Potpourri, Odds & Ends, and Bric-a-Brac

The month of May was a mixed bag of new and old experiences.  Our Australian adventures continued a little closer to home in Harvey as we caught up on some rest from our busy, busy Easter break.

We are impressed with the early education system of Western Australia,  as our two sons turn down Saturday morning cartoons to get in another game.

Out perch fishing at Harvey dam after school one smoky day.  None for me :(

The boys have been invited to two birthday parties of classmates so far.  Aussie b'days are full of sweets and treats, cake, face painting, fairy bread (white bread with margarine and coloured sprinkles), pass the parcel, and hip hip hooray after the Happy Birthday song.  Spot the butterfly and the owl (with eyes open/ eyes closed). 

Parliament House of WA visit.  A staff member ask if I was interested in giving a talk about my exchange and my home province of Saskatchewan for the local Rotary Club.  I said I would and as a bonus I also got the opportunity to go the the capital, Perth, for a tour of Parliament House with the Rotary Club. We were toured around by the local politician and had a wonderfully tasty meal in a room reserved for dignitaries.  A special surprise was when the premier, Colin Barnet ate with us.  So I can say I met the premier of WA, but have no photographic proof, as shortly after I snapped the pic of the state's emblem, the black swan, in the hardwood timber flooring the security guards brusquely asked that no cameras be used inside.

FOOTY

Every country has a sports passion and Australia is no exception.  It is Aussie Rules Football!

The Exchange Teachers Club organized for us to watch a professional AFL game;  Fremantle Dockers vs. St. Kilda (from Melbourne, Victoria) at the Subiaco Oval in Perth.  Along with some  35 483 fans, we cheered on the home team on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon.
End Score
Dockers 56 - St. Kilda 102

The game has evolved from its origins in Gaelic football from Ireland to it's own professional Australian League. The purpose of the game is to kick the football through the middle upright posts to get 6 points - called a goal.  If you miss the middle uprights, but get the football through the outside post it is worth one point.  Tackling and rough play are an essential part of the game.  Hand passes are punched, not tossed.  Players can run 15 steps before bouncing the ball.  Players (and referees) are super fit because they run, run, and run up and down the 200 metre oval playing field.  Kicking can also be used to pass, score or get rid of the ball.  Marking is where you cleanly catch a kicked ball  (usually by jumping higher than your opponent). You then you get an open kick from your marked spot, hopefully through the posts.

http://www.afl.com.au/video/tabid/76/default.aspx#playvideo#playvideo#playvideo
To see the first quarter of the game click on the AFL website to view live footy in action.

Collin and Becky - self-potrait in the stands.  Chaos and Poety in Motion - Aussie Rules Football.

We loved the game, it was unfortunate that the home team was soundling beat by the visitors.  Great seats - fourth row from the front and 26 degrees in the sunshine.

 Dockers player kicking a goal; above the St. Kilda player is the ball.  The four posts to gets your points.

Sorry for the quality.  Our camera is not the greatest for video taking, but it does get the atmosphere of the stadium right.  The second video has a goal attempt and you can see the ball hitting the posts.

 A special thank you to our next-door neighbours for being with the boys for they day.  Caleb and Jackson are already asking when we will go away again so they can hang out with the girls!

Rottnest Island

http://www.rottnestisland.com/en/pages/Home.aspx
Link to the Rottnest Isalnd Website.

Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island is Perth's beach island getaway.  We did a day trip back in January and soon realized that it wasn't enough time to explore.  The 45 minute ferry leaves Fremantle 10:00 am and leaves the island at 4:00 pm.  With so much to do and see we knew that when our parents came during Easter holidays that we would have to spend the night to get the full effect.  We stayed in one of the Governor Cottages on the old army barracks turned youth hostel grounds.  Great spot to spend the night.  Our cottage had 9 single bunks (oops, we forgot our own bedding, but lucky woolen blankets were in the wardobes) a bathroom, kitchen and dining room... and plenty of quokkas. 

QUOKKA, Quokka, quokkas... are everywhere!  These little marsupials in the wallaby/ kangaroo family were once mistaken by Dutch explorers in the 17th century for rats, hence the name ROTT (rat in Dutch) NEST Island.  History bit - the island was also used as an aboriginal prison, army barracks and WW 2 lookout, salt store, lighthouse for navigation, and vacation destination for more than 100 years.

The first day we took the bus that loops the island.  The island has a whopping total of 60 beautiful and diverse sandy beaches.  Great for a swim/ surf/ body board or sun bathing  or even snorkelling over the reefs. No personal cars are allowed on the island, so bicycles are king!  We hired (rented) a family of push bikes (pedal bikes) to go for our own tour.  Boys were very proud of their bikes and were sad to give them back.

 Clockwise from top left to bottom left. 

1. Biking around the island was fantastic!  2. Army barracks was used up until the 1980's.  3. Reefs and rugged shore line with contrasting colours. 4. Great views from a lookout hill over looking a few salty inland lakes and lighthouse.

  

Big Elephant Rocks to Big Gloucester Tree

Elephants Rocks & Greens Pool near Denmark, Western Australia. 

On  calmer days the beach is full of people, but the swells were up and the surf was rough.  It is still a magical place.  We came to this spot via a wooden staircase leading to a narrow (arm span width) gap between two rock walls.  The boys and I had to time the water coming in and out in order not to get wet.  Unfortunatley, nobody told Becky or Pa this and they got soaked up to their knees.  (Note:  We are posting the last half of our Easter Vacation pictures a little late.)

Denmark tours included a petting zoo - complete with animals not native to Western Australia!?

Like, koalas (native to Eastern states), foxes (Europe), bison (North American) , alpacas (South America), llamas, camels (Africa/ Asia), Scottish Highland cattle, guinea pigs, chickens, pigs, and the list goes on.  After all, Australia is a multi-cultural country and accepts all sorts animals (and people) of many origins into their cultural mosaic.

Grandpa Walker gets his wish - to pet a Victoria/New South Wales/ Queensland Koala.

Other Denmark tours include a meadery (honey wines) and scenic highway. 

A little further down the road - a scenic viewpoint.  Up the hillside looking out towards Walpole Bay.  We stayed one night in a cabin along the shores of Walpole Bay.

Giant Tingle Trees.  A type of eucalyptus tree native to the forests of the southern coast.  These trees are giants!  Up to 100 metres tall, tingles are the third tallest trees in the world playing in the same field as the redwoods and sequioas.  They live for hundreds of years surviving droughts and forest fires.  Often hollowed out by fire/ growths/ decays/ and damage - as long as tingle trees have some root system left they will continue to grow to great heights.

TREE TOP WALK  - Between Denmark and Walpole

One of WA's top tourist attractions.  The Tree Top Walk was built so visiters could come upclose to nature without the damage that constant fooprints/ tire tracks cause.  The gently climbing catwalk takes you up to the canopy of the forest.  Fantastic views, a little freaky when it began to sway and swing in the wind and bounce with walkers behind us, but so worth it.  Wonderful forest board walk explaining the difference between Karri, Marri, and Tingle trees.  All are tall eucalyptus trees sought for their beautiful hardwood.                                                  

                                                        Grandma Hughes ponders the amazing view as the grandkids run on.

Historic Pemberton Hotel and Pub

What unites us?  Is it sitting in a pub in another Commonwealth country, with my children and my parents, drinking Aussie ale, whilst watching the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate with a bar full of loyal royal spectators cheering on Sir Elton, Becks and Victoria, the Queen and laughing at the cousins  'hats'?   Had to laugh, because when will it ever happen to us again?

Click on the picture to see the Queen arriving on the TV.

Pemberton steam trains of old.  But, today we'll travel on a diesel tram.

Trestle bridge crossing.

Pemberton Tramway Tour.

Albany's Whale World



http://www.whaleworld.org/

 Albany has had a long history with whaling. Starting back in the early 19th century whalers hunted southern right whales, humpback whales, and sperm whales (picture on rightside) to near extinction.  Whales were processed into an abundance of products - lamp oil, transmission fluid, ambergrise in perfumes, fertilizers, meat for animal and human consumption, baleen products, cosmetics, aircraft engine oil, ivory and bone products.  The last company ceased operations in 1979 and now the facility is an outdoor museum.  The old oil storage tanks are now turned into 4 theatres with 4 distinct visual presentations - 3D whale movie, sharks film on a thin screen with artifacts behind, a whaling story watched on the floor, and a unusual spectravision with stationary pieces and 3D talking hologram narrators.  Well worth the visit which included a hour long tour guide walk and talk.

A Canadian connection - explorer Captain George Vancouver set ancor in Albany bay in 1791. 

In the background the whaling ship - Cheynes IV.

Below are some photos from around the whaling station from top right moving clockwise:

1. A baby Blue Whale skeleton.

2.  The water front dock where whale carcasses where pull from the sea and onto the flensing deck.  A little rock spit a few hundred metres off shore that was used to tie the whales to until the previous whale was processed was a shark haven.  Shark hunters would sometimes see up to 200 sharks feasting on the bloody carcasses floating. 

3.  Heavy machines and derricks used to lift whale and cut them up (flensing).

4. A stinking, bloody place during flensing and boiling down of blubber into whale oil.

Kojonup to Albany

Aboriginal Dreamtime Art

During our two week vacation break the Walker clan +3 grandparents rented a van, piled in and drove all over southwestern Australia.
Kodja Place - Kojonup is an awesome stop-over town on the four hour drive to Albany.  The wheat and sheep town has a fantastic play park, rose garden maze, and fabulous museum.  According to our vacation director Becky Walker,  "The wealth of information and the personal stories of the residents made this museum very unique and the interactive displays were a lot of fun for the kids".    The museum had local sports, school, aboriginal history, British and Italian immigrant history, old time tools, artifacts, etc..
Visit: http://www.kojonupvisitors.com/

Caleb driving the school bus, then taking a rest on some roo skin covering stumps.

Jackson peeking out of a traditional Aboriginal hut.

Vacation Director, Becky amongst the roses.
 

Albany, WA

The big trip of the break was 5 day 4 nights away along the southern coast and interior forests.  Two nights in Albany was not enough and we hope to return before the year is up.  Albany is a nice-sized regional city (pop. 25000 -30000) set in the rugged coastline of the Southern Ocean.  Rolling green hills, islands, sea life, beaches, historic downtown, whaling/ANZAC/convict/settler history and true coastal beauty.  It rains a lot more here and you can tell with the lushness of the surrounding area.  We also had periods of rain during our stay, but that did not stop us from checking things out.

Aussie Pelicans - the size of Jackson

The Southern Ocean - next stop ANTARCTICA!

Spectacular southern coastline.

Beautiful, powerful and dangerous. The picture above is of the Natural Bridge and below is called The Gap.  The day we walked out it was windy and wild, the tides were up with 3 metre swells.

Caleb's 6th Birthday

     Jumping back a bit, our Caleb turned a big six years old in April.  His Australian birthday wish was to pet a Koala, so the week before his birthday we had headed to Caversham Wildlife Park to do just that.

Eleven & a 1/2 Things We Did Over The Easter Weekend

1. Visited Dolphin Discovery Centre in Bunbury. 
Petted starfish, watched a dolphin video in a 360 degree theatre, but no real dolphins sighted.

   

2. Pa's Parenting Tip - Hang child over mangrove swamp until he squirms.



3. Spotted Roo's on the way home.  Close to 100 on both sides of the road.

4. Window shopped for outrageously expensive bananas.

5. Becky found her Aussie man - he doesn't ever talk back and listens intently to her every word.  Meanwhile, Collin is 'holding up the fort' at the 'MAN'grove swamp in Bunbury.

  



6. Bussleton Jetty - Almost 2 kilometres in length.  Can you see the end?



7. Played Safe on a big old tree.

8. Grandpa and Grandma Walker got lost at the Yallingup Maze.

 

9. After a sunset picnic we dipped our feet at Yallingup Beach.

10.  Went on an Easter Egg hunt.  Ate lots of chocolate as you can see! 

 

 

11.  Bet the house at the Harvey trots (harness racing).

11 1/2.  Caleb lost his first tooth (two weeks prior).