I had packed the day before, so I was ready to leave in the morning after packing a couple of last minute items. And then it was time to go. I caught an uber to the airport. Good thing I was early, because I had issues checking in my luggage. I think the girl that was doing my bag was new. Still, I had plenty of time before my flight left. After that, I had a series of flights. My first one left at 9:15 to fly to Brisbane. I then had a couple of hours layover in Brisbane before I could check in for my flight to Honolulu. Since I was switching airlines, the kiosks didn’t work for me so I had to stand in a long line so I could get my tickets. Still, I had plenty of time since my flight didn’t leave until 9:45pm.
Apparently that was a bad idea. When it was finally my turn, I did the interview with the agent and he approved my application, but he never asked if I was bringing in food or other products I shouldn’t be. So I asked who I was supposed to discuss that with. Apparently I was supposed to check in before I had the interview. I shouldn’t have gotten out of line. Good thing I said something, because apparently it is a felony since I would be entering the country illegally, even though I’m a citizen. Luckily the guy was able to check me in. After passing through Customs, I checked in my bag again for my flight to Lihue and grabbed some food while I waited for my last flight to the island of Kauai. That flight didn’t have any problems and I was finally done flying for the day. I met up with Mom at the Baggage Claim area. Her flight landed about 45 minutes before mine, so she had to wait for a little while. I probably shouldn’t have left her alone that long, apparently she found plenty of pamphlets about drowning, and watched a story on the news about how a strong swimmer got caught in a riptide and drowned. So now she is convinced that we are going to drown when snorkeling or kayaking.
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No one else was gambling, so after we walked around a little we called it a night. I’m really going to miss everyone! Once I got back to my apartment I finished packing and went to bed so I could get up early for my long journey tomorrow.
This is my last weekend in Perth, since next weekend I fly back to the U.S. I haven’t had the chance to go to Penguin Island yet. I’m supposed to do a kayak tour out there tomorrow, but just in case there are not enough people I decided to book a boat tour today. If I need to, I can always go twice. Since I knew how to get there, it was an easy metro ride. Once I got to the metro station I decided to take an uber since I was running short on time. When I got there, I went to the gift shop to get my ticket and then went to the pier to get on the boat. The boat ride was quick, and I was on Penguin Island.
After looking around a little, I saw all that I could of the island so I went back to the boat for the mainland. I had time, so I waited at the bus stop for a bus to come and then took the metro back to Perth.
I’m flying back to Perth today. Since the hotel offers free shuttles to the airport, I let them know my flight time and they recommended I leave on the noon shuttle. I didn’t have enough time for an excursion, so I decided to have a Balinese message at the hotel. I booked a 1 hour message at 10 so I would have plenty of time to pack for the airport. There was a little building behind the pool at the front of the hotel, and that is where the messages take place. It was nice. The message was good, they had a little music playing in the background. The one thing I didn’t like though was that it was by the pool, because occasionally I could here kids screaming as they played in the pool. Other than that, it was very relaxing. After the message I finished packing, checked out, and then took the flight back to Perth. Everything that could go wrong went wrong today. Today, I was supposed to kayak to Penguin Island, so I got up early to walk to the train station to go there. Apparently the train I was supposed to take doesn’t run that early. It would be another 45 minutes for the next train, and that would make me miss my excursion.
It would be expensive to take an uber all the way to Rockingham, so I decided to get on the train to Freemantle, which was about halfway and then get an uber from there. By the time I finally got to the place we were supposed to meet, I was 3 minutes late. I look all around for the kayaks and I don’t see them. Surely they would have waited at least 5 minutes before leaving. I walk all around the parking lot looking for them, and looking at my confirmation email to make sure I’m in the right place. I even go into the café to ask if they had already left. The lady said that she is used to seeing them, but didn’t remember seeing the guide that morning. Then I start frantically calling the tour company, but since it was early on a Sunday morning I just got the answering machine. I didn’t know what to do. I waited around for about 30 minutes before giving up. It is at that time that I realized I had the wrong date. The date on my confirmation was for the 29th, not the 22nd. I had accidentally booked the tour for next weekend when I am supposed to be in Bali. So I had to take an uber to the train station, and then take a train back to Perth. I spent at least $70 getting there and back, and all for nothing. At least I’ll be prepared for when I rebook the tour. I didn’t have anything else planned, so I decided to just relax for this weekend instead of exploring. This weekend is the first weekend for whale watching tours to start again, so I decided to book an excursion. My tour started at 10am, so I took the train to Freemantle and found where I was supposed to get on the boat. Since I was early, I went looking for a place to get some breakfast. The place I found was a longer walk than expected, and by the time I got my food I was rushing back. I was one of the last people on the boat and I almost missed my excursion, but I made it.
I was disappointed. I expected it to be like the dolphin tours where the dolphins are leaping out of the water, but instead we would just see a tail or the back of the whale. They weren’t very active. After we spent some time out there, we headed back to the dock. The way back was even colder. Probably because we were moving faster since we didn’t have to search for whales anymore. The crew had to break out blankets for everyone but they ran out so I didn’t get one.
Since we found the dolphins so quick, the day was only half over. Since I still had a lot of time, I decided to go to Cohunu Wildlife Park to hold a koala. In order to get there I had to take an uber to the train station, catch a train, and then take another uber to the park since it wasn’t by any bus routes.
By this point I was had already seen the whole park. My phone was also about to die so I knew I need to order an uber soon or I wouldn’t be able to make it back to Perth. I ordered an uber to take me to the train station and then I caught the train to Perth.
I woke up with the worst sunburn I have ever had. We had a tour booked to see the rainforest today, so I couldn’t stay in my room all day to nurse my burn. I had to decide if I wanted to wear jeans or shorts. I decided to wear jeans in order to protect my skin from further burn.
Our next stop was at a little shop on the side of the road. Here, we got to try different fruit that were local to the area. While we were waiting for them to slice up the fruit, we could try samples of the different flavors of honey they have. I wanted to buy some honey, but I didn’t think I would be able to take it on the plane since I only have a carryon bag.
We then had to wait for Courtney. They had decided last night that she would pick me up from the airport, but Hamzeh forgot to tell me. So she was waiting at airport when I was in the uber to the hotel. Luckily, she still made it back in time for us to get on the boat for the tour.
Finally we got to our first spot. They were still setting up, but they gave people the option of jumping in off the platform or waiting for the stairs. We all decided to jump in. As soon as I jumped I started taking pictures because I wanted to see the difference with the red filter. I couldn’t see a difference, and when I looked at my camera I realized that the red filter had come off. It must have come off in the jump, so I just wasted $20. Grrrr….
We all wanted to do it except Hamzeh, so he stayed on the boat to take pictures. The problem was that a lot of people wanted to do it so the net got crowded fast. We were unfortunately one of the first ones to get on the net, so we were all the way at the end. As more people joined, they dragged it down where we were. After everyone was on and the boat started moving the part that I was clinging to kept going underwater and I couldn’t breath so I had to let go.
That was our last event on the boat. Afterward, we headed back to shore. We went back to the hotel to relax for a bit before going to dinner. I had a Jacuzzi bath in my room so I decided to take a lukewarm bath. I could already feel the sunburn and I knew it would be bad. Since, the bath was very relaxing. I met up with the rest of the group and we walked to a place to eat dinner. It was a very good. We were there for about an hour. The rest of the group wanted to go out drinking but by this time I had been awake for almost 48 hours and I was tired. They walked me back to my hotel. I bought some Aloe Vera from the gift shop and went straight to bed.
We were the first ferry of the day, so it wasn’t crowded yet. When we landed, I headed straight to the bike rental place. Cars are not allowed on the island, so the only way to get around is to walk or ride a bike. Since we were so early, the bike rental place hadn’t opened yet, so I was the first person in line. I was quickly joined by the rest of the people on my ferry, so there was a line by the time they opened. The process to rent the bike went smoothly and they showed me how to switch gears. Which was good, because I don’t even remember the last time I rode a bike. It was probably about the time we moved to Pipe Creek when I was in first grade and the rocks kept poking holes in my tires. That old saying is true, you never forget how to ride a bike. Luckily it was a quick bike ride to my first stop for the day. And it was mostly downhill, so I didn’t have to struggle to peddle uphill. I was a couple of minutes early, but since I was the only person on the tour the guide decided to go ahead and start it. We first went through all the training and a mini obstacle course so I could operate the Segway, and then we got started on the Fortress Adventure Segway Tour. This tour is a little different than the usual ones I have done in that it is an off road one. Instead of staying on paved roads, we were going up and down hills on rock and dirt paths. It was different, and I really liked it. Then we continued on our journey while he told me a little bit about the island. He focused more on the significance the island played in World War II since that is the main focus of the tour. Usually he would describe more on the history of the island, but he knew I was going to be on the Settlement Tour later, so he didn’t want to repeat all of the information again.
Rottnest was of key strategic importance because it provided protection to Freemantle, which was a major military ship harbor at the time. Due to this, they were always on high alert for possible attack. In order to pass the island and eventually enter the Freemantle harbor, ship captains would have to radio in a code to the military personnel stationed at Rottnest. If they didn’t have the code, they couldn’t enter. Of course, sometimes mistakes were made. The enemy never attacked, but one ship was fired upon because the captain was not communicating with the men stationed there. It ended up being a friendly ship and the men got in trouble because they didn’t wait for orders and ammunition was expense. Due to this, when this happened again a couple of weeks later, the next ship wasn’t fired upon. That ship ended up being the enemy and they later sunk 9 Australian ships.
This time we stayed to the main road into the town. The town itself is very small as only a few people are allowed to live on the island. Most people live in Perth or Freemantle and they take the ferry to the island every day. We found out more about the history of the island. The island became separated from the mainland about 7,000 years ago. Before that, it was occupied by the Aboriginals. Artifacts have been found that date up to 30,000 years ago. When the island started to separate, the Aboriginals had to abandon it because they did not have boats that could make the journey. So for almost 7,000 years it was uninhabited until the Europeans came to colonize Australia. In the 1600s the Dutch rediscovered it. They named it Rat’s Nest Island due to the abundance of quokkas, which they thought were a species of rat. The name eventually became Rottnest Island. After the British established the Swan Valley colony in Freemantle, the land was given to William Clark and Robert Thomson. Thomson ended up moving there with his wife and 8 children. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Rottnest became a prison for Aboriginals. One of the prison officials recognized that the beauty of the island would attract tourist and closed down the prison. Instead, the island became a preserve and ever since has been a huge tourist destination.
Luckily they were okay with me taking an earlier ferry. The ferry was a lot more crowded this time than it was this morning, so I got a seat on the bottom level in the aisle instead of a window seat. On the way back, the captain announced that he had spotted whales. Everyone rushed to try to see them, but I couldn’t see anything. Once we got back to Freemantle, it was a quick train ride back to Perth.
I tried to find a tour this weekend, but I couldn’t find anything so I decided to travel down to Mandurah for a boat tour to see dolphins. Apparently there are a lot of dolphins in the bay there. When I was researching things to do in Mandurah, I saw that it was a big kayaking destination, which I though might be cool. I couldn’t find any kayak tours, but apparently you can rent the kayaks so I took along a towel just in case I needed it. I took the subway and a bus to get to the marina, which went very smoothly. I had to walk a little to get to the marina, but it wasn’t that far. When I got there I found where we were supposed to get on the boat. I was very early, so I decided to walk around a little before going to buy my tickets. The building was on the opposite side of the marina from where you get on the boat, so it took me a little time to find it. I spent some time outside looking at the sign and debating which tour I wanted to do. I eventually settled on the Dolphin Island Adventure Cruise which is 1.5 hours long. When I was paying the person told me that I could get 10% off anything in their gift shop and I got a coupon for buy one get one free at San Churro. I looked around the gift shop for a while, but decided not to buy anything. I did decide to go to San Churro since I had extra time
We cruised back to our starting point. I really enjoyed the whole cruise. The only thing that I didn’t like was that it was very cold. It was slightly cold to begin with, but when we left the marina we got the sea winds plus the speed of the boat. The crew had blanked they broke out, but it was still cold. Since it was cold and my towel was already wet I decided to pass on kayaking and instead took public transportation back to my apartment.
The instructor took me and 2 other guys to a room to get ready. We watched a short video with safety instructions. Our instructor also told us about the fish we would be swimming with today. The sharks are grey nurse sharks. Their teeth aren’t straight link the great white. Instead they are curved inward so they can hook fish and drag them in. So the good news is that the worse that can happen when swimming with them is that you can lose an arm. After the video, we went into changing rooms to put on our diving suits. Those things are really hard to get on! They definitely adjust to every curve and it takes a lot of effort to get them on. They are supposed to do that so it keeps you insulated because the water is cold. We also got snorkeling gear, goggles, and flippers and then went to the tank.
I was sad when the time was up and we had to swim out of the tank. I did like the flippers in the water, but they are not comfortable to be used when standing up. When I tried to stand up to get out of the tank, one of my flippers got caught under me and I pitched forward. Luckily, one of the guys was there and caught me before I face planted. Apparently you are supposed to turnover onto your back to stand up. Who knew? The diving suit was a lot easier to get off than to get on. You just have to peel it off and it goes inside out. The guys were out quick, but I stayed behind and to talk to our instructor. She is actually from California. Apparently she was born in Australia, but moved to California when she was a baby and went to school there. And then after college, she decided to move back.
After the play I returned back to my apartment to get ready for tomorrow when I go to the aquarium and swim with sharks.
I decided to sign up for a full-day tour today to York and Wave Rock. The tour company is ADAMS Pinnacle Tours again. At 7:30am, I walked the 2 blocks over to King Hotel and waited for the bus to come pick me up along with the other people that were waiting. We once again split off into different busses.
We were only supposed to spend about 10 minutes at the cemetery before moving on, but we ended up spending over an hour there because the bus ended up breaking down. Our driver called back to headquarters, and they were going to send another bus but it would end up taking at least 3 hours to get to us. Luckily our driver grew up in the area so he was able to call a local mechanic who came out and replaced the broken part. It was still a wait, but it could have been a lot worse.
After lunch we finally got to Wave Rock, which is the major attraction of the tour. Wave Rock is so isolate that it wasn’t a tourist attraction until it was “discovered” in 1963. The local people knew about it of course, but no one else did. In 1963 a picture of the rock was entered in the New York’s World Fair photo competition and it ended up winning. It also was featured in National Geographic, where is started gaining international interest and it became a tourist attraction overnight.
Our guide was very good. Once Wave Rock got famous in the 60s, his grandfather set up a tour company to take tourists out to the rock. Eventually they merged with ADAMS Pinnacle Tours, which is how he ended up doing the tour. One person in our group is a geologist, and she was very impressed with everything she saw. Most of our guide’s explanation went over my head, but I got some good pictures.
Our guide also told us of the legend associated with this cave. There once was a woman who fell in love with a man she was forbidden to marry. She ended up having an illegitimate son with the man, and the child was born cross-eyed. He grew up big and strong, but he could not be a successful hunter because of his vision. Since he could not hunt animals, he turned to catching and eating human children. He kidnapped the children and brought them to this cave, where you can still see the bloody handprints of the children remaining. He was eventually discovered and the Aboriginals in the area hunted him down and killed him. The story serves as a warning for children not to wander off and for adults not to break the rules and have forbidden affairs. This was our last stop of the day. After looking at the cave, we got back on the bus for the long drive back to Perth. Since the area is so isolated, it is a 3 hour drive back. The driver stopped a couple of times so we could use the bathroom and buy snacks, but we eventually made it back.
I have an all day tour booked for tomorrow, but I still wanted to see a little bit of Perth so I decided to go to the Art Museum today. They are one of our clients so I have heard all about the Naked Man with a Rat painting that is valued at $10 million. I didn’t have the chance to see it while I was there because we entered the building before they opened and left after they closed. One day we walked down there early so Matt could show it to me, but he forgot where it was. There is a really good bagel stand by the Art Gallery, so I decided to go there for breakfast first and then see the gallery. After I finished with breakfast, I went in and signed up for the tour. I was a little early, so I walked around the gallery for a few minutes until it was time to meet up.
I really enjoyed this aspect of the tour because you could see how the views of Australia have shifted over time. From wonder and fear when Europeans first discovered Australia, to sadness and desperation as they worked hard to build a new life, to finally hope as they settled successfully in the area.
After I finished my tour of the Art Gallery, I decided to buy some grocery and then relax at my apartment since I have a long tour ahead of me tomorrow.
I had originally signed up for a tour to see Yanchep National Park & Crystal Cave, but since I was the only person that signed up for the tour it ended up getting cancelled. Luckily I had a backup plan, which was going to Freemantle.
One of the first things our guide showed us was the emergency escape chute. He wanted to make sure we knew that there were 2 ways out of the tunnel in case our entrance chute got blocked somehow. He then took us to the room to get geared up. First we had to take a Breathalyzer test, to prove that we were all sober. Apparently the government requires it. Then he got us all water boots that came up almost to my knees because the tunnels flood with water. That was why the tunnels were originally built, to get freshwater for the prison and the town. Unfortunately we are not allowed to bring anything down there, so I had to leave my camera behind. Once we were all down at the bottom our guide took us into the tunnels. All of the tunnels were dug by hand by the convicts. I was able to walk mostly upright, and I only had to crouch a little to make it through them. I felt bad for the tall guys though because they had to remain crouched over when we were walking. Our guide led us through several of the branches of the tunnels, telling us about how they were constructed and why the prisoners were forced to work down here. At one point there was an oil spill, which made the water undrinkable. The government was working on cleaning it up when they realized that a white mold was growing on the rocks by the water. This mold is slowly cleaning the water of the oil contaminants. It will take about 40 more years, but eventually the water will be oil free, which I thought was amazing. After we had walked through the tunnels, we got into little boats and paddled through the waterlogged tunnels. When the convicts were here, they had to wade through the water; they didn’t have boats to stay dry. While we were paddling we actually paddled under the walls of the prison. We could faintly hear the sounds of cars overhead. It must have sucked for the convicts to be able to escape the walls of the prison but yet not truly be free. The walls are sandstone, so it was easy to paddle along or push myself off the walls.
I had about 45 minutes until my next tour so I sat in the café and had lunch. The food was actually really good. I also walked through the gift shop, but I didn’t end up buying anything.
My last stop of the day was to the Western Australia Maritime Museum. I wanted to do the submarine tour, but the guy at the front said I wouldn’t have time to see the museum and do the tour, so I only walked around the museum. By this time my feed were killing me so I mostly sat on the benches and enjoy the exhibits.
I was done for the day so I walked back to the train station and bought a ticket to Perth. After I got to Perth I walked back to my apartment to enjoy the rest of my evening before work tomorrow.
It is supposed to rain this afternoon, so I planned morning activities in Perth. Only a couple of blocks from my apartment in the Perth Mint, which is the first thing on my list of things to do today. I showed up early with a coupon to sign up for the tour. They have one that runs every hour. I probably should have tried coming later, because we had at least 30 people in our tour group.
The governor wrote back to England telling them that there was a lot of gold here and asking for either the military to escort the ships back to England so they could mint the gold, or for the machines necessary for Australia to mint their own gold. England decided to send the machines and a building was built to house the mint. The person in charge of the mint ended up living there with his family. It meant he could keep an eye on everything, but this was a problem for his wife as none of her friends wanted to come over because of the rough factory workers everywhere. She nagged her husband because she wanted to entertain and eventually he came up with a compromise. Once a week he would take all of the factory workers to the local pub at noon so she could have her friends over. At 5 when it was time to clock out, whoever made it back to the factory to clock out got paid for a full day’s work. If they were too drunk to make it back, they only got paid for half a day’s work. I think that is a good compromise, and I wish my company would do that.
We really didn’t do much on the tour. At the meeting place there was a bell on a stand. Our guide told us the history of that bell. It was a bell for a small church in England that was made in the 1500s. It developed a crack, so they had a new bell made and put the bell outside. A couple of years later, one of the board members for the Swan Bell Tower who is very interested in bells, found out about it. He went to the church and asked if he could have it for the Bell Tower. They were happy to get rid of it since it was rusting away. However, the Historical Society of England wouldn’t allow it. They also told the church that they couldn’t store it outside since it is a part of England’s history. They went back and forth for a while, and then the guy from Perth asked if he could lease it for 20 years for $1. Since the church still owns the bell, the Historical Society was satisfied and the Swan Bell Tower got a new bell. It can never be rung because of the crack, but it is the oldest bell here. Our guide also told us the history of the Bell Tower. The Swan Bell Tower was built to house the 12 bells that used to hang in St. Martin in the Field church in England. They were gifted to Perth by Queen Elizabeth II, and the Swan Bell Tower was built to showcase them when she visited Perth. The bells are noteworthy in that they were rung to celebrate many historic events in England’s history, such as England’s victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588, the World War II victory in 1942, and celebrating the coronation of every British monarch since King George II in 1727. They also rand to celebrate the homecoming of Captain James Cook after his voyage of discovery in 1771, where he discovered Australia. The bells were originally cast in the early 14thcentury, and recast in the 16thcentury by Queen Elizabeth I, and were finally recast in 1725-1779. The bells are cast, but as the years pass they might develop a crack or they become old so the iron is melted down and a new bell is recast with the material from the old bell. That was the original plan for these bells, but instead Perth offered to pay for new bells for the church if they could have these. They are one of the few sets of royal bells and are the only ones known to have left England.
Afterward, I decided to grab some groceries on the way back to my apartment. Once I got to my apartment I relaxed for the rest of the day so I could prepare for my adventure tomorrow.
Today is supposed to be a beautiful day, so I decided to book a wine tour and river cruise. The pick up point was on Elizabeth Quay, so I knew exactly where to go. I was hungry, so I stopped at a small café for breakfast but I ended up throwing most of it away because it didn’t taste good. Luckily, the riverboat had mini muffins for us to snack on.
Once we reached the end of the Swan Valley, we all split up depending on our tour. A van was waiting for us and it took us to a winery that also had a restaurant. I had booked the tour with the lunch option, so I went to the restaurant to eat. I had a very good barramundi, which is a local type of fish.
After we had finished up here, the driver took us back into Perth. There was a drop off point by public transportation where we could catch a ride back to wherever everyone was staying. When I was asking the driver for directions, he was nice enough to offer to drop me off at my apartment so I didn’t have to worry about it.
Our guide apparently also works here, so she took us inside to wind the clock. The clock is one of the old fashion ones that has to be wound by hand every day, and we had the opportunity to do it. She stuck a pole thing into a whole, and then both of us tried to wind it. It was really hard! It took a lot of muscle to turn the pole, which is probably why they give tourist the “opportunity” to do it. They want the free labor. This was the end of the tour, so we each went our separate ways.
After I had finished exploring I caught the bus back down Perth CBD (Central Business District, aka downtown) and walked over to Elizabeth Quay. The next tour I had signed up for was a pearl tour at Willie Creek Pearls. I got there a little early, but since I was the only person to sign up they decided to start early.
The lady played a movie that showed the history of the oyster industry. They used to send people out in diving suits, that were so heavy it would cause them to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Once there, they had to feel around in dark and collect the oyster shells at the bottom. Their only source of air was a breathing tube connected to the boat. Needless to say, there was a high fatality rate for oyster divers. The money was good, but since the fatality rate was so high not a lot of people wanted to do it. It was so bad that men were kidnapped and woke up at sea and were forced to go diving. Eventually better diving suits were created and the process is a lot safer today. Willie Creek Pearls has an oyster farm in Broome that they get their oysters from. They still have divers going into the ocean to look for wild oysters, but it is heavily regulated now. Mostly, they breed their own oysters.
My final tour of the day is a Segway Tour of Elizabeth Quay. I’m lucky I got on this tour because originally I had booked it for Friday without realizing it. It wasn’t until they called me that I realized I had accidentally booked it for the wrong day. Luckily they were cool about me moving it to today. Since my pearl tour ended early, I ended up being early to this one too but then I had to wait for everyone else to show up. Once everyone else came, they got us outfitted with headsets, helmets, and segways. First they showed us how to use the segways, and we had to go through the obstacle course of cones but they are very easy to maneuver. If you want to go forward, you lean forward. If you want to stop, you lean back until you are stopped and center yourself.
Since last weekend and yesterday I didn’t do much, I was determined to see Perth this today. The sad news is it is supposed to rain all weekend here, so I decided to book a tour outside of the city. Hopefully it doesn’t rain… The Pinnacles is one of the main attractions in Western Australia, and it is a couple of hours outside Perth so hopefully it doesn’t rain. ADAMS Pinnacles Tour is one of the main tour companies that go there, so I booked a full day tour with them. It was also nice because they picked me up with some other people at the King’s Hotel, which is only about 3 blocks from my apartment. After they picked us up, they went over to the Perth Casino, where there was another ADAMS tour bus waiting. They are smart in that they have 2 different tour buses rounding up people, and then they separate them into their different tours. I ended up having to switch to the other bus. After everyone was settled in the driver took us to the first stop on our list: Caversham Wildlife Park. Caversham was really cool because unlike most zoos where you just see the animals in cages, you actually got to interact with them. Since we were on a schedule and could only be there for about 1.5 hours, we had a guide who coordinated with the other employees so we could see and interact with the animals. Usually you only interact with the animals at the scheduled time, which we would have missed.
Next we went to the wombat area. Before we got there, I had no idea what a wombat was. I thought we were going to see bats and I wasn’t thrilled. I was really surprised when I saw one! The wombat we got to see name is Asha. Her mom was hit by a car while Asha was still in the pouch. Asha survived, but her mom didn’t. She was brought up by caretakers but can never be returned to the wild so she lives at the Wildlife Park. The same is true about the other wombats that live at the Park.
After everyone finished taking pictures with the koalas, we returned to the bus. On the way, most people stopped to go to the restroom so I looked around their gift shop and bought a couple of souvenirs. And then it was on to our next destination.
After we had all gathered to get back on the bus, the bus driver told us some bad news. Apparently there is one road into and out of the Pinnacles, and there was a really bad car accident so the road was shut down. The only other way into the Pinnacles would be to drive all the way around to the other side, which would be an extra 2-3 hours. So we stood around waiting while he called the tour company asking what to do. I was cool skipping the Pinnacles, since I still have a couple of months here but the rest of the people signed up for this tour to see the Pinnacles and they wanted to drive the extra couple of hours. Eventually the bus driver came back and told us that the accident was cleared, so there was traffic but cars are getting through. So we loaded on the bus and drove to the Pinnacles.
Yesterday was the day I finally landed in Perth. I was too tired yesterday to go exploring, so today is my first day. I was exhausted, so I ended up laying in bed until noon, when I finally convinced myself to get up. Since I didn’t know anything about the city, I planned my route. I had a list of what I wanted to get accomplished today, which was: 1. Find somewhere to eat lunch, 2. Find a grocery store, and 3. Find the Crowe office. I looked on my Maps app and saw that the Crowe office was on my way to the grocery store and there were a lot of places to eat over there, so I grabbed my backpack and phone and took off.
Once I had everything put away at my apartment, I decided to relax for the rest of the day. I turned on the TV and found an Australian show called Bondi Rescue, which follows a group of Australian lifeguards on Bondi Beach. It is Austrlia’s most popular beach, and they can have 20-30 thousand visitors a day during the summer. It was pretty interesting. I also started researching weekend excursions to occupy myself with.
After about 5.5 hours, we landed in Kuala Lampur. Here, I had about 2 hours to kill before my next flight. Since I didn’t leave the airport, I didn’t have to go through immigration so I just found my gate and waited. They also have their gates set up differently than I’m used to. It is again the closed off room, but at least they weren’t letting people inside only to make them leave. They had chairs down the hallway outside the room/gate, so I waited there until they started allowing people in. My carryon had to go through the scanner and I had to got through a metal detector again, but I had no issues. Once I got inside, I had a little bit of time to charge my phone before it was time to get on my final plane, this time to Australia. My final flight was about 6 hours, so I had time to watch movies and read my book. Still, I was exhausted and glad when I finally landed in Perth at about 3pm. Once there, I got my bags and went through immigration, which was very easy. Since I’m from the U.S., I could go through the electronic immigration process instead of talking to a custom’s agent. I just had to wait in a small line, scan my passport, take a picture at the kiosk, and I was through. After I collected my bag, I had to wait in a longer line so they could make sure I wasn’t bringing any fruits or seeds in, but even that line moved quickly. My work had arranged for a driver to pick me up, and he was outside the doors waiting on me. He was very nice, and he gave me some ideas of places to see around Perth. His daughter also does walking tours, so I’ll have to remember to look her tour up. He took me to my new apartment, where the real estate agent was waiting to give me the keys and a tour.
It was around 5pm when I had finished, and it was already getting dark, so I decided to take the rest of the day off and go exploring tomorrow. I also had a TV, so I turned it on and found a station that was playing NCIS to watch before I went to bed.
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |