We have just flown to Perth from Sydney to visit our friends Mel and Ryan, who we had met while traveling in Vietnam. We have traveled almost the length of Vietnam with these guys and at the end of our journey Ryan had proposed to Mel. Their engagement party was the week before our arrival in Perth.
Mel and Ryan pick us up at the airport and take us back to their place. It is early afternoon and we settle into a proper Aussie barbque in their back yard. They also have a very friendly chocolate lab named Bronson. It feels good to be staying in a house and to be eating home cooked food. After polishing off some steaks Mel and Ryan take us out for a drive around Perth. We head over to a park which overlooks the city. Perth is a beautiful place. The city sits right on a river. We have a good stroll around the park. It is ANZAC day which is a holiday to observe Australian and New Zealand military men and women who have died in combat. The park we are visiting has a sizable memorial that is well decorated with flowers. We stay until after dark and then make a visit down to the river. One of Mel and Ryan's friends is lucky enough to have an apartment right by the river. She treats us to wine and we take a quick walk by the water. We eventually retire back to Mel and Ryans for beers and a game of pictionary. Aussie pictionary. There were all kinds of words in their version of the game for which we had no clue.
Sample Aussie Pictionary card and a shot of Ryan, Mel and I in the thick of the action
What the hell is a "Outback Dunny"?
The following day Mel and Ryan took us to a Kangaroo/Koala park. This place was kind of like a zoo except the animals weren't caged, you could stroll around and even pet most of them. It was quite fun, and we were happy, because you can't go to Australia and not see some kangaroos and koala bears. At the front gate you buy bags of animal feed and then wander through different sections of the park feeding the animals. We spent a good amount of time with the kangaroos.
What a rough life
What a lazy bunch these guys are. They just lounge around all day. Most of them would let us pet them and scratch behind their ears. There were two different types of kangaroos that were mixed together. Some were great red kangaroos and some were a smaller type that I can't remember the name of.
Another highlight of the park was the koalas. These were kept in their own special enclosure. They sleep most of the day away as well but we paid a little extra for Chrissy to be able to hold one of them.
These guys are as soft and cuddly as you would expect.
Other animals that were around included a bunch of lamas, some funky Australian lizards, and a good sized bird sanctuary. Outside of the bird enclosure there was a sign warning you to enter at your own risk. The birds weren't shy. There was one particular bird called a Galah that took a liking to Ryan and I. It would sit on our should as we walked around and would happily switch to one of us or the other. The funny thing was that it didn't like the ladies at all. The crazy thing attacked both Chrissy and Mel. We would try to get it to sit on their shoulder, which it would, but then it would bite them. This bird actually ran them out of the enclosure.
This bird was evil
After finishing up at the park we met another Aussie friend (also named Mel) for drinks and dinner. Preversly, I had a kangaroo steak for dinner. Its one of those things that you are supposed to try. Tasted pretty lean, as you would expect. Was good, but I won't be giving up beef anytime soon.
The next day we took relatively easy. A bit of shopping in the morning at the local mall, which is basically like any mall you see in the states. I got a much needed hair cut to fix up the mess some Vietnamese barber made of my hair in Siagon. That evening we went down to the Perth water front and had some beers and chow. We had been seeing crazy large birds everywhere we went in Australia and down by the water was the biggest pelican we had ever seen. Nuts.
Aussie sized pelican
The next day was the cornerstone event of our Australian adventure. A wine tour. Our second friend Mel had set up for all of us and some of their other friends to get on a bus and do an all day wine tour in the Swan Valley. The valley is a major wine producing area of Australia and is only an hour or so outside of Perth. We have a fantastic day. The wines are excellent and the weather is beautiful. The bus just takes us from one winery to another, we do a tasting and move on. We were responsible (even with the bus) and didn't get too liquored up.
The wine tour group sitting down to a tasty lunch
After a hard day of sipping wine we got back to Mel and Ryan's house and Chrissy turned in for a nap.
My lovely wifes 30th birthday is fast approaching at this point. I had been conspiring with our friend Katherine for months to work out the details of her making a surprise visit for Chrissy's birthday. It worked out that Katherine would be joining us in Perth. This was a crazy journey for Katherine. She was coming for only a little over a week but was flying all the way from the states to Perth via Sydney and then would be continuing on with us to Hong Kong. Anyways, so while Chrissy was napping Ryan and I went and picked up Katherine who had arrived a short time before. We took Katherine back to Mel and Ryan's and had her non-chalantly go into the room where Chrissy was sleeping and wake her up.
Katherine and a very confused Chrissy
That night we do some serious bar hopping in the Perth pub district. Aussies like themselves some beer.
The following day we head down to the ocean to get a look. It is a bit cold for swimming or sun bathing but the surfers are out in force. The beaches near Perth are some of the best surfing in the world. I wouldn't mind giving surfing a go at some point. Not this trip though. We wander around a boardwalk down by the beach and have some beers while watching Aussie "Footie". Footie is kind of a mix between ruby and European football.
Our last day in Perth Mel and Ryan needed to return to work so Chrissy, Katherine and I did a bit of sightseeing on our own. We wandered around town and took a ferry across the river. Some big geese didn't mind getting their picture taken.
Three silly birds
After work Mel and Ryan drove us over to the other Mel's house and she cooked us all a fantastic dinner. We had roasted lamb with a fresh mint sauce, baked pumkin, lots of wine. Mel and Ryan brought a delicious cake for desert. The name escapes me, but it was a light egg white based cake (kind of like angel food cake) covered in fresh fruit. It was awesome.
Our Australian friends took very good care of us. They must come to Texas so that we can attempt to return in kind. We even got parting gifts.
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After saying goodbye to our friends we caught a late over night flight back to Sydney.
Back in Sydney we would cram in a full day of sightseeing. We arrived very early in the morning so had a complete day. We managed to:
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Hit the Opera House
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Climb the Sydney Harour Bridge Pylon
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Visting the Botanical Gardens
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Lay out on Bondi Beach
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Do a coastal walk
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Hang out at Katherine's hotel in the evening
After all this Chrissy and I catch a flight to Hong Kong that evening and Katherine will join us on a different flight the next morning. Sadly, the Australian leg of our trip has come to an end. A few final thoughts on the wonderful people and fantastic place that is Aussie Land.
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Aussies don't like multi syilibal words
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Aussies can drink beer
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They don't know what patio is (inside joke)
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Beaches are beautiful, like southern california without the pollution
- Bill