Hot, hot, hot ...

Yesterday was "Australia Day" and the temperature was HOT! The newspapers recorded it as the hottest day for a number of years, reaching 42C!

Australia Day is hotly anticipated in WA (more so than New Year's Day it seems). Each year, the celebration becomes even more spectacular and this year they had over 400,000 people along the banks of the Swan River to watch the fireworks. There was not only fireworks but high-tech lasers, all synchronised to Australian-themed music. People seemed to set up camp in the early morning, spending the day playing cricket and football, with their obligatory BBQ and beers! There was also an airshow and entertainment on throughout the day.

We didn't make the celebrations as we were invited around to a friend's house for a BBQ and a dip in their pool (friends from Newcastle who Nige used to work with - it's a small world!).
It was a great day, very chilled and relaxing. Perfect for a Bank Holiday!

(This morning we went and bought a portable air-conditioning unit as it was so hot in the night - still 35C at 11pm. Poor Mol went out for her walk in the evening and nearly spontaneously combusted...)

Ray Mears Bushcraft - "Lets Offroad!"

Well thanks to everyone who contributed to my Xmas pressie, it was in fact a weekend offroad course.....and it was great!. It consisted of a day of sand/desert driving , a night out in the bush then a day of rocky terrain. It was all using you own vehicle so a few nervous faces were about on the Saturday morning when we met up at a service station on the edge of Perth...how much resale value could you scrub off your car in one weekend! Rest assured the guy who was running the course (a mid 50's true blue outback Aussie, kind of a mixture of bush tucker man and the late Steve Erwin!) started us of gently and assured we 'shouldn't' damage the cars, if anything he kept encouraging us all to give it some more beans! I took the hint and had a real good blast around the sand after learning about tire pressures, recovery methods, snatch straps and loads more. As ever, I managed to pick the hottest weekend so far in Perth this summer with forecast temps to hit 40! We used a large sand 'bowl' surrounded by dunes for the entire day which was boiling to say the least, even with aircon on in the car, as soon as you got out to let the tyres down or something the heat really hit you.


That said the car performed great and had more than enough power to blast up the dunes in a 'controlled' way!

After a long day, we set up camp out near a place called York about 100kms from Perth (and not a Minster or train station in sight!). No open fires as it was summer bush fire season, and it didn't cool down to be bearable in the tents anyway until about midnight! Twas a tad warm to say the least and I didn't need my 4 season sleeping bag. I did use the Optrex hip flask though Ade....thanks to again to the Sheffield Posse.



Sunday was us driving all day through the bush, sand, rocks, deep ruts...the lot! We ended on the Mundaring Power Line Track, a popular route for local 4x4 clubs, which had plenty to test driver and car, a few scraping noises from the bash guards under the car got the heart going a few times, but no damage. It was top fun though and really tested the car out, I reckon I'll give in before it does....After two days of 8hrs offroad driving a day I was well pooped though!



Anyway I now feel prepared for a bit more bush adventures.... Nadine reckons she should do the course as well!

Visit up "North" to Yanchep National Park

On Saturday night we held a "Curry Night" and had some friends over for some food. There was three couples with their children. We decided to do a curry night as it was a change from the BBQ and I also wanted an excuse to make some veggie food that I could eat!!

I spent the afternoon cooking curries! We had:

1. Pea and paneer curry
2. Chickpea curry
3. Chicken korma
4. Beef madras
5. Yogurt and mint raita
6. Indian breads

and for starters:

1. Poppodoms
2. Chutneys
3. Pickles

I enjoyed all the cooking and it was a great night! Of course, no-one took any photos ... The night drew to a close when it got dark and the mosquitos made an appearance.

Beforehand I took Anna to Piney Lakes which is the park over the road from where we live. It's the park where I had previously seen a snake, a bob-tailed lizard and a long necked turtle. This time I didn't have Mol with me and we could go to the area with the lake and the children's playground (much more civilised). The photos below are from there.

On Sunday we decided to go for a drive and head north. Mainly so Anna could have a little sleep in the car as she had a late night last night. To go north we have to cross the Swan River and Perth city centre. I took a couple of photos so you can get an idea of the area of the trip. We then headed up the freeway and drove through Ocean Reef and ended up at Yanchep National Park. It tends to be north of the river (NOR) where all the Brits that come over to Perth end up settling. The majority of the suburbs are new and still being built. They are also close to the ocean. You tend to buy land packages here, which is a plot of land and then build your own house. You have the option of choosing a house style that has already been designed and using the company's builders, or you are free to do what you want. You can only drive for about 1 hour north before you hit bushland and the development stops. Perth is that small. Of course, new land packages are springing up all the time and eating into the natural bush area.







We had never heard of Yanchep National Park before we saw the sign for it and it was gorgeous. It reminded us a little of the National Trust parks back in the UK. There was a lovely lake there, a tea room, two caves to visit (I know bizarre ... ) and an koala area.




Oh ... I also came across my first Huntsman spider today. I put my hand in the clothes peg basket to get a peg to hang the washing out and this monster crawled on my hand ... not nice!

And now for something different ..

Would you be interested in some information about Perth? You know, pics of the suburbs, beaches, what the city is like, shopping etc etc.
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Visit to Mandurah

This weekend we had a drive south and stopped at a beach in Mandurah. Mandurah is an hour's drive from Perth and is very much a "new" town, with lots of building work and new estates being built around the huge estuary. It's really beautiful.

The beach was lovely, very sandy and not busy! Nige wanted to drive the car (4x4) on to the sand but I told him to wait until after he has done his off-road course! I couldn't see Anna and I digging it out!

We spent the afternoon on the beach and it was really great, reminded us of what we had come to Australia for! I of course managed to burn my face even though I was wearing factor 40 sunscreen, glasses and a hat. It didn't feel that hot and there was a good breeze blowing ... in fact, it felt very much like Duridge Bay in Northumberland ... well, perhaps if you squinted ....

Molly update: She has had a reaction to her normal food and is now on another restricted diet of horse (I know... it's horrible), sweet potato, pumpkin and lentils. We have (another) visit at the vet this week. How I wish we had pet insurance ...

The start of the New Year

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!

I know the photo doesn't show that Molly's happy but she's had some good news! She has been back to the vets for her allergy testing (I know ... we are always there), and they have announced that she hasn't a pollen, dust, grass, insect etc. allergy. Which is great news! They think it must be food related, so we are allowed to now feed her her old diet. If she allergic to anything in her diet, she will show her allergy symptoms pretty much immediately. Then it's back to the kangaroo, which I secretly think she loves! Well, which dog wouldn't like a joint of meat, gravy and veg each meal!

She still has to take her epilepsy tablets for another couple of weeks and then we are back to the vets for a revisit (again!). She was having a seizure every 2/3 weeks. Sometimes 2 seizures a day. Hence, the medication. The tablets have made her a bit more drowsy (she didn't need to be sedated for her allergy testing) but it's much better than her having a seizure, which is very very scary, especially for Anna to see. Having a siesta isn't that bad for her either.

Nige and I celebrated in the usual style, pizza and beer ....

Over the Christmas hols Nige took Anna to Adventureland where these pictures were taken. It's like a version of Alton Towers but with swimming pools and water slides. They type you get on holiday. She loved it and even went on some of the rides on her own as Nige was too big. (Anna is sat at the end of the ride in the pic).

A big thank you to everyone that has left comments (go on Louise, give it another go ...). They are great to read!

I am also really getting into Emmerdale, which is a little sad I know. I do miss the rolling hills and countryside. Walking Mol in a park is just not the same as hiking around the woods!

We had the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen on the outside of the patio doors recently. I kid you not it was the size of a small child....

Anyway, must do some work... I'm (suppose to be) creating a help file for a web based GPS application ...

New Year

It was Tyrone's birthday on New Year's Eve and so we went around to Jane and Tyrone's house for a BBQ with the rest of the family. We stayed for a couple of hours and then went around to our friend's house, Mary and John, for a get together. We stayed and had a few drinks and then went home at about 10ish.

It was nice to get home, open a bottle of champagne and watch some TV (apart from the fact that Australia TV is absolute rubbish!. We ended up watching UK TV and Only Fools and Horses!)