kiwiwalkabout

We're back in Perth after spending last Friday here. On Saturday we started north to look at the koalas at Yangchep national park also saw lots of kangaroos there. We then headed north again, passing the huge very white sand dunes, very interesting apparently they move about 12 metres every year. We carried on to the pinnacles which were vast. They covered many hectares. Then on to Cervantees for the night! no internet so no post.The next day we headed to the stromotolites and did a leisurely walk arount lake Thetis it is not that big, more a large pond 4-5 rugby fields in size. Then cruised back to Yangchep national park and booked into the inn there. We did a couple of bush walks for the afternoon, looked at the Koalas again, they were much ... read more

Spent yesterday snorkelling, on the way back to town found the emu with chicks wandering a few metres just off the road. I think that on the scale of Australian intelligence these are really close to the bottom of the list. Today Yardie Creek area, walk around the rocks and canyon and then took a boat ride. Osprey nests and birds, wallabies sunning themselves on the sunny rocks. Driving back to town had to stop suddenly for an echidna crossing the road. Very endearing but I wasn't sure if I wanted to get tail ended for it. luckily everything worked out ok and all the other tourists stopped to watch as it buried itself on safer ground. Just in case that wasn't enough road stories for the day we also saw a mangy looking dingo walking ... read more

Snow in Perth Sunday 7th Breakfast on Elizabeth quay. Wandered up to the shops. Bronwyn, with absolutely no room in her pack, still managed to find a jacket to buy. Explored the art gallery. A broad collection of quality artworks well presented. Paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and a couple of installation galleries, We didn’t have to pretend to be intellectual and ‘knowingly’ stare at an empty room or a pile of detritus being passed off as a ‘meaningful installation’, but instead we saw quality painting from Australia, traditional and contemporary, contemporary indigenous, and a few surprises from international artists. Later in the afternoon I was walking through the shopping precinct and amidst a low howling noise and high-pitched squeals of children it snowing. Yes, Snowing in Perth. Snow machines had been set up for their ‘winter festival’ ... read more

getting the dive gear out and looking forward to getting to some warmer weather. Just doing a test download of photo... read more

There were quiet heavy tropic showers when we got up to day so decided not to attempt the bush walk to Robert Louis Stevenson's tomb today. Just to prove I am doing some work here we went to the Museum of Samoa which has some fragments of Lapita pottery from 3000 years ago and some 'plain pottery' dated 1000 years later. Lapita pottery was a definite decorated ceramic body were as the 'plain' pottery appeared not to have completed the change from clay to ceramic. It is also interesting to note that there were a number of large wooden vessels of a similar time but only a few fragments of ceramics, one could postulate that ceramics was never made here, It may have be brought with the original inhabitants and attempted again unsuccessfully 1000 years later,without ... read more