Aussie Rules Football

One minute I was playing golf with the regular Sat. ladies group, and the next thing I knew I was given a member's pass to the first season game of the Perth Eagles Football Club. It's a very big deal here and it starts at the commuter train station outside of Perth. Everyone was awash in blue and gold, and all had their members' tags hanging around their necks, which also gets them a free ride into the stadium . I wore my Canada T-shirt so I would have license to ask stupid questions, and besides that, I don't have anything blue and gold.

Aussie Rules football is a pretty unique game which seems to contain parts of many other games: basketball "jump balls", rugby lateral passes, football mauling (without pads) and baseball dugouts where the players spend their time when not running around a field the size of P.E.I. Coaches are ensconced in air conditioned boxes and use neon-green clad messengers to run plays (or admonitions) out to the players. There doesn't seem to be many time outs and at any one moment, you may have the green messengers, water boys, and 36 players milling around.

One of Perth's best players scored a goal in the second half and immediately crumpled to the ground clutching his groin. The first guy out there was apparently responsible for removing the hand from the groin, in deference to the large TV audience. After that, they loaded him on a stretcher and carted him away - out for the next 10 weeks. The Eagles eventually subdued the No. Melborne Kangaroos and won by 4 points, overall a pretty exciting afternoon.

Western Australia sights

Chair and Tin Horse Highways

It all started when Lyn submitted a one-page statement of interest (actually, she figures it should have been disinterest), to help the Lake King Progressive Association display and promote 4 handmade, 4-wheel drive tractors to the touring public. Lake King is a farming community with a population of 220 and is located on the very edge of the Western Australia wheat belt, right where it meets the middle of nowhere.

We set out on the 6-hour drive with no great expectations, but were soon seduced by roadside attractions. The Brookden Highway would have been a fairly ho-hum drive through the bush without the addition of randomly-placed chairs along the way. We saw Harry, Art, Lester, Jock, Daisy and Rosie and and an unnamed offering with a log placed purposely, albeit cryptically, across its back. Next stop was the Corrigin dog cemetery (not sure where their cats end up), which demanded some time. There seemed to be a religious section which featured crosses, but there was no further indication of what particular denomination those dogs represented.

Tin Horse highway through Kulin is a long stretch featuring horse sculptures made from farm barrels and other metal bits - a striking demonstration of creativity and resourcefulness by farmer/welders with lots of time on their hands.

We pulled into the Lake King Tavern with a few minutes to spare before Lyn's scheduled interview with the tractor guys. The Tavern is at the Lake King crossroads and we were fortunate to get the last room at the inn. There was a German team of scientists studying weather patterns (I'm not sure why; it's always hot and sunny), Australians building evaporation ponds for a nearby mine and other Hydro workers rebuilding something. We shared some beers and stories with the locals before dinner and ate dinner at the tavern, since there's no where else in town to do that. The next morning we were off to the southern coast, Hopetoun, where Lyn had her last interview with a tractor-builder.

That night we stayed with friends near Albany who have a small farm and had a fabulous dinner completely "off the block", which means that everything that we ate was grown there. I'm glad I missed the sheep-slaughtering session which yielded the roast, but was amazed by the passion fruit vine that was laden with my now-favorite fruit.

From St. Patrick's Day to Persian New Year

That's Del and I at a cafe on St. Patrick's Day, which would have been like any other day except for the green food coloring that I bought and added to all drinks. The happy hour gin and tonics looked especially festive. Joan and I have been golfing on Sat. mornings with her regular group and I set out on my own this morning to the course up the road. It's close enough that I can pull the cart to and from Lyn's house along Pt. Walter Rd. and I had my "I'm just looking for my drive" story ready for anyone who asked (no one did). I played with a local guy and his visiting brother-in-law from Winnipeg. We were both revelling in the sun, warmth and astounding variety of birds squawking overhead.

Lyn and I attended a Persian/Baha'i New Year's party last night at her daughter's in-laws' palace north of Perth. I'm surprised the table legs could take the weight of the loaded platters of food: whole chickens and fish, legs of lamb, heaps of rice and a separate table for at least 18 different desserts. Lyn and I managed to eat our body weight in food and escaped before the obligatory dancing. She's out giving a gardening talk to an 'aged' group and I had a very important golf game, and that was our story.
Tomorrow we're driving 5 1/2 hours to Lake King to see some men about some tractors - really. Could be some interesting blog material coming up.

Swan Valley Tour

Right, time for a wine tour up the Swan River...Lyn and I packed a lunch and set out for a meander though the Valley. Never mind that the river doesn't actually flow anywhere because there's hardly enough rain and runoff to push it seaward. It's mostly salt on the top and a little fresh water underneath, and they tell me that the bull sharks manage to get themselves pretty far upstream. Charming.

The wineries, on the other hand, manage to keep their products flowing despite the 12-year drought they've had around Perth. We visited several vineyards, a chocolate factory, a lavender farm (with lavender wine which wasn't half bad), and Nougat World. I learned that nougat is a French word, but the Italians actually invented it (they call it torrone). It was probably more than I really needed to know about nougat, although Lyn loves it and bought a couple of big bars - Aussies call if Nougahhhh....

The highlight of our trip was Lamont's winery where we met a very funny, bossy wine expert who forced us to try at least six of their wines, refilled the olive bowl that we practically cleaned out during the tasting and allowed us to eat our picnic lunch under his grape arbor, despite the fact that they had a cafe on site. We bought a bottle of an excellent white that we had just tried and he provided us with two beautiful glasses, a chilled wine holder and made sure that the cafe music was piped out to us. It was one of those moments in life where you absolutely know that you're in the right place at the right time. It was magic.

More "Rotto" pics

Dugites and Quokkas and Skinks, Oh My!

Dutch explorers dubbed it Rottnest (rat nest) Island when they caught sight of the quokkas that populate Western Australia's only good-sized island.

There are also a few on the mainland, but Rottnest is where this particular marsupial mostly hangs out. It's a good thing they've got friendly furry faces, because the rat tail could really put you off. The other prevalent island resident is a poisonous snake called a dugite, but everyone assures me that they're 'shy'. So am I when it comes to snakes...

Del and I ferried to Rottnest on Sun. for a two day-getaway and stayed in one of the beachside cottages pictured. We rented bikes when we got off the ferry and met our luggage at the cottage where it had been delivered; the State owns the island and all the accommodation on it, and has the check-in and out procedure down pat. Our cottage was basic and had a fully accessible bathroom, and if you didn't see the porch with the gorgeous view, you'd think you were in a nursing home - two twin beds in each room with a reading light suitable for surgery.

It really is a paradise out there - no cars, just bikes and miles of beautiful, deserted white sand beaches. The snorkeling is good, although we ran into a gang of stingers the first day out which was a little unpleasant. They kill you over on the east side of the country, but really only annoy you on the west coast.

They call this golfing?!?

My friend Joan took me out with her ladies golf group this morning at a beautiful local course - Glen Iris. Because of the heat, she picked me up at some God-awful time somewhere near 6 am and before I'd had my regulation 2 cups of coffee. Things started off pleasantly enough until we got to the first green and I put my ball within 2" of the cup. I thought Annie was going to faint when I tapped it into my hand and walked away. Apparently there are no "gimmes" in Australia. And Joan told me that if I had been playing with Edith "she would have your guts for garters". Okay, so I'm really glad at this point that Edith decided to stay home. On the second tee I corkscrewed my ball off into a bush area where I'm told snakes have their homes. "How about a mulligan?", I asked naively. Nope. No gimmes; no mulligans.

I knew I was in a foreign land when Lorna got into a monster bunker on nine and took 8 strokes to get out - no swearing, no attempted kicks or throws out of the sand - nothing. I was just thankful that Joan was on my wavelength and ordered us 2 beers just after 9 am. I needed that.


Black swans in the Swan River and that's the Perth skyline in the background in the top photo

Street scenes - Perth and Fremantle

My toes have blisters from walking the streets in Perth and Fremantle, and although prostitution is legal here, I definitely wasn't walking that way.

The shiny silver toilet pictured here lured me in with its blinking blue light which meant it was unoccupied. I pushed the big green button and the door slid open, and then I pushed the big red button on the inside and the door glided shut. A melodious male voice informed me that the door was locked and that I had 10 minutes remaining in my 'session'. What anyone could do in that metal box for 10 minutes is beyond me - I don't want to think about it. As soon as I made contact with the seat, muzak filled the cube with the strains of "What the World Needs Now". Other than the seat, I didn't need to touch anything else - soap, water and a hand dryer were all there for the asking. If the voice had been Scottish, I would have feared that Scotty was about to "Beam me up". I know what you're thinking - "Who sits on public toilet seats???" I guess that would be me.

Wildlife

Life's a zoo down here...

Summer in Oz

Clancy's lunch with Lyn, Bridget and David

The riding chicks and the paddling chicks (below)

Summer was the name of my horse on Fri. as we set off through the bush. She seemed to be in a snit over something and flattened her ears whenever any of the other horses were nearby - perhaps it was the novice rider she had to cart around for a few hours in the heat. At one point she apparently had had enough walking and thought galloping really fast was a good idea. I lost one stirrup almost immediately and while clinging like a burr, attempted to rein her in. Despite there being two horses directly in her path, she paid no attention and caromed off them like a pinball. At least they slowed her down enough for me to get back in the saddle, as they say. We walked the rest of the way, other than the times we jumped sideways when kangaroos were nearby. I saw one fox, a mob of 'roos and no snakes (yea!).

I'm moving pretty slowly today but have to get limber enough for dragon boating tomorrow night. I've persuaded Lyn to take advantage of having the Garden Gnome in residence, so I'm cleaning up her front yard tomorrow. Since I have no idea what constitutes a weed and a plant here in Western Australia, she'll have to stay in the vicinity, lest the Gnome alters her garden beyond recognition.