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Published: November 28th 2006
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Extreme footwashing.
Cleaning our stinky feet at 11:30pm in the Spa Bath Did not take too long to make it through Perth airport, but we did get a shock when the sniffer dog jumped on us as we were queueing up to get our stuff scanned (they scan the luggage on the way into the country as well as on the way out). Not sure what he smelt on us - probably Bex's dirty socks - but nothing happened in the end so it must have been a false alarm. Met up with Maria and Steve (Maria is living in Oz now and is Beckies friend from school / back home), picked up the car and made our way to Northbridge, a Perth backpackers suburb. Luckily the Aussies drive on the left so it was really easy to get going and driving should be a breeze, but all the "Roo Bars" on the cars are a bit intimidating as a pedestrian. We stayed in a "Spa Hotel" which was fairly luxurious, albeit about 10 times more expensive than hotels in Asia - but it was Maria's birthday and our first night in Oz so we deserved a treat. However it did give us a first taste of how expensive Oz is - some
budgeting is going to be needed here we think! Spent the evening chilling out and drinking VB and "Tooies New", giving Maria and Bex chance to catch up after a good few years apart. Beckie spoke to her Mum for a while, although it might have been spotted that we were drinking - doh!
Had filled the spa bath in the room up about 6pm and finally managed to get into it about 11:30pm - we thought it might help re-hydrate us after the beers but it was not to be. Bex put loads of shampoo and bubble bath in it so when we started the spa side of it up everything went a bit mad - there were bubbles everywhere and they were pouring over the edge - kids and alcohol - two should not be mixed!
Woke up with a pounding hangover, after the rasberry vodka with VB mixers and Tooies New on the side. After a hearty breakfast we gingerly packed our bags and drove the couple of hours up to the farm where Maria and Steve live ( near Watheroo). Was definitely the order of the day to follow their car; we could not
have coped with anything more taxing than that! The drive up was good - fast open roads and once we left the highway there were not really many other cars to be seen. Its a very dry and barren landscape with very rich and red looking soil and open fields on the sides of the roads. The roads are very long and straight and seem to go on for miles stretching in front of you. Paul had a bit of a shock when the tarmac sealed road suddenly, and without warning, turned into a dirt road - our first taste of gravel roads! It was really hard to see the car in front with all the dirt and dust in the air. Thankfully we did not need to brake hard otherwise we would not be able to stop. Were really thankful that we decided to follow Maria and Steve to the farm as it was in the middle of nowhere and was only marked by a couple of metal gates.
Their four dogs were really happy to see us, as they had been alone for a day or so, and came over for lots of patting and cuddles. Spent
Gates to the farm
Not too sure if we would have found them on our own!! the rest of the day catching up, looking around the couple of Kms of farmland they have - they have sheep, cattle, goats and piggies! Paul very nearly stepped on a snake - care needed here we think! The farm is in an incredible setting lots of eucalyptus trees and so much space - really away from everything. Drank lots of beer during the day and then in the evening - party on!.
Had a bit of a lie in and a leisurely morning with Maria before setting off to the coast about lunch time. First of all went to Cervantes, a very small coastal town with a handful of shops and inns. Had a toasted sarnie in an inn and were really shocked at how much things are here in comparison to Asia. Lunch was about 10 GBP and we have been used to it costing about 2 GBP - a bit of a shocker! Next was onto the Pinnacles desert which can be summed up as just strange! There are thousands of limestone pillars of differing shapes and sizes all coming from the desert floor where the sand is really yellow against them. In the middle of
it all you really feel like you have been transported to the center of a "Star wars" film set - very eerie. Stopped at the nearby hangover bay for a quick wander along the beach - there were two guys windsurfing along the beach and apart from that it was really empty, except for the ever present, persistant flies - trying to get up your nose, in the mouth and in your ears; anywhere that is really annoying! Neither of us has experienced anything like it before - the sheer amount of them or the persistance. Paul was envious of the windsurfers and wished he had his kit with him.
Next stop was Kangeroo Bay, another completely deserted and beautiful, white sand beach. Had a stroll along the waters edge, debating upon whether or not it was warm enough to go in, when Paul noticed a dolphin swimming in the shallow waters along the beach. There were then no questions of temperature and off he charged into the water, ready to save the dolphin - as he was worried it had got stuck on something or was in trouble. The dolphin was just chasing some fish close to the
beach, but it came up really close to Paul and gave him a huge smile for the rest of the day. Last stop of the day was at Jurien Bay, another small town with a fabulous deserted beach. You would never see a beach this deserted back at home even without all the sunny weather. Back to the farm in the evening for some more food, beer and fun.
Spent the next morning catching up with some washing, great to be able to use Maria's machine without having to hand wash. Scrubbed our very smelly sandals with toothbrushes (dont ask!) and anti-bacterial hand wash. Hopefully this will stop them smelling so much. Had lunch with Maria and Steve when they came back for a break, before stepping out to explore the local area. First stop was a nearby cave; on the way the car got really swamped with locusts - there is a problem with them at the moment. They were flying into the windscreen and starting to block the radiator grill - yeuch! There were unbelievable numbers of flies at the cave and a dozen or so large spiders, so we had a quick look before heading back
to the car. Ended up next at a small town called Moora, with an outdoor swimming pool, so decided to go and have a swim. The pool was huge - about 50m and were totally knackered by the time we had finished our lengths.
Really great thing about Aus is the weather - its warm, light and bright so everyone spends a lot more time outdoors. Even better is that there are gas BBQ's by nearly every beach we visited, which are free to use. All you need is some utensils and some food and can crack on and have an amazing meal in a great setting.
Drove back to the farm and had a great meal with Maria and Steve; thankfully all the vodka smoothies got finished last night so we just had some beers tonight. For dinner were the largest pork chops we have ever seen - each one taking up 1/2 the dinner plate - the pigs must be on steroids here. A really big thunder and lightening storm came in during the evening and there were flashes lighting up the whole sky. Thankfully it rained as well as there could have been some fires
started - its really dry here.
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