Travel by local bus

I took an independent trip into Bandar this morning. it is always easy to get somewhere but finding the way back is always a worry. As with all my travels I found the trip remarkably easy. There is a good public bus service in Bandar. You pay a dollar and they will take you almost anywhere. A small (seats about 20) purple bus comes along which you can stop anywhere. There is a girl sat on one of the seats who will take your money and give you a ticket, then writes the fare in a book. The bus takes about 20 minutes to get to the city centre, first of all going past the night market and fish market, out onto the main road and then calls in at all the shopping malls on the way to the city. It stops and starts according to how many passengers and how many times the driver stops, opens the door and spits, we then set off again! We pass the big mosque on the outskirt of Bandar and so we enter the city, past the early morning market and up to the water front then turn off into the bus station.
The bus station is dark and gloomy, full of buses, very busy, bus stops being very close together. I thought I had better ask the driver what bus to catch back to the Centre Point Hotel. His English was poor, but together with him and the little conductress we worked out what it was I required and I could catch the 01 or 20. The purple buses have a number on each side of the bus about 30cm or more tall which are clear to see. After about an hour and a half and very hot I easily found my way back to the bus station found a 20 bus and got on. I just hoped that I got back to where I wanted to be. There was no driver or conductress on the bus at this point, but the engine was running and other passengers were getting on. Three young girls got on and proceeded to eat their lunch, one of which turned out to be the conductress. As soon as the driver turned up the other two girls got off and we were then on our way back. Same story really, spitting and passengers determined how many times we stopped and I found myself back and stopped right outside my hotel. Easy!

Bandar Seri Begawan

I may have to review some of the things I have said about Brunei and Bandar Seri Begawan. My conclusion is as follows, there are no poor people in Brunei. These people are so well looked after. They have no taxes, no fuel bills, petrol is 51 cents a litre (25p). They pay a dollar and can have any medication and health service available, schools are free. They can get a degree and then the Brunei government will pay for them to go and live and be educated abroad, all young people speak English so are bi-lingual, unemployment is virtually nil, everyone is much happier than we are, offering a smile and much laughter. They have large houses, plenty of material wealth, but they still have to work hard, take out loans etc. There is a prison which has 5 inmates, only two of whom are local. The police are called lazy because they have nothing to do. There is very little private enterprise, most jobs are through the government, which provides houses and short working hours. Shopping is popular and there are loads of shopping streets and malls. Everything is up to date as far as technology is concerned. What an ideal situation. I have tried really hard to see underneath it but have not succeeded. I do know that the Sultan looks after his people but rules them rigorously through himself and the Islam religion. There is no alcohol, gambling, drugs, clubbing or discos in this country. The young swarm around the shopping centres and up market coffee shops, the cinemas and other public places, laughing with each other and happy together, drinking mainly milk shakes. It is a pleasure to see. ...and it is safe.

Don't think the trip to Dubai is going to happen!!

Well it's the 16th April 2010 and I think that I am not going to be finding my way to Dubai, a shame but there we go. God in his infinite wisdom has provided a volcanic cloud which has enabled me to stay in beautiful Borneo (Brunei). The airline has put us all up in a great hotel, we arrived at 0300 this morning, and I am taking advantage of provided meals and beautiful piano playing in the foyer! Depending on how long we stay here depends upon what I do for the rest of the day. Perhaps another trip is in order or maybe just relax in the cool. Let me tell you how I got back here! The aircraft started off to Dubai and we spent 3 hours in the air and then the pilot decided that he would return to Brunei for our comfort as Dubai had no room for us to land and hotel bookings were full because the European airports were closed. So a six hour flight for nothing, but we are provided for in mysterious ways and it is all part of the big adventure!
The day has been slow and relaxing and I know that I am going to get a good night's sleep tonight as our next update is not until 0700 Brunei time Saturday morning. My aim now is to try and get straight to London. I was offered a flight to Dubai at 1730 this evening but quite honestly Dubai is not worth 3 flight changes and landing at 0230 in the morning. I no longer had guarantees of my hotel booking and I would have to catch a taxi into the city which would have cost me a pretty penny! So it looks like home a couple of days sooner than I expected, but more time to prepare and get myself fit for the next adventure to America in a fortnight's time.

Kampong Ayer

We returned via the water village. The biggest water village in the world. The water village is called Kampong Ayer, which stretches about 8 km along the Brunei river. It is a well preserved national heritage site, the largest of its kind in the world with approximately 30,000 residents. The Kampong is over 1,000 years old. The name Venice of the East was coined by Antonio Pigafetta in honor of the water village he encountered at Kota Batu (just east of city's central business district). Pigafetta was on Magellan's voyages in 1521, so we know it has been there a very long time. Kampong Ayer has existed since the 10th century A.D, is actually a cluster of villages, each with their own village leader. The villages are connected by a complex web of walkways and bridges. Kampong Ayer's historical importance lies in the fact that the Sultanate's civilization started here with fishing as one of the main livelihoods of the villages. There was a concentration of skilled craftsmen producing handicrafts from brass, silver and wood, hence granting the water village a status of commercial and social importance. This is a village on stilts. The stilts these days are made of concrete but were originally wood, as were the houses. In the 1980's there was a serious fire and the people of the water village have had to review not only the way they build and repair their water houses but also the fire service, which is now half on land and half in the water. There is full commitment in the water village and they have primary and secondary schools, mosques, shopping etc. All villages are now joined by wooden (and very flimsy) bridges and the houses are also joined by walkways.
However, the nifty water taxis are never out of business, scurrying here, there and everywhere. We stopped for tea and cake at a water house, with a room built especially for tourists. You had to be nifty yourself to get out of the boat and onto the steps, which had no handrails, to get up to the house! Then back down again, of course!! The house belonged to a lady who gave us the refreshments and then showed us the rest of the house. It was very long with a big lounge with bedrooms going off from it. Behind this was the kitchen, again large but with running water and a flush toilet. This is a modern happening as the toilets were normally straight into the river. This doesn't surprise me because the river was filthy, with oil, rubbish and goodness knows what else. The room for visitors was a phenomenon in itself. It was like a regal palace room and the bathroom was the same, toilet, bidet, shower and basin done out in a black, white and gold, very, very posh and privately paid for!! Another phenomenon in this country of no taxes, free healthcare and education.

Proboscis Monkeys

My trip to see the proboscis monkeys was indeed an experience. I don't think I ever really thought I would see any and yet I saw two troups of about a dozen monkeys in each. Aside which I saw a pangolin curled up in a tree and a two foot monitor lizard. We caught the boat at the quay near the restaurant I had visited the night before. The word that comes to mind is a sciff, but am unsure if this describes the boat. It is very long and narrow, not much wider than a canoe and has a wooden canopy for protection from the sun and a huge outboard motor that can go fast, fast, fast! The young boy driving was possibly 18 years old, but they all look so young that he could have been a little older. He surely knew how to throw this boat around just like all the water taxis in the water taking people over to the water village which is the largest in the world. More of that later.
We sped along the river, past the mosques and the Sultan's Palace, still invisible from this side, hidden and private by a mass of trees. As we came towards the main mangrove I realised that the mangrove trees I had seen before were nothing compared to these trees. The roots reached out of the water 3 metres and more and the trees reached up into the forest canopy. The boat manoevred its way into small openings looking for monkeys. The roots stretched up and out towards us like hands. The young man knew where the pangolin slept and showed me him balancing precariously round a tree branch some 4 metres up. A strange creature, armour plated and only found in this area. A pangolin is a spiney anteater. It is always a priviledge to see an animal in its wild surroundings and particularly one that is not often seen by others. Many will not even have heard of a Pangolin. We heard the monkeys first, whistling to one another. They sounded like birds, possibly doves calling, but I was assured they were proboscis monkeys. We manoevered back in amongst the mangrove and looked up and there they were, in the tops of the trees eating the mangrove leaves. These leaves have very little nutrition and tends to give the monkeys pot bellies, particularly the older monkeys. The male of the species has the proboscis, a large nose. The bigger the nose, the bigger the belly, the more attractive they are to the flatter faced females. I was thrilled to see them and the second troup that we saw further along the river had a female with a baby on its belly. It was such a thrilling experience. An experience I shall have to remember because they were very difficult to photograph so high in the trees and they were very fast moving.

Second Sighting of Brunei Darussalam

Because my hotel is out of town I decided that I would spend some money on tours which would enable me to see a little of the country. Had my hotel been in Bandar Seri Begawan, I am sure I would not have seen and learned as much as I have done about this small country. Wandering around a city, although always enjoyable for me, really doesn't give you a flavour of the people and the countryside and so I set out on a visit to the countryside to see the old crafts that only a few inhabitants keep up now in this modern world and this civilised, forward looking country.

The earliest recorded mention of cloth-weaving in Brunei can be traced to Sultan Bolkiah's reign from 1485 to 1524. Magellan,the Portugese maritime explorer, visited Brunei some time during this period and his official chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, reported seeing beautiful examples of Brunei handicrafts, in particular the woven cloth. It is in fact the gold and silver threads that make up the design. The actual job of weaving thread into cloth is a complicated one and would be difficult to describe step by step.It is generally considered that a good coordination between hands, arms and feet is necessary, coupled with inordinate amounts of skill, patience and, of course, craftsmanship learned over many years of practice. The finished standard piece of cloth measures about 2.2 metres by 0.8 metres and can take anything from 10 to 15 days, and sometimes even months, to finish depending on the intricacy of the design and the speed at which the women works. The prices of the weaved cloth reflect the intricate designs and the hard work that a weaver has to undergo. Prices range from about $300 to $2,000 per piece (approx. 2 BND to the £) depending on the pattern that one chooses. The designs too have survived many centuries. I watched the skill of the women in the cottage industry shop and admired the patience I would find difficult to copy. Prices prevented me buying any material. Whoopee, some would say!

The next place was way out in the country and this was a plantation. The man grew orchid palms. Unfortunately flowers are no longer purchased very much in Brunei and market gardening for plants of this type is a dying trade. Also on his plantation were coconut palms which interestingly had lots of termite hills among the trees. These differed to the ones we saw in Namibia, these were much smaller and more rounded rather than the chimney pot type of the African termite. The weather here among the greenery was extremely hot and humid.

Next came the paddy fields. These are run by the government and people can rent the land from the government to grow rice. My guide told me that it was normally retired people who needed something to do that grew the rice. There are several types of rice in Brunei including a very small rice called laila rice and a red rice which is expensive. The rice had already been cut and they were waiting to plant again which can take place anytime, unlike India, which has two rice plantings a year. Only a small portion of the fields were flooded. Most rice growing was done mechanically with few water bufallo being used these days, although we did see some as we went on our travels.

Last but not least we went to the fish market, which was right on the coast. The beach could have been lovely, but was covered in plastic bottles. The area was full of men and fishing boats, going in and out of the small sheltered cove. I sat on a log on the littered beach, in the shade, for a while, as the sea breezes were cool, but it doesn't feel cool for long and the heat takes over again and then you know it is time to get back in the air conditioned minibus.

We then moved on and up a notch and the guide asked me if I wanted to visit the exclusive Empire Resort. I am always open to seeing as much as I can of a country and willingly agreed. From what I can gather every film star and member of royalty has stayed at this super exclusive hotel (who knows)! These people stay on the left hand side of the building in suites. The Sultan's brother, who had this resort built, had the idea that ordinary people should share in this opulence and he built some ordinary rooms on the right hand side. The inside of the reception areas is all marble and looks fantastic. There are three or four floors interconnected with beautiful staircases and escalators. We wandered around outside where there is a natural beach facing the South China Sea and a man made beach facing a pool, bar(no alcohol remember), jacuzzi etc. It was really beautiful.
But all good things must come to an end and so did the tour!

First sights of Brunei

Brunei Darussalam is a small country bordered by Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysia. It is in the islands of Borneo and so consists of mainly rainforest and this is all you can see on the flight into Brunei. Brunei has a Sultan and everything centres around this 64 year old man and his family. He has built numerous buildings, all pretentious compared to some of the living of his subjects. However, there are also many large houses around and so I have to assume that there are rich and poor in this small country. As a Muslim country there is no alcohol and no gambling, but the borders are so close that non-muslims are able to drive over the borders for their fun. Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and this name comes from the Sultan. In the 1800's the then Sultan liked cock fighting and lost most of Brunei to Sarawak, so the story goes. Brunei then was as big as Brunei and Sarawak put together.
I decided on a city tour to see what this area holds. First of all I was taken to the mosque, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, built and named after the current Sultan. It has 29 gold onion domes as there has been 29 Sultans. It is a fantastic and impressive building. Very beautiful. Anyone can come and pray here at the requisite times of the day. It is an indescribable monument to Islam, holding 2000 people. I was unable to enter unless I wore a black robe. Photos were limited.
From here I went on to the Brunei Museum which was right on the edge of Bandar. It had been opened by the Queen in 1972. This housed the history of Brunei, moving right through to its independence in 1984. To get the full effects would have taken a day to read the many interesting things in there. What was of interest to me were the animals which can only be found in Brunei, such as the proboscis monkey.
We drove then to the middle of Bandar and saw the Royal Regalia Exhibition Hall. This was built especially by the Sultan to house the royal coaches, crowns, all the gifts given to the Sultan over the years. The Sultan has 3 wives, he has just married the third wife, who is Malaysian. The other two are from Brunei, but he has divorced the second wife! How the other half live!!
Next was a stop at another Mosque in the city. This was by the river and had a 16thC replica of the royal barge by the side of it.
Lastly the visit to the outside of the palace. The Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of the Sultan of Brunei. The palace is located on a leafy, riverside sprawl of hills on the banks of the Brunei River directly south of Bandar Seri Begawan, a few miles outside the city center. Istana Nurul Iman is believed to be the world's largest residential palace of any type. Its name is taken from Arabic, meaning Palace of the Light of Faith. To be honest you couldn't see muchof it because of trees that have grown up in front of it.
Brunei is one of those random places that everyone's heard of (the sultan was the richest man in the world for a long time until Bill Gates overtook him), but no one knows where it is.
It's one of the smallest countries in the world, and it was about to be completely enveloped by Malaysia, until oil was discovered in 1929, turning this little country into one of the worlds economic powers overnight. The current Sultans father decided to throw his lot in with the British and remain under their protection instead of becoming part of Malaysia, and this is what helped keep all that oil and money in this little country.

How one man can have so much money (about $35 billion at last count) is because he shares the wealth. Brunei has a 94% literacy rate, life expectancy is 77 years (higher than Scotland) and there are free pensions for all, free schooling, free health care, free sport & leisure centres, cheap loans and no income tax. Lucky, lucky people! What a fascinating place.

Fremantle

The initial reason for me visiting Fremantle was the fact that Stan had berthed in the port of Fremantle on HMS Eagle some 40 years before. We were both interested to know if there was still anywhere that he would still recognise and if it had indeed changed. Fremantle was one of the original places in WA. It was the port that everyone coming to the area in the early 1800's came into and the harbour that Captain Fremantle claimed for the British crown. Perth was the administrative area and Guildford was the area that was developed for agriculture and growing. All three places were linked by the Swan River.
Fremantle has been restored sympathetically. All streets house buildings that have been built in the 1800's. It is now a place for tourists and yet it appears to have kept its own personality. There are many things to see and do in Fremantle and I confess I did little but wander around the main shopping areas, which were attractive with the Cappuccino strip and local market coming out top of my list! My visits to Fremantle were enjoyable but it was hot and walking became uncomfortable in the unrelenting sun. I did manage to walk along the dockside to the yacht harbour and big park alongside, an enjoyable walk, criss crossing the railway line, starting and ending with maritime museums.
I was told that Fremantle was forever changing, money was being put into the city all the time to keep it organic, artistic and interesting to the visitors as well as preserving all the original buildings for visitors to admire and have some sense and understanding of the original history of the place.

The Pinnacles

On this trip I went some 600km North of Perth. I went out to the renowned Pinnacles desert. But had lots of fun before we got there!
First of all we headed out through the Swan Valley to Caversham Wildlife Park. This is a huge park which I would like to have explored, but we were on a time limit to see the marsupials of Australia! Firstly we saw the kangaroos, brown, grey and white. The white kangaroo is not normally found in the wild, they are usually bred in captivity. These roos were all fantastically tame and as soon as you entered the paddock they came to see if you were going to feed them. It was a great experience to be able to get up close and pat the roos. I just loved it. Second we saw the wombat. This was a huge creature which was sat on the keeper's lap, pretty ugly actually and not particularly friendly. All the same it was interesting to see him, he was actually an 11 year old southern hairy nosed wombat called Big Buns. He weighed 28 kilos and was all muscle.Lastly we went to look at the koalas. These were a bigger species than the last ones that I had seen and on the whole seemed less aggressive. But it was time to move on.
We moved through the Darling ranges, small hills which were originally attached to southern Africa, along Highway 1 which is the longest highway in the world (18,500Km) to open countryside which was mainly agricultural land or bush. I had learned two things, that these vast open fields were called paddocks and that bush was actually similar to our woodland or forest. Just different names for different things. The farmers here grew mainly maize, wheat, barley, lupins and canola. We were now in the Nambung National Park.
We went to a small coastal fishing town called Cervantes. This had been named after an American whaler that had sunk off the coast in this area. What a beautiful beach we saw, turquoise sea and white coral sands, fringed with small sand dunes supporting plants that only survive this salty air, just idyllic. It was beautiful and even better was that there was no one on it. We didn't stay long but then it was so hot that we wouldn't have been able to stay out in the sunshine, safely, for very long. We had lunch in an out of the way place, a wooden hut with facilities. The ceiling inside was covered in wildflowers which had been gathered during the season and the bunches left hanging to dry out. In UK we have several flowers which are everlasting, such as Statice, but Western Australia is known for its wildflowers and it has many varieties which are shipped all over the world.
We arrived at The Pinnacles Desert soon after this. This was one of those awe inspiring places, that catch you on the hop and cause you to catch your breath. Thousands of eerie limestone pillars, up to 4m tall form the Pinnacles Desert. The moonscape scenery is made by the pillars rising out of the stark desert landscape of yellow quartz sand. The pillars are hard on the outside being made of calcrite, a mixture of calcium and lime. The Pinnacles remained relatively unknown to most Australians until the 1960s, when the area was added to Nambung National Park. The area receives over 250,000 visitors a year. A visitor precinct and interpretive centre was completed in March 2008. Despite this and because the area is so vast, the landscape is still empty of people and so you can appreciate the beauty and spiritual offerings of this place. It is thought that these pinnacles stretch all the way to Perth but as yet have not been uncovered.
The fun bit of our tour was yet to come. We began our journey back and came to Lancelin. Here the bus stopped and the driver let the pressure out of the tyres because we were about to ride the dunes. This was an experience I am not sure I wish to repeat. Not liking fun fair rides I hadn't suspected that this was going to be like one of them but from a completely different angle! The sand dunes were pure white coral and were tall and magnificent. They changed size and shape each day according to the winds. It was a desert in all senses of the word. I had to keep telling myself that this is fun and that the man driving the four wheel drive bus takes people out everyday to do this! When you are hanging vertically over a shear ledge in a bus that has already brought you from Perth and has also to take you back again, it is a different thought that goes through your head!! I suspect lovers of thrill rides would tell me different! Anyway I completed this experience and enjoyed it. Next came sand boarding, which is really like sledging down the dunes. This I missed out and just watched. Funnily enough, not because I didn't want to do it but because I had experienced climbing back up dunes in Namibia and knew how all consuming this was. Others found this out as I sat up the top and watched them have this fun. By now the sun was beginning to set and it was time to put the fun away and return to Perth much wiser for all the experiences of the day.

Scarborough and the coast near Perth

I was assured that a trip to Scarborough for fish and chips was a must. I seem to remember being told this when I was young and used to visit our Scarborough up in Yorkshire, having been since also, I remember not being able to get anything but fish and chips! It was therefore with interest that I went to Scarborough WA.
It surprised me a lot. The whole waterfront had a similar atmosphere to ours. The beach was lovely, lots of people sat around enjoying themselves and swimming. Many young folk enjoying what was a bank holiday. There were shops along the seafront, fish and chip shops in abundance, hotels and entertainment. There was even a road called Peasholm Road. Strangely one of the main places in our Scarborough is Peasholm Park. It does make you think that perhaps the connections are stronger than you initially think. Did someone come out from Scarborough, England, settle in this area and name it after their home town, call the street a familiar name and maybe later on even start up a fish and chip shop!!

Kings Park

Kings Park in Perth is one of the nicest places to be. It sits at the western end of the city and can be reached by walking - a good hike, or by the cat bus. The park is home to the botanical gardens, an aboriginal art centre, the suspended viewing platform, the outdoor stage and cinema, tea rooms and shop and the usual Anzac memorials, as well as supporting various other Australian gardens and cultural walks. Apart from the weekend when it is thronging with people, it is peaceful and beautiful and a great place to walk away your stresses, if indeed you have any in this laid back city.
One of the major attractions is the Boab Tree which came from the Kimberleys in the north and was replanted here in Kings Park. This tree is 750 years old and weighed 37 tonne. It took 7 days to get to Perth. It is the longest known land journey of a living tree of this size. The tree left the Kimberleys to a traditional smoking ceremony by the Gija people and was equally welcomed to Kings Park by the local Nyoongar people with a reciprocal smoking ceremony. It is in a magnificent position overlooking Perth City and the harbour.
Walk along a while and you come to the suspended walkway, the view here is again fantastic.
The water, the skyline and the wonderful temperature all add to the pleasure you can feel in this park shaded by the giant eucalypts. The people of Perth are proud of the war memorials in the park because they have more memorials, statues and honour avenues than any other park in Australia. There is, among others, the Court of Contemplation where the flame of remembrance within the pool of reflection burns continuously. It symbolises the promise of all Western Australians that 'We will remember them'. The walls feature the names of major battlefields. Another intersting monument is the ANZAC Bluff commemorative plaque dedicated to the 2500 ANZAC men who lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. ANZAC Day is April 25th and is a big day in Australia. It is a public holiday and is celebrated in a similar way to our Remembrance Day.

Kings Park hold little treasures at every turn, ranging from fantastic trees, to walkways celebrating women, to aboriginal stories, to a variety of parrots flying freely in the trees. It is an important scientific park for botanical research, being linked with our Kew Gardens. To date only about a third of the park has been developed.

Mulka

Legend of Mulka's Cave
The name Mulka comes from an Aboriginal legend associated with the cave. Mulka was the illegal son of a woman who fell in love with a man with whom marriage was forbidden according to their law.

It was believed that as a result of breaking these rules she bore a son with crossed eyes. Even though he grew to be an outstandingly strong man of colossal height, his crossed eyes prevented him from aiming a spear accurately and becoming a successful hunter.

Out of frustration it is said Mulka turned to catching and eating human children, and he became the terror of the district. He lived in Mulka's cave, where the imprints of his hands can still be seen, much larger and higher than that of an ordinary man.

Apparently, his mother became increasingly concerned about him. When she scolded him for his anti-social behaviour he turned on his own mother and killed her. This disgraced him even further and he fled his cave, heading south.

The Aboriginal people of the area, outraged by Mulka's behaviour, then tracked down this man who had flouted all the rules. They caught him near Dumbleyung, 156km south west of Hyden, where they speared him to death. Because he did not deserve a proper ritual burial, they left his body to the ants: a grim warning to those who break the law.

Visit to Wave Rock - onward to Hyden

Hyden is situated four hours' drive south east of Perth, via the Brookton Highway. It is in the heart of the central wheat belt area of WA.

More than 100,000 tourists visit the town every year on their way to the famous Wave Rock, which is where I was heading. Wave Rock is just four kilometres east of Hyden. The Rock is a granite cliff, 15 metres high and 110 long, shaped remarkably like a huge wave. a giant surf wave of multicoloured granite about to crash onto the bush below and truly impressive. Its rounded shape has been caused by weathering and water erosion which has undercut the base and left a rounded overhang. This happened about 60,000,000 years ago when it was exposed. Water from the springs running down the rock during wetter months dissolve minerals adding to the colouring of the wave. In 1960, some crystals from Hyden Rock were dated as being 2700 million years old, amongst the oldest in Australia.

Other natural attractions in the area include Hippo's Yawn and Mulka's Cave, both of which I visited. The Aboriginal art in Mulka's Cave is some of the best found in the southwest of Western Australia.

The area is rich in Aboriginal history: Many stone tools used by the Aborigines have been found and painted hand marks can still be seen in Mulka's cave. Sandalwood cutters are believed to have been the first white men in the area. The earliest farming was in 1922 and the descendants of these settlers still live in Hyden today. Wheat production started in 1927 and grain was carted to Kondinin until the railway from Lake Grace reached Hyden in 1932. The end of the line is now signified by a pile of earth.

Hyden also features the largest collection of lace in the southern hemisphere, which I went to see and it was actually crotchet, tatting and lace, most of which had been brought over from England by early immigrants.

Visit to Wave Rock - York to Corrigin

The day started early as I had to get into Perth for 0730 to start the journey to Wave Rock, which was a distance of about 400Km away. We were not due to return before 2030, so a long day, but I anticipated a good one and also a chance to nap on the coach at some points!! We headed out through the Darling Ranges, a range of hills that are reasonably high in Australia, but are not much higher than Portsdown Hill when you go through them. Blink and you will miss them! This takes you into orchard country where most of the apples, oranges, lemons etc are produced. Australia produces most of its own food, only importing out of season mainly from the Asian countries. From here we made our way to historic York. In 1829 53 ships landed in Western Australia full of people who had been promised land. York is ideally located only 97 km from Perth and it was the first inland European settlement in WA. It is full of really beautiful old buildings. There is little doubt that it is one of the best preserved and restored nineteenth century towns in Australia. It was first surveyed by Ensign Robert Dale in 1831 and named after our city of York in northern England. It was settled in the 1830s by farmers who concentrated their efforts on sheep and wheat with the occasional field of barley. A township did not begin to appear until 1835/36 when an army barracks and store were built and some 50 acres of land were cleared. Another cafe/coffee culture and another flat white coffee for me!
We then moved on to Corrigin about half way to our destination and had a look at the Dog Cemetery which is a tribute to Australian working sheep dogs. On the road to Quairading is the dog cemetery where loving owners have gone to the expense of having quite elaborate headstones placed over the remains of their faithful four legged companions. Thus very human looking gravestones are dedicated to 'Dusty', 'Rover' and 'Spot'. To find such a strange place outside an unassuming little wheatbelt town like Corrigin is both fascinating and a credit to the owners of the dogs.

South West of Perth

I now find myself 8km south of Bunbury, which is 2hours driving south of Perth, in a place called Dalyellup. This is some 350km south of Perth. The drive down was flat and rural with many gum trees and Pig melons. Pig melons are a wild melon found normally on the side of the road or on rough farmland. On the whole they are a bit bigger than a grapefruit and a yellowish green in colour. They have limited use as even farm animals are not keen to eat them. Paddy melons are another wild melon which sheep will eat if they are young and succulent. They were first introduced as a salad leaf, but no longer used. They grow to the size of a golf ball and can be very bitter. These wild melons begin to grow after the first rainfall at the end of the summer (January).
Bunbury has a population of about 40,000. It has a cathedral and a population of more than 30,000 and so can be classed as a city. It has a large shopping centre and some out of town shops.
The surrounding countryside is very pretty and two minutes walk from the place I am staying are Peppermint Woods. Walking through first thing in the morning is very peaceful. It is full of peppermint eucalyptus trees, squash the leaves and they smell, not very much of peppermint, but they have a strong smell. The woods lead down to a manufactured lake which has a track round for cyling, walking or running, there are children's playgrounds, areas for BBQ's,, toilets and lots of grassy banks. It is really a nice environment and along with the cooler air and guaranteed weather it makes a fantastic place to live.
If you walk further on from the lake you reach the most beautiful sandy beach. Yellow sand edged with dunes covered in dune plants able to withstand the salty atmosphere and blown by the cool sea breezes. We sat for some time on the beach as the sun set, shoes and socks off, sat on a sand ledge, feet dangling into the sea - lovely! I have to say, I came back to this beach a couple more times as it was so lovely and with the weather to go with it. The second time I went the waves were crashing and there were a lot of fisherman and families fishing along the sea edge. There must have been a few fish around as I also saw 4 dolphins swimming about 150 metres out. What a treat and I was so excited by that.
Our trip further south took us to Busselton and its jetty. This is the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. it was once a kilometre long and was built in the 1930's for unloading boats. It is slightly shorter now due to a fire and it has an underwater viewing station at the end. We followed the coast road to Dunsborough and Yallingup surf beach. Located at the northern end of the region Yallingup has bred many of the region's and world's greatest surfers. Home to a relaxed local community, Yallingup, an aboriginal word meaning "Place of Love", is a small town nestled in amongst the trees along the coast. The town itself is relatively untouched by the mass tourism visiting the region and one can still enjoy the coastline and local beaches without the crowds characteristic of the city beaches.
We then moved into wine country, everywhere there are vinyards all of which are open and plying for trade, offering meals, goods and play areas for the families on holiday in this area. It has been 40 years since the first vines were planted in the Margaret River region and already the area is recognised as one of the world's great fine wine producers. There are some 200 vineyards in the region. The first type of wine to win acclaim in the region was Cabernet Sauvignon. Today Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Semillon are also of consistently high quality and win many awards.
Along with the vines are olive farms, also making a living by offering facilities for the discerning holiday maker. Our furthest most point was Margaret River, an area for artisans and full of people on holiday. This was a bustling market town with a very cosmopolitan lifestyle, full of restaurants, gift shops and stylish shopping happily living aongside one another.
Then it was on to Cowaramup. Cowaramup is one of the northern towns of the region located 5 minutes drive north of Margaret River. Home of the Margaret River Wine Festival. Cowaramup is in the centre of the wine region, located close to the region's most prestigious wineries. There is also a beach close by called Gracetown, a beautiful secluded little bay, home to a small community of locals. Fantastic fishing, diving, surfing, snorkeling and swimming are also on hand within the protected bay with its reefs, limestone cliff faces and surf.
One last thing to mention Cowparade 2010 is well on its way. Brightly coloured fibreglass cows have been painted by local artists and are out and about in the whole of the Margaret River area. They are a spectacle and a real tourist attraction. At the end of the event the cows will be auctioned for charity - very mooving.

The Cathedrals et al

In Perth City there are three cathedrals. St Andrews which is the Scottish cathedral, this is one I couldn't visit as the storm had damaged it and it was closed due to unsafe features. It was old, possibly the end of the 19th century. There is very little in Perth that is before 1870, although Perth was settled first of all in the 1830's. The convicts built the Governor's property first and that was 1870, so most things come after that.
St Georges's cathedral is the Anglican cathedral. This looks very much like any large UK church. It is not large, but it is old. It was not particularly impressive.
However, St Mary's cathedral which is the Catholic cathedral is very, very impressive. It is modern and light and has been refurbished only a short while ago at huge cost. It had beautiful sculptures showing the story of Jesus from Pontius Pilate to rising from the dead, very impressive. I just loved it and spent some time there. It is based on a hill and also has the Convent of Mercy (1846) close by and Mercedes College which is a catholic girl's school. Both of these are attached to the cathedral. Next to the cathedral is Perth Hospital, some of this is old and attractive but most is 1960/70's. There is also the old firestation which now houses a fire museum, set up for general public and education. It was very good and the two ladies running it were very friendly and I spent a long time chatting to them. One was from England and had lived over here in Perth for 43 years, coming from Chichester! It was then on to Perth Mint. This was an impressive building, again quite old with the story of the original gold rush in Western Australia. There was a large shop in the entrance selling gold shares, jewellry and bits of gold, all well out of my price range. I spent a short time looking and then moved on to the Governor's gardens which have a limited opening. These are central in Perth and considering the area is surrounded by cars and more cars it was exceptionally peaceful and a good place to sit a while and reflect. The native trees of Western Australia adorn the countryside and make an impressive landscape. The same can be said in these gardens. Sitting in the shade of a gum tree is as good as an old oak tree! The sun shining, the huge variety of parrots squawking, the grass cool, followed by a good lunch at a local eatery, who could ask for more, except for me, my family with me!

River Canning

A tributary of the Swan River is the River Canning and this runs close to the house. It is an easy walk past the leisureplex down to it, to take the dog Tamba, a 12 year old black lab, for a walk. The nice things about waterways in Australia are the manicured walks and cycle paths that are provided for health and leisure. If you felt inclined you could walk all the way from Willetton to Perth City. The river, which is tidal, is the environment for many types of birds including black swans, pelicans and numerous types of ducks. There appear to be no white swans to speak of in WA, only black. Sulphur crested cockatoos and bright lorakeets fly around overhead. Seagulls have the same manners as in UK and woe betide if you take food to the venue, the swans are not much better. A walk of several kilometres widens the river even more and eventually it joins the Swan River. The flag of WA is the Australian flag with a circle in the bottom right hand corner with a black swan in it. The River Canning is a place to fish, both bank fishing and fly fishing and a place to canoe and row. All of these sports are popular with the people in this area.

The Esplanade

Five minutes walk south of the city centre is The Esplanade. This is a grassy area on the edge of the Swan River with shops, cafe's, the bell tower and the Perth Eye. The Swan River is pretty impressive, it is a huge area of water but apparently boats have to keep to channels otherwise they could ground as the water is not very deep. The river flows down to Fremantle and then into the ocean. More about Fremantle later.
Ferries run across the water to Mends Street, South Perth. At Mends Street is a cafe area and some other facilities, situated beautifully for an afternoon cup of tea! People will park in this area and catch the ferry over to the city, saving them driving into the city. Ferries also run to Fremantle as a pleasure trip.
The Bell Tower was Perth millenium project and didn't fare much better than the Spinnaker Tower, it was expensive and not completed on time. It loses money every year because people do not want to pay to go up it. Inside are a set of bells from St. martin in the Field in London and another set of chime bars.
I didn't even get as far as the eye (not the real name for the wheel), it is small and I would doubt that you can see very much from it as skyscrapers dwarf it less than 100 yeards away and the river is in front in all its glory, for all to see.

Perth City

Perth stretches north to south along the Swan River. Perth as a whole is about 70 km along the coast and 20 km inland up to the base of the hills. Perth city itself is not very big.The east side has the WACA cricket ground, you then move west past the Mint and the RC Cathedral into the CBD with the main shopping malls, and then onwards to King's Park. I think you could walk from one side to the other in less than an hour. There are two main parallel streets Murray Street and Hay Street, both stretch from one end of Perth city to another, also running parallel to both of these are Wellington Street and St. George's Terrace.
The former two form the main shopping streets and Central Business District. Although the streets stretch from one end of Perth to the other, the CBD is only small and covers about the same area as Portsmouth Commercial Road and is probably in total much smaller than Southampton shopping centre. Both streets interlink with one another with arcades, Carillion arcade, Picadilly arcade, The Plaza and London Court. London Court is based on a medieval style street with an old fashioned clock that strikes and a medieval knight rides round on his horse!
The centre, again, is a real cafe culture. The shops are of the same type that we would have in England albeit, some have different names. Most of the makes and styles of the retail goods and cosmetic goods are the same as in England, however, some of our cheaper makes are Australia's expensive makes and possibly visa versa, although I found everything marginally more expensive than I could buy in UK. For instance, before I came out to Oz I thought I would buy a new pair of training shoes over here as I thought not only would they be better but they would also be cheaper. That was not to be so, the same trainers are probably $30-$50 dollars cheaper in the UK.
The good thing about Perth are the cat buses. I didn't use them as I walked everywhere, but you can jump on and off these buses and they are free. They will take you to different areas of interest quickly and easily.

Shopping Centres

Australia, the same as America, shop in Malls. Most of our malls in UK are found in our city centres, most malls in Oz and USA are found outside of city centres. This makes them less easy to access. To get to shopping malls I had to rely on the people I was staying with as the easiest access was by car. It was possible by bus but not easy as a couple of buses were involved. There were two malls, Carousel and Garden City both about 15 minutes drive. The latter was the upmarket centre and the former was much more normal as far as a shopping centre was concerned! Both centres are like small towns and must both be the size of the centre of Portsmouth, including Cascades, and possibly bigger. Both have a supermarket, either Coles or Woolworths and two department stores Myers and David Jones. There are only two large supermarket chains in Oz and these have monopoly positions, competing against each other and hence making shopping for food more expensive than UK. On the whole things ARE more expensive here and I can only hazard a guess that wages are commensurate with the cost of living. Along with these main shops there are numerous chain stores, some of which we have in UK and others which we do not have, independent stores and a lot of central stalls for the smaller and cheaper seller. What I notice in all the areas in Oz that I have been to this time, are the food courts and these two shopping centres are no different. The food courts appear to be the same size as the centre of shops and the variation in choice is vast. Of course the advantage of these malls to the Australian people are that everything is indoors and well air conditioned, no having to go outside into the heat of the day. Even the car parks, although outside are protected by 'sails'. If you like shopping these are the places to visit. If you want something ordinary, these are the places to visit.
Just two minutes over the road from Lachlan Road (where I am staying) is a small centre. It has a Woolworths food store and a Big W which is an everything store, plus it has lots of other shops for everyday living, including clothes shop, Chinese massage, newsagents, health shop, post office, off licence etc. Again a variety of eateries including KFC, MacDonalds, Turkish, Japanese etc. This is very convenient and is just round the corner from the Leisureplex. It must be the size of the Fareham Shopping Precinct and very handy for a coffee and a relax! Oz certainly has a cafe culture!!

Riverton Leisureplex

Less than 5 mins walk from where I am staying is a leisure complex consisting of swimming pools, flume, gym, coffee shop, library and all the associated areas. Again, right out of my comfort zone, I took part in something that I hadn't done before, which is water walking.
2 lanes in the 1m deep pool and 2 lanes in the 1 and a half m deep pool are kept purely for walking - no swimming allowed. I haven't been in a swimming pool for years as I am no great advocate for taking a bath with a lot of people I don't know so I was naturally apprehensive when a facebook message came through to me before I left UK to say 'don't forget to bring your bathers Jane'. However, I have found it great fun, particularly when you are with a friend as you can chat as you walk forwards, backwards, side step, any which way you want. It is great exercise with lots of resistance, if you are walking for half to one hour.