Hello again, when we last left off I was on my way to Fremantle, and what a dream that place is. It was much more my speed with more of the slower, small town, beach atmosphere I prefer in contrast to the busyness and lack of convenient beach access in Perth (which was still only about 45 minutes away by train, so Fremantle is really the best of both worlds). In Fremantle you can pretty well walk its entirety and the nice beach is a mere 10 minute bike ride from where I was staying. It even had a sauna right there so you could hop back and forth between the hunid chamber snd the cool ocean waves. I have not indulged yet but I think on my next visit I might need to. It comes highly recommended. If you added in a nice career in marine conservation I would have been living the dream in Freo!
While in Fremantle I did spend a significant amount of my time at the beach, but in between I did manage to see some other parts of the city. It has historical significance as home to the first prison in WA where many convicts from Britain were being sent to for a time, and I did visit both the original and the rebuilt sites. There are a lot of old limestone buildings remaining that look pretty cool. It is also a major port city so there is always a line of cargo ships on the horizon waiting to enter the harbour. That being said there are also a lot of shipwrecks in the area as ships would come around the tip of Africa and unexpectedly run into Australia and its reefs. I visited the local shipwreck museum and later snorkeled one called the Omeo Wreck that sits just 10 meters off one of the beaches. There is also a statue of Bon Scott downtown as he grew up in Fremantle.
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| I love the giant Norfolk pines found along the coast |
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| Omeo Wreck, Coogee Beach |
I am also ever grateful to my hosts Ang and Snow who graciously took me in as part of their little family for a short time. We had dinner together every evening, weekly movie nights, and they were quite helpful in getting a few things sorted. One evening we also went to the University of WA to see a film called Blueback, which I would highly recommend if you ever come across it (there’s a book as well).
In a whirlwind of events I have since acquired a job and am now living and working on a sheep/wheat farm. So last Tuesday, with my new Australian license in hand, I hopped in a flip-flopped car and drove for the first time on the left side of the road 3.5 hrs straight into the middle of nowhere. It was simultaneously one of the most boring and exhilarating drives of my life. I am now residing in the Shire of Kulin, which is located in the wheatbelt of southwest Australia. I have a 3 bedroom house all to myself on the backside of the farm and all I can see for miles in every direction is wheat fields and sheep paddocks. Luckily the family has allowed me to keep the car they provided to drive out here for use while I am employed which I am very thankful for. Aside from just being able to get in to town on my own it means I can also do some exploring of areas and sites that are much closer now than when I was carless in Perth.
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| My new backyard |
I have done a little exploring around here as well. Last weekend I went for a short climb on Jilakin Rock, which is exactly what it sounds like - a big rock in Jilakin. As it turns out many of the sites to see are just big rocks that you can walk up for a nice scenic overlook of the wheat fields. Salt marshes and lakes are also very common here and I visited one such marsh. Unfortunately there weren’t trails around the marsh and since I don’t have my boots yet I did not feel inclined to venture into snake territory alone. It is also quite possible that due to everything being so spread out I actually did more driving (mostly on dirt roads) than hiking that day, but it was still fun to venture out.
However being here does come with its challenges. Just this morning I was trying to hang my laundry in 20 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph. The clothes line was spinning and it was definitely not a graceful or efficient process but in the end I was successful. All I can hope for now is that all of my clothes will still be there when I go to collect them this evening and not blowing across the fields with the tumbleweeds. I have also found it difficult to get good photos of myself going on all these adventures - I seem to have acquired a nice collection of akward selfies and self-timer pictures. After a year of practice I hope to be much better. There are also lots of spider and I’ve been told that all of the snakes around here are venomous, so that’s exciting. I haven’t spotted any roos yet, mostly just rabbits and sheep, but I have seen several bobtail lizards which are new to me. They are sort of funny looking with their stubby tails. I also got to see a goanna, which is a much less common siting. It was the first the family I'm with had seen.
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| Bobtail lizard |
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| Goanna (& Sparky, 1 of their 3 dogs) |
