Welcome to Perth

I’m in Australia!!! Yep, I made it safe and sound. It was a slightly less than 8 hour flight form Auckland. Surprisingly, I didn’t sleep a wink! Instead, I started a book (Love in the Time of Cholera), played a bit of Sudoku, and entertained myself with my own personal TV screen! I mostly watched movies (A Fish Called Wanda, Wall-E, and most of Mamma Mia), but I also used my game remote to play a few games. I had a window seat, so I was able to see the brown, scrubby landscape of Western Australia as we were landing. I was surprised to find that I could see rocky rises in the landscape – unfortunately I’m not sure how to get this environment (an escarpment?), particularly without a car!

It was about 6pm when I we were landing (4 hours earlier than Auckland time), yet the sun was setting. By the time I out got out of customs (having disgorged my pack to show them my tent stakes and shoes), it was pitch dark. I found a shuttle and showed him the address of the hostel where I had booked my first two nights. I was the only passenger, so the driver helped me carry my bags in – since I had 2 plastic bags of shoes I couldn’t bother repacking….. Geeze I feel so over packed!!! I woke up this morning trying to figure out what I could get rid of and to where I would rid it! I think I could do without my sleeping pad…..

Anyhow, I slept so hard and deep my first night that I woke up at 6:30 the next morning! It may have only been 9pm when I crashed out, but it was after midnight at home! My first day in Perth (Monday, 11 May) was quite good. I stepped outside and found the temperature to be quite nice – no jacket required! I set off early into town, to have a look about before meeting my job placement contact. It is interesting to watch the large groups of people making their way to/from the train/bus station and knowing they are probably off to work; especially when I am wandering aimlessly. It fascinates me every time I walk over the train station – to see the platforms and numbers and to think that they are still used every day here! I can’t wait to ride one myself!!!! Of course, the mass amounts of baggage I will be carrying makes the prospect more scary than exciting!

My meeting with the job placement agency went well. She gave me a list of things to do (get an Aussie cell number, open a bank account, apply for tax number, etc). She also gave me a card that gets me ½ hour free internet everyday! Sweet! I did a lot of walking on my first day – through the city several times and then looking for the grocery store. I made my first meal in OZ – pork in tomato sauce over pasta, with broccoli and cauliflower…. Yes, monumental enough to write about :) I’ll spare you the details of my not so hygienic or coordinated hostel and say, I have HEAPS of leftovers. I shouldn’t have to scrounge another pot to cook in for at least 2 nights!

My second day (Tuesday, 12 May) has been more relaxed but involved just as much walking. I managed to stay up until 10pm before crashing pretty hard. At 5:30 I woke to horrible thoughts of dragging my over packed bags around…. I didn’t want to get up (as I’m trying to adjust to the time here and didn’t want to end my day early just from getting up early), but I couldn’t get back to sleep due to the panic of smacking people with my bags as I loaded a train or bus. Ugh…. Eventually, I just kept telling myself one phrase (it’s sappy and too silly to share) and fell back asleep. I had some crazy dreams, but managed to keep myself from getting up until 7:30.

I had several different thoughts of where I could go today ( yes, I am actually writing in the present time!), but opted for walking more of the city. I meandered through the gardens and down to the swan river; where I photographed the Swans bell tower and took pictures of the Perth Wheel (a big ferris wheel in the city), but both were closed at the early hour (just before 9). I wandered down the Swan River, up towards the causeway bridge. I was surprised to find a lovely wetland area, with boardwalk paths through a bit. I was even more surprised to see a tall white bird standing in the water! I think it is an egret.

I continued down the river and found a sandy site where I had access to the river water. I wanted to see how cold it was (a bit chilly) and was looking at all the shells (small clams, spiral snails, lots of thick oysters) when I realized there was something floating in the water that wasn’t leaves! There were HEAPS of jellyfish! I have no idea what kind of jelly fish, but I certainly wasn’t going to put my finger in them to find out if they were poisonous! Further down the river, just as I was about to climb the stairs to the bridge, a massive bird on the other side of the river caught my eye – a pelican I guess! White and black with a massive beak! I swear the beak was as long as it’s neck!!! The pictures don’t show the size well at all!

On the other side of the bridge was Heirisson Island. I took pictures of a couple Australian Ravens under the trees; they look very much like crows, but have a mass of feathers on their throat that makes it look a bit like a turkey’s waddle sometimes. The ravens also have a crazy cry that sounds much like a baby!!!! It’s a little eerie sometimes. After passing a fisherman with 4 rods cast into the river and propped by rocks, I found myself facing a fence. On this fence was a warning to not feed or approach the kangaroos on the other side of the fence!!!! No way, my second day in OZ and I was going to see roos!!!! Sweet…… Well; I found another egret, a white faced heron (which there are heaps of in NZ), and several Shags drying their wings (again, in NZ)….. BUT, I didn’t see any kangaroos!!!! :( I saw quite a bit of roo pooh, and I think I even found a couple tracks (one appeared to have tail marks too!), but I couldn’t find any animals! I believe that roos are nocturnal, so I expected them to be sleeping somewhere in the shade, but I couldn’t find any under any of the tree groups I looked at (and I looked through a lot). There was one area where I felt I was close to some hidden animals, but it could have been the lake marsh that created the equine-like sent I caught occasionally (though sometimes strongly).

After Heirisson Island I stopped for some internet and headed back to the hostel. After a recharging lunch I headed back out. I tried to find a portable map of Australia, but all I found were atlases – and I didn’t even find the book store I was actually trying for. To end the day, I walked back up to a park and read my book in the shade of a tree. Fascinating, yes? ;-)

OH – yeah! I did hear back from the agency, got an e-mail on Monday evening…… I DO have a job lined up!!!! SWEET!! It’s at a country pub/café for 6 weeks. Room and board provided on top of decent weekly wages. I can’t tell you were it is, since I don’t remember! I’ll find out more when I meet up on Friday with the agency again. ….. I’d like to promise another blog on Friday to share the news, but I am crossing my fingers for a couchsurfing host to come through (and save me from a weekend at the hostel)!