Hi everyone
I hope you are all well and not missing me too much :-) I miss you all of course but am having such a lovely time here! Australia is such a beautiful country - well Perth of course! The weather has been amazing - sunny every day apart from two and only a very short rain storm. The temp when I landed was 15 degrees which I thought was going to be cold but was actually quite warm. By the end of the week it was a paltry 43 degrees. Oh my goodness was that hot. It's a nice hot though because it's not humid so it's tollerable as long as you don't exert yourself too much. The people here are lovely as well. Very friendly and happy - must be something to do with all that sun that they're getting. And of course when you have a sunny climate there are skinny, tanned, health concious people everywhere. I have managed to put my insecurities aside (a bit anyway) and go out in my bikini - am not going to let a little thing like some flab make me miss out on everything that Australia has to offer. The chavs here are called bogans ... what a cool word is that! I like it alot! The bogans here have big fluffy hair with mohawks and redneck tails and are super super confident!
WEEK ONE
I landed at Perth Airport after two days of flying - ugh - and was preparing myself for a long session in security and baggage etc (i've watched too much border partol). Anyway, i needn't have worried as my bag was one of the first to come out, there was only a short cue at passport control, they checked my passport, waved me through and I was out of the airport in twenty minutes. What a pleasure. I was so quick Mike wasn't there to pick me up yet. Jet lag soon caught up and it took the rest o fthe week to get over it. I did manage to get everything sorted that I needed like bank account, phone etc the next day so didn't have to worry about any of that. And then I just wondered around Perth and got used to where everything was and did all the touristy things that tourists do.
WEEK TWO
Much of the same as the week before. I stayed at Michael's for the second week as well which was realoly quite nice. So lots of beaches and parks and anything where I could be outside in the sunshine. This week was much cooler thank goodness - much as I love that heat it saps your energy so quickly that you don't want to do anything except stay inside in the cool.
WEEK THREE - my first week staying at backpackers lodges which I have to admit was quite a daunting thought after staying with Michael, happily within my little comfort zone. So I looked up backpackers lodges and chose a Nomad recognised one that had four stars - great I thought, best chance of being decent. Michael dropped me off and walked me in. It was much bigger than I thought and the guys behind reception were very unhelpful - basically thanks for your money now sort yourself out. for $27 what can you expect really - free breakfast which is a bonus. My room was a dorm with 8 beds, a couple of which you could tell had been occupied for a while due to the large amount of "fall out" surrounding the bomb sites. Anyway, got myself settled in and met a young canadian girl called Kate who was very put out that I had asked her what part of America she was from - oops! When she didn't say "out" so how am I meant to tell the difference. She was very interested in telling me about the "strange girl" on the bunk below her and the fact that she fancied the guy Dan who Kate had taken a shine to as well. Kate said I would meet him and low and behold, the next morning I wake up to Dan in the next door bed with her and the "strange girl" asleep on the bottom bunk wearing a little t-shirt and a g-string and her rather large arse winking at me. So two treats in one morning. Nothing to match the extra special treat I had later that night when Dan yet again went to bed with Kate and this time actually 'bedded' Kate if you get my drift - in a girls only dorm - with 7 other people there. Cue sound effects and creaking bed - poor "strange girl" on the bottom bunk must have been sea sick by the end of it all. I should really have told them to quit it but instead stuck my ear plugs back in (now 4am with no sleep) and tried to pretend it wasn't happening. So far my opinion of backpackers lodges was very low. They seemed to me to be places where lots of young people go to get drunk and shout Aussie Aussie Aussie until the early hours of the morning and then pass out with whoever they happened to last have spoken to. Pretty intimidating having to walk passed them all. Luckily Ocean Beach backpackers is much nicer. The people in my six bed dorm are very corteous and try not to make a noise. I've met a really nice girl called Lauren from Halifax. She's going to be aroud the whole time i'm here so am feeling alot happier about it. Ocean Beach Backpackers is in Cottesloe which is by far my favourite beach so far and I have a view of the ocean. Also met a nice German girl last night called Yana who is closer to my age than most of the usual age group that are in backpackers.
Yesterday was Australia Day - and boy do people make a day of it. Australians are very patriotic and despite the alcohol ban seemed to have a very drunken and disorderly time. Mikey and I had a BBQ lunch and then walked to the Swan River to go and watch the airshow and the fireworks. The fireworks lasted half an hour and were amazing. The best i've ever seen!
Anyway, there is so much to tell you that I won't bore you with anymore - don't want to make you too jealous. I'll send some pics soon for those who aren't on facebook., At the moment i'm staying here until Sunday and tnen I'm off to Margs to go grapepicking (hopefully). On the way i'm going to stop at Rockingham and swim with doplhins and go and see the seals and the penguins. Then off to Esperqance to do some sheep mustering. Should be interesting - and hopefully the work is available there at the moment. I'm still waiting to hear back from the agency. There is so much to do I could probably spend the next six months in this area but tehre is so much else to see as well.
I hope everyone is well and don't forget to send me all your news as well so that I know what's going on in your lives.
Love Tricia
