Blogs from Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 565

After hours sitting in Singapore airport (there are worse places to have to twiddle thumbs!) we arrived in the land down under! Perth was unbelievable chilled out for a fairly big city, especially after the hectic times we've had in HK, Singapore and KL! As we had to get on our first Greyhound bus within 3 days of arriving we didn't have chance to see too much, but we did get to the lush beaches (priorities, you know!) and went on a brilliant full day wine tour around the Swan Valley. Dressed in our best gear (in the hope we might fool people that we know something about wine), we were whisked off by our guide and bus driver, Otto(!). We went to 5 wineries, a brewery and a chocolate factory and squeezed in a gourmet ... read more

Hi, met up with Tommo (from bristol) on saturday...after getting extremely sunburnt wandering round town. Went into a bar and sampled the local cocktails! Went into some huge pub at night then onto this club...where they wouldn't accept my UK licence as I.D! The cheek of it! So some weird new zealand bloke told the bouncer we were "involved" and then i got in! I avoided him the rest of the night! Took it EASY like Sunday morning...all day sunday! Went to John's house (Gill's boyfriend). He lives in a mansion...i mean literally! He has a pool, tennis court, cricket pitch and thats just outside! Spent most of the day in the pool....it's surrounded by palm trees! Sampled a good set of "snags" on the barbie! Yum! There were about 15 people there, it was a ... read more

Monday 22/1 Everyone was tired or a little delicate from the previous night. We went back to Hillary’s Boat Yard and visited the Aquarium of Western Australia (Australia’s largest aquarium and underwater tunnel). I wasn’t looking forward to this as I am not keen on fish in tanks. The giant sharks, rays and turtles were amazing. I loved the seals the best, one especially was mesmerised by this little boy’s hat and whichever window the boy moved too, waving his hat around, the seal followed. Anyway they proved me wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We rushed back to Dennis and Georgia’s for another Barbie. The food and hospitality was glorious and we all kept laughing about the antics of the previous night - but everyone was shattered and went home early. Tuesday 23/1 It was ... read more

Jos ennakko odotukset olisivat pitaneet paikkansa niin olisin kuolemaisillani lampohalvaukseen. Saavuin Australiaan keskella kesaa, mika yleensa on tietysti sita kaikkein kuuminta aikaa. Vaan Suomi ja Eurooppa eivat ole ainoa alue missa saat ovat olleet poikkeukselliset. Kuumuuden sijaan Australiassa on poikkeuksellisen "viileata" ja sateista. Saapuessamme viime maanantaina Alice Springsiin luulimme koneen kapteenin vitsailevan hanen kuuluttaessa, etta saa on sateinen ja vilpakka. Vaan totta se oli. Lampotila oli siina +27 C ja vetta sataa tihutti. Alice Springsissa meilla oli varattuna vuodepaikat Annie's Place nimisesta hostellista, minka kautta olimme ottaneet myos kolmen paivan retken katsomaan "lahella" sijaitsevia nahtavyyksia. Meidan oli tarkoitus lahtea retkelle tiistaina, mutta koska Mulga's matkanjarjestajan iso bussi oli hajonnut niin meidat siirrettiin seuraavan paivan re... read more

On Friday I headed to the Perth Mint, where i got to see a chap make a gold bar worth about $250,000 and then melt it again, and i also had a gold coin made to mark my visit there. Unfortunately we were banned from taking photos inside. Part of the Mint is a shop selling a lot of jewellery made from Australian gold and opals, and you can also buy actual gold nuggets! I guess you could say i got carried away by how beautiful it all was and ended up buying myself 2 rings, and 2 pairs of earrings (one of each in 18ct white gold and normal 18ct gold). They say a diamonds are a girls best friend, but until i find a man to buy me diamonds, i'll compromise on opals which ... read more