Well, it's been a while..

Hello everyone, Sarah has done the blog honours the last few times and flatly refuses to do so again until I take my turn to tell our tale. Once again I'm putting off the inevitable and the list of things to write about isn't getting any shorter, so get settled in as this may take a minute or two.

To be honest, being back in work didn't increase my motivation to get on here and write and only now I am off work again until May (get in!) after doing my maximum term of six months (thank god for Australian visa rules) in school, am I finally getting round to writing a blog post. Hopefully, this will be the last moan you hear from me for a long time as my stint of employment draws to a close and the long lazy days of our own endless summer are within reach once more.


Although the intention was always to get our heads down once we hit Perth (to clear the way for more travels later this year) it was bloody hard to adapt back to the 9 to 5 grind after such a beautifully long stretch of being jobless and idle. Many times we have had the temptation to retire for good and go and live in a beach hut somewhere back in the daydream that was our simple Asian lives. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm complaining, because on reflection, we have got it very good here. In truth, work isn't that bad at all, it's just that work, any work is going to come a poor second to... well, just look at the picture.

Talking of the sun, we've had great weather here in Western Australia for the last few months, (not like on the east coast in Brisbane, the poor buggers) so we have been able to make the most of our weekends in and around Perth knowing there is zero chance of rain. As strange as it sounds, you even start wishing for the odd rain-cloud to break the monotony of perfect blue skies. I think this might also have something to do with the fact that it has been hitting forty degrees in January and February, which is too hot to do anything more than switch the fan on, lie on the bed and sweat. We are both starting to wish we had AC in our room. Still, I'd rather the heat than a chilly January in the UK.

Once again we have missed the 'big freeze' of one of the coldest winters in living memory and whilst I must say that as much as missing a proper white Christmas with friends and family is no fun, the only thing I like to be -20 c for any length of time is a freezer full of cold stubbies (beers to me and you).

PERTH and SURROUNDS


Perth is one the strangest cities I have ever known. In fact I would say that it is more of a sleepy town than a city. Even on a weekend, the city centre shuts down well before 9pm, which feels very odd after living in Manchester for the last decade. In fact, there are probably less places to get a beer in the centre than there are in our little home town of Oswestry. This is a bad comparison thinking about it as Oswestry is crammed full of pissheads and at one time held the world record for pubs per square mile. Anyway, the main drag of nightlife in Perth is just north of the city, in Northbridge, which is a bit seedy, but has a good mix of pubs and Asian supermarkets/restaurants further away from the strip.

What Perth lacks in nightlife it makes up for in sunshine (around 300 blue sky days a year). It sits on the banks of the Swan river around twenty minutes from the coast. It really isn't that big as cities go and you can easily get about on one of the three free bus routes. One of the best places to relax and enjoy the weather is in King's park, which has great views overlooking the city and the river from the highest point in the area. Whenever I can, I quite happily waste the days away here.

Lines of Vines in Margaret River

Overall, probably the best thing about this city is that within thirty minutes you can either be in the Swan valley vineyards enjoying a fine drop of the red stuff, at the beach chilling out and surfing (when I finally get round it, that is) or even out to sea watching giant humpbacks cruise past your boat on their long road back to Antartica. A little further out on the road and you have got amazing scenery and wildlife and arguably some of the best beaches in the world.

Actually, the parts of Perth we like best lie in it's surrounding suburbs and neighbouring towns. Where we live, in East Perth, we are about five minutes walk from a marina and all the mega rich people with big boats. It's very nice but can be a little bit quiet (every day is like Sunday, which can't be too bad a thing I suppose). Subiaco (where Sarah has a new job) and Leederville are two places just out of the city that have a nice vibe, but our favourite place to visit has to be Fremantle, as it has a bit of age and a European feel to the place that the rest of Perth seems to lack.



Our seventh month in Australia is fast approaching and thinking about it we have actually done a fair bit more besides work in that time. Sar has already told you about some of it, so I'll carry on where she left off...


NEW WHEELS

Barina + Offroad = Bruises

We have been busy on the car market and I have even been driving a car alone for the first time. I'm still amazed I've yet to kill anyone. Our first car we bought off our friends from home, Mark and June, who have moved over here. It was a a Holden Barina, which is basically a Vauxhall / Opel Corsa with an Aussie badge to increase sales over here (nevermind that they are built in Spain). Anyway, The Barina was a beut as a little niparound, but we needed something bigger. We have changed up and bought a big green petrol guzzling Nissan monster for our road trips north and south.

SARAH the CAREER WOMAN

Sarah has done really well and landed herself a great job with a gold mining company, which was a big thing for her having been a public sector layabout for over ten years. The private sector has hit home hard after a cushy life in the NHS (haha, she will kill me for writing that!). But seriously, she can't be doing all that bad as they have offered to sponsor her in a full time position. Which brings me onto our....

BIG NEWS

Due to Sarah's job offer and the job prospects for me in WA, it looks like we will be here for the next few years at least. We are going to put the rest of our travel plans on hold for the moment, which unfortunately means we won't be going east, making it to Fiji or New Zealand in September, although it is still going to happen a few years down the line. In the meantime we will have to content ourselves with long weekend breaks, wine tasting, beach life and fine dining. We'll manage somehow I'm sure.

All we do know is that for the moment at least we will be staying put. We are talking about renting for a year and then buying somewhere near the beach with a boat on the jetty and a few spare rooms for all you tourists!

Take Care, hope to see you when we are back for Easter.

A + S 

Here are some more photos of our adventures so far in WA:







Margaret River in December was the first big trip we tried out all our camping gear that I bought bulk off Gum Tree ( $400 bargain!). It' about three hours south of Perth and a world away from any kind of hustle. We loved it down here.

Camp Davies Hope in a lovely little campsite near Margaret River

Camp cricket

Wine tour group with Bush Tucker tours: I volunteered to try a Wichity Grub

Going

Going

Gone

Despite my face on the photo, it tasted surprisingly good

Hamelin Bay

The view from Camp Davies Hope

 We watched U2 and Jay Z in December too. Not much of a U2 fan to be honest, but the 360 show was amazing and Jay Z was spot on.

the drive in bottle bar turned Bono Bar for one night only

Light show rocket ship thingy blew us both away

 We watched the only test England lost during the ashes. We were there for the Sunday, play lasted all of 45 minutes before the Aussies skittled England. Luckily the stadium is only a two minute walk from our house.

This is the only photo we have as Sarah decided to lose our brand new camera on Christmas day after one too many.

Next big event was our second Xmas away from home. We decided to do a Traditional Aussie Xmas and headed south in the Barina for a week of camping by the beach.

Australia Day in January was one of the messiest nights we have had in a long while. We met up with some friends in the Lucky Shag on the waterfront to watch the firework display. What made it worse was that everyone had work the next day.

In the Lucky Shag

Australia day fireworks