It's been a wonderful couple of weeks with mum and Bob over. We're very sad to see them leave but very excited to be seeing everyone when we come to the UK in June/July!
Mum, I hope you feel better soon. Anna is proudly telling everyone that she gave you her cold!
xxxx
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Boat trip from Perth to Freemantle
On Sunday we had a quiet day after the off-roading (well, we tried to make it a bit more chilled) and went on a boat trip from Perth to Freemantle (Freo) down the Swan River. It's a 45 min trip each way. Attached are some photos of the approach back into Perth.
In the evening we had a BBQ back at ours and all the family came (Bea, her daughters and respective family). It was a great evening. The photo is of mum and Bea. I'm sure that she'll kill me for posting her photo ....
Today (Monday) I took mum and Bob to the airport so they could catch their flight to Sydney. We are missing them already but planning the trips out when they return!
The Pinnacles Desert
On Saturday Nige and Bob went off-roading up to the Pinnacles Desert. The Pinnacles Desert is 245 km north of Perth and is basically a desert of sand and huge, bizarre limestone formations that project out of the ground). Some formations are several feet tall, others the size of a finger. The current theory is that the Pinnacles are slightly harder columns of limestone that formed around tree roots that penetrated deep into limestone formed within ancient sand dunes. Water is always active in limestone and calcite is thought to have been preferentially deposited near these roots. When the softer limestone was eroded away, the columns remained. (There is an older theory that the Pinnacles are the result of calcification of tree stumps from an ancient forest, once covered in sand and now exposed by shifting dunes.) Who knows?
Anyway, I let Nige write about the trip but here are some photos in the meantime (oh, they also managed to go quadbiking whilst they were there ...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Everyone has arrived safely!
Mum, Bob and Brian arrived at Perth airport safe and sound, if not a little crumpled! Having picked them up, the first thing that we saw when leaving the airport were a group of about 10 kangaroos. We're not sure if the kangaroos are shipped in every night by the tourist board for the new arrivals into Perth, or whether they were really wild ones! Back in the car Anna didn't draw breath when she was speaking to grandma and back at home she got every game out she p
ossesses for them to play with!
The next couple of days were spent taking it easy and familiarising with Perth. At the weekend we went to Hillary's boat harbour and then to visit Bob's niece and family in Butler. Butler is a very new suburb north of the river. There's lots of development and building, but the suburb looks very new, clean and aspirational!
Nige got a chance to try out our new camera and took some photos of Anna underwater in their pool. We decided to get a new camera (shockproof and waterproof) after I dropped it for the tenth time and broke it...
We also went down to Mandurah on Sunday. Mandurah is about a 45 minute drive south from Perth. It's considered the "marine playground" of Western Australia and is noted for its waterways and holiday atmosphere. It's very much a "seaside" town, with protected waters, beaches, fishing and crabbing. We spent a few hours on the beach and had a swim. It's the first time that I've actually been in the sea since being here! Even though we were all wearing factor 30+ sunscreen, we all managed to catch the sun. It really is much stronger here (probably because the huge hole in the ozone layer above us!).
Whilst here, we managed to watch two bush fires starting and taking hold. They really are scary when they start and there's very little you can do to prevent them. As we are in a drough, lots of the lakes have dried up and makes putting them out all the more problematic. Nevertheless, the excellent fire crews soon had them under control.
Nige and Bob managed to get tickets to see the rugby in Subiaco, but I'll let Nige write about that as I'm not even sure who were playing ...
On Monday was Anna's first day back at school, she has gone into pre-primary (full-time). She now wears a uniform, which she's very pleased about. She has 5 weeks of half-days, mixed with full-days before she starts full-time in earnest.
Yesterday mum and Bob had a visit to Rockingham, which is a town about 40 minutes drive south of Perth. They also went into Fremantle.
Rockingham is another seaside resort and has a high concentration of expats. It's a very relaxed place, with sandy beaches, good cafes and a flurry of new building work.
Today, mum is meeting with Bea (I should think a trip to the shops may be in order) and Bob and Brian are going back into Fremantle to visit the prison (no, they haven't done anything wrong. It's the old prison back from when the convicts were bought over) and maritime museum in Fremantle. Should be a good day!
ossesses for them to play with!
The next couple of days were spent taking it easy and familiarising with Perth. At the weekend we went to Hillary's boat harbour and then to visit Bob's niece and family in Butler. Butler is a very new suburb north of the river. There's lots of development and building, but the suburb looks very new, clean and aspirational!
Nige got a chance to try out our new camera and took some photos of Anna underwater in their pool. We decided to get a new camera (shockproof and waterproof) after I dropped it for the tenth time and broke it...
We also went down to Mandurah on Sunday. Mandurah is about a 45 minute drive south from Perth. It's considered the "marine playground" of Western Australia and is noted for its waterways and holiday atmosphere. It's very much a "seaside" town, with protected waters, beaches, fishing and crabbing. We spent a few hours on the beach and had a swim. It's the first time that I've actually been in the sea since being here! Even though we were all wearing factor 30+ sunscreen, we all managed to catch the sun. It really is much stronger here (probably because the huge hole in the ozone layer above us!).
Whilst here, we managed to watch two bush fires starting and taking hold. They really are scary when they start and there's very little you can do to prevent them. As we are in a drough, lots of the lakes have dried up and makes putting them out all the more problematic. Nevertheless, the excellent fire crews soon had them under control.
Nige and Bob managed to get tickets to see the rugby in Subiaco, but I'll let Nige write about that as I'm not even sure who were playing ...
On Monday was Anna's first day back at school, she has gone into pre-primary (full-time). She now wears a uniform, which she's very pleased about. She has 5 weeks of half-days, mixed with full-days before she starts full-time in earnest.Yesterday mum and Bob had a visit to Rockingham, which is a town about 40 minutes drive south of Perth. They also went into Fremantle.
Rockingham is another seaside resort and has a high concentration of expats. It's a very relaxed place, with sandy beaches, good cafes and a flurry of new building work.
Today, mum is meeting with Bea (I should think a trip to the shops may be in order) and Bob and Brian are going back into Fremantle to visit the prison (no, they haven't done anything wrong. It's the old prison back from when the convicts were bought over) and maritime museum in Fremantle. Should be a good day!
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