20060515 Monday Christchurch NZ to Sydney OZ to Perth OZ      Map Link        Photo Link  

Up at 0400, dressed and went to the airport at 0445 in the hotel van (wow). Still rainy, but it appeared to be getting better. We checked in for the Air New Zealand flight to Sydney and paid our $25NZ (each) fee so we could leave the island. The NZ Air A320-300 was on time and away we went at 0700. 

The movie was "King Kong", which Dolores watched. I read my magazine. The flight was smooth and got in on time. 

Due to the size of the Sydney airport, Qantas runs a nice connection bus from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. We went to the bus gate and were checked in on our flight to Perth, then cleared security and boarded the bus. The bus went off around the edge of the airport, but inside the fence, then through the Qantas maintenance area to the domestic terminal. There, we walked straight into the cleared area and didn't have to do any more security stuff. Very nice setup.

We called daughter Susan in Boston to see how she and Wyatt are getting along in their move to Somerville. It sounds like they're getting settled in and acquiring new friends. Their cats are acclimating to their new surroundings.

We wandered around the terminal and sat and read. Our plane didn't appear in time for scheduled boarding. The flight crew and cabin crew folks were standing around just as we were. Finally, a tug towed up an A330 and the crew boarded. We got on slightly later to our seats in row 57 (of 60).

We found out later that our plane had been pulled due to mechanical problems and that the one we boarded had just come in on an international run and had to been cleaned, hence the delay for which there were many apologies.

The flight from Sydney to Perth was uneventful, except that we saw the great South Sea (South Pacific below Australia). Smooth flight. Lunch after takeoff, complementary wine/beer. King Kong was the main movie on Qantas as it was on Air New Zealand, but there were a few options. I tried Willy Wonka to put me to sleep, but it didn't work. We landed at Perth on time. 

Very warm in the terminal and only a little cooler outside - probably 75*F. Beautiful after the 2*C this morning in Christchurch. We got the luggage, checked out the Hertz car (Camry this time) and drove to the Hillary's Boat Harbour (HBH) apartments. We arrived earlier than planned, so we called the owner's rental management firm. Catherine showed up quickly with butter, milk, and bread, along with some extra bedding. She gave us the keys and some hints, then departed.

We put the car into the underground parking lot and hauled the luggage up to the third floor, then walked right out to get something to eat. We settled on the Anchorage, one of several restaurants in the commercial part of the harbour complex. There are shops and other things there that we'll investigate tomorrow.

We ate and drank and struggled back to the apartment, a nice little two-bedroom affair. Unpacked, did these notes, and now we're off to bed after being up about 24 hours, even though it's only 2010 now.




20060516 Tuesday  Perth, Western Australia, OZ              Photo Link   

After going to bed around 2030, we woke up at 0600 and floobled around for a bit (stiff!! really stiff!!). We finally walked from the resort complex (a mess of apartments with pool, spa, sauna, etc.) into the commercial area of shops called Sorrento Quay, immediately next door. Most of the apartments are under resort ownership and management, but ours is privately owned and managed by another firm. We still can use the resort ownership's office for tour scheduling and general information, and we put the car into their underground parking lot for security.

One cafe was open for breakfast and it was quite good, rib bacon and eggs and toast with mocha. We came back to the apartment and started doing laundry - very handy to have washer and dryer in the apartment. 

I walked down to get some batteries and a haircut. I got the hair cut short, like I wore it back in the early 1960's in the navy. I've been afraid it would be too light that way, but it came out alright and Dolores likes it, so I'm happy with that.

We dug out the car and got information on where shopping areas are located, then went to the local mall. Dolores bought polarized sunglasses, and a pair of slacks to replace a pair that got stained somehow. Then we bought groceries for our small breakfasts and late-night snacks and returned to the apartment to put them away. I walked over to the bottle shop and bought VB (Victoria Bitter) and some WA (Western Australia) wine.

After more laundry and fooling around, we walked down to Sorrento Quay on a shopping run. Bought some tee-shirts for us and some gifts and had fun, checked out the restaurants, and returned again. We booked a tour to Rottnest Island (large island off Perth) on Thursday via a high-speed boat from out front in our marina. We decided to take a driving tour to a place called The Pinnacles tomorrow - 100 miles north of here up the highway then west to the Indian Ocean.

Sunset was approaching (it sets before 6:00pm), so Dolores set up the camera on a shelf and took pictures as it went down over the Indian Ocean. It was beautiful. 

We came back in and watched the news on TV (serves only to show that people have troubles everywhere) while trying to figure out the air conditioning/heating, not an easy task when it's controlled by a totally hostile remote control device. It appears that the unit won't automatically shift back and forth between heat and cool, so we set it on heat for the evening. The temperatures today were 9*C this morning and 21*C this afternoon (48*F/73*F), very comfortable.

We walked into the Sorrento Quay complex to the restaurant "Portofino" for dinner. D had T-bone, I had fettucini carbonara, both with WA white wines. Very nice.

Then back to the apartment to read and bed.



20060517 Wednesday Perth OZ                    Photo Link   

Up, breakfast in the apartment, and onto the road.

Threaded our way through the northern suburbs of Perth to Wanneroo, then north on WA-60 to near Guilderton, sort of following the coast, but we couldn't see much of the Indian Ocean. Then we turned inland to Gingin, where we stopped and bought some water to carry the rest of the trip. D took some nice pictures.

Then north on WA-1 to the road for Cervantes, on the coast. At Cervantes, we looked at the ocean again and went to the visitors center. They gave us a nice map and directions, so we went out of town to Nambung National Park, the location of the Pinnacles.

These Pinnacles are formations of limestone on beach sand that has been submerged in salt water previously. Rainwater makes the limestone in conjunction with the salty soil, then the wind blows the sand from around the limestone formation, leaving a "pinnacle". There are thousands, if not millions, of these things in the park. 

As we toured the park, staying on the marked path, we saw an emu sneaking into the brush. We stopped at the next turnout and started walking toward it. It walked away from us, but not in any panic. We shot several pictures of it as it wandered off to a place with fewer humans.

There was an interesting set of people at the park - a mini-tour group, a couple from Northern Territories and another couple from New South Wales (think Sydney).

We wandered to another part of the park to look at the ocean. A couple was cooking something at a grill while we walked by; they pointed out a caterpillar they called the "itchy-grub". I don't know how they discovered it was "itchy". They said that hundreds of these things will form a chain head-to-tail to travel, but if the chain gets broken, they'll all get in a ball until one starts away - then that one becomes the leader and they get in a chain again. Odd.

We took more pictures and then went into Cervantes for lunch. We selected the dining area at the Best Western - Pinnacles Motel and ate outside (a beautiful day - around 70*F and only partly cloudy). No one else in the place. D had fish, I had chicken, both with salad bar (not often seen here). The house parrot performed for us (broken wing that couldn't heal right, so he's grounded). These parrots are all over the place; we saw a bunch later in the day 100 miles away.

So far, we're 250km into the trip. We decided to wander back so we went inland retracing our steps to WA-1, then across it to near Dandaragan, then on to Moora. Moora is a nice small town that may be a little on its heels currently.

Travelling these roads is very interesting. The farms are huge, with some sheep, some cattle. The fields all appear to be grazed to the ground - very short clipped. I couldn't tell if it's been dry and the animals have eaten all that exists or if the owners are putting more animals onto the acreage than it will support.

In any case, the houses are very far apart. Traffic on the paved side roads is minimal. Very low population per square anything.

Odd trees, some with nearly smooth bark. Lots of magpies. And parrots.

We went south out of Moora to a connecting road to New Norcia, where we stopped to gas up (Aus$1.46/liter), about US$4.26/gallon. We probably should cut down on long rides, even in this Camry.

Then we cut across to National Highway 95 at New Norcia, WA. The only reason the town(?) exists is due to a huge Benedictine Monastary. Very 1920's architecture with contrasting bricks around the windows and top levels.

This 95 national highway is a two-lane highway in good to great condition. But it has a lot of truck traffic on it, and some of that is unique to Australia.

The "Road Train" concept allows truck & trailer combinations up to 136.5 meters in length. To save you the bother, that's 447 feet. We didn't see any combination that long today, but rigs with a towing tractor and three flatbeds behind were common - maybe 19 axles. Of course, you can only do this stuff on fairly flat ground, which it is around here. These truck display the sign "Road Train" on the front bumper and it's interesting to see one come toward you and see how many trailers it is dragging along.

In any case, we passed a bunch of Road Trains when there was a passing lane (every 5km), otherwise we waited behind them. Speed limits on 95 and on most other good two-lane roads is 110km/hr, about 70mph.

One noticable item is that Australians stick to the speed limits. There are a few speeders, but not many. I felt very conspicuous doing 10kph over the limit.

We got back to the apartment shortly after 1800, a ten-hour day on the road covering about 500km. It was a really great experience, seeing so few people in such a vast region. Even the towns are tiny, indicating that there are not many people to support in the outlying territory.

A great day.

20060518 Thursday Perth OZ, with trip to Rottnest Island              Photo Link       

Up early, breakfast in the apartment, multiple disasters. Broke the jar of cocktail onions while getting stuff out of refrigerator. Cleaned up the broken glass. Got hand caught between bathroom door and corner of shower enclosure. Couldn't get toaster to work (Dolores did).

Then I figured out my problem with the phone not working, so that started things going correctly again.

We went to the ferry office next door and bought our tickets on the fast ferry for Rottnest Island, some 18km off the Western Australia coast. Walked toward the ferry and found a zillion teenagers in the shopping area. Got to the ferry and boarded, noting that the kids backpacks were being loaded aboard. Then the kids came along and went to their cabin. Unfortunately, they didn't stay there - soon a bunch of loud kids found their way to the aft deck where we were sitting. Mainly harmless, just loud.

The ferry took 40 minutes to go down the coast and out to the island. We piled off and began our two hours of free time before tours. We found a volunteer guide (Bob) who told us where to go to see quokkas. Quokkas are miniature wallabies that thrive on the island. They stand about a foot tall, are marsupial, and look for all the world like miniature kangaroos.

We went to the recommended place around Garden Lake and soon found quokkas. They are mainly nocturnal, but it wasn't all that far into the day, so some were still moving around. They walk and bound like kangaroos or wallabies. Took several pictures of them and the scenery. Then back into the main part of town to look in the several small shops. I bought a hat, Dolores bought a small fuzzy quokka doll.

We met our tour guide, Howard, who walked us around the main part of the town. Originally it was a salt-making town, then it became a penitentiary for aborgines till the 1930's. In the 1930's, the army installed some WWI naval cannon on coastal artillery mounts into a battery atop Oliver Hill. That required a railroad from the jetty up to the hill, which was built quickly to a 42" gage.

The gun emplacements were in place by WWII's start and controlled the approaches to Fremantle, the port of Perth, and a key port in the early war, used by US, British, and Dutch submarines and other warships as well as cargo ships. After WWII, the site languished. In 1963, the army relaid the track to remove the shells and powder and some equipment from the emplacements. The guns were sold to a scrap dealer; he turned them over to the historic preservation folks without moving them, so they are still in place as they were during WWII.

Howard took us to lunch at the Rottnest Lodge's dining room for the buffet - very nice except the seagulls kept trying to get at our food. All the others in the group were taking the bus tour so we split off from them to do the Train and Guns tour on our own.

We walked up to the "Settlement" station and read the above info about the train. After a bit, a motor-electric drive car came along and stopped. We, and a bunch from another tour, got on and off it went at about 10mph. Very rough ride, must not have any springs. But it stayed on the track around one end of the airport, then paralleling the runway, and at the other end started climbing to the major hill in the center of the island. When it got to the end of the track it stopped.

We all were herded by the volunteer tour guide into a shed used to protect backup personnel behind the gun we were to examine. In it were many pictures of the gun and a plot of the area with the gun's maximum accurate range also plotted. The gun (and it's brother a little farther west) could fire 28km, which covered that far out to sea and all the way to land, so it covered the approaches to Fremantle harbor quite well. 

Also in the shed was a plaque with the names of all the submarines which had used Fremantle as a base during WWII, American, British, and Dutch. Very nice.

The gun guide, Barry Ellis, gave an excellent tour of the gun and gun-house (turret in the navy), the loading systems and ammunition rooms, and even the engine room way down deep that powered both guns should commercial power from the mainland be lost.

After the tour, we climbed back aboard the tram car and trundled our way downhill and around to the Settlement Station. We walked fairly quickly to the ferry since it was scheduled to leave soon. On the ferry, we sat with our tour guide and a couple of volunteer guides, plus a couple from Sydney who had taken the train across-country. Fascinating listening to these folks tell all their stories.

Another 40 minute ferry ride got us back to Hillary's Boat Harbour. We hiked back to the apartment, then went out later for a snack before bedtime. Up early tomorrow.



20060519 Friday Perth, OZ                Photo Link      

Today was just a great day. We got up quite early, ate, and drove to the Warwick Avenue light rail station, then bought tickets (AU$3.10 each). We rode the train to the downtown Perth railway station and transferred to the Fremantle line. We took it to the end. Enroute, Paul called and said he'd be early at the Fremantle station and we were as well, so it worked fine. We met at the exit of the station and introduced ourselves.

Paul drove us to the Western Australia Maritime Museum. We waited briefly for his mate Dave Colman, who came along shortly and worked with the Museum person to get the gate unlocked. Then Paul, nicknamed Blue because he had red hair (it’s an Aussie thing) and Dave gave us a personal tour of an "O" class submarine, HMAS Ovens prior to opening to the public. 

Paul remarked that this boat was the only one of the class of six that he didn't serve on, but they were all quite similar.

The boat is up in the marine railway used in WWII to service British, Dutch, and American submarines. Dave says it is powered by the diesel off one of the old Dutch boats. Some of the original support buildings from the old base surround it. We walked thru some of the area, then up the ladders to the casing, as they call it. Lovely view of the Indian Ocean and harbour mouth from up there.

Then we went below forward thru the enlarged torpedo loading hatch. Blue was a weapons specialist, so we spent considerable time in the forward torpedo room, talking about submarines in general and swapping a few stories. His boat suffered the greatest roll angle, mine the greatest pitch angle. The torpedo room arrangement is much like my USS Sarda, six tubes and 22 reload positions; valves and piping everywhere. It's also the forward escape station.

Next compartment aft contained ship's battery #1 underneath the deck and berthing above it, with a couple of different messes. Paul lived in the first-forward mess of seamen and torpedo types (closest to the torpedo room). Other berthing followed, going aft, including Chiefs & Petty Officers mess, the engineering chiefs mess and the wardroom. 

The control room is next aft, with the sonar room a cubbyhole in the forward starboard corner. The CEP is aft of it, with the fire control system midships and the combined helm/depth-control station to port. The periscopes are midships, of course, with engine-order gear and trim piping more to port aft. The radio room is aft to stbd. The heads and galley are toward the rear of the compartment. An auxiliary equipment space is under the aft end of the control room for pumps & motors.

Then aft into the engine room, two massive 16-cylinder diesels driving generators coupled to the aft end of the engines, which in turn drive the main motors - a standard diesel-electric propulsion system. The electrical control room is next, what we would call the maneuvering room. The engines and motors speed are controlled here, to meet the engine orders from the control room.

The aft-most compartment started life as an after torpedo room, with two short tubes to house swim-out weapons. That didn't last long, and when the "O" boats were converted to use the US Mk-48, the after tubes were removed to provide additional living space. The engineering mess is back here, along with a flock of stuff having to do with signal ejection, after planes control, and rudder control.

The boat looks to be in good shape overall. Some of the volunteers would like to do more to make it more realistic (polish the bronze, etc.), but the museum historic presentation types want to do nothing with it but let it be as it was when the Navy donated it. Not an unusual conflict.

We left by the after torpedo loading hatch and made our way to ground level. There, Paul led us around to the port side, where there's a submarine memorial to the boats that used this base during WWII, American, British, and Dutch. There's a plaque listing the boats and the flags of all the countries. Very nice.

We walked out, hopped into Paul's Holden and drove into downtown Fremantle. After parking, we strolled along the streets in perfect weather, chatting and looking at things. We went into the Fremantle Market, an amazing place where all sorts of groceries and many other things are sold. Dolores bought some items for small gifts. 

Then we wandered to a food court. We hadn't had any Mexican food since we left on this trip, so we all had that. Paul gathered in some beer, and we ate in the court. The food (we had enchiladas) was very good. We continued chatting all through the time we walked.

Seeing we didn't have much in mind, Paul suggested a trip down the coast to his place for tea. We took that ride, with the Indian Ocean visible intermittently to our right. Paul pointed out the submarine base offshore, reached by a causeway.

Paul has a very nice house. Lots of submarine-related decorations, of course. He served tea and we chatted about all sorts of things. He related some of his round-the-US journey and noted that people in the US invariably thanked him for coming to their place, when he felt he should be thanking people for opening their homes to him. He had an amazing trip and wants to do it again sometime in the future. (Ed. note, 2010: We will host Paul for a few days in June as he travels the US again)

He's quite proud of his children. After an hour or two of chatting, we admitted we didn't have much more to contribute and he admitted he hadn't slept well, had to work the next day & perhaps we could call it a day. 

Then Paul volunteered to drive all the way to where we'd parked the car in the morning so we wouldn't have to take the train to get home. It was a nice drive, just prior to rush hour, while Paul pointed out interesting sites. 

He dropped us off and we told him he had a place in Florida whenever he could come near there. He thanked us for coming!!

We drove back to Hillary's Boat Harbour amazed at what a nice guy we'd met.

At the apartment, Dolores went off to shop for more gifts while I did the photo download & organization tasks. Then I wrote part of this. Dolores returned and we rested a bit, then went into Sorrento Quay to the Anchorage for dinner.

Now we'll take it easy & read for the evening.


20060520 Saturday Perth, OZ               Photo Link    

We started after breakfast to go to the Caversham Wildlife Park within the really large Whiteman Park. We got really close to it when we found out neither of us had brought the camera. Back to the apartment then back to the park.

CWP is essentially a zoo of Australian-only critters. The critters are arranged by the quadrants of Australia in which they live. We started around the circle, looking at the birds and animals of that quadrant of Australia. Lots of unique birds, and some animals we'd never heard of. 

When we got around to the koala pen, visitors were allowed to pet the koalas. So we did; they have a semi-rough fur, not smooth. When you get that close to them, you can see they have really sharp claws. The koala kept eating eucalyptus leaves while we stroked it.

On around the circle, we found the wombat asleep in a hollowed log. Dumb looking thing, sort of a bulky dog. They weigh up to 40 pounds. Later we found there was a petting area for wombats also, but we missed it.

Kangaroos are all over Australia, so they have their own pen, through which you can walk. Kangaroo food is provided, so you can take a handfull and feed the kangaroos. We have a bunch of pictures of each of us feeding these super-sized rats. Actually, they're sort of cute. They take the food from your hand very gingerly. They'll place their paws in your hands to see if you have more food.

We saw one baby kangaroo get back into its mother's pouch. Mommy then laid down and you could see one foot and a tail sticking out of the pouch - this joey won't be able to do that much longer.

We returned to the apartment via Whitford's Mall (food and groceries), then parked the car under the apartment and put things away. 

After that, we walked to AQWA - the AQuarium of Western Australia. It's a good aquarium, again oriented toward native fish and things. Lots of coral exhibits, along with the standard clear tube through which you walk while observing sharks, ray, and a host of little fish. At the end of the tour, we saw trainers working with their seals.

Back then, to the apartment for a break. Then I took Dolores to her church and continued down the road to a place that does lodging for backpackers and is an internet access place. It had 20 or so machines up and running; I asked if I could attach my laptop and was told yes. So I brought it in and set it up. I sent the notes from the past several days first. Then I received 451 messages. I killed off some of the spam before I had to leave to get Dolores, but then logged off, paid, and left. Three young guys with American passports were checking into the hostel part of the place, but I didn't have time to talk with them.

I picked up Dolores and we returned to the apartment. We set up a small dinner and dined. We brought out a little wine and had that, then we worked on the pictures download and this journal.

Now it's 2230 and time for bed.......



20060521 Sunday Perth OZ              Photo Link       

After a short breakfast, I went to church at the local Lutheran church. It wasn't much like the format of my church, but it followed the outline. Very enthusiastic congregation. Good sermon. Many of them talked with me after the service and one couple invited us to their house for dinner. We were late getting back and couldn't get there.

After I got back, we drove to the train and went downtown. We grabbed lunch in a fast-food-court (Dolores KFC, Owen Subway) and then caught the Perth Tram. The Tram is a thing that resembles an old time tram but is really a truck that follows a circular route through downtown Perth and Kings Park, a thousand-acre beautiful park just off the city center with a great overlook of the downtown skyline and of the Swan River below it.

The tram started making its rounds. When it reached stop three, we dropped off to look at the King's Park War Memorial and then the Botanical Gardens. 

I walked down the walk to the memorial, where I found a bunch of older people (men wearing blue blazers with medals) walking out. I stopped one elderly couple (that means older than I am) and asked what had just happened. It turned out to be a memorial service for those that fell in the Battle of Crete in WWII whether British, Australian, New Zealanders, or Greeks. He then said that after the battle, he spent four years as a prisoner of war. I told him I was happy he survived; he replied, "Me, too, lad!", shook my hand and with his wife, walked on.

I took a bunch of pictures because the memorial is beautiful and because it has a great view of the city and river from it. The sentiments on the memorial are similarly beautiful. "Lest we forget" is engraved on it, part of the toast to the fallen of WWI. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recessional_(poem) for more.

We got together (Dolores had done the gift shop) and walked around a bit. We found a plaque from the US Navy noting the friendship of the two countries given by ADM J. D. Watkins in the early 80's when he was CINCPAC (Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet).

We hopped onto the next arriving tram and continued our trip. The driver was a never-stop-talking type, who told us about everything he could. We went all the way around King's Park, then back into town, through all the city streets, out the other end of downtown to the casino layout, back into town to the origination point, where we got off.

We walked the Hay Street Mall, London Court off it, and the Murray Street Mall to get back to the train station. There, we bought tickets for Warwick station and hopped aboard. The train ran swiftly to Warwick, where we hopped into the car and returned to the apartment.

We stepped outside onto the entry deck to take (more) pictures of the sunset, only to meet a female neighbor reading and watching. We entered into conversation and found she lives near Nanaimo, BC, on Vancouver Island. For those with a naval background, her house overlooks the Nanoose range. So we had a good chat about things in that corner of the world.

Then we went off to dinner at Portofino in Sorrento Quay next door. Nice dinner, Dolores had crayfish (local thing that looks like a lobster without claws) & I had a pasta thing. Very good, but the beautiful weather (27*C today, little breeze) had everyone out and the staff was overworked.

Back to the apartment and reality. Clean the apartment, vacuum, get ready to leave in the morning. The vacuum cleaner here is the type that you strap onto your back. I did, and took it all over the apartment. I'm convinced that's not the way to vacuum.

We downloaded the pictures and filed them, did this journal entry and now it's bedtime.

Tomorrow we're off for Uluru (called in the past "Ayer's Rock", but that's no longer PC). Perth was great.