Having fun in Perth
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2005
1
23
55
Trip End
Sep 01, 2006
Perth,
Australia
Sunday, March 5, 2006
Luckily John and Jo had the first Monday off so we went to the beach in the morning for some sunbathing and took a dip in the sea - possibly the coldest dip I've had in Oz! Went to the winery for a picnic later in the day and met with some of Jo's family- all very nice. Picked up a bottle of fancy wine (the goon days are coming to an end!)
Caz and I had a couple of days recovering whilst John and Jo were at work (lots of films and chilling on the couch - finally watched "Lock Stock..." Brilliant - see what all you boys are raving about now!) It was cool to have a house (and a pet) - it was such a luxury for everything to be clean, a kitchen which actually had all the required cooking appliances, a room to myself (not sharing with 10 other people was a real novelty!) and a spotless bathroom - probably smelt better than I had for months
About to go sandboarding
! Long live hairdyers and GHD's! Even got to practice on John's pool table, although sorry to say that I'm still as rubbish as ever!After we had recovered, we spent a couple of nights in a hostel, The Underground in the first two weeks. A really fun place and great facilities! Had some great nights out and met quite a lot of people - most of them nice,some of them not so, but hey. Discovered Black Betty's (the only place to be on a Wednesday)- such a cool little club with an excellent band called 'The Smoking Section" (loved the guitarist/singer) - ended up going here every Wednesday and the first Friday when Jo joined us for a girly night. Also reunited with some people from the East coast which was cool, including Becky from Cape Trib,and Steve,Sam and Conal from Melbourne. Tried out a lot of the bars in Northbridge, including Brass Monkeys and a bar with a live singer playing some old rock, and The Dean on a Monday night. Even had a couple of nights out in Jo's heels - felt so glamorous. A brilliant place to party!
Whilst at the hostel we got to know the city and Northbridge quite well; looked through the shops, wandered around two of the art galleries, saw some"Ballet Under the Stars" and visited "The Mint" where we saw gold being poured, tried to pick up a huge gold bar worth something ridiculous and weighed ourselves in gold - actually found myself wanting to weigh more for the first time in my life
At Black Betty's
! Spent a night at a hostel in Freemantle so cue more lazing on the beach as well as a delicious meal out (went Mexican - mmmmm)and some old skool fun at the arcades. Quirky little town - would definitely revisit it,maybe on a weekend - loads of unusual shops, bars and restaurants, and great beaches.In John and Jo's free time we did loads of stuff. Went to a bbq at John's boss' house - Theatre room, swimming pool, big pool table and the comfiest couches I have planted myself on - ever! Went sailing on mini catamarans - Caz and I had one to ourselves,it was fun but we spent most of our time scared we would fall in or get whacked by the sail! John and I took a visit to The Weir, which was really interesting - on one side is a whole load of water and on the other side is a big drop. Had a really fun drive there and back - great company, great scenery and ice cream! We all played 'Bingo' one evening - I got as overexcited as the rest of the Grannies - even accidentally called out "Bingo" - oops! Sadly none of us won anything :(
Went to the "Rock It' festival, where loads of Australian bands were playing - was a really sunny day,perfect for sitting on a hill listening to bands play. Went down into the crowds as the more famous bands played including Grinspoon (Vgood)
At Margaret River
. But the higlight was Silverchair - Caz and I fell in love with the front man, Daniel Johns - Natalie Imbruglia is a lucky lady! However, the crowd was not very happy because they only played one of their classics and all their new stuff - never seen a crowd so disappointed. The mosh pit was practically still and hardly anyone (apart from the teens) was singing - oh dear! No one could believe it when they were done - everyone waited for ages thinking it was a joke and that they'd come back out and play the most famous ones, but nope, nothing. In the last week, John and Jo had time off so we did some trips outside of Perth. Went to the Pinnacles with a stop on the way to go sandboarding, which is exactly what it says it is. I was so scared - thought I would die from falling and eating sand! It was hard work climbing up the dunes especially as it was a boiling hot day - sitting at the top was a crazy view - a steep heap of snow-like sand! John was great though - tried to calm me as I started to slip. Realised it was pretty easy about two seconds into it and loved it - went round again in fact! What a fusser! Anyway... The Pinnacles are weird - very eerie. Saw them at sunset. They are basically an unexplained mass of rock formations that look like a natural graveyard - even have big crows flying around it! Spooky!
Had a day at the Freemantle Prison
At the Pinnacles
. Climbed down into the tunnels which was amazing and had a crawl around - at one part you have to row through them which was excellent. Then Caz and I had a tour around the prison - just us and another guy so got to see loads. Got told many gruesome stories especially when taking a looking in the execution room and solitary confinement - creepy, man! Some cells from the years just before it closed were covered in art work which was fascinating. Apparently quite a lot of ex-inmates come to visit - including one with a hobble... accompanied by his best friend - the guard that had shot him in the foot when he had tried to escape?! Apparently on each tour they take you on different routes, but when we came out John and Jo asked if we'd seen a particular room - we hadn't... so the smooth talkers that they are went back in to convince the guide to let us have a sneaky peek. The guide was a really nice man and agreed - so went to see this room which was tiny and covered in millions of bolts, something crazy like three bars on the windows and three doors or something, because this convict had managed to escape loads of times. Believe it or not,he even managed to escape from Freemantle! Whilst the guide was at it, he took us to a room where Dave Evans, the front man of AC/DC was kept!Also spent a night at Margaret River - went to the incredible Mammoth caves which we were able to explore without any guides, did cheese tasting (my own personal heaven), wine tasting, choclate drops tasting (they're mean at the chocolate factory and only give you tiny drops!) and soft drink (!?) tasting, bought the biggest ice cream and went horse riding
At Wagamamma's
. My horse was called Mr Clumper (surprisingly enough it wasn't a name given to him by me, Janey and SUzi!)- he was pretty cool, but you could tell he wanted to be a rebel -broke out into a little trot every now and then and wanted to eat every piece of grass in sight -he was huge (and a bit smelly - although Caz can tell you more about that as her horse was behind - hee hee)! We rode through some really beautiful landscape and passed a field full of kangaroos - bizarre! Had a stop at the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere on the way back - was a long 'un alright. After that it was definitely time for the chippy!Was really sad to go. Spent our last night eating til we nearly burst at an Italian, sharing photos,playing pool and watching our sky dives. I'll miss you John, Jo and JJ - thanks for everything! I'll be back!
So long Australia - we love you!!
Comments
Gimme more
Quality. Clumper?? Good to hear your voice, take care xx
Re: Gimme more
Oh, and it's 'here're' :)