Perth: Fun and Food with Family and Friends

---

The flight from Perth to Dubai was fairly long at nearly 11 hours but it was only a quarter full so I spent the time laying in a row of my own, eating, sleeping and watching movies so it wasn't too difficult a flight. I have been to Perth before but as I have family living here I wouldn't fly all the way to Australia without visiting. I'd spent most of the time in Dubai on my own so I was excited to see familiar faces. I have basically spent most of my time in Perth eating and drinking, my cousin's have been fantastically good hosts and have spoilt me rotten.



I spent the first week in with my cousin Dawn and her family. She has four children aged between16 to 25: a girl, Emily, twin boys, Alex and Morgan and her eldest son, Chris who was living in Darwin. I'd stayed with them on my last trip to Oz 7 years ago so it was lovely to see them all grown up. Dawn is recently married to Tim, an Englishman (it's not his fault) who also has two boys aged 9 and 18 so it's a busy household to say the least. Dawn is a hairdresser with her salon attached to the house so add a daily stream of clients and it's about as far removed from my quiet 2 bedroom flat that I live in on my own as I could get. Lots of fun though, we had a fair few BBQs by the pool (even though it was winter when I arrived, it is Australia in all fairness) and enjoyed the many eating establishments Perth has to offer. The portions are pretty colossal here, not unlike American standards and the biggest problem is it's all so tasty! I went on a road trip down South with 17 year old Emily and her friend Kat staying in Busselton and visiting Margret River, Western Australia's wine producing region. We visited the chocolate factory (who would have guessed I preferred chocolate to wine?!) and made sure we filled up on the free samples before we left ( I'm a traveller, you gotta do what you gotta do!) I had an Aussie night out with Dawn and Tim to celebrate the end of the season for a local Aussie Rules footy team: Rostrata AFL. The theme was 80s disco and school days. Dawn needed to go find some clothes in the shops to wear as a costume...All I needed to do was put on some of the clothes I had in my backpack and put my hair up in a side ponytail with a coloured scarf. Does that say something about my outdated fashion sense?? We had a great laugh that night, dancing and I met some of Dawn and Tim's Australian friends that night who were all very friendly to me.



Emily and I also took a trip to Freemantle Prison, one of the most historic places in Perth and in WA. The prison was built by convict labour in the 1850s, and transferred to the colonial government in 1886 for use as a gaol for locally-sentenced prisoners. It closed as a prison in 1991 and reopened as a historic site. We went on a tour and spent some time in the cells, in the gallows and the chapel. We saw where Bon Scot, lead singer of Aussie band ACDC had spent his time incarcerated in the prison for giving false details to the authorities in the early 1960s. I also found out and am proud to say that a Welshman was reportedly the inmate who escaped the most times from the prison, to the point where he had to have his own "escape-proof" cell made for him built from stone, lined with jarrah sleepers and over 1000 nails, chwarae teg eh. It was a really interesting if not bloody depressing place and it gave me an insight into Western Australia's history.



The next week I went north of the Swan River to Joondalup and stayed with another of my cousins, Andrea. Her and her husband Andrew have two boys, Nathan, 14 and Brandon, 12. Brandon is a singer and was recently on The Voice Kids, Australia and so I was able to see him perform on stage while I was there (once in an Eisteddfod which they have taken from our tradition in good old Cymru) and was astounded by his talent, I'm sure he'll go far. I had a lovely chill out in their spa pool in the garden, with the weather not unlike a Welsh summer's day despite it still being winter. Brandon is in year 6 in school and so my cousin arranged for me to go into school with him one day it see what it's like in an Aussie primary (yea, I couldn't work out whether she loves me or hates me either 😉 The school was huge compared to the one I teach in and obviously quite new, the children are very lucky there with the resources, buildings and outdoor space they have. I helped the class teacher take a narrative writing session and then a dance crew had been brought in to teach the children street dance in their purpose built dance studios next to the theatre (I'd be element teaching in that building). I found my time in Peter Moyes Anglican Community School very interesting and was grateful for the lovely warm welcome they gave me.



That weekend we took a road trip north to see The Pinnacles which are limestone formations contained within Nambung National Park in Western Australia and it took us around two hours to drive there. I really enjoyed seeing the yellow of the sand and the multitude of cone like rocks that seem like they are growing out of the ground. The drive and walk around the park was a sight indeed, like something from another planet.

The raw material for the limestone of the Pinnacles came from seashells in an earlier era that was rich in marine life. These shells were broken down into lime-rich sands that were blown inland to form high mobile dunes. However, the manner in which such raw materials formed the Pinnacles is the subject of debate.

On the way back we stopped off at at Moore River to see the beach and then a golf course where there were scores of kangaroos on the green. I loved this as I'd not seen many wild kangaroos on my last trip to Australia (apart from the poor Joey that literally lost his head as the bus I was in ploughed into him when I was over East). My cousin Andrea was also a great host that week and it was so nice to see family I'd not seen since they emigrated 6 years ago.



After my week in Bali, I was greeted at Perth airport by my cousin Chris (Dawn's eldest) as he'd moved back to Perth earlier than planned (I was originally meeting him up in Darwin after Perth) and it was fab to see him again. His fiancé, Tahnee (an Australian) and I got on straight away and we had a good laugh going to Perth Crown Casino with the two of them that weekend. More nights out, eating, drinking, laying in the sun by the pool, visiting Freemantle Maritime Museum and Perth Art Museum (turns out Chris likes a bit of culture...I've not seen him since he was 18 so he's grown up considerably since then.) We spent some time in Kings Park and on the Swan River bank taking photos and videos. From there you have a fantastic view of the CBD area of the city with its high rise buildings. (Morgan and Chris being somewhat embarrassed as Tahnee gladly videoed me for my 'Around the World Cup Song' video, literally walking away at one point, pretending they didn't know me...they hadn't realised till this point that I had no shame! 😊



I visited Australian school number two a few days before my departure as I went to watch Namish (Tim's 9 year old son) in his class assembly at Willeton Primary School. They were performing their version of Captain Cook's discovery of the East Coast and it was really funny with some confident characters up on the stage. Namish played his part as crew member on the Endeavour really well and was pleased that we had gone to watch. All that was left to do was enjoy the sun a bit more, enjoy the company of family and, yep you've guessed it eat and drink some more! (It's little wonder my mother asked me if I can still fit into my clothes. Dawn says she's fattening me up to survive the rest of the trip!) Ten of us went out for my goodbye meal in Hippo Creek the night before I flew to Darwin and all stayed in the same house (Tim, Dawn, myself, all four of Dawn's pack plus Tahnee and also Kat and Tim's niece, Holly who is herself on her travels and living in Perth....oh and Brian the dog and the two cats; it was a full house to say the least). I Skyped my parents late that night when we got back to the house and they witnessed the madness for themselves as I toured around the house for them to say hi to everyone. They boys in one room jamming with their electric guitars, the girls watching a film on mattresses in the living room and Dawn and Tim by this point snoring away on the sofa, just one big happy family! 😊 Lots of laughs and fun there.



In Perth I've had the luxury of friends and family that I won't have so much around the world. I'm so grateful to everyone who has been so kind and welcoming to me and I shall miss everyone as I move on through the country I'm sure. So it's time to pack my backpack again and start the real travelling lifestyle....who knows when I'll get my next meal...😉 (I'm kidding mam...they'll serve me breakfast on the plane!)

---