December 2012 Australia

Plans for January are flying to Melbourne and Brisbane before returning to Perth for return flight to San Francisco at end of January.


31 December 2012 Monday (Fremantle WA)
For a very happy last day of 2012!
Walk to the Fremantle Arts Museum where they have free internet....and another very HOT day!

30 December 2012 Sunday (Fremantle WA)
Morning swim at the local pool (while Gretchen went to church) and afternoon walk around Fremantle historic sites...Shipwreck Museum and Round House and the weekend markets.

29 December 2012 Saturday (Fremantle WA) 
Lunch with a friend of Gretchen's here in Fremantle then to cool off at the cinema....saw Quartet....wonderful film.

28 December 2012 Friday (Fremantle WA)
Morning walk to library to do internet....we have none at the cottage but only 10 minute walk to town.


27 December 2012 Thursday (Fremantle WA)
Morning at South Beach, which was very crowded and VERY HOT....record high temps this week.....afternoon at aircon hairdresser for cut and colour!

26 December 2012 Wednesday (Fremantle WA)
Gretchen and I have rented a cottage in Fremantle for a week to give Nathan and Kristin some time for themselves and the kids. It is called Wray Heritage Cottage and we are so lucky to find any accommodation for the holidays. We had initially looked at going to a beach but everything is either booked or so unaffordable....all prices go up for the summer holiday.

25 December 2012 Tuesday (Perth WA)
Merry Christmas!


24 December 2012 Monday (Perth WA)
Happy Christmas Eve!
Gretchen and I have been washing baby clothes that the older boy Noah has outgrown and that will now be used for the younger boy.....and of course, there are no electric dryers here....so sure takes heaps of time to hang all those tiny little clothes on the line!
We then visited the local mall to do last minute shopping....quite busy in the car park but not too crowded in the shops.


23 December 2012 Sunday (Perth WA)
Lunch in the suburb of Dianella with Andre and Sasha (originally from Soviet Union/Ukraine). They were introduced to me by my friend Bob originally from Juneau who now lives in Mozambique (I had gone to visit Bob in 2004). Andre and Bob worked together at AirServ in Mozambique many years ago.


22 December 2012 Saturday (Perth WA)
Very hot and even hotter predicted for Christmas!
Bogan is a local term that I have learned and refers to folks from an unsophisticated background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies a lack of manners and education....meaning redneck! Now that has been expanded to CUBbies, cashed up bogan, which describes people of a blue-collar background now earning a higher salary (probably working in resource development industry such as mining) and spending their earnings on expensive consumer items as a matter of conspicuous consumption!

21 December 2012 Friday (Perth WA)
Well, the world did not end!
Gretchen and I babysat Noah today while Nathan spent time at the hospital with Kristin and the new baby. Noah is just fascinated with diggers, whether it is watching them on our walks around this new housing complex or the youtube favorites.


20 December 2012 Thursday (Porongurup to Perth WA - 509 kms)
Early start to view sunrise over the Stirling Range and then long drive back to Perth. Visited Kristin at the hospital to meet their new baby boy (still unnamed)....all are very healthy!

19 December 2012 Wednesday (Porongurup National Park - 71 kms)
Woke to kangaroos in the yard...morning hike to Castle Rock.....then drive to Mt Barker town for internet.

18 December 2012 Tuesday (Denmark via Albany to Porongurup WA - 190 kms)
Morning drive in the rain to Albany then a bit of clearing for drive out Frenchman Bay.....with a few walks to the Blowholes and Natural Bridge rock formation. Overnight in wonderful cottage on hill between Porongurup (known for granite rock formations) and Stirling National Parks.

17 December 2012 Monday (Nannup to Denmark WA - 329 kms)
Departed Nannup early this morning for the southern coastal route....beautiful beaches so stopped at Denmark where the river meets the ocean. Had considered heading to Esperance on this trip but that is a long drive so may just do Albany tomorrow then head north to Perth for the baby arrival and Christmas.


14 December 2012 Friday (Nannup WA - 60 kms)
Another grey day with threat of rain......so I am not hiking all the trails that I had planned! I visited the Cambray Sheep Cheese farmhouse today (sheep cheese is yummy...free tastings!) and the Barrabup Pools naturally formed swimming hole....but too cold for a swim! Heaps of historical sites on timber milling days of the last century.

13 December 2012 Thursday (Nannup WA - 193 kms)
A drier day with heavy overcast but decided to do a short driving trip today to Pemberton and Manjimup (missed the cherry festival last weekend).....timber mill towns.....and walked paths in the Karri tree forests. Dinner tonite with Liz and friends (the woman from whom I am renting the cottage).

I have not sighted this animal but many folks do believe in the Nannup Tiger in this southern corner of Western Australia:

The Nannup Tiger is not a Bengal Tiger, nor even a relation of that famed Black and Yellow striped feline. The Nannup Tiger is believed to be Thylacinus Cynocephalus (striped wolf with a dog's head), the largest carnivorous marsupial ever known. Being marsupial, it belongs to the same family as the Kangaroo, the Tasmanian Devil and the native Cat. All of these bear their young in a very immature form and then rear them in a pouch, attached to the mother's teat, until they are mature enough to be left for short periods while the mother forages for food.

As recently as this year, some activity has been observed in the foothills of between Nannup and Busselton, in the Yoongerillup area, and good sightings have been reported. Footprints have been noted in the newly established Shelly Pine Plantation, but rain prevented the taking of plaster-casts of these.

12/12/12 Wednesday (Nannup WA)

And the rains did arrive last eve in full force with lightning and thunder and continued today so I am staying in town.....the community resource center provides internet....and it is free if you are over 50....what a deal! Heaps of flooding in the surrounding towns.....over 200mm near Collie north of me.

11 December 2012 Tuesday (Nannup Western Australia - 119 kms)
Rain is predicted for the next few days with cooler temps....decided to drive the scenic road along the Blackwood River (longest continually flowing river in Western Australia) to Balingup....beautiful drive except for the logging being done on the hills!Then to the valley's largest town of Bridgetown and return to Nannup via the Brockton Highway.

10 December 2012 Monday (Busselton to Nannup WA - 275 kms)
Beautiful drive to Dunsborough and the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste then down Caves Road (where there are heaps of caves and wineries) to Augusta for another lighthouse at Cape Leeuin....then to the small village of Nannup where I will stay one week in Alice Cottage owned by Liz. There are many walking trails and a swimming hole on the Blackwood River so I will be quite busy.....but the weather has been very hot and the flies are many.

9 December 2012 Sunday (Perth to Busselton WA - 246 kms)
Road trip again, this time south...drove the old coastal highway via Rockhampton and Mandurah and stopped at Lake Clifton for boardwalk viewing of thrombolites.....then visits to towns of Australind, Bunbury and Busselton where I decided to stop for walk on the beach....heaps of folks in this area for the Iron Man competition.....over 1000 entrants for swim/bicycle and then run (42km) in over 30 degree heat! I hear that this is part of qualifier for Hawaii.

7 December 2012 Friday (Perth WA)
Fremantle market day......and a visit to The Travel Doctor to get jabs and tabs for my trip to West Africa.

6 December 2012 Thursday (Perth WA)
A wander around the town of Armadale with Gretchen.....


5 December 2012 Wednesday (Perth WA)
Spent the morning booking travel to Melbourne and Brisbane....decided to spend time on the east coast before departing Australia at the end of January because I have a place to stay in Melbourne while my friend Ross is in Japan.
Gretchen and I spent the afternoon with her grandchild Noah at a playroom called Activate while mum Kristin was busy taking care of business. She is helping Nathan get his vet hospital started and is difficult with working, taking care of one child and having another on the way....so was fun doing the grandmum thing!
Plus we had very heavy rains last eve and more today.

4 December 2012 Tuesday (Perth WA)
Gretchen and I took the train to Perth (about 30 minutes from the suburb of Armadale) and then enjoyed the free downtown buses called the Cat for a tour of downtown. I was last here in 1996 and the city has grown.


3 December 2012 Monday (Perth WA)
Joined Nathan for a road trip to Narrogin to look a vet clinic that was closed several months ago. He was considering what equipment he might need for the new clinic that he is building in Armadale. We then had a wonderful afternoon tea with the woman who had showed us the equipment....she lives on a very large farm where she and her husband have charolais cattle for stud.

2 December 2012 Sunday (Perth WA)
Enjoyed Thanksgiving gathering with about fifty folks....a wonderful time was had by all.....and we stuffed ourselves!

1 December 2012 Saturday (Perth Western Australia)
A day of not driving! Hanging out with Gretchen at Nathan and Kristin's for a few days.....shopping for our Thanksgiving event tomorrow that was delayed due to Gretchen's mum passing away in MN.