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Published: October 4th 2013
The jet-lag seems to be improving. I did not wake up until around 7.00am having slept right through for the first time this trip.
Maria was keen to take me on a cycle tour from the house along the shoreline to Canning Bridge. I was certainly up for it and she offered me a bike from the collection of around six in the garage. Although I never wear c cycle helmet at home they are compulsory here. After a quick seat-height adjustment we were off at a good pace along the quiet side streets of residential Attadale towards the river Swan.
I'd never ridden the bike before or anything like it. It was a road-bike, I normally ride a mountain bike. The tyres were very thing and hard, being pumped up to 90psi. The riding posture was less upright and more of a racing position. Above all, it was very lightweight and responsive. Keeping up with Maria was the challenge. I was unfamiliar with the gearchange system and for the first km or so could only change down and not up. Most of this downhill distance was covered in the very low gears with my feet rotating far too
fast to keep up. It was only when I discovered a separate upshift lever that I was able to make a better attempt to keep up.
Maria is very fitness conscious. She claims to be overweight but she is actually in very good shape and could easily have disappeared off in a cloud of dust leaving me panting and sweating. On our limited travels around Perth I had noticed the large number of really fit looking people. As we began to progress along the riverside cycle path I saw many more of these superfit, body-perfect people, especially women, out for an early morning run. There were a number of seriously fast cyclists in bright lycra. These were the two-wheeled commuters who were heading for the city centre some 4kms away. They flashed past doing three times our speed.
There was not a breath of wind. The sky was intense blue and the cycling was on the flat. The cycleway meandered along the shoreline and was really pleasant. The same asphalt was shared by walkers. They used the grey pathway and cyclists used the black, two-way systems.
The stretch of shoreline between Attadale and Canning Bridge is a
ribbon of totally amazing houses, each of which must capture the framed picture of the Swan river with the tall office-blocks of the city centre across the river in the distance. The variety of styles is amazing. From mock Georgian, colonial, modern cubist through to science-fiction. All face the river with massive areas of glass frontage. Maria told me that all are in the AU$1 million to multi million price range. There was also a lot of development and re-development work in progress. Like much of this part of Perth, it appears to be a domain of the very rich.
On our outward route we saw pelicans, black swans with cygnets and even two ospreys. We also passed the riverfront meeting place of the Attadale Rotary club where I hope to make a visit on a Monday evening.
Having reached Canning Bridge and Raffles Bar beside it, we then headed back on the main roads. They were busy and the entire return journey was uphill. My poor fitness level was beginning to show and Maria had to slow-pedal but I was expecting a visitor at 10.00H so needed to get home for a shower and change into dry
clothes.
Just after my shower I put on some toast and coffee when the doorbell rang. It was 'M'. He is the guy that we are going into the bush with at the weekend. He's called me a couple of days earlier and asked if he could make the 1 hour drive over to meet Hazel and I. He was now standing on the doorstep in motorcycle leather leathers with his large British Triumph parked in the drive. At well over 6' tall and in his mid 50s he cut an imposing figure.
Maria organised coffee and we went through to the shady, covered area overlooking the garden and pool.
M impressed me as very friendly, kind and self-confident. His conversational manner made him very easy to talk to and we were soon deep in enthusiastic discussions about the trip we would be sharing in a few days time. M and his colleague were onto a new gold deposit or 'patch' as they called it. Last week they had found around 16 ounces of gold on the spot and were keen to return.
First thing was to make sure that all logistics and supplies for the
trip were fully covered. M's partner C was going to be doing the full food shopping for the trip. Costs were to be split equally. Also, because we were not getting our trailer until Saturday afternoon, the guys felt that we should not depart until Sunday morning. As M explained, late Saturday departure would mean arrival at camp after dark which is not good but worse, the 'roo levels on the final miles to our destination meant a high probability of hitting one at dusk. This is best prevented by daytime travel. Also, C's son was to be joining the trip which would mean 5 people in total.
Immersed in chat on gold the time flew past. But above all, our first meeting with M convinced us that he was really as friendly, helpful and engaging as we had been told that he would be. Hazel's confidence and enthusiasm for the adventure moved up a few notches. I could only wonder about the amazing quantities of gold and nugget sizes that M had talked about. Above all, M's ethos about his life in the bush and his commitment to having fun, living well and at the same time being
sensible and safety aware. As M left with a roar from the massive Triumph engine we could only imagine the adventure that was to begin on Sunday.
You may wonder why I am not using full names. M & C are both professional gold prospectors. They have made a good loving from prospecting for over 20 years and are regarded as two of the best in WA, and probably even the whole of Australia. However there is a lot of envy and underhand behaviour in the world of gold. There are also deeper, commercial concerns which can have billion dollar considerations. M & C keep a very low profile, slip in and out of areas like the SAS do and they take precautions to avoid being followed or located. M even told me that they do not stake significant gold finds because it may cause a rush or even prevent them from returning at a later date. For this reason I will also be very circumspect about where we are heading, for how long and possibly even on what we find. It's to protect M & C's livelihood. I hope that this explains the level of secrecy involved.
After M left, we had a light lunch and then Maria suggested that it may be a good time for me to try driving the Pajero 4x4. It's perhaps a tad bigger than my Lexus RX and of about the same age. Apart from reversal of indicator/wiper stalks everything was very easy and driving around the local area came naturally. We headed off for Freemantle beach where we walked around 3km north on the fine, white sands. The beach was covered in large areas of seaweed which had washed up during the stormy winter months. Being school holidays, it was also being well used with sunbathers, picnickers and family groups. Although there was a steady breeze and a moderate swell, it was very pleasant walking. It's been many years since I have walked on the beach sand with bare feet and it was nice. Especially so when the sloshing, incoming waves rushed up the steep sand incline. Even Hazel removed her sandals and we all walked barefoot. A flight of 4 small red acrobatic aeroplanes fluttered and tumbled by.
We then drove north to Cottesloe which is a very up-market little settlement sitting on a promentary surmounted by tall
and elegant Norfolk pines. The seafront and beach were full of tanned bodies but unfortunately all the parking spaces were full of cars. Being unable to park, we took a tour of the back streets where the homes were large and exceedingly attractive. Looks like a really nice place to live!
The return journey back to Attadale was smooth and I am beginning to get used to the driving.
In the evening we all got dressed up and went to Portorosa, an Italian restaurant in Freemantle. The centre of Freo was lively with many restaurants. After a really good meal (a belated birthday meal for Hazel) we headed for home.
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Sam Bougher
non-member comment
Just some corrections
Firstly, it's Fremantle, and the beach is called Leighton Beach. It's interesting to know what others think of the city.