Gumnut babies, Quokkas & WASO

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So after a couple months of crazy road trips and traveling from city to city, I have finally settled down for a bit.
When I got back from my trips (Adelaide to Melbourne, Canberra/Sydney), I had a good look at my bank account and decided it was time to start finding a source of income.

So I did the typical backpacker job of picking grapes for a few weeks. Or at least I thought it was typical backpacker...I met only one other backpacker (from France, so of course everyone was excited that I could speak French), as all the other pickers were local! I had been warned by many that picking fruit is back-breaking work...I suppose it's not everyone's idea of fun. Who wants to sweat and lift heavy boxes and do nothing but cut vines for hours on end? But I didn't mind...I was pretty lucky as most days that I picked were decent weather-wise, and I liked the fact that I was working outside.

Then it was onto finding a job with more regular hours and better pay (ok, harvest season ended, so I had no choice). I found a job working for Cafe Mozart in Mt. Lawley. It's a neat little cafe, with yummy food and good coffee (they just replaced the coffee machine, so now it's quite good).
One thing I quickly learned in Oz is that it's handy to learn how Aussies define coffee...an entire thesis could be written on the Aussie coffee culture! And you can't get a normal cup of joe. That doesn't exist here. You can try a flat white (cafe au lait is the closest equivalent), or a long black (probably the closest to normal coffee as you'll find in Oz), or a latte, but don't expect filtered coffee, and expect it to be pricey! We may complain about 2$ coffee back home, but try 4-5$! Ok, ignoring the exchange rate of course...but still, 4$ for a cup of coffee? No wonder the Aussies make such a big deal of having a good cup!

Having found a job and needing to save up money to travel, I imagine I will be in Perth for a couple months before traveling on again. I may need to get a second job in order to travel by my goal of May 1st, but we'll see how that goes!

But just because I'm staying put doesn't mean I'm not having fun!

Last Sunday (18 Feb) Sarah and I tried a surfing lesson in Scarborough. I really did not do so well, as the swell was rather large and I was too tiny for the size of the waves...I got constantly knocked over and spent all my energy just trying to stay on my feet in the water! The only way I got onto the board was by having the surf instructor hold it in shallower water and give me a push! How embarrasing! I never did stand up on the board...and I came away with many bumps and bruises and having done too many underwater 360's. I think I gained a few kilos from all the salt water I swallowed! Still, I won't give up! I will learn to surf before leaving Oz!

Monday we were meant to have a didjeridoo lesson, but instead Sarah's mom got tickets to see Wild Cursive, an Asian-inspired contemporary dance...I had never seen any sort of dance let alone modern dance, so I found it fascinating, and very odd.

Last Wednesday (21 Feb), we went to the Snugglepot & Cuddlepie musical, which was fantastic. Snuggle-who & Cuddle-what!? It is a classic Aussie children's story by May Gibbs, written in the early 1900s, about gumnut babies and evil banksia men (gumnuts and banksia are two types of Aussie trees). It's one of those famous stories that every Aussie remembers from childhood, and the fun musical was a very interesting and funny adaptation of it!


Thursday and Friday we camped on Rottnest Island, an island off the coast of Fremantle, full of bike paths, beautiful beaches and quokkas. The island is full of these funny little marsupials! In the evening, we counted about 40 of them grazing in the grass and playing in the sprinklers. They're about the size of small cats, and just too cute! We spent the two days cycling around the island, with stops for swiming and snorkeling. We saw beautiful purple and yellow corals as well as lots of cool fish. We also joined a free tour to the lighthouse and learned about the history of the island and the shipwrecks in the surrounding waters. It's a wonderful island.
I really hope the pricey hotel doesn't get built...it would ruin the image of the island as a place for Perth families to spend their vacations. The problem of resort-style accomodation in areas once reserved for families seems to be a problem in many of the best spots. We witnessed it in the Margaret River region as well, with some of most beautiful landscape marred by construction or by an ugly, overly expensive hotel. Rottnest Island isn't that big, so any resort-style hotel would definitely be an eyesore and just cause more problems for the island. I could go on for hours on the subject...I'll spare you.

Saturday I wandered around Freo again as Sarah had to work. I wandered around the markets and around the town, stopping for a milkshake at funky cafe that Sarah had recommended, called Angels. They use Junction ice cream (which is made up in Midland and is some of the best ice cream in Perth!) for their ice coffees and milkshakes. The cafe kinda reminds me of Cafe Santropol in Montreal...a similar funky hippie atmosphere...although I'm not sure if they do fair-trade coffee.

Sunday we saw Augie March play with WASO in King's Park. Who? Augie March is a very popular Melbourne rock band (their single One Crowded Hour just won #1 on the Triple J Hottest 100) , and WASO stands for West Australia Symphony Orchestra. The combination was the coolest concert ever!
The opening band for them was The Bank Holidays, who won Best Indi Pop Act in the recent WAMI awards. They didn't play with WASO, but I liked their fun retro sound. Reminded me a bit of Sloan and the Beatles.

So that's what I've been up to. Now things will calm down as I need to save money to travel...but upcoming events include seeing a ballet in a rock quarry, a comedy show, and a night walk to see local wildlife (although I'm not sure what wildlife there is left to see as I've seen quite a bit!). I'm also looking forward to the West Coast Blues and Roots festival in Freo at the end of March, a trip to the Pinnacles and a one last big trip with Sarah further down south to the Albany/Denmark area.

I probably won't post for a while, or at least not until more stories are ready!

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Photos

The waters at Rotto
Rottnest Island, WA

A quokka
One of the thousands of cute little marsupials on Rottnest Island, WA

The perfect snorkeling spots!
Rottnest Island, WA

Fishing time in Freo
Fremantle Harbour, WA

Blinded by the light!
A pelican at sunrise, Fremantle Harbour, WA

Augie March & WASO
Concert at King's Park, Perth, WA