The first time we drove to Perth city it was a miserable day so unfortunately our first impression was foiled by the weather. However on our second, third, fourth ……. consecutive outings, the sun shone brilliantly on this lovely city and we have a fabulous time each and every visit. Kings Park is absolutely lovely and we have had some great picnics and fun in the lush gardens with magnificent views over the city. The city itself is so clean and well organised with great shopping and delicious food without the chaos that you come to expect in a city, I’m guessing because it isn’t a big city, which I love!!
We have been happily lingering around here in Perth and surrounds, while we wait for the intense heat to dissipate before heading north along the coast unless Cam gets a job and then we will stay on and continue developing the website from here as we do separate trips up to the north coast. However if we keep going I’m glad we had the opportunity to stay for a length of time as we haven’t been able or had to do anywhere else because it has really given us a chance to explore and really immerse ourselves in the West Aussie lifestyle. So far we have discovered that, to say it is very different to the rest of the country, in many ways, would be an understatement and it just feels so very far away, maybe because I am just so used to being on the east coast or maybe because everyone you meet reminds you of how forgotten/left out they feel over here and we were informed when we first arrived that WA stands for Wait Awhile.
For a start when you are driving along the coast, north is south and east is west, very confusing and one thing that I think would take many years to feel comfortable with. Before we left on this trip I was explaining to Zane and Maya, as I had been taught, that an easy way to remember direction is that when the ocean is on your right you are heading north and vice versa well that has all gone out the window. They have actually adapted better than us maybe it’s all those years spent on the east coast that is throwing us out and as if I wasn’t bad enough with street directions before, I was always awesome at knowing my N, S, E and W even if I do say so myself, now it seems I have been robbed of that skill.
I have never seen so many Bin Tang t-shirts and shorts since the last time I was actually in Bali but by the looks of things it seems everyone over here has either been there or knows someone that has and with the close proximity I guess you can understand why and we haven’t even been to Darwin yet. The ocean is clear like the water you see in advertisements for resorts in exotic locations, no photoshop, just pure, crystal clear, clean, bright aqua water at every beach you visit and if you think you will be surfing the big waves think again. I assumed there would be waves but there is really not much surf at all except for Margaret River and even then it is only certain times of the year apparently as we didn’t experience any gnarly surf when we were in their neck of the woods.
Apart from south of Margaret River the landscape is much more harsh than I expected without much natural greenery to bless the earth. It is quite an experience to drive through the harshness of dry brown land and reach the peak of a sand dune to feast your eyes on the spectacular ocean, it really is quite breathtaking. So I have concluded that the beaches themselves are without a doubt, simply stunning and better than any I have seen on the east coast, except Jervis Bay, however no surf might be a problem for some and although I don’t surf I do find the waves refreshing so any one else needing surf, you will have to find the right beach and even then you may only get a ripple some days. The landscape is harsh, the city of Perth is fantastic and all in all we can’t wait to continue up the coast to see what’s in store but with the hot weather we may have to Wait Awhile!!!