a break-beat club. I have to thank Leanne as she is not too keen on breaks.... but because I am, she came along! TA! We bopped a bit and chatted a lot but after a while we retired back to Leanne's house.....
The next day, some of Leanne's mates were having a bbq so we took some food and went along.....
One of the great things I noticed about Australia is that they have public bbq's... in parks, on the beach etc. So you just rock up with your food and voila, cook away... how cool! The difference being though, in the UK we actually use a coal bbq.... takes a while to light but I do think makes the food taste nicer.... sorry AUSSIES! More of a charcoal flavour - isn't that what it's all about.....?? Tehehe, thats the POME in me coming out :-)
We had a great day again by the beach and the sun was shining, lots of food was eaten and beer consumed.....
My time in WA was supposed to have come to an end on this particular day but I had put a slight spanner in the works. On one of my days wandering around the city, I came across a tour/ travel agency and popped in to get some info on day trips etc. Whilst speaking to the crazy Aussie guy Scottie, it soon became apparent that I needed some extra time to get up the coast and visit the world heritage area - Shark Bay and a lovely place called Exmouth. To do this organised trip, I would need a whole week which defo had a knock on effect to the rest of my flights and plans..... after some great organisational skills on my part.... I sorted things out and was due to leave the following day at the crack of dawn.
Leanne said it was cool to leave some stuff at hers so I didn't have to take my whole backpack.... so I packed the essentials and off I left on the Monday morning ready to catch a bus at 7:30am.
I arrived at the bus stand to see loads of adventure type buses parked up and ready to cart people off in different directions..... many people were waiting, all ages and nationalities.... how exciting!
Once on our bus, we were introduced to our guides and our fellow travel buddies..... this was to be a hands on type tour, getting stuck in and helping out with the cooking, cleaning and carrying of stuff. I soon made friends with a few of the people more my age and got a chatting.... we were to visit many places but also cover a LOT of ground.... Australia is huge so this bus was to be a 2nd home for us :-)
On the 1st day, we travelled up the coast and visited the Pinnacles desert... huge rocks sticking out of the ground in a very sandy desert environment. After lunch, we made our way to an area where we could sand board... yippeeee. I managed to stay on the board the whole way down the slope.... a bit scary looking down from the top and hard to climb when you sink with every foot step... hehehe! That night we all mucked in and prepared a lovely dinner and hit the hay pretty early as we were setting off at 6am, OMG!
After the very early rise and once everyone was back on the bus, we made our way to the Murchison Gorge in Kalbarri National Park and saw the beautiful gorge and something called natures window... (a huge rock with a hole in the middle that looks like a window) :-) After a long drive, we stopped at shell beach to take in the peaceful yet beautiful scenery. The water was crystal clear and didn't move an inch.... gorgeous!
The following day we drove up to Monkey Mia, a truly wonderful beach..... here we got to chill out and in the evening I decided to go on an Aboriginal tour with a smoking ceremony included.... The guide was really informative and explained many things about the culture and way of life of the Aboriginal people in this area whilst sitting around a camp-fire.... the smoking ceremony consisted of burning sandalwood branches on the fire which makes you very relaxed and smells good. In the morning, we all got up early so we could go and see the dolphins being fed on the shore which this area is very famous for. Later on, we got back on the bus and continued the long drive to Coral Bay, also stopping at the Stromatolites..... At Coral Bay, we had a free day and were told we had a choice of things to do.... mainly involving some sort of water activity.... swimming with manta rays, snorkelling, canoeing etc etc. My 2 new buds (Nina and Lizzie) and I decided that we would go for the canoeing as it was the cheapest option but also (we were told) one of the best as you got to snorkel and see loads of stuff. I was a little nervous at the prospect of seeing sharks but I was assured that they were only reef sharks and not interested in Joey's.... only fish. Ok, so I will give it my best shot I thought. We paddled out to one area and snorkelled for a while, saw loads of fish and some reef sharks.... good job I was in a group :-) I felt safer. We then moved spot to a place that was so crystal clear, similar to a swimming pool. I have never seen so many fish... literally from the moment you get in they are right there swimming all around you. We were told we might see a turtle.... and there he was. Swimming along with not a care in the world.... the sweetest thing. Just like the scene from Finding Nemo ;-) "Yeah cool man..... " so totally chilled.....
After 5 days, the group had to split. I needed to return to Perth and some of the others were to carry on and go up to Broome. I would have loved to but I wanted to see Melbourne and I had also arranged to meet my travel buddy - Kirsty.... My great friend Marta had booked herself a ticket to Sydney so I had to be there to meet her also.....
Some other people also had to go back to Perth so we said our goodbyes and off we went. For the best part of 2 days, we drove and drove and drove. We did stop at a wildlife park and I got to hold a snake, feed kangaroos, Emu's etc etc.... loads of fun. We also visited the Hutt River province.... long story but I will shorten it: A guy called Prince Leonard seceded from Australia in the 70's and the Hutt Riove Province is now a sovereign independent state. I got my passport stamped and met Leonard who is really interesting..... That night, we stayed on a farm which was really cool after going from hostel to hostel.... a little bit secluded in the middle of nowhere.
The following day, we set off and drove again and finally arrived in Perth at around 5pm. Leanne and Jonni came to collect me and we went for a beer, caught up and then back to theirs so I could pack my things ready for the midnight flight to Melbourne.
I'd had an absolutely amazing time, seen and done so many wonderful things but again it was time to move on. Leanne, Jonni, Anna and Glen had really shown me amazing hospitality and welcomed me with open arms.... THANKS GUYS!
Until the next one peeps.... loads of love xxxxxxx

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Photos

Bungalow life
Leanne and Jonni's place

Perth sunset
The sunset on my 1st night, I knew then that this would be a wicked place!

Winery
Voyages Estate where Glen works

Bush antics
Greg, Anna and Leanne having fun in the bush!

Leanne and Jonni
At Rottnest Island

Leanne and I
On the girls night out... looking good!

Me on Shell beach
The tranquil crystal water of Shell beach

Kayaking
The whole group before we set out....

Lizzie and I
In our Kayak, we were pretty good ;-)

Turtle time
Lizzie and I swimming with our chilled mate, the turtle...