Rottnest Tomorrow! ... and Australian Stormtroopers?

Excited for tomorrow! Finally going to Rottnest Island! Think about ten of us will be going out for the day. Going to wake up early, have some breakfast, and then take the bus and ferry over there. Don’t have my underwater photo gear with me yet, but I will bring my mask and fins to go snorkeling… figure I’ll scope it out. Hear they rent out surfboards there too so maybe I’ll try and get one or see if they offer lessons. Definitely will bring the camera with me tomorrow!

Today when I was in Perth I stumbled across this scene … notice anything strange?

If you said … hmm … maybe it’s the random stormtroopers walking around then you would be correct! So far my impression of Perth is that it is either super busy or eerily quiet. Today was one of the busy days, so the streets were filled with people bustling around and street performers … and apparently stormtroopers. There was also a bagpipe player who was really good. 

Come to think of it, I’ve never heard a bad bagpipe player. Kind of funny mental image thinking about one. 

King's Park

Today Devon, Lauren and I went to King’s Park with our student advisor Vicki. It’s a really really pretty park that is literally right outside our door (though it’s about a 5 minute drive to the center which is where we went today). 

From the park you get a great view of Perth and the Swan River. Perth is a very wealth city, due to the recent mining boom, and as such there are a lot of new buildings being erected. Vicki told us that they had run out of construction cranes to use (I counted ten from our side of the park alone).

(Counted 5 in this picture)

Pretty cool / funny seeing palm trees and other tropical looking trees in a park.

 Had a walking tour of the park and learned a lot of interesting facts about the park and indigenous culture. Apparently the Park has a seed bank where they collect seeds from all over the world in case something occurs that destroys all of the said location’s plants.

 The guide also told us about this seed that the Aboriginals used that is highly poisonous if eaten. His words were, “two or three of these seeds and you’ll be horrendously ill. Couple more and you might not wake up the next morning.” But apparently the Aboriginals would cut the seeds open; soak them in baskets for two weeks; grind them up, which turned them into a doughy consistency; and make bread out of them. How the hell did they know to do that? Kind of makes me think of how my dad always says, “How hungry do you think the person who first ate a lobster was?” Guess he doesn’t really always say that. Laughing to myself now imagining if he did always say that. Uh oh … might be time for a nap soon. We also learned of the many different uses of kangaroos (sorry Kate). 

Apparently the sinew in the tail can be used as a rope. Tying said rope when wet results in a knot that never comes undone when dry. Also, he told us that kangaroo meat sells for 100$ a kilo in Japan and 70 cents per kilo here in Australia (sorry again Kate). Finally, we walked across a tree top canopy bridge (sweaty hands!) and had coffee and wedges (more potatoey and less greasy French fries). 

Might watch an Aussie Rules Football game tonight or go out to a pub with some of the international students here. We shall see! 

Perth and Cottesloe

What a busy day! I woke up early this morning - my body is still a little unsure of when or where it is (feel like that is a line from Lost) – had breakfast, and then went into the city of Perth. It’s about a 5-10 minute bus ride from where I am staying. It was a nice drive as we drove along the Swan River. Apparently, Dolphins are sometimes seen playing there so I will be keeping an eye out for them. Also, I hear they set aside parts of the river for water sports (wakeboarding, parasailing, kite boarding) so that’s another thing to look out for. So finally arrived to Perth and enjoyed it very much. It’s a pretty (looks wise) and pretty (size wise) small city - nothing distinguishingly Australian about it (that I’ve noticed yet). Very clean and friendly place. Basically there are two main streets with shops and cafes. It is a nice layout, and sure it will be fun to explore more – though I do feel as if one can cover most of it in about a day … which I did. 

There are a lot of Asian restaurants so I’m sure I’ll be going in a bunch. Found a Target in the city, but it was a kind of dinky one. Somehow just didn’t have the same Target magic that the stores in the States do. They also seemed to be missing lots of random things (surge protectors, hampers, hooks for hanging, etc) Come on Target, step your game up. Side note: when I finally found a surge protector in another store it cost 140 dollars! What!? Decided to pass. Found a nice bookstore and bought a book on Australian fish, which got me excited for diving! Although, all the Australians I have spoken to have made it sound like I am going to have to wait to swim since it is the middle of their winter here. I was getting a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get in the water for a while from the way they were talking. But with not a single cloud in the sky and the sun blazing, I decided to go check out the beach and see how cold it really was. I couldn’t tell if they were discouraging me from swimming because of the “coldness” or because of all the friendly creatures that want to eat me. We got on the bus around 2:15 and by 2:45 we were at Cottesloe beach. Still a little unsure of my decision to swim, I asked the bus driver, “So besides it probably being a little bit cold, is it safe to go swimming now? There aren’t any jellies right?” (They have really nasty jelly fish here that can kill you or just cause excruciating pain. Wasn’t really in the mood for either one today) To which the driver replied, “Nah mate, should be fine. The sharks ate all the jellies.” I think there was a wink in there and was 90% sure it was a joke… I returned to my seat. Thinking this over I determined sharks don’t eat jellies, which meant that either a). There were still jellies (since they weren’t eaten) b). There were sharks and jellies or c). it was perfectly safe to go swimming and the driver was just joking around. I decided to go with C. It was exciting because the bus has to go up this hill and just as it reaches the top you get this great view of the water. 

By the time we got to the beach it was 70 degrees outside, not bad for the middle of winter. The water and the beach were beautiful. 

There was a rock jetty that you could walk out on and listen to waves breaking and behind the beach were several cafes. 

At one point this old man was walking down the beach and this swarm of seagulls just kept following him. It was pretty funny (and bizarre) to watch, as they just hovered over him and went where he did.

 After sitting on the rocks for a while, it was time for a swim, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the water about the same temperature as Martha’s Vineyard. Definitely a little chilly, but very do-able. 

Felt so great getting in the water and getting my first swim in Australia. 

The water seemed saltier… I’ll have to look up whether the Indian Ocean is in fact saltier. I could believe it. Lying down after my swim, things seemed pretty good.

 Imagining coming here after a long day of classes or just for the day on a weekend made my decision to come to Australia seem like a pretty damn good one. A day well spent.