Up with the equivalent of the lark but much noisier. Looking out from the balcony we could see miles of nothing interspersed with gum trees. There is an aquifer under the whole area and there is never a water shortage in the area. So whilst the rest of the country is suffering from drought the inhabitants of AS are happily hosing down their drives. Local birds squawking away include green parrots which are native to the area. And yesterday we saw our first wild kangaroos which are small (about four feet tall). It is also the time of year that the mature cicadas shed their wings and eventually drop to the ground and die. Food for the birds and the ants. Whilst waiting to die they sing their last goodbyes. The cacophony is ear blasting. The ... read more

The reference to Alice Springs airport as 'dinky' means "small & cute" in British and should not be interpreted with any demeaning connotation by American speakers.... read more

Today is my birthday and I can't open any cards until after Shabbat! We went to the local shul. It was very welcoming. As it is the summer holidays here in Australia the children are mainly at camp and so the mums and dads took the opportunity to have a lie in. The community was very warm and the service was a sing song service wherever possible. Then we were invited to a different family for lunch. We walked about 2 km to their home. There again were a gathering of young families around the table. We can't thank David and Yael enough for their hospitality. We finally left at 4.30 pm and had to walk about 4 kms back to our hosts. We sat down and chatted with Gaby and before we knew where we ... read more

Well the day started at midday. We must have been just a bit tired to sleep for 12 hours (Don) and 13 for me. We started the day at, what the locals call the place for the best coffee in town. Not bad -we managed two cups each whilst we picked up emails and planned the rest of the day. We decided to drive down the coast to Fremantle which didn't look too exciting so we gave up and drove into Perth. Would you believe that everything shut at 5 except the big stores! We found the bus which tours the city thinking we would get a guided tour, but it was just a bus ride. It is an interesting concept; 3 free bus routes take regular commuters from the train stations and bus depot to ... read more

Day 2 is merged with day 1! We landed at Changi airport, singapore with just enough time for a wander around then to the lounge for water. I have never seen so much food with such variety in a lounge before. If Hermolis hadn't filled us.... Then onto our flight for Perth. This was late taking off, but eventually we were off. The journey was a tad bumpy but we got there and landed in rain! We both managed some sleep but not enough. Customs at Perth is interesting. Everybody goes through the equivalent of the red "sometbing to declare" lane. The checker then decides whether you should have your bags searched, or your bags sniffed by a dog or you can simply go through. Our bags were sniffed. Nothing was found. We then picked up ... read more