Blogs from Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 659

Thank God it’s a touch cooler today. Yesterday it was close to boiling point. And that wasn’t talking about the temperature. Yesterday, Western Power (WA’s energy provider) ordered all AirCon off in business and residential areas. I for one was astonished at how an energy provider could not provide for its customers at this time of need (due to the excessive climate) but then again you’d think of other energy sources that can use this climate, i.e. solar power. Seriously though…KNOBOLOGY! Some rep was outside of Western Power today, frantically speaking to the media as we passed on the Red Cat (Central Area Transit) bus. It’s one of three free bus routes in the FTZ (Free Transit Zone) of Perth-where all public transport travel is free. We stop off first at Queens Garden to look ... read more

I slept great-remember you can never have enough sleep! Today I had to get my last minute souvenir shopping done, as well as send some more postcards out (apologies to Lauren). Bill also had to work today so Viv decided to show me the city before we’d meet Bill and head over to Freo (go the local lingo)! There’s a block in the city that is closing down, as they want to build a new interchange for the buses. Every shop in that block has a sale where the discounted price is about 50% off. King Kong is a bargain store that is just crazy as it bloody discounted everything in the store down to $2. But as they say, you pay for what you get and it’s Viv’s weak point. She’s running around the ... read more

The landscape is something that I’ve only seen in brochures, TV shows and postcards. But today, the red desert sands are under my feet as we have a fuel stop at Cook. There’s a souvenir shop and a payphone along with what was a school, but not much else. Here in the Nullarbor, the landscape doesn’t change for a good part of the journey. Or maybe it does, only so subtly, because it’s east to say there’s nothing out here, but there is vegetation, rocks (heaps!), shrubs and the odd passing freight train. Last night, we were delayed even more when a cow decided it would be fun to walk in front of the train. Bazza had an inspection of the wheels too-after all, we’re on the longest stretch of straight railway: 478K’s of it. ... read more

A 3 day outback camping tour in the Pilbara and Karijini National Park, then our stay at Cossack in 2003 The Pilbara is the heart of Western Australia's huge iron ore mining industry. On the drive across the country into the Karijini National Park the landscape is so varied with colours from daybreak to sunset changing as fast as the sun moves across the sky. The heat of the day changes accordingly and when you step down into the gorges the temperature drops but the water may be freezing so hypothermia can be a problem. We camped out under the stars and beside an Aussie icon, the windmill, in sleeping bags that kept us warm at night but had ice on them when we woke in the morning as temperatures drop low after sunset. Cossack is ... read more

I had decided to leave life in beautiful Frankland on the 13th of August to allow for a weekend of fun in Perth before beginning my adventure up the west coast. This happened to be a Friday. Normally I am not a superstitious person, but this day has changed my perception. Naturally, before I could leave Frankland I had to have a bit of a farewell bash. And, naturally, this involved me having one or two drinks too many (ie. getting rottenly drunk and not recalling a whole lot of the evening’s events). Not to worry!!! It has happened before and I have no doubt it will happen again!!!! None the less it was a little concerning to wake up in the morning with not much recollection of the previous night and no idea how I ... read more