Dec 2006

We have now arrived safely in Perth and have been so busy we have not managed to fit in an update of our blog until now!!

Perth is a beautiful city!!! We spent two days in a hotel near Kings Park - the largest park in the world. It is magnificent and has breathtaking views over Perth and the Swan River. We spent an afternoon walking round the botanical gardens and the treetop walk and sat and watched the fountains perform!!

We have also been on a tram round the city which was brilliant - gave us a good idea of where everything was and a very interesting as well as lighthearted commentary about the history of the city!! Gerry the driver was a font of knowledge - we think he must have one of the best jobs in Perth!!! We have also been to the Perth Mint, the Museum and the Swan Bell Tower (one of the largest musical instruments in the world). For a city so remote it has many of the "largest in the world" to its name!!!

We also spent an evening at Gloucester Park watching the harness racing. Very entertaining watching the horses and the tiny carriages with a rider perched on them!!! Bob did quite well at the betting, even though he didn't know to begin with what he was doing (the lady at the Tote Desk seemed to think this would be no barrier to doing well!!!). In fact he did do well (surprise surprise) and managed to win enough to pay for the evening!!

We then spent a day in Fremantle - going there by train (very quick, cheap and on time!!!) and returned by ferry - again with a commentary of what we were passing. The view as we came up the Swan River to Perth was amazing!! Fremantle was interesting, with a big working port and a harbour full of wonderful yachts. There were also two indoor markets with lots of stalls to wander round. We even found a micro brewery near the harbour and felt it our duty to sample the local produce - its a hard job but someone has to do it!!

We have also been hashing with the Bridges H3 group which meets at the local bowls club. Quite a low key hash but very friendly and welcoming. They are having their 800th run next week and have invited us along to the run and the celebration meal afterwards!!

Having spent several days exploring Perth we are now on our way down south to visit Margaret River, its wineries (once again, we will feel obliged to sample the local produce to keep you fully informed!!!), and the local caves!!!

More to follow!!

Sorry to all our readers for the lack of communication, but we have been on the road and to the back of beyond - literally!!! Uluru (or Ayers Rock) is in the middle of nowhere!! We arrived from Sydney and booked into our hotel in the morning, had a wander around the complex and our first view of Ayers Rock in the distance. For the evening we had booked the Sounds of Silence Dinner where we were taken into the Outback and wined and dined (again!!) watching the sun set over the Rock. It was another spectacular evening and even though it was cloudy we managed to see and have a talk about the night sky as well.

We were back to our hotel by 11.30pm, but then up again at 4am (for those of you who know Jan well you will know what a struggle this was!!!) for the sunrise!!! We were again taken to a viewpoint and watched the sun rise with breakfast cooked over a camp fire. We were then taken up to the Rock and given a tour and history of the area. All extremely interesting and spiritual.

It was then back to the hotel for our transfer to the airport and flight to Perth, arriving early evening just in time for a swim and dinner before collapsing into bed to catch up on our beauty sleep.

Just a quick update to say we have made it the 1200km down to Sydney. Unfortunately internet access is not so readily available, so you will have to wait until we reach Perth for a full update!!! Suffice to say we have eaten and drunk well on our way, including a tour round five wineries in the Lower Hunter Valley 150km north of Sydney, including lunch at a brewery!!! Famous names nearby were Lindemans, Rosemount and Tulloch, but we went to the smaller boutique wineries which proved to be very interesting. We are now off to Uluru and Ayers Rock and again we are not sure of internet access, so watch this space!!!

PS: Just because we are not there, the cricket seems to be going well!!!!