Left Freo yesterday and tooled my way down to the wine region of Margaret River in Southwest Australia (which is actually southeast of Perth, but nobody here seems to notice or care when it is pointed out to them).  Had lunch and did some wine tasting at Margaret River's most famous winery- Leeuwin Winery, most renowned for its chardonnays (which were good).  

A little later as evening descended I headed to the closest beach, which happened to be known as Surfer's Point and, unsurprisingly, well known here as a premier surfer's beach.  

Upon arrival, I found a lot of surfer dudes and dudesses but no one actually in the water.  I found this strange... until I read a couple of plaques and signs explaining surfing at this beach and in Southwest Australia in general.  Apparently, according to this helpful sign, there is a phenomenon among surfers known as ‘car park surfing’ where surfers sit in the parking lot looking out at the crashing waves and imagine themselves catching a perfect wave, maintaining perfect balance and riding the wave all the way to the beach, all without having to get wet or leave their 1970s VW bus or put down the pipe.    

As I read this, I thought I too can be a great surfer and I imagined myself catching a huge way far offshore and then, despite howling winds,  mountainous swells and crashing breakers, riding it all the way until I stepped off my board onto the sand to the thunderous applause of the surfer crowd.  All this without having gone to the expense of buying a board, much less nearly drowning in the foam as the board whacked me in the head as I flipped over after standing up for a millisecond.   

However, as I read on, it appeared that there was here the slightly more real phenomenon  of ‘the paddle of shame’, where apparently actual surfers tried to paddle out to catch a wave but were unceremoniously tossed by the ocean into a nearby lagoon and embarrassingly had to paddle back out to the jeers of their fellow surfers.  Somehow I think that the ‘paddle of shame’ was a far more likely scenario for me than the perfect ride of the ‘car park surfing’ I had just imagined if I were ever to take up the board.  

Whoever wrote that sign got a thumb's up from me...

Freo

Freemantle, or 'Freo' as it is known to us locals, is the port city for Perth about 15 miles down the Swan River.  A little while ago, after Australia had won, they held the America's Cup yachting race of the coast here, though not sure how they evaded all of the tankers and container vessels anchored off shore (there were lots of them- very busy port).

Biked from my nice hotel about 5 miles up the coast to take the ferry from Freo to Rottnest Island about 16 miles or so offshore.  Rottnest is very popular with Perthians (not to be confused with ancient Parthians) who go there to swim and snorkel the island's many beaches.  There are no cars on the island so most everyone rents a bicycle... and it seemed like the Perth commuting pelathon decided to go Rottnest on the same day as I- crowded is one way to say it.

The island has this sort of Caribbean feel-

On the island, there is also a marsupial called the quarhk (sp?) or something like that, which only exists there.  To see these extremely shy creatures, you have to hike deep into the bush-

 
They have a marked underwater trail for snorkelers on one of the beaches.  I found it and followed it for a while, until I got disoriented and started to snorkel out to sea, proving, I guess, that I can get lost as easily on a water trail as on a land one.

Returning to Freo...who knew that Notre Dame had an outlet here-

On the way back, got temporarily lost on my bike but found a cricket match-

 
The Aussies have a sign for everything-

Tho this does little justice to them, the IO sunsets are something.

No snakes, just sand flies

Did cliff walk hike out of Kilbarri in the morning yesterday.   While perhaps not quite as good as the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland (my standard for ocean side hikes), this walk was quite impressive and had some stunning scenes-

It was a very nice hike- just me, the wind, waves and.... a million sand flies.  But the sand flies weren't a problem if you kept your mouth closed and maintained a steady jog in the searing heat.  

Met a young Dutch couple near the end of the hike who had just arrived in Australia.  They were going to drive across the southern edge of the continent.  I asked them how long they were staying and got the typical Euro answer-  "Not long.  Only 3 months."

Kalbarri

 I am not sure I have ever seen such a fitness crazed city as Perth.  It seems like virtually everyone is biking, power walking, running or using these outdoor gym stations along the cycling route.  I jogged back to my hotel after lunch just to try to fit in.

Took an early morning bike ride before leaving Perth to drive to Kalbarri, some 7 hours up the West Australian coast.  I felt like I had joined a city wide peloton commuting to work.  It was bumper to bumper on the bike path.  What is weird is that when the bike path hits the highway, you just have to wait for a gap in the cars and then try and race across.  I barely made it before being splattered like some indoor skydiver.  

While I was at the zoo, a zookeeper approached me while I was in the snake area.  She told me that there were quite a few dangerous snakes in Australia, but perhaps the most dangerous was one that hid under leaves in the bush in Western Australia and was quite hard to spot.  She said, "Of course, if you are not bushwacking or hiking in the outback, it is not a problem."  More good news.

On the long way to Kalbarri, I drove what might have been the most desolate stretch of road I had ever driven- saw one vehicle in about 50 miles.  As I surveyed the surrounding bush as I drove, all I could think of was ...snakes.

Stopped at a place called the Pinnacles on my way up the coast.  Sort of a desert meets a dilapidated Stonehenge if you will-

 Got to Kalbarri and then went for a short hike along these red cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean-

And then went for a swim in the IO-

 Kalbarri is almost the western most place in Australia.  Next stop is Africa- it really felt like you were on the western edge of the world, if you can imagine a map as you swim.

The Anti-pole

After 43 hours of travel time, including 28 hours in the air, I made it to Perth in the far west of Australia.  According to my friend Craze, it is almost exactly on the other side of the earth from Boston (i.e. the anti-pole)- 12,500 miles away.  But it didn't seem that far actually.  I would have guessed something like 12, 495.  But it does seem like it is at the western edge of the world (it is west of the Philippines and most of Indonesia).  

I was worried about driving the rental car from the airport into downtown Perth on the 'wrong' side after my last flight, but found I was too tired to really care.  Wished I had rented a bigger car, tho.  The Aussies seem to honk at me a lot... not sure why exactly. Maybe that's a sign of affection here.  

Saw a sign on the way advertising 'indoor skydiving'.  I realize things are a little upside down here, but that seemed very odd, as the building was only 4-5 stories high.  How do they even get the plane in there?   Or fly it around?  Not a lot of airspace. Plus, I would think you would go 'splat!!!' long before your chute opened.  Maybe it is a world like that old Disney movie- Honey I Shrunk The Kids'- where everything is somehow miniaturized.  

The hotel where I am staying has free bike rentals.  Somehow the whole 'free' thing just appeals to me, so I took a morning bike ride along the Swan River and through much of Perth.  

But I had to be careful from getting up to much a head of steam on the bike path as this sign was along the way-

So I watched my speed, but others took little heed as they flew by me... which of course would not have happened if I hadn't been so restrained.  

It was a pleasant ride with great views of the city all the same.

  Perth is quite a bit bigger than imagined.  It appears as a modern, clean and pretty affluent place, with thousands of high rise apartments overlooking the pretty Swam River.dotted with sailing boats.   

Bugt of course, I had to venture into the wilds of the outback where I encountered various deadly species as advertised-

Ok shoot me... I went to the Perth Zoo, where I happend upon these koalas who seem to be sleeping off an all night eucalyptus bender-

And I finished the day at the Cottesloe Beach on the Indian Ocean renowned for its natural and unspoiled views-

Sydney Airportranscon

Made it to Sydney.  Australian customs is a bit of a rigaramole.  I think they must have imported some customs agents from Chile.  Now just the short transcontinental flight to Perth.  What, a mere 5 hours?  Hardly enough time to get my book out.

In route to Australia..

With my initial Aussie post, I wanted to recognize a few family members and friends who encouraged and inspired me to take the trip and who provided some keen insights into the land Down Under  

 First, there was my friend Craze (aka Rich A) who upon learning of my plans, said" Did you know that 8 of the 10 most deadly creatures on earth live there?  A lot of things can kill you there."

Next, my daughter Emily, who upon learning of my impending visit to the Great Barrier Reef, did some research and then helpfully informed me  " You know, 6 people died on the GBR last year, most by poisonous jelly fish.  But one guy did die of stroke after being stung so maybe he doesn't count."

Finally, my brother Andy, who when discussing the long flights to Perth, helpfully opined "Those are god awful flights. 15 hours from LA to Sydney?  It is going to be horrible.  I would be going stir crazy.  I am glad I am not going."

Speaking of the dangerous snakes, spiders, etc., Down Under, I did get a lot of useful advice, such as this comment from my brother, George- "Don't die."  Or this from another friend "Be careful!"  Advice you can truly act on.  I feel better already.

Would take a picture of the Philly Airport- my first stop- but, well, it might take away somewhat from the exotic adventure aura.