Sorry folks, not a lot of pictures of this event. For the most part is was pretty uneventful. Everything closes down here for Xmas (and for Boxing Day on the 26th) so yesterday we stocked up on some food and had a little BBQ, and hung out at the beach. Pretty relaxing.
Rottness Island off the coast of Perth is simply gorgeous. White sand beaches. Crystal blue water. Quokkas, Pelicans & Peacocks. What more can you say? Not much. So I’ll just let the photos do the talking.
After a failed attempt to get up early enough to visit Rottnest Island, we ended up walking to Kings Park instead. The aptly named park covers over 1000 acres of land and is only a couple kilometers from downtown Perth and the Swan River.
There are hundreds of species of plants throughout the park ground from Australia as well as many Mediterranean countries.
From the eyeballus treeus…
…to the koosh ball bush…
…a swizzle thizzle thistle…
…or the bloated boab trees.
They even had plain old fashioned grass! Can you believe it!?
But not just any grass. It was some of the most perfect blades I have ever set foot on.
Perfect for a game of frisbee.
It’s good to be out of Singapore, and finally on to what I’m sure will be a much more exciting country. Australia! Oi! Oi! Oi!
There’s our trusty steed that took us to the land down under…
…under the freezing skys high above.
To the land where kangaroos roam the plains (er, sidewalks).
It’s amazing how similar the west coast of Australia is to the west coast of the United States. The weather…
…the foliage…
…the skylines.
It all feels so much like home. The only difference is the latitude & longitude.
Perhaps it also feels so much like home because of the strong connection between Western Australia and Holland. This memorial commemorates the voyage of a Willem de Vlaminghand who mapped the western coast of AU in 1697. It’s a unique dual-time piece that simultaneously tells the time in Perth and Amsterdam.
I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment.
No, not THAT moment. Eww Gross!
I’ve been waiting to witness the Coriolis force in person. To see water drain out of a toilet in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere from that of the north. But here I am, south of the equator, and what do I see? It drains in the exact same direction as the last toilet I used!
Either this toilet is broken (I blame Jay) or my elementary school teachers lied to me!
This is upsetting.