So I made it safe and sound to the land of Oz and I am actually feeling pretty relaxed & chilled. I had a wee spot of nerves when I chicked in at OR Tambo International (which I normally do for some weird reason) & by the time I had gone through security & customs which was an absolute pleasure as I had no one in front of me at security & 2 or 3 at customs I was already chilled & rearing & ready to go. I think I ventured into the new part of the airport which if anyone cares is just divine. Very impressive.
Had an OK flight - not a huge amount of sleep as you do on those overnight flghts, got to the hostel no probs and chilled for the rest of the day as I was feeling rather tired. I am pleased to report that bar feeling tired from 2 days of minimal sleep I have suffered from no jet lag perhaps proving my theory that those with no routine don't suffer :-)
I have just taken it easy really for the last 5 days, getting used to hostel life (staying at the Witch's Hat which is a pretty cool hostel in Northbridge - photo to follow in the not too distant future), going into Perth, getting my bearings, formulating some kind of plan etc as I figure having more than 8 months of go go go would just exhaust me and I would not enjoy the trip as much as I should.
So now the real stuff begins tomorrow. I am off for a mini 3 day tour to the SW to visit Margaret River, Bunbury, Walpole etc where they have a very cool spot with giant trees where you get to walk amongst the trees. I have also noticed on the map that there is a Shannon National Park so who knows. Perhaps we will have a little trip to the Shannon National Park.
I know that some of you out there will be throwing your hands up in despair at the thought of tours but unfortunately given that the balance of the population of Western Australia live in Perth (1.4 million) & the other 600 000 are spread over a distance of about 2.2 million sqaure kilometers its kinda remote out there and the tours do seem to be the better option so I am resigning myself to tours in the West and hopefully going to Greyhound it down the far more populated East Coast as a better option to tours.
Weather has been divine, bit of a chilly wind but as we are just getting into spring that is expected. The trip South will be a bit colder and wetter but the trip North will certainly be warmer.
All is good, catch you in a week or so.
