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Published: April 16th 2013
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G'day everyone,
Paul here to update you all, it has been a long time updating the blog so thought I would take the opportunity whilst I have a little bit of free time and I did agree to write the next update.
The last five months have came round really quick, cant believe we are almost half way through our first year! We are still living in the apartment at Shenton Park but living with another couple we met, they are from Ireland and also on a working holiday visa. I'm still working with the same company assembling farm machinery. It's been very busy the last two months with trying to finish the machines in time for seeding season which is coming up soon. Vicky has been working as an OT assistant, she got this job not long after the last blog post.
Ok..I will try and remember some of my highlights since the last blog.
Where do I start?... We have now purchased a car. We now are the proud owners of a 1998 Toyota Camry, Ha! Now we have the opportunity to go on trips and explore more of
Western Australia. We have recently been on a trip to the pinnacles. Which is a two hour drive north of perth. The pinnacles are ancient rocks that have risen over thousands of years above the ground and left some unusual shapes and sizes. These rocks are not uncommon in Australia but the pinnacles is where you will see a lot in a small area. We drove on a track around the rocks and got some brilliant photos. The journey up to the pinnacles opened reminded us how remote Perth is. The scenery was spectacular. The fields were massive and seemed to be endless. We really enjoyed our trip and it made us very excited to go on other adventures!
Over the easter weekend we went on a road trip to Margaret River which is three hours south of Perth. The drive down was also amazing. There was a big contrast between here and our trip to the pinnacles. North of Perth the landscape is very much like a desert (dry and red sands). Further south the landscape is very green and there are a lot of forests and vineyards.
The first thing we realised when we stepped out
of the car was how much cooler it was. Probably low 20s which is funny to say that low 20 s now feels cool to us! Down in Margaret River we seen many kangaroos on and off the road. Some that we had to dodge whilst driving! Some of the kangaroos were the size of a human which is a lot bigger than we thought they would be.
The trip was last minute decision so we didn't have chance to book accommodation, we thought the best idea would be to stay in the car for the night. So we searched for a good spot to park up for the night. We found a place called surfers point where other cars and campervans were parked , so we thought this would be the place to park the bed for the night! We woke up early the next morning to a packed car park full of surfers. The waves down there were massive( biggest I've seen) so I thought against swimming (or vicky did)! On the way home we stopped off at a few different towns and villages. Most were very very remote and quiet( a lot more remote than Newcastleton!)
. We stopped at a bigger town called Busselton which has the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere ( 1800metres). We walked along the jetty which took some time to get there and back! But well worth it for the views of the horizon!
Near Perth there is an island called Rottnest which we visited in February. On the same day we went there was the annual swim to Rottnest ( Rotto for the locals) from cottelsloe beach (our local beach).
On the island there is no cars, the only way to get around is to get a shuttle bus or hire a bike. We decided to hire bikes and snorkels for the day. The island felt very deserted a bit like being in the outback. We saw lots of quokkas (look like wallaby but with a rats tail?)...this is where the name Rottnest came from as the founder mistook these for rats, a few large lizards, plus vickys favourite , dolphins! We found it an advantage to have the bikes because there were so many little coves and beaches to explore, sometimes it felt like we were the only people on the island! The island had the
best beaches I have been on, white sands and very clear sea (was good for snorkelliToo too).
As we were biking around the island we came across massive salt lakes which were pink in colour and one of the strangest thing I've seen! By the end of the dat we were nackered, luckily the weather was slightly cooler than normal ( mid 20s) so we managed not to overheat! I would definitley recommend visiting Rotto, it is one place we would like to visit again before we move on from Perth, as there is so much to see on such a small island!
Back in January we celebrated our first Australia Day, which was another highlight! It was brilliant not just because we got a day off work (ha!) but we spent the day up at kings park with our flatmates, we had plenty food and drink to last us until the firework display in the evening (Sydney does New Years, Perth does Australia Day). Kings park was packed, the aussie's celebrate this day more than they do Christmas/new year. On this day thousands of non Australians get full citizenship (unfortunaly not us)!
Another highlight for me
was going to my first Aussie rules game which the locals call "footy". The game is massive over here. The game I went to see was a Perth derby with Fremantle taking on the West Coast Eagles. Which was taken very serious by all the locals ( up there with the Merseyside derby) . I went to the game knowing absolutely nothing but came home thinking Im an expert. I would definitely go to another game, it's very entertaining(none stop) and I would love to try and play it one day!
Right, Iv been rambling on for a while now, lots been happening hard teerie member it all, hope your still awake!!
We will try and update you much sooner than we have done. We are currently looking to do our farm work which would help us get a 2nd year visa. Plus I'm writing this on the plane to Bali so will inform you of how it went when we are back in Australia.
Paul & Vicky
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Tracy Calvert
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Wow!
Jealous is not the word! It looks fantastic!! Well done you two, looks like you have seen some amazing sights. Take care. xx