Blogs from Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

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Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham September 12th 2015

Saturday 12 September 2015 We had been invited to have dinner at Andy and Karens on Saturday evening and when we got there Trevor and Peta were there, who had dropped in on route from some where. It was only 5.30 and I had a HF radio sked to do and as Andy Bayley is also a radio operator on VKS 737 so I could sit at his desk and do the sked from here, so it was just a case of booting his computer up and putting the head phones on. Whilst I was doing the sked, the gang were in the living room and by the time my sked had finished Trevor and Peta had left, so It had been a while since we had seen Andy and Karen and settled in for a ... read more
All good things come to an end !!
All good things come to an end !!
All good things come to an end !!

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham August 14th 2015

Aide Memoir 14 August 2015 Hi all, sorry for the lack of recent blogs but we have been absolutely flat strap of late, but so much has happened that we have not really recorded it which is a bit remiss of us, so the good news is this blog is going to be a brief round-up of minor events and Caroline is typing the next blog, although she claims that I have usurped her as she started typing hers at the airport yesterday. Both of us agree we can only blog when we have something meaningful to say and recently Caroline has not been very interested in the blog which is the same as I have been about it, but the interest does come back especially when we have something to record, for future. We are ... read more

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham December 24th 2012

Good morning. Yesterday Jon decided that it was high time he taught me how to fish. Despite having sailed for more years than I care to remember I have never been into fishing. Anyway, the Indian Ocean is apparently a fisherman's paradise. For the sort we were going to do - beach fishing - the best time is just before sunset when fish come inshore to feed. We drove down to Warnborough Sound beach which is about a 20 minutes walk from where we are staying. When we arrived I noticed that the Freemantle Doctor, a wind that kicks in every afternoon, was blowing onshore at about 15 - 20 knots and was causing quite a swell. No prob said Jon, we shall put a weight just above the hook so we can cast offshore. Havin ... read more
Beer 'o' clock
Beach-casting v.1
Beach-casting

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham March 10th 2012

Our new friends, Ray and Lennie, in Rockingham have a double kayak and kindly let us take it across Safety Bay to Penguin Island Marine Sanctuary. Penguin Island is less than one kilometer from the mainland and easily accessed by kayak or walking. Did I say walking? Yes, you can walk on water! Technically, the walking is on a wide sandbar and since the island is only 900 meters from the mainland it is a similar exercise like walking chest-deep in the pool. A slight temperature difference and exceptional scenary. We chose to kayak directly from our friend's home, about 4 kms. up the shoreline. Approaching Penguin Island we talked to a couple from Holland who were walking back along the sandbar. Visitors are cautioned not to take children and to be capable swimmers because as ... read more
Walk or Kayak to Penguin Island
Gourmet Crayfish Dinner

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham March 9th 2012

Our new friends, Josh and Tiffany invited us to come to their Splash n' Dash on Friday evening. What a wonderful way to unwind after a week in the office - jump into the Indian Ocean for a 300 meter swim and finish with a 4km run on the oceanside path. All the children in the tri-club went first, in age groups with appropriate distances. Is it any wonder their children are great swimmers with a warm ocean in their front yard? It helps of course, the parents are all healthy role models. I was the last adult - yes, the very last adult to finish those teeny-tiny 300 meters in that balmy Indian Ocean. A few kind spectators politely waited and cheered me on as I transitioned into the run. I was ecstatic to be ... read more
Ken  with another  competitor
Not the last one - the others are far behind!

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham March 7th 2012

In planning from Canada, we had emailed the Rockingham Tri-Club and received an enthusiastic response from Josh, the club president. He said to drop by when we arrived and invited us to join in a couple of events. So we grabbed a map, and hopped on the bikes our hosts graciously provided for us. We stopped at an intersection to get our bearings and as we rotating the map a very athletic runner taps Ken on the shoulder and smiles. Welcome to Australia - you must be Ken ! I'm Josh - from Rockingham Tri-Club. We are mildly astonished - these kind of things seem to happen quite often! We tell Josh we were looking for his house. He has finished his 20 km run and invites us to follow him to his house. His wife, ... read more
Dream Bike to Ride
Biking in Point Peron

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham February 19th 2012

Ce matin c’est réveil matinal pour aller crabing en bateau avec Greg. Je pars seul avec lui car Kate n’étant pas là, il faut un adulte pour garder les enfants et c’est Marion qui s’y colle. Ce moment est extraordinaire, il m’amène voir une ile remplie d’oiseaux et de phoques une fois que l’on a placé les pièges à crabes. Ensuite on pêche à la ligne le calamar, premier lancer, une prise. Il se défend et crache son encre. Pendant 2 heures on remonte régulièrement les paniers de crabes, au total 9 crabes. Greg ne garde que les mâles, ils sont bleus, les femelles qui sont grises sont relâchées. Greg qui a du flair et qui connait bien la baie me prévient que des dauphins ne sont pas loin. Bluff ou pas ??? Eh bien non, ... read more
Blue crabs
Pêche au calamar
Dégustation de crabes

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham February 17th 2012

Vu que hier on n’a pas bossé, comme vous pouvez vous en douter, Greg a prévu 5h de boulot pour bien finir la semaine ! Après avoir creusé, il s’agit de reboucher ! Puis d’aplanir tout ça et de nettoyer le backyard d’une partie des cochonneries .On arrête un instant pour pousser le van de Greg, et oui, on ne vous a pas dit, mais tous les jours il faut pousser ce put.. de van pour qu’il démarre car Mr Burns n’achète pas de nouvelle batterie !! Argh, à ce train là on va prendre de sacrés muscles et un sacré bide aussi vu les bières qu’on s’enfile !! On n’en peut plus, à 10h ça fait déjà 3h qu’on bosse, je sens qu’on perd en efficacité. Je n’arrête pas de regarder l’heure, Greg me taquine ... read more
Workers
Rrrrr
A Shoalwater

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham September 16th 2011

3 weeks has gone far to quick, and we were wishing we had an extra few days at the end to check a few things out. But we will definitely be back to this side, and have even thought quite a few times that we could easily live over here in WA. The weather has been great, the beaches are beautiful (minus the 6 metre white shark that was spotted at the beach just south of here the other day... and yes that is 6 METRES!), the people are really friendly and it is even more laid back than the rest of Australia. And super cheap flights to Bali, Thailand etc. They were advertising flights to Bali for $198 return including taxes, which I guess why they say there are more Australians in Bali than Balinese ... read more
Fremantle Fishing Wharf which is home to some huge boats, quite a few fish and chip restaurants and Little Creatures Brewery
Fremantle
Brett enjoying a beer after a days work and yoga at Little Creatures in Freemantle

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Rockingham July 21st 2011

24 June - 2 September 2011 It's been a long time between drinks (in writers' terms) and I have just had a brief look over the last few entries and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at what is now history. We have seen and done so many amazing things and I am well aware that the enormity of what we are doing on this trip may well not hit home until we actually arrive home, so to speak. We have heard ourselves say many a time "this is what it's all about" as we take in the stunning scenery, beautiful wildlife and lap up the appreciation of being on the road, away from the daily grind and together as a family just 'being'. But looking back over some of the photos and entries ... read more
Coogee (16)
Wow, a real lounge!
Making a cake




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