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Published: December 13th 2009
The Chairs
Sweet beanbag lounge chairs!After making our decision to head home both Sheena and I started to count down the weeks (days!) left that we would have to soak up all that Perth had to offer. So in true 'Scott' fashion, we made a list (Eric did..not Sheena) of things we had to see/do before leaving Perth. Time is definitely moving quick and starting to run out!
First thing's first: Java Juice had to go. As much fun as it was to make smoothies all day and drink a ridiculous amount of freshly squeezed juices on my break, it was taking up our available time on weekends. Alas, I bid them a fond farewell (but still am on payroll to ensure that I get that sweet employee discount 😉 and now Sheena and I both have our weekends free to frolic in Perth.
This past weekend we were able to cross off three amazing things on our to do list: 1. Catch an outdoor movie at one of Perth's fine outdoor theatres (think drive in but with a bean-bag chair). 2. Have a picnic dinner at King's Park, and 3. get to Rottnest Island, and spend the day biking, swimming, snorkeling, and feeding the class
The Spread
Copious amounts of brie cheese were consumed by all. A nature reserve native animals, the Quokkas (no, I didn't do that, but Sheena and Rita definitely did).
Outdoor movie: Perthites love to be outside, and their lives revolve around the times between 6am-9am, and 5pm-10pm - because those are the only times of day when its not 40 degrees outside and you can actually enjoy it (side note: Sheena and I tried to go for an outside run this past Saturday when the mercury topped 38 degrees..we lasted 20 minutes). One of the various activities is the concept of an outdoor theatre. Think drive in movie, but instead of a parking lot, there is just an empty grass park, and instead of cars, they let you bring in blankets, pillows, and have these amazing bean-bag lounge chairs for people to rent. You show up an hour before the film, bring your picnic basket, some snacks, and perhaps a bottle of wine or two (if you can sneak it by the volunteer staff) and enjoy a nice snack before the film comes on. Perfect evening! Sheena and I went with Mike & Rita and saw a double-feature at the Burswood outdoor cinema, and what a great evening it was.
The View
Perfect! The weather was perfect...a warm 30 degrees even as the clock approached midnight.
King's Park Picnic: Along with outdoor theatres, Perth is a city that revolves around dinnertime picnics. Whether its the free BBQ's scattered along the Swan River or the acres of lush golf-course grass that exist in King's park, people love their picnics here. So, Sheena and I (well...I made it, Sheena complained that it wasn't going to be good enough) made up a quick dinner, stopped at the local bottle shop to grab some ciders and headed up to King's park before sunset to get a meal in and catch the action. Great view, great weather, and I might add - great food, lead to a fantastic sunset over looking the Perth CBD. It is times like these we reflect on our time in Australia, though we've seen our share of challenges we know we will miss nights like these once we are back in Canada.
Rottnest: about 22km off the coast of Fremantle (coastal suburb of Perth) lies an island 22km wide by about 4.5 km across which is a quick getaway for many of Perth's sun-seeking people. Hearing so much about this place,
Decorations
Perth's old post office Mike, Rita, Sheena and I piled onto an 8am ferry to check out what the island had to offer. After renting our bikes (tandem bikes - a MUST do for any new couple...after a rocky start Sheena was finally able to trust me, and our marriage will survive - thank GOD) and our snorkeling gear we started circumnavigating the island looking for our own piece of paradise. With beaches approximately every 5 minutes on a bike, there was tons to choose from, and from some of our pictures I think you can see that it is truly a gorgeous place! Even better, was the fact that we were able to choose a day that was almost topping 40 degrees back in the city, which made it a somewhat tolerable 38 on Rottnest. Also, Rottnest is home to some local wildlife, only found on the island, known as a "Quokka." It is a relative of the kangaroo, so it hops around, has a pouch for a joey, and otherwise looks and acts like a tiny kangaroo. Sheena and Rita couldn't resist the appeal of the Quokka as one in particular hopped up to our table at lunch. Against Mike's better advice,
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...
There is nothing wrong with a Christmas tree in December...but what you can't see is the fact that it was 32 degrees out when we took this shot & we were in shorts & flip flops.. the ladies decided to share a bit of their ice cream cone with the little guy...it was quite tame and obviously accustomed to such acts by tourists...alas, the ladies made it out unscathed.
On our way back from Rotto we picked up some borrowed camping gear for our upcoming Christmas camping extravaganza...courtesy of Mike's colleague, Southern WA here we come!
This bring us onto our next topic - Christmas in Perth. Oddly enough, it barely seems like Christmas here. We've posted a few pictures of Christmas decorations in the CBD, but without snow its definitely taking some getting used to. We aren't sure how people even get a Christmas tree - from what we can tell they buy fake but they aren't even local trees to Australia. Mike carefully asked one of his employees why people in Perth even include fake snow, silver-coloured tinsel, and fake icicles in Christmas decorations, and the answer he got was "to keep the 'Poms' (UK settlers now living in Perth) happy." Fair enough!
We're still trying hard to be in the Christmas spirit. Sheena has promised to cook me a fruit-cake, although I doubt it will be as good as grandma's back home
Decorations #3
This is for my mom, who wanted to know what decorations are like in Perth ;) 😉
2 more weeks of work (9 more days!), then Christmas, followed by our week-ish long camping trip with Mike & Rita down south! With no real agenda but a ton of stuff to do and time on our hands, we're all very excited about piling into their Subaru for a great adventure.
We leave Perth Jan 10th to travel Australia's east coast before spending a bit of time in Vancouver to visit with family & friends (and Olympics!) before finally heading home. We are very excited about our time over east, and things are starting to come together as far as plans. We start at Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef and have rented a camper van to travel down the rest of the east coast (stopping at the Whitsunday Islands and the largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island). From there we head to Brisbane to visit with some friends and try some surfing on the gold coast. Next on the agenda is Melbourne, to get as much of Victoria has to offer before ending up in Sydney for 7 days, where we'll re-convene with Mike & Rita (and a few of their friends) to
The Moon
One of our Favourite pubs/live music venues, The Moon, always has great music and a really interesting vibe. Last thursday: Jazz night. see as much of Sydney as possible before finally kissing this country goodbye!
All in all....a busy couple of weeks planned for us. For those who read this blog, keep in touch and we hope to speak to you over the Christmas holidays!
Over and out.
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Mike
non-member comment
super fantastic
UM EXCUSE ME WHO TOOK PICTURES OF ME SLEEPING AND POSTED THEM ON THE INTERNET? I'm glad that I wasn't drooling. I'm also glad that Sheena and Rita's total disrespect for the Quokka has been documented. Those bits of ice cream cone were attracting large birds.